《简·爱》 Chapter 11 第十一章（7）

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Traversing the long and matted gallery, I descended¹ the slippery steps of oak. Then I gained the hall.

我走过铺着地席的长廊，走下打滑的橡树楼梯，来到了大厅。

I halted there a minute.

我站了一会儿。

I looked at some pictures on the walls

看着墙上的几幅画

one, I remember, represented a grim man in a cuirass, and one a lady with powdered hair and a pearl necklace,

记得其中一幅画的是一个穿看护胸铁甲十分威严的男子，另一幅是一个头发上搽了粉戴着珍珠项链的贵妇，

at a bronze lamp pendent from the ceiling,

看着从天花板上垂下来的青铜灯；

at a great clock whose case was of oak curiously² carved, and ebon black with time and rubbing.

看着一个大钟，钟壳是由雕刻得稀奇古怪的橡木做的，因为年长月久和不断地擦拭，变得乌黑发亮了。

Everything appeared very stately and imposing³ to me, but then I was so little accustomed to grandeur⁴.

对我来说一切都显得那样庄严肃穆、富丽堂皇。那时我不大习惯于这种豪华。

The hall-door, which was half of glass, stood open.

一扇镶着玻璃的大厅门敞开着。

I stepped over the threshold.

我越过了门槛。

It was a fine autumn morning.

这是一个晴朗的秋天早晨。

The early sun shone serenely⁵ on embrowned groves⁶ and still green fields.

朝阳宁静地照耀着透出黄褐色的树丛和宁静的绿色田野。

Advancing on to the lawn, I looked up and surveyed the front of the mansion⁷.

我往前来到了草坪上，抬头细看这大厦的正面。

It was three storeys high, of proportions not vast, though considerable.

这是幢三层楼屋宇，虽然有相当规模，但按比例并不觉得宏大。

A gentleman's manor-house, not a nobleman's seat.

是一座绅士的住宅，而不是贵族的府第。

Battlements round the top gave it a picturesque⁸ look.

围绕着顶端的城垛，使整座建筑显得很别致。

Its grey front stood out well from the background of a rookery, whose cawing tenants⁹ were now on the wing.

灰色的正面正好被后面一个白嘴鸦的巢穴映衬着，显得很凸出，它的居住者正在边房呱呱叫个不停。

They flew over the lawn and grounds to alight in a great meadow, from which these were separated by a sunk fence,

它们飞越草坪和庭园，落到一块大草地上。一道矮篱把草地和庭园分开。

and where an array of mighty¹⁰ old thorn trees, strong, knotty¹¹,

草地上长着一排排巨大的老荆棘树丛，强劲多节，

and broad as oaks, at once explained the etymology¹² of the mansion's designation.

大如橡树，一下子说明屋宇名称字源意义的由来。

Farther off were hills.

更远的地方是小山。

Not so lofty as those round Lowood, nor so craggy, nor so like barriers of separation from the living world.

不像罗沃德四周的山那么高耸，那么峻峭，也不像它们那么是一道与世隔绝的屏障。

But yet quiet and lonely hills enough,

但这些山十分幽静，

and seeming to embrace Thornfield with a seclusion¹³ I had not expected to find existent so near the stirring locality of Millcote.

拥抱着桑菲尔德，给它带来了一种我不曾料到在闹闹嚷嚷的米尔科特地区会有的清静。

A little hamlet, whose roofs were blent with trees, straggled up the side of one of these hills.

一个小村庄零零落落地分布在一座小山的一侧，屋顶与树木融为一体。

The church of the district stood nearer Thornfield.

地区教堂坐落在桑菲尔德附近。

Its old tower-top looked over a knoll¹⁴ between the house and gates.

它古老的钟楼俯视着房子与大门之间的土墩。

I was yet enjoying the calm prospect¹⁵ and pleasant fresh air,

我欣赏着这番宁静的景象和诱人的新鲜空气，

yet listening with delight to the cawing of the rooks,

愉快地倾听着白嘴鸦的呱呱叫声，

yet surveying the wide, hoary¹⁶ front of the hall,

细细打量着这所庄园宽阔灰白的正面，

and thinking what a great place it was for one lonely little dame¹⁷ like Mrs. Fairfax to inhabit,

心里琢磨着，偌大一个地方，居然只住着像费尔法犯斯太太这样一位孤单矮小的贵妇人。

when that lady appeared at the door.

就在这时，这位妇人出现在门边了。

"What! out already?" said she. "I see you are an early riser."

“怎么，已经起来了？”她说，“我看你是个喜欢早起的人。”

I went up to her, and was received with an affable kiss and shake of the hand.

我向她走去，她慈祥地吻了吻我，并同我握了下手。

"How do you like Thornfield?" she asked.

“你认为桑菲尔德怎么样？”她问。

I told her I liked it very much.

我告诉她很喜欢。

"Yes," she said, it is a pretty place, but I fear it will be getting out of order,

“是呀，”她说，是个漂亮的地方。但我担心慢慢地会败落，

unless Mr. Rochester should take it into his head to come and reside here permanently¹⁸,

除非罗切斯特先生想着要来，并永久居住在这儿，

or, at least, visit it rather oftener.

或者至少常来看看。

Great houses and fine grounds require the presence of the proprietor¹⁹.

大住宅和好庭园需要主人经常光顾才是。

"Mr. Rochester!" I exclaimed. "Who is he?"

“罗切斯特先生！”我嚷道，“他是谁？”

"The owner of Thornfield," she responded quietly. "Did you not know he was called Rochester?"

“桑菲尔德的主人，”她平静地回答，“你不知道他叫罗切斯特吗？”

Of course I did not — I had never heard of him before.

我当然不知道，我以前从来没有听说过他。

But the old lady seemed to regard his existence as a universally understood fact,

但这位老妇人似乎把他的存在，看作尽人皆知的事实，

with which everybody must be acquainted by instinct.

人人都仅凭直感就清楚的。

"I thought," I continued, "Thornfield belonged to you."

“我还以为，”我继续说，“桑菲尔德是你的呢。”

To me? Bless you, child; what an idea! To me! I am only the housekeeper²⁰ — the manager.

我的？哎哟，我的孩子！多古怪的想法！我的？我不过是个管家 — 管理人。

To be sure I am distantly related to the Rochesters by the mother's side, or at least my husband was.

确实，从母亲份上说，我是罗切斯特家的远亲，或者至少我丈夫是这样。

1 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

3 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

4 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

5 serenely   

adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地

参考例句：

• The boat sailed serenely on towards the horizon.小船平稳地向着天水交接处驶去。
• It was a serenely beautiful night.那是一个宁静美丽的夜晚。

6 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

7 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

8 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

9 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

10 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

11 knotty   

adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的

参考例句：

• Under his leadership,many knotty problems were smoothly solved.在他的领导下，许多伤脑筋的问题都迎刃而解。
• She met with a lot of knotty problems.她碰上了许多棘手的问题。

12 etymology   

n.语源；字源学

参考例句：

• The hippies' etymology is contentious.关于嬉皮士的语源是有争议的。
• The origin of OK became the Holy Grail of etymology.OK的出典成了词源学梦寐以求的圣杯。

13 seclusion   

n.隐遁，隔离

参考例句：

• She liked to sunbathe in the seclusion of her own garden.她喜欢在自己僻静的花园里晒日光浴。
• I live very much in seclusion these days.这些天我过着几乎与世隔绝的生活。

14 knoll   

n.小山，小丘

参考例句：

• Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll.对于希尔弗来说，爬上那小山丘真不是件容易事。
• He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect.他慢腾腾地登上一个小丘，看了看周围的地形。

15 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

16 hoary   

adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的

参考例句：

• They discussed the hoary old problem.他们讨论老问题。
• Without a word spoken,he hurried away,with his hoary head bending low.他什么也没说，低着白发苍苍的头，匆匆地走了。

17 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

18 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

19 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

20 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。