《简·爱》 Chapter 08 第八章（6）

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"Barbara," said she, "can you not bring a little more bread and butter? There is not enough for three."

“巴巴拉，”她说，“不能再拿点面包和黄油来吗？这不够三个人吃呀。”

Barbara went out. She returned soon: Madam, Mrs. Harden says she has sent up the usual quantity.

小姐，哈登太太说已经按平时的份量送来了。

Mrs. Harden, be it observed, was the housekeeper¹.

得说明一下，哈登太太是个管家。

A woman after Mr. Brocklehurst's own heart, made up of equal parts of whalebone and iron.

这个女人很合布罗克赫斯特先生的心意，两人的心一样都是铁铸的。

"Oh, very well!" returned Miss Temple; "We must make it do, Barbara, I suppose."

“啊，好吧，”坦普尔小姐回答，“我想我们只好将就了，巴巴拉。”

And as the girl withdrew she added, smiling, "Fortunately, I have it in my power to supply deficiencies for this once."

等这位姑娘一走，她便笑着补充说：“幸好我自己还能够弥补这次的欠缺。”

Having invited Helen and me to approach the table,

她邀海伦与我凑近桌子，

and placed before each of us a cup of tea with one delicious but thin morsel² of toast,

在我们俩面前各放了一杯茶和一小片可口却很薄的烤面包，

she got up, unlocked a drawer, and taking from it a parcel wrapped in paper, disclosed presently to our eyes a good-sized seed-cake.

随后打开抽屉，从里面抽出一个纸包，我们眼前立刻出现了一个大果子饼。

"I meant to give each of you some of this to take with you," said she, "but as there is so little toast, you must have it now."

“我本想让你们各自带一点儿回去，”她说，“但是因为烤面包这么少，你们现在就得吃掉了。”

And she proceeded to cut slices with a generous hand.

她很大方地把饼切成了厚片。

We feasted that evening as on nectar and ambrosia⁴.

那天夜晚，我们吃了香甜的饮料和食品，享受了一次盛宴。

And not the least delight of the entertainment was the smile of gratification with which our hostess regarded us,

当她慷慨提供的美食，满足了我们的辘辘饥肠时，我们的女主人面带满意的微笑，

as we satisfied our famished⁵ appetites on the delicate fare she liberally supplied.

望着我们，那笑容也一样令人愉快。

Tea over and the tray removed, she again summoned us to the fire.

吃完茶点，端走了托盘后，她又招呼我们到火炉边去。

We sat one on each side of her,

我们两人一边一个坐在她身旁。

and now a conversation followed between her and Helen, which it was indeed a privilege to be admitted to hear.

这时，她与海伦开始了谈话，而我能被允许旁听，实在也是有幸。

Miss Temple had always something of serenity⁶ in her air, of state in her mien⁷, of refined propriety⁸ in her language,

坦普尔小姐向来神态安详，风度庄重，谈吐文雅得体，

which precluded⁹ deviation¹⁰ into the ardent¹¹, the excited, the eager.

这使她不至于陷入狂热、激奋和浮躁。

Something which chastened the pleasure of those who looked on her and listened to her, by a controlling sense of awe³.

同样也使看着她和倾听她的人，出于一种敬畏心情，不会露出过份的喜悦，

And such was my feeling now.

这就是我此刻的情感。

But as to Helen Burns, I was struck with wonder.

但海伦的情况却使我十分吃惊。

The refreshing¹² meal, the brilliant fire, the presence and kindness of her beloved instructress,

因为茶点振奋了精神，炉火在熊熊燃烧，因为亲爱的导师在场并待她很好，

or, perhaps, more than all these, something in her own unique mind, had roused her powers within her.

也许不止这一切，而是她独一无二的头脑中的某种东西，激发了她内在的种种力量。

They woke, they kindled¹³.

这些力量被唤醒了，被点燃了。

First, they glowed in the bright tint¹⁴ of her cheek, which till this hour I had never seen but pale and bloodless,

起初闪烁在一向苍白而没有血色现在却容光焕发的脸上。

then they shone in the liquid lustre¹⁵ of her eyes, which had suddenly acquired a beauty more singular than that of Miss Temple's,

随后显露在她水灵灵炯炯有神的眼睛里，这双眼睛突然之间获得了一种比坦普尔小姐的眼睛更为独特的美，

a beauty neither of fine colour nor long eyelash, nor pencilled brow, but of meaning, of movement, of radiance.

它没有好看的色彩，没有长长的睫毛，没有用眉笔描过的眉毛，却那么意味深长，那么流动不息，那么光芒四射。

Then her soul sat on her lips, and language flowed, from what source I cannot tell.

随后她似乎心口交融，说话流畅。这些话从什么源头流出来，我无从判断。

Has a girl of fourteen a heart large enough, vigorous enough, to hold the swelling¹⁶ spring of pure, full, fervid¹⁷ eloquence¹⁸?

一个十四岁的女孩有这样活跃、这样宽大的胸怀，装得下这纯洁、充盈、炽热的雄辩之泉么？

Such was the characteristic of Helen's discourse¹⁹ on that, to me, memorable²⁰ evening.

这就是那个使我难以忘怀的夜晚海伦谈话的特色。

Her spirit seemed hastening to live within a very brief span as much as many live during a protracted²¹ existence.

她的心灵仿佛急于要在短暂的片刻中，过得与众多长期苟活的人一样充实。

1 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

2 morsel   

n.一口，一点点

参考例句：

• He refused to touch a morsel of the food they had brought.他们拿来的东西他一口也不吃。
• The patient has not had a morsel of food since the morning.从早上起病人一直没有进食。

3 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 ambrosia   

n.神的食物；蜂食

参考例句：

• Later Aphrodite herself brought ambrosia.后来阿芙洛狄特亲自带了仙肴。
• People almost everywhere are buying it as if it were the biggest glass of ambrosia in the world for a nickel.几乎所有地方的人们都在买它，就好像它是世界上能用五分钱买到的最大瓶的美味。

5 famished   

adj.饥饿的

参考例句：

• When's lunch?I'm famished!什么时候吃午饭？我饿得要死了！
• My feet are now killing me and I'm absolutely famished.我的脚现在筋疲力尽，我绝对是极饿了。

6 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

7 mien   

n.风采；态度

参考例句：

• He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。
• It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。

8 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

9 precluded   

v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通

参考例句：

• Abdication is precluded by the lack of a possible successor. 因为没有可能的继承人，让位无法实现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The bad weather precluded me from attending the meeting. 恶劣的天气使我不能出席会议。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 deviation   

n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题

参考例句：

• Deviation from this rule are very rare.很少有违反这条规则的。
• Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。

11 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

12 refreshing   

adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的

参考例句：

• I find it'so refreshing to work with young people in this department.我发现和这一部门的青年一起工作令人精神振奋。
• The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing.水很涼，特别解乏提神。

13 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

14 tint   

n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色

参考例句：

• You can't get up that naturalness and artless rosy tint in after days.你今后不再会有这种自然和朴实无华的红润脸色。
• She gave me instructions on how to apply the tint.她告诉我如何使用染发剂。

15 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。

16 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

17 fervid   

adj.热情的；炽热的

参考例句：

• He is a fervid orator.他是个慷慨激昂的演说者。
• He was a ready scholar as you are,but more fervid and impatient.他是一个聪明的学者，跟你一样，不过更加热情而缺乏耐心。

18 eloquence   

n.雄辩；口才，修辞

参考例句：

• I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
• The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

19 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

20 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

21 protracted   

adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争，我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》