評論
打印
How much I wished to reply fully to this question!
我多么希望能原原本本回答這個問題！
How difficult it was to frame any answer!
要作出回答又何其困難！
Children can feel, but they cannot analyse their feelings.
孩子們能夠感覺，但無法分析自己的情感。
And if the analysis is partially effected in thought, they know not how to express the result of the process in words.
即使部分分折能夠意會，分析的過程也難以言傳。
Fearful, however, of losing this first and only opportunity of relieving my grief by imparting it,
但是我又擔心失去這第一次也是唯一一次吐苦水的機會。
I, after a disturbed pause, contrived to frame a meagre, though, as far as it went, true response.
所以局促不安地停了一停之后，便琢磨出一個雖不詳盡卻相當真實的回答。
"For one thing, I have no father or mother, brothers or sisters."
"一方面是因為我沒有父母，沒有兄弟姐妹的緣故。"
"You have a kind aunt and cousins."
"可是你有一位和藹可親的舅母，還有表兄妹們。"
Again I paused. Then bunglingly enounced: "But John Reed knocked me down, and my aunt shut me up in the red-room."
我又頓了頓，隨后便笨嘴笨舌地說："可是約翰·里德把我打倒了，而舅媽又把我關在紅房子里。"
Mr. Lloyd a second time produced his snuff-box.
勞埃德先生再次掏出了鼻煙盒。
"Don't you think Gateshead Hall a very beautiful house?" asked he.
"你不覺得蓋茨黑德府是座漂亮的房子嗎？"他問。
"Are you not very thankful to have such a fine place to live at?"
"讓你住那么好一個地方，你難道不感激？"
"It is not my house, sir, and Abbot says I have less right to be here than a servant."
"這又不是我的房子，先生。艾博特還說我比這兒的傭人還不如呢。"
"Pooh! You can't be silly enough to wish to leave such a splendid place?"
"去！你總不至于傻得想離開這個好地方吧。"
"If I had anywhere else to go, I should be glad to leave it, but I can never get away from Gateshead till I am a woman."
"要是我有地方去，我是樂意走的。可是不等到長大成人我休想擺脫蓋茨黑德。"
"Perhaps you may. Who knows? Have you any relations besides Mrs. Reed?"
"也許可以——誰知道？除了里德太太，你還有別的親戚嗎？"
"I think not, sir."
"我想沒有了，先生。"
"None belonging to your father?"
"你父親那頭也沒有了嗎？"
"I don't know. I asked Aunt Reed once, and she said possibly I might have some poor, low relations called Eyre, but she knew nothing about them."
"我不知道，有一回我問過舅媽，她說可能有些姓愛的親戚，人又窮，地位又低，她對他們的情況一無所知。"
"If you had such, would you like to go to them?"
"要是有這樣的親戚，你愿意去嗎？"
I reflected. Poverty looks grim to grown people; still more so to children.
我陷入了沉思，在成年人看來貧困顯得冷酷無情，孩子則尤其如此。
They have not much idea of industrious, working, respectable poverty.
至于勤勞刻苦、令人欽敬的貧困，孩子們不甚了了。
They think of the word only as connected with ragged clothes, scanty food, fireless grates, rude manners, and debasing vices.
在他們心目中，這個字眼始終與衣衫檻襤褸、食品匿乏、壁爐無火、行為粗魯以及低賤的惡習聯系在一起。
Poverty for me was synonymous with degradation.
對我來說，貧困就是墮落的別名。
"No. I should not like to belong to poor people," was my reply.
"不，我不愿與窮人為伍，"這就是我的回答。
"Not even if they were kind to you?"
"即使他們待你很好也不愿意？"
