三种长江鱼的启示录 ⑴ (中英对照)

三种长江鱼的启示录
A Lesson from Three Kinds of Yangtze Fish
匡天龙 文 / 王维东 译　　　　

我的家乡在荆江，我从小在长江边儿长大，对长江的感情如滔滔江水，绵绵不绝。住在长江边儿的人，对于长江里所生长的三种鱼都很熟悉，它们是鲫鱼、刀鱼和河豚。这三种鱼以味美鲜嫩著称，是难得的美味佳肴。三种鱼形状不同，吃法也不一样。鲫鱼形状像鲤鱼，身子比鲤鱼要扁一些。做鲫鱼时不能把鱼鳞刮掉，因为其美味全靠鱼鳞来传递。刀鱼的形状就像一把匕首，鱼肉极其细腻，但吃时一定要特别小心，因为小小的一条刀鱼就有上千根小刺，很容易被卡着。河豚有着滚圆型的身子，身上长的不是鱼鳞，而是带小刺的皮。吃河豚时，通常连皮吃下，据说对胃有好处。但河豚极具毒性，一不小心就会吃死人。几乎每年都有吃河豚丢掉性命的人和事发生，所以有句俗话就叫“冒死吃河豚”。
My ancestral home is at Jingjiang in the middle Yangtze valley. I was born and grew up by the riverside. That’s why I always pour my heart out to its majestic, rolling body of water. Because I’ve been so used to the river, I’m well acquainted with the three kinds of fish that habitually hover below its surface — the crucian carp, the hairtail and the globefish. They’re all known for their tender, delicious meat, ranking among heart-warming fare of the highest order. Being different in appearance and structure, they lend themselves to different ways of preparation or dining. The crucian carp looks like a common carp except for its somewhat flatter body. In preparing a crucian carp the cook isn’t supposed to remove its scales, for the simple reason that the fine taste of the fish is conveyed through its scales to start with. The hairtail, a smaller species shaped like a dagger, impresses diners with its soft delicate texture. But the latter had better be careful while feasting on it — its hundreds of sharp needlelike bones can get stuck in one’s throat at the slightest incaution. A globefish, on the other hand, features a bloated round belly; it isn’t cloaked with scales but rather a prickly skin. Diners are expected to eat that skin along with the fish itself, which, according to folk wisdom, is good for one’s stomach. However, a globefish can be extremely poisonous — Should a diner be unlucky the poison will kill him! Each year, quite a bunch of individuals die from eating this dangerous delicacy; hence the popular saying “To eat globefish is to gamble with one’s own life.”