《简·爱》 Chapter 36 第三十六章（8）

I looked with timorous¹ joy towards a stately house: I saw a blackened ruin.

我带着怯生生的喜悦朝堂皇的府第看去，我看到了一片焦黑的废墟。

No need to cower² behind a gate-post, indeed! --

没有必要躲在门柱后面畏缩不前了，真的！

to peep up at chamber³ lattices, fearing life was astir behind them!

偷看房间的格子，害怕生活在后面！

No need to listen for doors opening -- to fancy steps on the pavement or the gravel-walk!

不用听门开着——人行道上或碎石路上的花哨的脚步声！

The lawn, the grounds were trodden and waste: the portal yawned void.

草坪，地面被践踏，荒芜不堪：大门虚空荡荡。

The front was, as I had once seen it in a dream, but a well-like wall,

我曾经在梦中见过，前面是一堵墙，

very high and very fragile-looking, perforated with paneless windows:

非常高，非常脆弱的外观，穿孔无镶板窗户：

no roof, no battlements, no chimneys -- all had crashed in.

没有屋顶，没有城垛，没有烟囱——全都倒塌了。

And there was the silence of death about it: the solitude⁴ of a lonesome wild.

这里笼罩着死一般的沉寂和旷野的凄凉。

No wonder that letters addressed to people here had never received an answer: as well despatch⁵ epistles to a vault⁶ in a church aisle⁷.

怪不得给这儿的人写信，仿佛是送信给教堂过道上的墓穴，从来得不到答复。

The grim blackness of the stones told by what fate the Hall had fallen -- by conflagration⁸: but how kindled⁹?

黑森森的石头诉说着府宅遭了什么厄运，一火灾。但又是怎么烧起来的呢？

What story belonged to this disaster?

这场灾难的经过加何？

What loss, besides mortar¹⁰ and marble and wood-work had followed upon it?

除了灰浆、大理石和木制品，还有什么其他损失呢，

Had life been wrecked¹² as well as property?

生命是不是象财产一样遭到了毁灭？

If so, whose? Dreadful question: there was no one here to answer it -- not even dumb sign, mute token.

如果是，谁丧失了生命？这个可怕的问题，眼前没有谁来回答——甚至连默默的迹象、无言的标记都无法回答。

In wandering round the shattered walls and through the devastated¹³ interior, I gathered evidence that the calamity¹⁴ was not of late occurrence.

我徘徊在断垣颓壁之间，穿行于残破的府宅内层之中，获得了迹象，表明这场灾难不是最近发生的。

Winter snows, I thought, had drifted through that void arch, winter rains beaten in at those hollow casements¹⁵;

我想，冬雪曾经飘入空空的拱门，冬雨打在没有玻璃的窗户上。

for, amidst the drenched¹⁶ piles of rubbish, spring had cherished vegetation: grass and weed grew here and there between the stones and fallen rafters.

在一堆堆湿透了的垃圾中，春意催发了草木，乱石堆中和断梁之间，处处长出了野草。

And oh! where meantime was the hapless owner of this wreck¹¹?

呵！这片废墟的主人又在哪里？

In what land? Under what auspices¹⁷?

他在哪个国度？在谁的保护之下？

1 timorous   

adj.胆怯的，胆小的

参考例句：

• She is as timorous as a rabbit.她胆小得像只兔子。
• The timorous rabbit ran away.那只胆小的兔子跑开了。

2 cower   

v.畏缩，退缩，抖缩

参考例句：

• I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.我决不会在任何一位大师面前发抖，也不会为任何恐吓所屈服。
• Will the Chinese cower before difficulties when they are not afraid even of death?中国人死都不怕，还怕困难吗？

3 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

4 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

5 despatch   

n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道

参考例句：

• The despatch of the task force is purely a contingency measure.派出特遣部队纯粹是应急之举。
• He rushed the despatch through to headquarters.他把急件赶送到总部。

6 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

7 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

8 conflagration   

n.建筑物或森林大火

参考例句：

• A conflagration in 1947 reduced 90 percent of the houses to ashes.1947年的一场大火，使90%的房屋化为灰烬。
• The light of that conflagration will fade away.这熊熊烈火会渐渐熄灭。

9 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。

10 mortar   

n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合

参考例句：

• The mason flushed the joint with mortar.泥工用灰浆把接缝处嵌平。
• The sound of mortar fire seemed to be closing in.迫击炮的吼声似乎正在逼近。

11 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

12 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

13 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

14 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

15 casements   

n.窗扉( casement的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are two casements in this room. 这间屋子有两扇窗户。 来自互联网
• The rain pattered against the casements; the bells tolled for church with a melancholy sound. 雨点噼噼啪啪地打在窗子上；教堂里传来沉重的钟声，召唤人们去做礼拜。 来自互联网

16 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 auspices   

n.资助，赞助

参考例句：

• The association is under the auspices of Word Bank.这个组织是在世界银行的赞助下办的。
• The examination was held under the auspices of the government.这次考试是由政府主办的。