評(píng)論
打印
I shook my head.
我搖了搖頭。
I could not see how poor people had the means of being kind.
不明白窮人怎么會(huì)有條件對(duì)人仁慈。
And then to learn to speak like them, to adopt their manners, to be uneducated,
更不說我還得學(xué)他們的言談舉止，同他們一樣沒有文化，
to grow up like one of the poor women I saw sometimes nursing their children or washing their clothes at the cottage doors of the village of Gateshead.
長(zhǎng)大了像有時(shí)見到的那種貧苦女人一樣，坐在蓋茨黑德府茅屋門口，奶孩子或者搓洗衣服。
No, I was not heroic enough to purchase liberty at the price of caste.
不，我可沒有那樣英雄氣概，寧愿拋卻身份來?yè)Q取自由。
"But are your relatives so very poor? Are they working people?"
“但是你的親戚就那么窮，都是靠干活過日子的么？”
"I cannot tell. Aunt Reed says if I have any, they must be a beggarly set. I should not like to go a begging."
“我說不上來。里德舅媽說，要是我有親戚，也準(zhǔn)是一群要飯的，我可不愿去要飯。”
"Would you like to go to school?"
“你想上學(xué)嗎？”
Again I reflected. I scarcely knew what school was.
我再次沉思起來。我?guī)缀醪恢缹W(xué)校是什么樣子。
Bessie sometimes spoke of it as a place where young ladies sat in the stocks, wore backboards, and were expected to be exceedingly genteel and precise.
光聽貝茜有時(shí)說起過，那個(gè)地方，年輕女子帶足枷坐著，戴著脊骨矯正板，還非得要十分文雅和規(guī)矩才行。
John Reed hated his school, and abused his master, but John Reed’s tastes were no rule for mine.
約翰·里德對(duì)學(xué)校恨之入骨，還大罵教師。不過他的感受不足為憑。
And if Bessie ‘s accounts of school-discipline (gathered from the young ladies of a family where she had lived before coming to Gateshead) were somewhat appalling,
如果貝茜關(guān)于校紀(jì)的說法（她來蓋茨黑德之前，從她主人家一些年輕小姐那兒收集來的）有些駭人聽聞，
her details of certain accomplishments attained by these same young ladies were, I thought, equally attractive.
那么她細(xì)說的關(guān)于那些小姐所學(xué)得的才藝，我想也同樣令人神往。
She boasted of beautiful paintings of landscapes and flowers by them executed,
她繪聲繪色地談起了她們制作的風(fēng)景畫和花卉畫，
of songs they could sing and pieces they could play,
談起了她們能唱的歌，能彈的曲，
of purses they could net, of French books they could translate, till my spirit was moved to emulation as I listened.
能編織的錢包，能翻譯的法文書，一直談得我聽著聽著就為之心動(dòng)，躍躍欲試。
Besides, school would be a complete change.
更何況上學(xué)也是徹底變換環(huán)境。
It implied a long journey, an entire separation from Gateshead, an entrance into a new life.
更何況上學(xué)也是徹底變換環(huán)境，意味著一次遠(yuǎn)行，意味著同蓋茨黑德完全決裂，意味著踏上新的生活旅程。
"I should indeed like to go to school," was the audible conclusion of my musings.
“我真的愿意去上學(xué)，”這是我三思之后輕聲說出的結(jié)論。
"Well, well! who knows what may happen?" said Mr. Lloyd, as he got up.
“唉，唉，誰知道會(huì)發(fā)生什么呢？”勞埃德先生立起身來說。
"The child ought to have change of air and scene," he added, speaking to himself. "Nerves not in a good state."
“這孩子應(yīng)當(dāng)換換空氣，換換地方，”他自言自語(yǔ)地補(bǔ)充說，“神經(jīng)不很好。”
Bessie now returned. At the same moment the carriage was heard rolling up the gravel-walk.
這時(shí)，貝茜回來了，同時(shí)聽得見砂石路上響起了滾滾而來的馬車聲。
"Is that your mistress, nurse?" asked Mr. Lloyd.
“是你們太太嗎，保姆？”勞埃德先生問道。
"I should like to speak to her before I go."
“走之前我得跟她談一談。”
Bessie invited him to walk into the breakfast-room, and led the way out.
貝茜請(qǐng)他進(jìn)早餐室，并且領(lǐng)了路。
