English
the narrator discusses the Earth’s lamplighters
So then the seventh planet was the Earth.
The Earth is not just an ordinary planet! One can count, there 111 kings (not forgetting, to be sure, the Negro kings among them), 7000 geographers, 900,000 businessmen, 7,500,000 tipplers, 311,000,000 conceited men– that is to say, about 2,000,000,000 grown-ups.
To give you an idea of the size of the Earth, I will tell you that before the invention of electricity it was necessary to maintain, over the whole of the six continents, a veritable army of 462,511 lamplighters for the street lamps.
Seen from a slight distance, that would make a splendid spectacle. The movements of this army would be regulated like those of the ballet in the opera. First would come the turn of the lamplighters of New Zealand and Australia. Having set their lamps alight, these would go off to sleep. Next, the lamplighters of China and Siberia would enter for their steps in the dance, and then they too would be waved back into the wings. After that would come the turn of the lamplighters of Russia and the Indies; then those of Africa and Europe, then those of South America; then those of South America; then those of North America. And never would they make a mistake in the order of their entry upon the stage. It would be magnificent.
Only the man who was in charge of the single lamp at the North Pole, and his colleague who was responsible for the single lamp at the South Pole– only these two would live free from toil and care: they would be busy twice a year.
中文
叙述者谈到了地球上的点灯人
于是，第七颗星球就是地球。
地球可不是一颗普通的星球！在那上面，你可以数出：111位国王（当然，没忘掉那些黑人国王）、7000名地理学家、90万个商人、750万个酒鬼、3亿1100万个爱虚荣的人——也就是说，大约有20亿个大人。
为了让你对地球的大小有个概念，我这么跟你说吧：在电灯发明之前，为了照亮六大洲，人们必须维持一支名副其实的“路灯点灯人大军”，总数达46万2511人。
如果从稍远一点的地方看去，那景象真可谓壮丽辉煌。这支军队的行动规整得就像歌剧院里的芭蕾舞一样。首先登场的是新西兰和澳大利亚的点灯人。点亮路灯后，他们就去睡觉了。接着，中国和西伯利亚的点灯人入场起舞，随后他们也会被挥手退回幕后。再接着，轮到俄罗斯和印度的点灯人；然后是非洲和欧洲的；接着是南美的；最后是北美的。他们永远不会排错出场顺序。那场面气势磅礴。
唯独北极那盏孤灯的点灯人，和他负责南极唯一路灯的同事——只有这两位过得最清闲自在：他们一年只需忙活两次。
一部分内容摘录自《小王子》。 如有侵权， 请联系作者删除
