有声名著之简爱Jene Eyer Chapter6

　　CHAPTER SIX Life at Lowood Continues
As spring came and the days grew warmer, life at Lowood no longer seemed so hard. We enjoyed walking and playing outside, under a blue sky. But the warm weather also brought sickness to our area. By May, more than half the girls were seriously ill. Because of the poor food and bad living conditions, many girls died.
There was fear and death inside the school, but outside the sun shone on the flowers and on the little streams of water flowing through the valleys. Fortunately, a few of the girls and I did not get sick. We enjoyed the beautiful summer weather, with no lessons or rules to follow at all!
Sadly, Helen Burns could not come outside with me, because she had tuberculosis¹ . when I learned² how sick she was, I decided³ to visit her. I found her lying in bed, looking pale and weak.
“You have come to say goodbye,” she whispered⁴, coughing. “You are just in time. I ‘m going soon.”
“Where, Helen? Are you gong home?” I asked.
“Yes, to my long home--- my last home.”
“No, no, Helen!” I was crying at the thought of losing her.
“Jane, your feet are cold. Lie down with me and cover them with my blanket.” I did so.
“Don’t worry about me, Jane. I am happy,” she continued. “Please don’t cry. If I die young, I won’t suffer. I am going to Heaven.”
“Is Heaven a real place?” I asked.
“Yes, Jane , I’m sure of it. Our souls go there when we die,” she answered firmly.
“Will I see you again. Helen, when I die?”
“Yes, you will go to heaven too, Jane.”
I could not quite believe that Heaven existed, and I held tightly⁵ to Helen. I did not want to let her go; I was afraid that she would die that minute. We kissed goodnight and fell asleep. In the morning Miss Temple found me asleep with Helen Burns dead in my arms. She was buried in a pretty place near a church.
Gradually⁶ the sickness left Lowood. I soon discovered that often, there were good sides to all the sad troubles in life. Because so many girls had died, other people learned of the terrible conditions at the school. Immediately, money was raised to build a new school in a better place, and many improvements⁷ were made. We had warm clothes, softer beds, and good food to eat. The best part was, Mr. Brocklehurst left the school! So Lowood became a truly good place for a girl to get an education. I stayed for eight years, and for the last two years I was a teacher. All that time I was happy, and my dear friend Miss Temple helped me greatly.
But when Miss Temple married and moved away, I decided it was time to change my life too. I had been at Lowood for many years, and I wanted to find new activities. I decided to find a job as a governess. Soon I received an answer from a woman named Mrs. Fairfax. She wanted a governess for a little girl about eight years old. The school gave me permission to go, so I accepted the job. Soon, I thought, I would have a new life. What would it be like?

1 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 whispered   

adj.耳语的，低语的v.低声说( whisper的过去式和过去分词 )；私语；小声说；私下说

参考例句：

• She sidled up to me and whispered something in my ear. 她悄悄走上前来，对我耳语了几句。
• His ill luck has been whispered about the neighborhood. 他的不幸遭遇已在邻居中传开。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

6 gradually   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• The roaring sea gradually calmed down.咆哮的大海逐渐平静下来。
• Gradually he became silent.渐渐地他变得沉默寡言了。

7 improvements   

增加或修改( improvement的名词复数 )； 改进； 改善； 改良

参考例句：

• improvements in efficiency at the factory 工厂效率的提高
• They've spent a lot of money on home improvements. 他们花了很多钱装修家居。