《简·爱》 Chapter 12 第十二章（3）

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It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity¹.

说人类应当满足于平静的生活，是徒劳无益的。

they must have action, and they will make it if they cannot find it.

他们应当有行动，而且要是他们没有办法找到，那就自己来创造。

Millions are condemned³ to a stiller doom⁴ than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot.

成千上万的人命里注定要承受比我更沉寂的灭亡；而成千上万的人在默默地反抗他们的命运。

Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment⁵ in the masses of life which people earth.

没有人知道除了政治反抗之外，有多少反抗在人世间芸芸众生中酝酿着。

Women are supposed to be very calm generally, but women feel just as men feel;

一般都认为女人应当平平静静，但女人跟男人有一样的感觉。

They need exercise for their faculties⁶, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do;

她们需要发挥自己的才能，而且也像兄弟们一样需要有用武之地。

They suffer from too rigid⁷ a restraint, too absolute a stagnation⁸, precisely⁹ as men would suffer.

她们对严厉的束缚，绝对的停滞，都跟男人一样感到痛苦，比她们更享有特权的同类们。

And it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that

只有心胸狭窄者才会说，

they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering¹⁰ bags.

女人们应当只做做布丁，织织长袜，弹弹钢，绣绣布包。

It is thoughtless to condemn² them, or laugh at them,

要是她们希望超越世俗认定的女性所应守的规范，

if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.

做更多的事情，学更多的东西，那么为此去谴责或讥笑她们未是轻率的。

When thus alone, I not unfrequently heard Grace Poole's laugh.

我这么独自一人时，常常听到格雷斯.普尔的笑声，

the same peal¹¹, the same low, slow ha! ha! which, when first heard, had thrilled me.

同样的一阵大笑，同样的低沉、迟缓的哈哈声，初次听来，令人毛骨悚然。

I heard, too, her eccentric murmurs¹²; stranger than her laugh.

我也曾听到过她怪异的低语声，比她的笑声还古怪。

There were days when she was quite silent, but there were others when I could not account for the sounds she made.

有些日子她十分安静，但另一些日子她会发出令人费解的声音。

Sometimes I saw her:

有时我看到了她。

She would come out of her room with a basin, or a plate, or a tray in her hand,

她会从房间里出来，手里拿着一个脸盆，或者一个盘子，或者一个托盘，

go down to the kitchen and shortly return, generally (oh, romantic reader, forgive me for telling the plain truth!) bearing a pot of porter.

下楼到厨房去，并很快就返回，一般说来（唉，浪漫的读者，请恕我直言！）拿着一罐黑啤酒。

Her appearance always acted as a damper to the curiosity raised by her oral oddities.

她的外表常常会消除她口头的怪癖所引起的好奇。

Hard-featured and staid, she had no point to which interest could attach.

她一脸凶相，表情严肃，没有一点使人感兴趣的地方。

I made some attempts to draw her into conversation, but she seemed a person of few words.

我几次想使她开口，但她似乎是个少言寡语的人。

A monosyllabic reply usually cut short every effort of that sort.

回答往往只有一两个字，终于使我意兴全无了。

The other members of the household, viz. , John and his wife,

府上的其他成员，如约翰夫妇，

Leah the housemaid, and Sophie the French nurse, were decent people, but in no respect remarkable¹³;

女佣莉娅和法国保姆索菲娅都是正派人，但决非杰出之辈。

With Sophie I used to talk French, and sometimes I asked her questions about her native country,

我同索菲娅常说法语，

but she was not of a descriptive or narrative¹⁴ turn,

有时也问她些关于她故国的问题，

and generally gave such vapid¹⁵ and confused answers as were calculated rather to check than encourage inquiry¹⁶.

但她没有描绘或叙述的才能，一般听作的回答既乏味又混乱，仿佛有意阻止而不是鼓励我继续发问。

1 tranquillity   

n. 平静, 安静

参考例句：

• The phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that his philosophical tranquillity vanished. 这个令人惶惑不安的现象，扰乱了他的旷达宁静的心境。
• My value for domestic tranquillity should much exceed theirs. 我应该远比他们重视家庭的平静生活。

2 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

3 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

4 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

5 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

6 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

8 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。

9 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

10 embroidering   

v.（在织物上）绣花( embroider的现在分词 )；刺绣；对…加以渲染（或修饰）；给…添枝加叶

参考例句：

• He always had a way of embroidering. 他总爱添油加醋。 来自辞典例句
• Zhao Junxin learned the craft of embroidering from his grandmother. 赵俊信从奶奶那里学到了刺绣的手艺。 来自互联网

11 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。

12 murmurs   

n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕

参考例句：

• They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
• They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句

13 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

14 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

15 vapid   

adj.无味的；无生气的

参考例句：

• She made a vapid comment about the weather.她对天气作了一番平淡无奇的评论。
• He did the same thing year by year and found life vapid.他每年做着同样的事，觉得生活索然无味。

16 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。