美国语文第五册 第281期:微小的胜利(5)

 　　Hugh was very much dejected, and when he thought of the months and years to the end of his life, 想到失去条腿，往后年复一年甚至直到生命的终点，休灰心沮丧简直到了极点，

　　and that he should never run and play, and never be like other people, he almost wished that he were dead. 想到他永远不会跑步玩耍，永远不会像别人一样，他巴望自己不如马上死去的好。

　　Agnes thought that he must be miserable¹ indeed if he could venture to say this to his mother. 姐姐艾格尼丝以为休肯定心里太难过，才对母亲说出心里话。

　　She glanced at her mother’s face, but there was no displeasure there. 她瞥了母亲一眼，母亲脸上却没有一丝不开心的神情，

　　On the contrary, she said this feeling was very natural. 反而说休的感情很自然，

　　She had felt it herself under smaller misfortunes than Hugh’s; 她曾经也遭遇过，尽管面对的挫折比儿子要小。前方的路充满苦难纠结，

　　but she had found, though the prospect² appeared all strewn with troubles, that they came singly, and were not so hard to bear, after all. 不过她最后发现，她毕竟一步步坚持挺过来了，当然，天底下没有过不去的坎。

　　She told Hugh that when she was a little girl she was very lazy, fond of her bed, and not at all fond of dressing³ or washing. 妈妈告诉休，当她还是个小姑娘的时候，她实在很懒，喜欢赖床不起，讨厌穿衣洗漱。

　　“Why, mother! you?” exclaimed Hugh. “为什么呢？妈妈，天呀！”休尖声叫道。

　　Yes; that was the sort of little girl I was. 没错，我就是那样的孩子，

　　Well, I was in despair, one day, at the thought that I should have to wash, and clean my teeth, and brush my hair, 是的，有一天，一想到每天早上我该去洗脸，该去刷牙，该去梳头，

　　and put on every article of dress, every morning, as long as I lived. 该穿戴整齐，只要活着，千篇一律地该做这做那，我就变得沮丧绝望。

　　“Did you tell anybody?” asked Hugh. “你和别人谈过这些吗？”休问妈妈。

　　No, I was ashamed to do that; but I remember I cried. You see how it turns out. 没有，我那时羞于告诉别人，可我记得，我哭了。你看这事原本就是这样。

　　When we have become accustomed to anything, we do it without ever thinking of the trouble, 如果凡事安然若素，我们就不会忧心自扰。

1 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

2 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。

3 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。