双语小说连载:《董贝父子》第三章 Part 4

And she was right. The last time he had seen his slighted child, there had been that in the sad embrace between her and her dying mother, which was at once a revelation and a reproach to him. Let him be absorbed as he would in the Son on whom he built such high hopes, he could not forget that closing scene. He could not forget that he had had no part in it. That, at the bottom of its clear depths of tenderness and truth' lay those two figures clasped in each other's arms, while he stood on the bank above them, looking down a mere spectator - not a sharer with them quite shut out.

她是对的。上次他看到被他冷落的女儿的时候，她和她垂死的母亲正悲痛地拥抱着；这对他既是揭露，又是责备。让他把全部精力都贯注在他寄托着远大希望的儿子身上吧，可是他还是不能忘记那临终一幕的情景。他不能忘记，他没有参加进去。他不能忘记，在亲热与真诚的清澈的河底，躺着那两个相互拥抱在各自怀中的人儿，而他却仅仅是个完全被排除在外的旁观者，站在她们上面的岸上向下看着，而不是她们当中的一员。

Unable to exclude these things from his remembrance, or to keep his mind free from such imperfect shapes of the meaning with which they were fraught, as were able to make themselves visible to him through the mist of his pride, his previous feeling of indifference towards little Florence changed into an uneasiness of an extraordinary kind. Young as she was, and possessing in any eyes but his (and perhaps in his too) even more than the usual amount of childish simplicity and confidence, he almost felt as if she watched and distrusted him. As if she held the clue to something secret in his breast, of the nature of which he was hardly informed himself. As if she had an innate knowledge of one jarring and discordant string within him, and her very breath could sound it.

他不能从记忆中消除这些事情，也不能从心中摆脱那些零碎不全的形象所包含的意义；他通过高傲的迷雾仍然能辨认出它们，因此他先前对小弗洛伦斯漠不关心的感情已转变成一种异乎寻常的不安。他几乎觉得，她在注意观察着他，对他不信任。仿佛她掌握着能打通他心中某种秘密的东西的线索，这种秘密的东西的性质他自己也不知道。仿佛她对他心中那条刺耳的、不和谐的琴弦有着天赋的知识，她呼一口气就能使它发出声音。

His feeling about the child had been negative from her birth. He had never conceived an aversion to her: it had not been worth his while or in his humour. She had never been a positively disagreeable object to him. But now he was ill at ease about her. She troubled his peace. He would have preferred to put her idea aside altogether, if he had known how. Perhaps who shall decide on such mysteries! - he was afraid that he might come to hate her.

从她出生起，他对这女孩子的感情就是消极的。他对她从来不曾嫌恶，这不值得他去做，而且也不是他的心意。他从来没有觉得她是个绝对讨厌的东西。可是现在他对她却感到局促不安。她搅乱了他的安宁。如果他知道怎么办的话，他真愿意把关于她的思想完全撂在一旁。也许——谁能解答这种神秘的问题呢！——他害怕他会变得恨起她来。

注释：reproach n. 责备；耻辱 vt. 责备；申斥
例句：
1. His reply sounded to her like a reproach.
他的回答在她听来像是责备。
2. This reproach is unjustified.
这种非难似乎是不公正的。

When little Florence timidly presented herself, Mr Dombey stopped in his pacing up and down and looked towards her. Had he looked with greater interest and with a father's eye, he might have read in her keen glance the impulses and fears that made her waver; the passionate desire to run clinging to him, crying, as she hid her face in his embrace, 'Oh father, try to love me! there's no one else!' the dread of a repulse; the fear of being too bold, and of offending him; the pitiable need in which she stood of some assurance and encouragement; and how her overcharged young heart was wandering to find some natural resting-place, for its sorrow and affection.
But he saw nothing of this. He saw her pause irresolutely at the door and look towards him; and he saw no more.
'Come in,' he said, 'come in: what is the child afraid of?'

当小弗洛伦斯提心吊胆地走进来的时候，董贝先生停止来回踱步，向她看着。如果他怀着更大的兴趣，并且用父亲的眼睛来看的话，他可能会从她那敏锐的眼光中看出使她心神慌乱的激动与恐惧，看出她热烈地盼望能跑去抱住他，把脸藏在他的怀抱中，喊道，“啊，爸爸，设法爱我吧，我没有别的亲人了！”，看出她站在那里可怜巴巴地需要得到某种保证与鼓励；看出她那负担过重的年幼的心正在彷徨，想为它的悲痛与深情寻找一个天然的安息的场所。
可是这些他什么也没有看到。他只看到她犹豫不决地停在门口，向他望着；他没有看到别的了。
“进来吧，”他说道，“进来吧。这孩子怕什么？

She came in; and after glancing round her for a moment with an uncertain air, stood pressing her small hands hard together, close within the door.
'Come here, Florence,' said her father, coldly. 'Do you know who I am?'
'Yes, Papa.'
'Have you nothing to say to me?'
The tears that stood in her eyes as she raised them quickly to his face, were frozen by the expression it wore. She looked down again, and put out her trembling hand.
Mr Dombey took it loosely in his own, and stood looking down upon her for a moment, as if he knew as little as the child, what to say or do.

她走进去了；在露出半信半疑的神态向四周环视了一会儿之后，她把小手紧紧地握在一起，紧挨在门口。
“到这里来，弗洛伦斯，”她的父亲冷冰冰地说道，“你知道我是谁吗？”
“知道，爸爸。”
“你没有什么话要对我说吗？”
当她迅速抬起眼睛望着他的脸的时候，那张脸上表露出的神情使她眼中噙着的泪水凝结了。她又低下眼睛，伸出了哆嗦的手。
董贝先生把它松松地握在自己手里，站在那里，眼睛向下对她看了一会儿，仿佛他和这女孩子一样，不知道该说什么和做什么似的。

注释：trembling 1. n. 发抖；战栗；担心
2. adj. 发抖的；战栗的；哆嗦的
3. v. 颤抖（tremble的ing形式）；战悚
例句：
1. On hearing the news all of them were trembling with fear.
听到消息他们无不战战兢兢。
2. He argued, his voice trembling with anger.
他争论着，他的声音由于生气而颤抖。

There! Be a good girl,' he said, patting her on the head, and regarding her as it were by stealth with a disturbed and doubtful look. 'Go to Richards! Go!'
His little daughter hesitated for another instant as though she would have clung about him still, or had some lingering hope that he might raise her in his arms and kiss her. She looked up in his face once more. He thought how like her expression was then, to what it had been when she looked round at the Doctor - that night - and instinctively dropped her hand and turned away.

“好吧！做一个好孩子！”他抚摸她的头，好像偷偷地用烦乱不安与疑惑不定的眼光望着她，说道，“到理查兹那里去吧！去吧！”
他的小女儿又迟疑了片刻，仿佛她还想偎依在他的身边或者还怀着一线希望：他会把她举起来，抱到他的怀中，并亲亲她。她又一次抬起眼睛望着他的脸孔。他想，她现在的表情跟她那天夜里环视四周，最后望着医生时的表情是多么相像啊，于是他就本能地放下她的手，走开了。

It was not difficult to perceive that Florence was at a great disadvantage in her father's presence. It was not only a constraint upon the child's mind, but even upon the natural grace and freedom of her actions. As she sported and played about her baby brother that night, her manner was seldom so winning and so pretty as it naturally was, and sometimes when in his pacing to and fro, he came near her (she had, perhaps, for the moment, forgotten him) it changed upon the instant and became forced and l, Polly persevered with all the better heart for seeing this; and, judging of Mr Dombey by herself, had great confidence in the mute appeal of poor little Florence's mourning dress.' It's hard indeed,' thought Polly, 'if he takes only to one little motherless child, when he has another, and that a girl, before his eyes.'

不难察觉，弗洛伦斯在她父亲面前处于极为不利的地位。它不仅使孩子在心理上感到拘束，而且也使她不能举止自然、优美和行动自由。波利看到这种情景，但仍然保持勇气，没有气馁；根据她自己对董贝先生的判断，她对可怜的小弗洛伦斯的丧服所发出的默默的呼吁寄托着很大的希望。“如果他只爱一个失去母亲的孩子，而另一个失去母亲的孩子就在他的眼前，那真是太残酷了，”波利想道。

So, Polly kept her before his eyes, as long as she could, and managed so well with little Paul, as to make it very plain that he was all the livelier for his sister's company. When it was time to withdraw upstairs again, she would have sent Florence into the inner room to say good night to her father, but the child was timid and drew back; and when she urged her again, said, spreading her hands before her eyes, as if to shut out her own unworthiness , 'Oh no, no! He don't want me. He don't want me!'The little altercation between them had attracted the notice of Mr Dombey, who inquired from the table where he was sitting at his wine, what the matter was.
'Miss Florence was afraid of interrupting, Sir, if she came in to say good-night,' said Richards.

所以，波利就在他的眼前把她尽量留得长久一些，又把小保罗照管得很好，这样显然可以看出，他在他姐姐的陪伴下，更加活泼了。到了需要重新回到楼上去的时候，她本想送弗洛伦斯到里面的房间去向她的父亲说声晚安，但这女孩子胆怯，退回来了；当波利又催促她去的时候，她伸开手掌捂住眼睛，仿佛要把自己微贱的形象给遮盖掉似的，“啊，不，不！他不需要我！他不需要我！”
注释：perceive vt. 察觉，感觉；理解；认知 vi. 感到，感知；认识到
例句：
1. I can't perceive any difference between these coins.
我看不出这些硬币有什么差别。
2. At first I couldn't perceive what he meant.
起先我不理解他说的意思。

'It doesn't matter,' returned Mr Dombey. 'You can let her come and go without regarding me.'
The child shrunk as she listened - and was gone, before her humble friend looked round again.
However, Polly triumphed not a little in the success of her well-intentioned scheme, and in the address with which she had brought it to bear: whereof she made a full disclosure to Spitfire when she was once more safely entrenched upstairs. Miss Nipper received that proof of her confidence, as well as the prospect of their free association for the future, rather coldly, and was anything but enthusiastic in her demonstrations of joy.

她们之间发生的小争吵引起了董贝先生的注意；他正坐在桌旁喝酒，就问道，发生了什么事。
“弗洛伦斯小姐怕她进来跟您说晚安会打扰您，先生。”
“这没有关系，”董贝先生回答道。“您可以让她来来去去，不用管我。”
女孩子听了这话畏缩了，并且在她身份低下的朋友回过头来之前就离开了。
不管怎么说，波利由于成功地想出了这善意的计策，而且又十分灵巧地实现了它，所以感到十分得意，因此当她又平安地在楼上安下身来的时候，她就立即把这些情况详详细细地透露给喷火器听了。这样做，表明波利对尼珀姑娘表示信任，可是尼珀姑娘对于这一点，以及对她们今后可以自由交往的前景却反应相当冷淡。她丝毫也不热情地表示高兴。

'I thought you would have been pleased,' said Polly.
'Oh yes, Mrs Richards, I'm very well pleased, thank you,' returned Susan, who had suddenly become so very upright that she seemed to have put an additional bone in her stays.
'You don't show it,' said Polly.
'Oh! Being only a permanency I couldn't be expected to show it like a temporary,' said Susan Nipper. 'Temporaries carries it all before 'em here, I find, but though there's a excellent party-wall between this house and the next, I mayn't exactly like to go to it, Mrs Richards, notwithstanding!'

“我还以为您会高兴的呢，”波利说道。
“啊，不错，理查兹大嫂，我非常高兴，谢谢您，”苏珊回答道；她身子忽然挺得笔直，好像有另一根骨头插进她的胸衣中似的。
“您没有把您的高兴表现出来，”波利说。
“啊！我只不过是一位在这里干长期活的人，不可能指望我像一位在这里干临时活的人表现得那么高兴，”苏珊•尼珀说道。“我发现，干临时活的人在这里总是占上风。不过虽然这座房屋跟隔壁的房屋之间有一道非常漂亮的界墙，可是我可能还是不愿意到那座房屋里去，理查兹大嫂。”

注释：uprightadj. 正直的，诚实的；垂直的，直立的；笔直的；合乎正道的 n. 垂直；竖立
例句：
1. The ball bounced off the left upright of the goal.
球碰到左侧球门柱後弹开。
2. An empty sack cannot stand upright.
[谚]空袋子，立不直。