《简·爱》 Chapter 36 第三十六章（14）

"Then Mr. Rochester was at home when the fire broke out?"

“那么起火时罗切斯特先生是在家里了？”

"Yes, indeed was he; and he went up to the attics¹ when all was burning above and below,and got the servants out of their beds and helped them down himself,

“不错，他确实在家。上上下下都烧起来的时候，他上了阁楼，把仆人们从床上叫醒，

and went back to get his mad wife out of her cell.

亲自帮他们下楼来——随后又返回去，要把发疯的妻子弄出房间。

And then they called out to him that she was on the roof,

那时他们喊他，说她在屋顶。

where she was standing², waving her arms, above the battlements, and shouting out till they could hear her a mile off:

她站在城垛上、挥动着胳膊，大喊大叫，一英里外都听得见。

I saw her and heard her with my own eyes.

我亲眼见了她，亲耳听到了她的声音。

She was a big woman, and had long black hair: we could see it streaming against the flames as she stood.

她个儿很大，头发又长又黑，站着时我们看到她的头发映着火光在飘动。

I witnessed, and several more witnessed, Mr. Rochester ascend³ through the sky-light on to the roof;

我亲眼看到，还有好几个人也看到了罗切斯特先生穿过天窗爬上了屋顶。

we heard him call 'Bertha!' We saw him approach her;

我们听他叫了声“佩莎！”我们见他朝她走去，

and then, ma'am, she yelled and gave a spring, and the next minute she lay smashed on the pavement."

随后，小姐，她大叫一声，纵身跳了下去，刹那之间，她已躺在路上，粉身碎骨了。”

"Dead?"

“死了？”

"Dead! Ay, dead as the stones on which her brains and blood were scattered⁴."

“死了！呵，完全断气了，在石头上脑浆迸裂，鲜血四溅。”

"Good God!"

“天哪！”

"You may well say so, ma'am: it was frightful⁵!"

“你完全可以这么说，小姐，真吓人哪！”

He shuddered⁶.

他打了个寒颤。

"And afterwards?" I urged.

“那么后来呢？”我催促着，

"Well, ma'am, afterwards the house was burnt to the ground: there are only some bits of walls standing now."

“唉呀，小姐，后来整座房子都夷为平地了，眼下只有几截子墙还立着。”

"Were any other lives lost?"

“还死了其他人吗？”

"No -- perhaps it would have been better if there had."

“没有——要是有倒也许还好些？”

"What do you mean?"

“你这话是什么意思？”

"Poor Mr. Edward!" he ejaculated,

“可怜的爱德华，”他失声叫道，

1 attics   

n. 阁楼

参考例句：

• They leave unwanted objects in drawers, cupboards and attics. 他们把暂时不需要的东西放在抽屉里、壁橱中和搁楼上。
• He rummaged busily in the attics of European literature, bringing to light much of interest. 他在欧洲文学的阁楼里忙着翻箱倒笼，找到了不少有趣的东西。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

6 shuddered   

v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》