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【英文译文】
The Snake Catcher
作品简介：《捕蛇者说》写于作者在被贬永州时，是柳宗元的散文名篇。课文通过捕蛇者蒋氏对其祖孙三代为免交赋敛而甘愿冒着死亡威胁捕捉毒蛇的自述，反映了中唐时期我国劳动人民的悲惨生活，深刻地揭露了封建统治阶级对劳动人民的残酷压迫和剥削，表达了作者对劳动人民的深切同情。 “说”是我国古代的一种文体，可以说明事物，也可以发表议论或记叙事物。
In the wilderness on the outskirts of Yong Zhou there exists a kind of snake with black skin marked with white stripes. Any plant dies upon its touch and anyone bitten by it is doomed to die. But once it is caught and dehydrated, it can serve as an ingredient of a traditional medicine for the cure of leprosy, arthritis, swollen necks, malignant tumors, the removal of decayed flesh, and the elimination of three kinds of worms that cause illness. Since early times the court physician has ordered the people in the name of the emperor to hand in snakes twice a year. Whoever does so is exempted from taxation. People are vying with one another to catch snakes.
There is a man whose surname is Jiang. His family has been enjoying this privilege for three generations. When asked, he told me with deep grief, "My grandfather was killed by a snake, and so was my father. I myself have been engaged as a snake catcher for twelve years and might have been killed many a time." I sympathized with him, saying, "Are you complaining about this work? I shall ask the official in charge to transfer you to your former work and renew the taxation on you. How would you like that?"
