《简·爱》 Chapter 29 第二十九章（15）（在线收听）

"You are very hungry," he said.

“你很饿，”他说。

"I am, sir." It is my way -- it always was my way, by instinct

“是的，先生。”这是我的习惯--向来的习惯，完全是直觉，

ever to meet the brief with brevity, the direct with plainness.

简问简答，直问直说。

"It is well for you that a low fever has forced you to abstain for the last three days:

“幸好三天来的低烧迫使你禁食，

there would have been danger in yielding to the cravings of your appetite at first.

要是一开始便放开肚子吃就危险了。

Now you may eat, though still not immoderately."

现在你可以吃了，不过还是得节制。”

"I trust I shall not eat long at your expense, sir," was my very clumsily-contrived, unpolished answer.

“我相信不会花你的钱吃得很久的，先生，”这是我笨嘴笨舌、粗里粗气的回答。

"No," he said coolly: "when you have indicated to us the residence of your friends,

“不，”他冷冷地说：“等你把朋友的住址告诉我们后，

we can write to them, and you may be restored to home."

我们可以写信给他们，你就又可以回家了。”

"That, I must plainly tell you, is out of my power to do; being absolutely without home and friends."

“我得直率地告诉你们，我没有能力这么做，因为我既没有家，也没有朋友。”

The three looked at me, but not distrustfully;

三位都看着我，但并非不信任。

I felt there was no suspicion in their glances: there was more of curiosity.

我觉得他们的眼神里没有怀疑的表情，而更多的是好奇。

I speak particularly of the young ladies.

我尤其指小姐们。

St. John's eyes, though clear enough in a literal sense, in a figurative one were difficult to fathom.

圣·约翰的眼晴表面看来相当明净，但实际上深不可测。

He seemed to use them rather as instruments to search other people's thoughts, than as agents to reveal his own:

他似乎要把它用作探测别人思想的工具，而不是暴露自己内心的窗口。

the which combination of keenness and reserve was considerably more calculated to embarrass than to encourage.

眼神里热情与冷漠的交融，很大程度上不是为了鼓励别人，而是要使人感到窘迫。