Luis國際資訊事務所

Roald Dahl's heroic stories filled with fascinating characters impress and delight both young and old readers

　　When legendary author Roald Dahl passed away at the age of 74 in November 1990, he was given a Viking's1 funeral. This meant that he was buried with items he could use in the afterlife2, such as bottles of wine, chocolate, snooker cues3, pencils, and even a saw4. This just goes to show that the author of many classic children's books, including "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "James and the Giant Peach," and "Matilda," was no ordinary individual.

　　Dahl became known as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, but he was not always an author. Instead, he started his career as a fighter pilot5 in the British Royal Air Force6 during World War II. After the war ended, a magazine printed his first article, which described the time he was shot down over Libya.

　　His first book, "The Gremlins7," was published in 1943 and centered on the make-believe creatures that the RAF blamed for their airplane problems. Dahl then went on to create more children's books and had a highly successful career. He continued to write many different kinds of fiction until he died. To this day, Dahl makes both young and old readers happy with his heroic stories filled with fascinating characters.

　　當鼎鼎大名的作家羅爾德‧道爾在1990年十一月年屆七十四歲去世時，人們為 他舉行了一場北歐式葬禮。這意味著他在死後的世界可能會用到的東西會與他一起陪葬，當中包括好幾瓶酒、巧克力、司諾克撞球桿、鉛筆，甚至是一把鋸子（編 按：司諾克撞球也稱為英式撞球）。這恰好顯示出這位創作出《巧克力工廠的秘密》、《怪桃歷險記》以及《瑪蒂爾達》等眾多經典童書的作者可不是一位平凡無奇 的人物。

　　道爾是二十世紀一位家喻戶曉的偉大作家，但他並非一直都以寫作為職。他一開始的職業是二次世界大戰時英國皇家空軍的戰鬥機飛官。在戰爭結束後，某本雜誌刊載了他的第一篇文章，這篇文章描述的是當時他在利比亞上空遭擊落的事件。

　　他的第一本書《小頑皮》於1943年出版，主要是在描寫一種虛構的生物，英國皇家空軍將他們軍機所發生的問題都怪在這種生物上。道爾接著創作了更多的 童書，而他的寫作事業也非常順利。他到過世前都還在持續創作許多不同種類的故事。時至今日，道爾以其筆下各種充滿有趣角色的英雄故事，讓老老少少的讀者都 讀得津津有味。

1. legendary　a. 非常有名的；傳奇的
Achilles is a legendary hero from Greek mythology.
阿基里斯是希臘神話裡的一位傳奇英雄。
2. make-believe　a. & n. 假想（的），虛構（的）
Unicorns are creatures that only exist in the world of make-believe.
獨角獸是一種只存在於虛構世界的生物。
3. blame　vt. 歸咎於；責怪
Everyone is careless at times, so I don't blame you for the mistake.
每個人有時都會粗心大意，所以我不怪你犯下這個錯誤。

1. run wild　　（想法）馳騁；（行為）為所欲為
The naughty boy runs wild when his dad isn't home.
只要爸爸不在家，那個頑皮的男孩就會為所欲為。
2. pass away　　過世，逝世
The child became an orphan when both her parents passed away.
那個孩子的雙親去世後，她就成了一位孤兒。
3. This/That/It (just) goes to show...　　 （某件事、經驗等）恰恰證明……
As Sam hurried to catch the bus, he fell down. It goes to show that haste makes waste.
山姆在趕公車時跌了一跤。這恰恰證明了欲速則不達的道理。
4. go on to + 原形動詞　　進而∕繼續（做）……
After washing the dishes, my mother went on to do the laundry.
在洗完盤子後，我媽又繼續去洗衣服。
5. to this day　　至今
Joshua is still deeply in love with his first girlfriend to this day.
喬舒亞至今仍深愛著他的初戀女友。

1. Viking　n. 北歐人
2. afterlife　n. 死後的世界
3. snooker cue　n. 司諾克撞球桿
4. saw　n. 鋸子
5. fighter pilot　n. 戰鬥機駕駛員
6. air force　n. 空軍
7. gremlin　n. 小妖精

The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre
　　The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre位於英國白金漢郡的一個村莊裡，原為道爾的故居，在他去世後，由他的家人、出版商和慈善團體等出資重建為博物館，於2005年開放給世人參 觀。這裡雖然不大，但是十分溫馨可愛。館內收藏了道爾大部分的創作手稿和私人信件，並且將他平常用以寫作的工作室原封不動地呈現在世人眼前。這間博物館除 了介紹道爾的生平、他在發想故事的創作過程，還常常會舉辦很多有助於人們激發創意和寫作能力的活動。