《简·爱》 Chapter 13 第十三章（8）

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He spread the pictures before him, and again surveyed them alternately.

他把这些画摊在他面前，再次一张张细看着。

While he is so occupied, I will tell you, reader, what they are:

趁他看画的时候，读者，我要告诉你，那是些什么画。

and first, I must premise¹ that they are nothing wonderful.

首先我得事先声明，它们并没有什么了不起。

The subjects had, indeed, risen vividly² on my mind.

画的题材倒确实活脱脱地浮现在我脑海里。

As I saw them with the spiritual eye, before I attempted to embody³ them, they were striking.

我还没有想用画来表现时，它们就已在我心灵的目光下显得栩栩如生。

But my hand would not second my fancy, and in each case it had wrought⁴ out but a pale portrait of the thing I had conceived.

然而在落笔时，我的手却不听我想象的使唤，每次都只能给想象中的东西勾勒出一个苍白无力的图象来。

These pictures were in water-colours.

这些都是水彩画。

The first represented clouds low and livid, rolling over a swollen⁵ sea.

第一张画的是，低垂的铅色云块，在波涛汹涌的海面上翻滚。

All the distance was in eclipse, so, too, was the foreground, or rather, the nearest billows, for there was no land.

远处的一切黯然无光，画面的前景也是如此，或者不如说，靠得最近的波涛是这样，因为画中没高陆地。

One gleam of light lifted into relief a half-submerged mast,

—束微光把半沉的桅杆映照得轮廓分明，

on which sat a cormorant⁶, dark and large, with wings flecked with foam⁷.

桅杆上栖息着一只又黑又大的鸬鹚，翅膀上沾着斑驳的泡沫，

Its beak⁸ held a gold bracelet⁹ set with gems¹⁰,

嘴里衔着一只镶嵌了宝石的金手镯，

that I had touched with as brilliant tints¹¹ as my palette could yield,

我给手镯抹上了调色板所能调出的最明亮的色泽，

and as glittering distinctness as my pencil could impart.

以及我的铅笔所能勾划出的闪闪金光。

Sinking below the bird and mast, a drowned corpse¹² glanced through the green water.

在鸟和桅杆下面的碧波里，隐约可见一具沉溺的尸体。

A fair arm was the only limb clearly visible, whence the bracelet had been washed or torn.

它身上唯一看得清清楚楚的肢体是一只美丽的胳膊，那手镯就是从这里被水冲走或是给鸟儿啄下来的。

The second picture contained for foreground only the dim peak of a hill, with grass and some leaves slanting¹³ as if by a breeze.

第二张画的前景只有一座朦胧的山峰，青草和树叶似乎被微风吹歪了。

Beyond and above spread an expanse of sky, dark blue as at twilight¹⁴:

在远处和上方铺开了一片薄暮时分深蓝色的浩瀚天空。

rising into the sky was a woman's shape to the bust¹⁵, portrayed¹⁶ in tints as dusk and soft as I could combine.

一个女人的半身形体高耸天际，色调被我尽力点染得柔和与暗淡。

The dim forehead was crowned with a star;

模糊的额头上点缀着一颗星星。

The lineaments below were seen as through the suffusion¹⁷ of vapour.

下面的脸部仿佛透现在雾气蒸腾之中。

The eyes shone dark and wild.

双目乌黑狂野、炯炯有神。

The hair streamed shadowy, like a beamless cloud torn by storm or by electric travail¹⁸.

头发如阴影一般飘洒，仿佛是被风爆和闪电撕下的暗淡无光的云块。

On the neck lay a pale reflection like moonlight.

脖子上有一抹宛若月色的淡淡反光。

The same faint lustre¹⁹ touched the train of thin clouds from which rose and bowed this vision of the Evening Star.

一片片薄云也有着同样浅色的光泽，云端里升起了低着头的金星的幻象。

1 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

2 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。

3 embody   

vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录

参考例句：

• The latest locomotives embody many new features. 这些最新的机车具有许多新的特色。
• Hemingway's characters plainly embody his own values and view of life.海明威笔下的角色明确反映出他自己的价值观与人生观。

4 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

5 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

6 cormorant   

n.鸬鹚，贪婪的人

参考例句：

• The cormorant is a large,long-necked,dark-colored bird which lives near sea coasts and eats fish.鸬鹚是一种长脖子黑颜色的大鸟，生活在海滨而且以吃鱼为生。
• The exciting cormorant fishing performance is over there.那边有令人刺激的鱼鹰捕鱼表演。

7 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

8 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

9 bracelet   

n.手镯，臂镯

参考例句：

• The jeweler charges lots of money to set diamonds in a bracelet.珠宝匠要很多钱才肯把钻石镶在手镯上。
• She left her gold bracelet as a pledge.她留下她的金手镯作抵押品。

10 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

11 tints   

色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹

参考例句：

• leaves with red and gold autumn tints 金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶
• The whole countryside glowed with autumn tints. 乡间处处呈现出灿烂的秋色。

12 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

13 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

14 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

15 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

16 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

17 suffusion   

n.充满

参考例句：

• He suffered from suffusion of blood on the brain. 他患脑溢血。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 travail   

n.阵痛；努力

参考例句：

• Mothers know the travail of giving birth to a child.母亲们了解分娩时的痛苦。
• He gained the medal through his painful travail.他通过艰辛的努力获得了奖牌。

19 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。