《简·爱》 Chapter 14 第十四章（9）

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I started, or rather (for like other defaulters, I like to lay half the blame on ill fortune and adverse¹ circumstances)

我开始，或者不如说（因为像其他有过失的人一样，我总爱把一半的罪责推给厄运和逆境）

was thrust on to a wrong tack² at the age of one-and-twenty, and have never recovered the right course since.

在我二十一岁时我被抛入歧途，而且从此之后，再也没有回到正道上。

But I might have been very different.

要不然我也许会大不相同。

I might have been as good as you — wiser — almost as stainless³.

也许会像你一样好 — 更聪明些 — 几乎一样洁白无瑕。

I envy you your peace of mind, your clean conscience, your unpolluted memory.

我羡慕你平静的心境，清白的良心、纯洁的记忆。

Little girl, a memory without blot⁴ or contamination must be an exquisite⁵ treasure

小姑娘，没有污点未经感染的记忆必定是一大珍宝，

an inexhaustible source of pure refreshment⁶. Is it not?

是身心愉快的永不枯竭的源泉，是不是？

How was your memory when you were eighteen, sir?

你十八岁时的记忆怎么样，先生？

All right then; limpid⁷, salubrious.

那时很好，无忧无虑，十分健康。

No gush⁸ of bilge water had turned it to fetid puddle⁹.

没有滚滚污水把它变成臭水潭。

I was your equal at eighteen — quite your equal.

十八岁时我同你不相上下 — 完全加此。

Nature meant me to be, on the whole, a good man, Miss Eyre.

总的说来，大自然有意让我做个好人，爱小姐。

One of the better kind, and you see I am not so.

较好的一类人中的一个，而你看到了，现在我却变了样。

You would say you don't see it.

你会说，你并没有看到。

At least I flatter myself I read as much in your eye

至少我自以为从你的眼睛里看到了这层意思

(beware, by-the-bye, what you express with that organ. I am quick at interpreting its language) .

（顺便提一句，你要注意那个器官流露出来的感情，我可是很善于察言观色的）。

Then take my word for it, — I am not a villain¹⁰.

那么相信我的话 — 我不是一个恶棍。

You are not to suppose that — not to attribute to me any such bad eminence¹¹.

你不要那么猜想——不要把这些恶名加给我。

But, owing, I verily believe, rather to circumstances than to my natural bent¹²,

不过我确实相信，由于环境而不是天性的缘故，

I am a trite¹³ commonplace sinner, hackneyed in all the poor petty dissipations with which the rich and worthless try to put on life.

我成了一个普普通通的罪人，表现在种种可怜的小小放荡上，富裕而无用的人都想以这种放荡来点缀人生。

Do you wonder that I avow¹⁴ this to you?

我向你坦露自己的心迹，你觉得奇怪吗？

Know, that in the course of your future life

你要知道，在你未来的人生道路上，

you will often find yourself elected the involuntary confidant of your acquaintances' secrets.

你常常会发现不由自主地被当作知己，去倾听你熟人的隐秘。

People will instinctively¹⁵ find out, as I have done,

人们像我那样凭直觉就能感到，

that it is not your forte¹⁶ to tell of yourself, but to listen while others talk of themselves.

你的高明之处不在于谈论你自己，而在于倾听别人谈论他们自己。

They will feel, too, that you listen with no malevolent¹⁷ scorn of their indiscretion, but with a kind of innate¹⁸ sympathy.

他们也会感到，你听的时候，并没有因为别人行为不端而露出不怀好意的蔑视，而是怀着一种发自内心的同情。

Not the less comforting and encouraging because it is very unobtrusive in its manifestations¹⁹.

这种同情给人以抚慰和鼓舞、因为它是不动声色地流露出来的。

How do you know? How can you guess all this, sir?

你怎么知道的？这种种情况，你怎么猜到的呢，先生？

I know it well, therefore I proceed almost as freely as if I were writing my thoughts in a diary.

我知道得清清楚楚，因此我谈起来无拘无束，几乎就像把我的思想写在日记中一样。

You would say, I should have been superior to circumstances, so I should — so I should. But you see I was not.

你会说，我本应当战胜环境，确实应当这样 — 确实应当这样。不过你看到了，我没有战胜环境。

1 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

2 tack   

n.大头钉；假缝，粗缝

参考例句：

• He is hammering a tack into the wall to hang a picture.他正往墙上钉一枚平头钉用来挂画。
• We are going to tack the map on the wall.我们打算把这张地图钉在墙上。

3 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

4 blot   

vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍

参考例句：

• That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
• The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

5 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

6 refreshment   

n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点

参考例句：

• He needs to stop fairly often for refreshment.他须时不时地停下来喘口气。
• A hot bath is a great refreshment after a day's work.在一天工作之后洗个热水澡真是舒畅。

7 limpid   

adj.清澈的，透明的

参考例句：

• He has a pair of limpid blue eyes.他有一双清澈的蓝眼睛。
• The sky was a limpid blue,as if swept clean of everything.碧空如洗。

8 gush   

v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发

参考例句：

• There was a gush of blood from the wound.血从伤口流出。
• There was a gush of blood as the arrow was pulled out from the arm.当从手臂上拔出箭来时，一股鲜血涌了出来。

9 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

10 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

11 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

12 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

13 trite   

adj.陈腐的

参考例句：

• The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.这部电影充斥着平铺直叙的陈腐观点。
• Yesterday,in the restaurant,Lorraine had seemed trite,blurred,worn away.昨天在饭店里，洛兰显得庸俗、堕落、衰老了。

14 avow   

v.承认，公开宣称

参考例句：

• I must avow that I am innocent.我要公开声明我是无罪的。
• The senator was forced to avow openly that he had received some money from that company.那个参议员被迫承认曾经收过那家公司的一些钱。

15 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 forte   

n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的

参考例句：

• Her forte is playing the piano.她擅长弹钢琴。
• His forte is to show people around in the company.他最拿手的就是向大家介绍公司。

17 malevolent   

adj.有恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Why are they so malevolent to me?他们为什么对我如此恶毒？
• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。

18 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

19 manifestations   

n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》