木船危险，当然知道。
Of course I know it is risky to travel by wooden boat.
一路上数不尽的滩，礁石随处都是，要出事，随时可以出。
With countless shoals and reefs to negotiate, accidents may happen anytime.
还有盗匪--实在是最可怜的同胞，他们种地没得吃， 有力气没处出卖，当了兵经常饿肚皮，无奈何只好出此下策。
To complicate matters, there are bandits lurking around -- those pitiful fellow countrymen who, unable to ward off starvation by farming or soldiering or whatnot, have been reduced to the disreputable business as a last resort.
就是如今，上上下下的还有许多人在那里做木船，如果统计起来，人数该比坐轮船坐飞机得多。
Even today, many continue to do so, and statistics will invariably show a higher percentage of people traveling by wooden boat than by steamer or aircraft.
轮船飞机就不危险吗？
As for safety, is it less dangerous to travel by steamer or aircraft?
安步当车似乎最稳妥了，可是人家屋檐边也可以掉下一张瓦片来。
Going on foot seems to be the best choice, but a tile falling off the eaves of somebody's house might prove equally disastrous to foot passengers.
只要往各方去请托，找关系，或者干脆买张黑票。
I can simply go around fishing for help or personal connections, or just buy a "black" ticket.
"黑"字代表作弊，表示越出常轨。
And the very word "black" generates in me a feeling of repulsion. "Black" signifies fraud or illegal practice.
跑了不知多少趟，总算有眉目了，又得往这一处签字，那一处盖章，看种种的脸色，候种种的传唤，为的是得一份充分的证据，可以去换张票子。
Then you have to go here and there to get a signature or a seal, meet with all sorts of cold reception and wait for all sorts of summonses -- all for the purpose of obtaining a useful certificate to buy a ticket with.
最有味的是冒充什么部的士兵，非但改名换姓，还得穿上灰布棉军服，腰间束条皮带。
The funniest thing is when you try to pass for a soldier of a certain army unit, you must not only have your name changed, but also wear a gray-cloth cotton-padded army uniform with a leather belt around your waist.
即使饿得要死，也不定要去奉承颜色谋差使，为了一张票子去求教人家，不说我自己犯不着，人家也太费心了。
I disdain to go humbly begging for a job even when I am starving, let alone to go asking for other people's help in getting me a mere ticket.
再说与自己暂时脱离关系，换上他人的身份，虽然人家不大爱惜名气，我可不愿滥用那些名气。
As to the temporary divorce from my old self and the concealing of my identity, I hate to usurp all those designations though other people may think otherwise.
我不是部属，不是秘书，不是某人，不是某人的父亲，我是我。
I am neither a government employee, nor a secretary, nor so-and-so, no so-and-so's father.
我毫无成就，样样不长进，我可不愿与任何人易地而处，无论长期的或是暂时的。
I am just an ordinary man with no urge to do better, so I hate to change places with anybody else, whether for a while or for good.
为了走一趟路，必须易地而处，在我总觉得像被剥夺了什么似的。
To change places just for the sake of a trip would make me feel like being deprived.
至于穿灰布棉军服更为难了，为了走一趟路才穿上那套衣服，岂不亵渎了那套衣服？
Wouldn't it be sinful for me to wear a gray-cloth cotton-padded army uniform for nothing more than making a single trip?
抱着书生之见，我决定坐木船。
It was with this impractical view that I decided to take a wooden boat.
木船比不上轮船，更比不上飞机，千真万确。
It is absolutely true that a wooden boat cannot compare with a steamer, much less an airplane.
可是绝对不用请托，绝对不用找关系，也无所谓黑票。
But there is no need for soliciting help or seeking personal connections, nor the need for the so-called "black" ticket.
你要船，找运输行，或者自己到码头上去找，找着了，言明价钱， 多少钱坐到汉口，每块钱花得明明白白。
All you need to do is contact the transport company, or go direct to the wharf to look for a wooden boat.
决定了之后，有两位朋友特来劝阻，一位从李家沱，一位从柏滨，不怕水程跋涉，为的是关爱我，瞧得起我。
After I had made up my mind, two friends of mine, in spite of the difficult boat journey all the way from Li Jia Tuo and Bai Bin respectively, came to dissuade me from taking the wooden boat out of concern and respect for me.
他们说了种种理由，预想了种种可能的障害，结末说，还是再考虑一下的好。
They enumerated various reasons against my decision as well as various possible mishaps, advising me in the end to reconsider the matter.
我真感谢他们，当然不敢说不必再行考虑，只好带玩笑的说，"吉人天相，"安慰他们激动的心情。
I felt very grateful to them, and of course refrained from showing any reluctance to reconsider the matter.
我与父亲不相见已二年余了， 我最不能忘记的是他的背影。
It is more than two years since I last saw father, and what I can never forget is the sight of his back.