千葉大學的英文翻譯材料《消失的塑料鸚鵡之謎》究竟有何深意？

12-27

這是千葉大學的2016年度本科理科入學英文考試選詞填空題。日文譯文如下：

其實這篇英文有很多版本（比如reddit上這篇：Plastic parrots ? /r/Jokes）而其可尋的最早源頭大概應該是10年前的這篇英文帖子：
The Plastic Parrot
全文如下：

There was once a boy called Mark, he was just your ordinary 11 year old leading a normal life, in a normal school, with a normal family and normal friends. It comes to his birthday and his dad wants to get him something special, so he walks into Mark"s room and asks him:

"Hi son, it"s your 12th birthday, what do you want for your birthday."

"Hmm" the son ponders "I want a plastic parrot."

"Ok" says the dad and he goes out to the local novelty store and gets him a purple plastic parrot. Mark is really happy to get it. But after a day it mysteriously disappears. The father thinks "oh well, little boys will lose their toys, no big deal."

It comes to Mark"s 13th birthday and his dad walks into this room.

"OK son, it"s your 13th birthday, what do you want for your birthday?"

"Dad, I want 2 plastic parrots."

The dad is puzzled but he still goes out to the novelty store and gets him two plastic parrots. But after two days, both mysteriously disappear. His dad is getting worried, but he doesn"t want to ruin his son"s schooling so he doesn"t say anything.

It comes to Mark"s 14th birthday, and his dad goes to his room.

"So son, what do you want for your birthday?"

"Dad, I want a whole box full of plastic parrots."

"Why? Why so many plastic parrots?"

"Please dad, just get me those plastic parrots."

So his dad walks out to the novelty store and buys him a box full of plastic parrots. But after a week, the entire box full of plastic parrots plus the box mysteriously disappear. His dad wants to ask him what"s going on, but he decided not to lest his son fails his exams.

It comes to Mark"s 15th birthday and his dad wants to get him something special.

"So son, it"s your 15th birthday, what would you like?"

"You know what I want dad."

"Not plastic parrots again. What about a bike? Or a computer? Or some computer games?"

"No dad, I just want plastic parrots. This time I want a whole room full of plastic parrots."

So his dad goes out to the novelty store and buys him a whole room full of plastic parrots. But after a month, the entire room full of plastic parrots mysteriously disappear. His dad is getting suspicious, how can a room full of plastic parrots just disappear? At this stage, he begins to lose sleep and his hair starts to fall out in frustration.

It comes to Mark"s 16th birthday and his dad goes to his room.

Upon seeing his son"s gaze he says "Not plastic parrots again son."

"Yes dad, this time I want a whole house full of plastic parrots."

"Why?"

"Please, just get them for me."

So his dad goes out to the novelty store and buys Mark a house full of plastic parrots. But after 2 months, the entire house full of plastic parrots mysteriously disappear.

It comes to Mark"s 17th birthday and his dad walks into his room.

"Ok son, you"re now 17. You"ve been having plastic parrots for the past 5 years, don"t you want something else for your birthday?"

"No dad, I want plastic parrots again, this time I want a whole warehouse full of plastic parrots."

His dad sighs and he goes out to mortgage his home and buys his son a warehouse of plastic parrots. But after 4 months, the entire warehouse full of plastic parrots mysteriously disappear. His dad is deeply dismayed, but his son was preparing for his final exams so he left his son alone.

It comes to Mark"s 18th birthday. His dad goes into his room and smiles.

"Son, you"re 18 now, you should have great ideas and dreams. What do you want for your birthday?"

"Dad, I want a whole container ship full of plastic parrots."

His dad stops smiling. "Not again, please don"t do this."

"Yes dad, please do it for me."

So his dad gets a second job, sells his assets and buys his son a container ship load of plastic parrots. But after 6 months the entire load of plastic parrots mysteriously disappear. This time, his dad had had enough. He decided he was going to find out once and for all what this thing with the plastic parrots was about. So he waited for his son to come home.

4pm

5pm

6pm and his son is still not home, and he"s getting worried. Suddenly a phone call comes, and on the other end is a solemn voice.

"Is this Mark"s dad, your son has been sent to hospital, he was in a car accident. Please come quick."

So he jumps into his car and races down to the hospital. When he arrives, he sees his son lying on a stretcher, the sheets were soaked with blood.

"Son what happened?"

"Sorry dad, I didn"t look when crossing the road, and I got hit."

"Ok son, tell me please, what is it with the plastic parrots."

"Ok dad, just get me one more."

So his dad races to the local novelty store and buys his son one plastic parrot.

His son clutches the plastic parrot in his arms, tears streaming endlessly down his cheeks.

"OK son, are you ready? Tell me, what is it with the plastic parrots?"

His son takes in a deep breath.

"Ok dad, I"ll tell you, they are..." and he dies.

我們不難發現原文只是一個沒有結局的捉弄讀者的恐怖笑話，而塑料鸚鵡的個數也是和千葉大學入學考試版本是不同的。
那麼為什麼千葉大學入學考試會將原文男孩要的1,2,一箱鸚鵡改成1,6,28隻呢？
一個比較有趣的推理是：這三個數都是完全數。什麼是完全數呢？
完全數（Perfect number），又稱完美數或完備數，是一些特殊的自然數。它所有的真因子（即除了自身以外的約數）的和（即因子函數），恰好等於它本身。如果一個數恰好等於它的因子之和，則稱該數為「完全數」。計算公式就是a(n) = 2^(n-1)*(2^n - 1), n &>= 0且要求n是梅森素數。而當我們去除梅森素數的限制將n以自然數代入的時候，就可以推出這組數列：
0, 1, 6, 28, 120, 496, 2016, 8128, 32640, 130816, 523776, 2096128, 8386560, 33550336, 134209536, 536854528, 2147450880, 8589869056, 34359607296, 137438691328, 549755289600, 2199022206976, 8796090925056, 35184367894528
而120就對應了一屋子的塑料鸚鵡，496對應了一倉庫的塑料鸚鵡。男孩死在2016這個數字到來之前大概就是暗指他沒能迎來2016年。而日本考生們入學考試是在年初，理科入學考試的出題者大概是想借用數字來暗祝大家新年快樂，希望解題者能夠答過此題，迎來嶄新的一年（男孩咽氣前索要的那一隻塑料鸚鵡大概就是暗指年數加一）。

拿去養六星塑料鸚鵡了

十幾年前我就聽過小明和三根羽毛的故事，就是個段子，和這個一模一樣……

看起來像是個段子一樣
當然一面空白牆壁都能讓人悟出一些東西，這篇文章要悟的話應該也能悟出點痱子啥的
比如可以看出，父母不要過度干涉子女的興趣愛好，雖然這種愛好可能在父母眼裡很奇怪

又可以說，塑料鸚鵡象徵著毒品，兒子開始吸毒，毒癮越來越大，後來也因為吸毒而捲入黑幫矛盾，臨死前還要吸一口，最後無法向父親交代。引申一下，塑料鸚鵡說不定可以用來藏毒，兒子參與了毒品走私，每次弄到塑料鸚鵡後就由黑幫運走拿去藏毒走私了

腦洞大開一下，兒子可以將自己的生命注入塑料鸚鵡，讓它們成為真的鸚鵡飛走，最後快沒命時還是想拯救一隻塑料鸚鵡

我覺得所有的一切都是這個父親的夢。他的兒子的死跟自己吸毒有關，所以他很自責，不願意相信。所以在夢裡（或是幻覺），兒子的死不是自己得問題，自己吸毒的誘因也成了兒子。像克里斯蒂安貝爾的《機械師》，逃避現實。

這個段子我在uc里看過，其中有一條評論是這樣的：兒子是鸚鵡幫的幫主整日帶領幫眾為地盤拼殺每死去一個人就放一隻塑料鸚鵡陪葬，兒子的拼搏使地盤越來越大，幫派越來越興，爭鬥時死去的人也越來越多，要的鸚鵡也越來越多，最後只要一個鸚鵡是因為自己要死了。當然感覺可能有更深的解釋，可我覺得這個更合適，純手打。
又在無意間看到了一個新的答案，轉載來分享給各位，侵刪

這個就是塑料鸚鵡。
鸚鵡內部是中空的，可以裝東西。鸚鵡本身並不是關鍵。
我記得以前有篇文章說007裡面每次走私一輛車，但車的構件是用黃金打造的，所以其實走私的是黃金。
原理同上。
那麼每次在這個鸚鵡裡面要放什麼才符合，數量小价值大這點呢？
反正我能想到的是鑽石和毒品。

不過好像鑽石能夠快速變現是電影里的情節，真實情況似乎是賣不掉。

so
還是毒品比較合理。

其實小男孩是個女孩，但是重男輕女的父親一直覺得她是男的……小女孩一直要塑料鸚鵡，其實就是想要假鳥！

應該是小男孩一開始只是想要一隻塑料鸚鵡玩具，後來發現中空的塑料鸚鵡可以用來走私於是一發不可收拾，後來死於幫派交火，而死前他發現自己一直想要的也只是一隻塑料鸚鵡而已。

圖侵刪

原文不是羽毛么…

莫名想起來DNF，傳奇里都有的那個傻子的故事…

黑幫開了一個賣塑料鸚鵡這種奇葩玩意的正規店來隱藏犯罪勾當，兒子誤入黑幫以後，不敢直接告訴他爹，只是多次提醒他爹去這家商店買塑料鸚鵡，希望他爹能察覺商店的異常。兒子臨死前再要一隻鸚鵡，暗示兇手在商店裡，之所以不敢明說，是怕他爹在失去理智去報仇被反殺。將來有一天他爹領悟含義後，一定會制定一個完美的復仇計劃。

快算了吧，穿山甲到底說了什麼我都還不知道，又來這個。。。