美国语文第五册 第268期:家庭场景(2)

 　　The great table in the middle of the room, with its books and work, waits only for the lighting¹ of the evening lamp, 房间中央的那张大桌上摆摞着书籍及物件，默默等待夜晚降临的灯光。

　　to see a return to its stores of embroidery² and of story. 唯有置身在这熟悉的光影流泻里，才能恍然依稀回到昔日尘嚣。

　　Upon a little stand under the mirror, which catches now and then a flicker³ of the fire light, 一个矮小身影站着镜子下，眼光不时荒唐地追逐镜面里亮光闪烁，那团映射到天花板上的摇曳火苗，

　　and makes it play, as if in wanton, upon the ceiling, lies that big book, reverenced⁴ of your New England parents—the Family Bible. 曾是你自寻其乐的玩耍；翻动家庭《圣经》，那本迁居新大陆后父母敬畏的经书。

　　It is a ponderous⁵, square volume, with heavy silver clasps, 那本圣经笨重，方形版面装帧，配有厚实的银色搭扣，

　　that you have often pressed open for a look at its quaint⁶, old pictures, for a study of those prettily⁷ bordered pages, 你经常将大书轻轻摊开，饶有兴致地翻阅书中趣闻，浏览那些古老泛黄的画面，好奇地琢磨镶有彩框的书页，

　　which lie between the Testaments⁸, and which hold the Family Record. 镶嵌在整套《新约全书》中的彩色插图，以及家族传承的相关记载。

　　There are the Births;—your father's and your mother's; it seems as if they were born a long time ago; 上面记录着家族成员的出生日期——包括你父母诞日，他们来到这个世界的日子仿佛那么久远，

　　and even your own date of birth appears an almost incredible distance back. 接着你又找到自己生辰，几乎难以相信的遥远昨天。

　　Then there are the Marriages;—only one as yet; 书中还记有家庭婚姻——不过仅仅一次，

　　and your mother's name looks oddly to you: it is hard to think of her as anyone else than your doting⁹ parent. 母亲名字在你眼里显得颇为古怪，除去那副极为慈爱的面孔，很难想象母亲的其他模样。

　　Last of all come the Deaths;—only one. Poor Charlie! 所有人最终都离开了这个世界，唯独一人属于非正常死亡，可怜的查理！

　　How it looks!—“ Died, 12 September, 18—, Charles Henry, aged¹⁰ four years.” 这究竟怎么回事？家庭圣经里记载：“查理·亨利卒于18xx年，9月12日，时年4岁。”

　　You know just how it looks. You have turned to it often; there you seem to be joined to him, though only by the turning of a leaf. 你只知道世事无常，当年还时常翻动那本《圣经》，不过轻轻将书翻动一页，似乎也随早殇的查理而去。

　　And over your thoughts, as you look at that page of the Record, there sometimes wanders a vague, shadowy fear, 翻阅浏览着家庭记载，你的思绪翻腾不安，模糊可怖的阴影不时无端闯入

　　which will come,—that your own name may soon be there. 很快，你的名字将会赫然出现在那本书上。

1 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

2 embroidery   

n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品

参考例句：

• This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品，使人惊叹不已。
• This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。

3 flicker   

vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现

参考例句：

• There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。
• At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

4 reverenced   

v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼

参考例句：

• The name of Albert Einstein is still reverenced by the scientists all over the world. 爱因斯坦的名字仍然受到世界各地科学家的崇敬。 来自互联网
• For it is always necessary to be loved, but not always necessary to be reverenced. 一个人总是能得到必要的爱，却不总是能得到必要的尊敬。 来自互联网

5 ponderous   

adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的

参考例句：

• His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
• It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态，很容易使人小看了他。

6 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

7 prettily   

adv.优美地；可爱地

参考例句：

• It was prettily engraved with flowers on the back.此件雕刻精美，背面有花饰图案。
• She pouted prettily at him.她冲他撅着嘴，样子很可爱。

8 testaments   

n.遗嘱( testament的名词复数 )；实际的证明

参考例句：

• The coastline is littered with testaments to the savageness of the waters. 海岸线上充满了海水肆虐过后的杂乱东西。 来自互联网
• A personification of wickedness and ungodliness alluded to in the Old and New Testaments. 彼勒《旧约》和《新约》中邪恶和罪孽的化身。 来自互联网

9 doting   

adj.溺爱的，宠爱的

参考例句：

• His doting parents bought him his first racing bike at 13.宠爱他的父母在他13岁时就给他买了第一辆竞速自行车。
• The doting husband catered to his wife's every wish.这位宠爱妻子的丈夫总是高度满足太太的各项要求。

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。