176 The greatest hunter
176 最伟大的猎手
It is neither presumptuous nor pretentious of me to claim that I am one of the greatest hunters that has ever lived. It is not the sort of greatness with which one presumably has the preponderance or prestige of pursuing the presidency and entering the prestigious presidential election. Nor is it the sort of pretension of the meager variety with which one is presumptuous concerning one’s abilities in the prevailing fashions of the day. It is the presumption, however, that one must take when one is put in a situation which prescribes the utilization of the primal instincts for self-preservation.
如果我说我是有史以来最伟大的猎手，这并不意味着我是一个自以为是、自命不凡的家伙。我说我伟大，并不是说我可能有绝对优势或足够威望去追逐总统的职位，并且能够参加颇负盛名的总统选举；也不是指那种够不上档次的自负感，这种心理足以使人对自己适应盛极一时的流行时尚的能力过于自信，甚至到了傲视一切的程度。当你处于困境之中，而客观环境又要求你利用原始本能进行自我保护时，你必须采取的措施便只能是不顾一切而自行其是了。
For example, if one has the preoccupation of frequenting animal preserves as I do, it is a prerequisite that one must have the courage to fall under the pressure of choosing a prey or becoming one. If, for example, we presume that your adversary is one of the large primates, such as a gorilla or a baboon, which are prevalent at game preserves, you must come up with the preservative prescription of maim or be maimed, kill or be killed if you are to prevail in such a confrontation. It is necessary to ignore any sophisticated thought of kindness or welfare. Moreover, you must call upon this primal, preservative, most basic of instincts in order to survive in the most animalistic of challenges.
例如，如果人们像我一样，全神贯注地出没于野兽禁猎区，那么这样做的先决条件是，你必须有勇气来面对一种压力：到底是去选择猎物呢，还是最终成为人家的猎物。再举个例子。我们假定你的对手是一只大型灵长目动物，例如猩猩或者狒狒什么的。这些动物在狩猎禁区里非常普遍，你必须马上给自己开出自我保护的处方：是去伤害它呢，还是被它伤害？是去杀死它呢，还是被它杀死？如果你经常面对这种情况的话。这个时候，忘记所有世俗观念中的仁慈与福祉是必要的。另外，要在兽性的挑战面前生存，你就不得不唤起原始的、自我保护的基本本能。
My greatness as a hunter does not lie in any preponderance, prestige, or sophistication of any kind. On the contrary, it lies in the primal ability to kill as an animal or to be killed as one.
我作为猎手的伟大之处不在于我的优势，不在于我的声望，也不在于任何高深复杂的技术。相反却在于一种原始本能．是像动物般去杀其它动物呢，还是被其它动物所杀害。
Words:
preoccupation n.主要考虑因素,全神贯注,抢先占据
preponderance n.(压倒性的)优势
prerequisite n.先决条件,前提
prescribe vt.指示,规定,开药方
prescription n.药方,处方
preservation n.保存,贮藏,保护
preservative n.防腐剂adj.有保存力的
preserve vt.保存n.禁猎区
presidency n.总统职位,总统任期
presidential election总统选举
pressure n.压力,压迫
prestige n.威望,声望
prestigious adj.有名望的,有威信的
presumably adv.据推测,大概,可能
presume vt.假定,假设,揣测
presumption n.猜想,想法,专横,傲慢,自行其是
presumptuous adj.自以为是的,放肆的
pretension n.要求,主张,自负
pretentious adj.夸耀的,自命不凡的
prevail vi.盛行,居主导地位,经常流行
prevailing adj.流行的,盛行的
prevalent adj.普遍的,流行的
prey n.被掠食,者牺牲者,食物vi.捕食,掠夺
primal adj.最初的,原始的
primate n.灵长目动物