差不多先生传（上）

差不多先生传

Mr. About-the-Same

胡适

Hu Shih

你知道中国最有名的人是谁？

Do you know who is the most well-known person in China?

提起此人，人人皆晓，处处闻名。

The name of this person is a household word all over the country.

他姓差，名不多，是各省各县各村人氏。

His surname is Cha and his given name, Buduo, which altogether mean “About the Same”. He is a native of every province, every county and every village in this country.

你一定见过他，一定听过别人谈起他。

You must have seen or heard about this person.

差不多先生的名字天天挂在大家的口头，因为他是中国全国人的代表。

His name is always on the lips of everybody because he is representative of the whole Chinese nation.

差不多先生的相貌和你和我都差不多。

Mr. Cha Buduo has the same physiognomy as you and I. He has a pair of eyes, but doesn’t see clearly.

他有一双眼睛，但看的不很清楚；有两只耳朵，但听的不很分明；有鼻子和嘴，但他对于气味和口味都不很讲究。

He has a pair of ears, but doesn’t hear well. He has a nose and a mouth, but lacks a keen sense of smell and taste.

他的脑子也不小，但他的记性却不很精明，他的思想也不很细密。

His brain is none too small, but he is weak in memory and sloppy in thinking.

他常常说：“凡事只要差不多，就好了。何必太精明呢？”

He often says, “Whatever we do, it’s OK to be just about right.What’s the use of being precise and accurate?”

他小的时候，他妈叫他去买红糖，他买了白糖回来。

One day, when he was a child, his mother sent him out to buy her some brown sugar, but he returned with some white sugar instead.

他妈骂他，他摇摇头说：“红糖白糖不是差不多吗？”

As his mother scolded him about it, he shook his head and said, “Brown sugar or white sugar, aren’t they about the same?”

他在学堂的时候，先生问他：“直隶省的西边是哪一省？”他说是陕西。

One day in school, the teacher asked him, “Which province borders Hebei on the west?” He answered, “Shaanxi.”

先生说：“错了。是山西，不是陕西。”

The teacher corrected him, “You are wrong. It’s Shanxi, not Shaanxi.”

他说：“陕西同山西，不是差不多吗？”

He retorted, “Shaanxi or Shanxi, aren’t they about the same?”

后来他在一个钱铺里作伙计；他也会写，也会算，只是总不会精细。

Later Mr. Cha Buduo served as an assistant at a money shop. He could write and calculate all right, but his mathematics were often faulty.

十字常常写成千字，千字常常写成十字。

He would mistake the Chinese character 十 (meaning 10) for 千 (meaning 1,000) or vice versa.

掌柜的生气了，常常骂他。

The shop owner was infuriated and often took him to task.

他只是笑嘻嘻地赔小心道：“千字比十字只多一小撇，不是差不多吗？”

But he would only explain apologetically with a grin, “The character 千 differs from 十 in merely having one additional short stroke. Aren’t they about the same?”

有一天，他为了一件要紧的事，要搭火车到上海去。

One day, he wanted to go to Shanghai by train on urgent business.

他从从容容地走到火车站，迟了两分钟，火车已经开走了。

But he arrived at the railway station unhurriedly only to find the train already gone, because he was two minutes late.

他白瞪着眼，望着远远的火车上的煤烟，摇摇头道：“只好明天再走了，今天走同明天走，也差不多。可是火车公司未免太认真了。8点30分开，同8点32分开，不是差不多吗？”

He stood staring helplessly at the smoke belching from the diminishing train, and shook his head, “Well, all I can do is leave tomorrow. After all, today and tomorrow are about the same.But isn’t the railway company taking it too seriously?What’s the difference between departing at 8:30 and 8:32?”

他一面说，一面慢慢地走回家，心里总不明白为什么火车不肯等他两分钟。

He walked home slowly while talking to himself and kept puzzling over why the train hadn’t waited for him for another two minutes.