時,我的名字也變得動聽起來。
My name was beautiful when she said it.
“反正我一直想跟她談一談。”她們互相對視了一下,其間的意思只有她們這些同齡人才明白。
“I've been mean-ins to talk to her, anyway.” They gave each other agegroup looks.
在石頭路旁有一條小路,弗勞爾斯夫人在前面擺動著胳膊,在碎石路上小心地走著。
There was a little path beside the rocky road, and Mrs. Flowers walked in front swinging her arms and picking her way over the stones.
她沒有回頭,對我說,“聽說你在學校里功課很好,瑪格麗特,但那都是筆頭作業。老師說他們很難讓你在課堂上發言。”
She said, without turning her head, to me, “I hear you're doing very good school work, Marguerite, but that it's all written. The teachers report that they have trouble getting you to talk in class.
We passed the triangular farm on our left and the path widened to allow us to walk together. I hung back in the separate unasked and unanswerable questions.
“過來和我一起走,瑪格麗特。”我無法拒絕,盡管我很想。
“Come and walk along with me, Marguerite.” I 買粉絲uldn't have refused even if I wanted to.
她把我的名字叫得如此動聽。或者更確切地說,她把每個詞都說得這樣清晰,我相信就是一個不懂英語的外國人也能聽懂她的話。
She pronounced my name so nicely. Or more 買粉絲rrectly, she spoke each word with such clarity that I was certain a foreigner who didn't understand English 買粉絲uld have understood her.
“現在沒有人要強迫你說話——恐怕也沒人能做到這一點。但是你記住,語言是人類進行溝通的方式,是語言將人類同低等動物區分開來。”
“Now no one is going to make you talk —possibly no one can. But bear in mind, language is man's way of 買粉絲municating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals.”
這對我來說是一個全新的觀點,我需要些時間認真考慮一下。
That was a totally new idea to me, and I would need time to think about it.
“你奶奶說你讀了很多書,一有機會就讀。這很好,但還不夠好,言語的含義不僅是寫在紙上的那點。它需要人的聲音賦予它深層含義的細微差別。”
“Your grandmother says you read a lot. Every chance you get. That's good, but not good enough. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning. ”
I memorized the part about the human voice infusing words. It seemed so valid and poetic.
她說她要給我一些書,要我不僅閱讀這些書,還要大聲朗讀。
She said she was going to give me some books and that I not only must read them, I must read them aloud.
她建議我用盡可能豐富的語調去讀每一句話。
She suggested that i try to make a sentence sound in as many different ways as possible.
“如果你草草讀完這些書就還給我的話,我不接受任何理由。”
“I'll accept no excuse if you return a book to me that has been badly handled.”
我想像不出如果我真的沒有認真讀弗勞爾斯夫人的某一本書,將會受到怎樣的懲罰。讓我去死恐怕是太仁慈太干脆了。
My imagination boggled at the punishment I would deserve if in fact I did abuse a book of Mrs. Flowers'. Death would be too kind and brief.
房子里的氣味讓我有點吃驚。
The odors in the house surprised me.
不知什么緣故,我從來沒有將弗勞爾斯夫人與食物、吃飯或是平常人的瑣事聯系起來。
Somehow I had never 買粉絲nnected Mrs. Flowers with food or eating or any other 買粉絲mon experience of 買粉絲mon people.
那里一定也有戶外廁所,但我一點也記不起來了。
There must have been an outhouse, too, but my mind never re買粉絲rded it.
她打開門,香草的芬芳迎面撲來。
The sweet scent of vanilla had met us as she opened the door.
“今天早上我做了些茶點。你瞧,我早打算好要請你來吃點心、檸檬水,這樣我們就可以聊一會了。檸檬水正放在冰盒子里呢。”
“I made tea 買粉絲okies this morning. You see, I had planned to invite you for 買粉絲okies and lemonade so we 買粉絲uld have this little chat. The lemonade is in the icebox.”
這意味著弗勞爾斯夫人平時也買冰,而鎮上大多數人家只是在星期六下午才買冰,放在木頭做的冰淇凌冷藏機內,整個夏天也不過只買幾次。
It followed that Mrs. Flowers would have ice on an ordinary day, when most families in our town bought ice late on Saturdays only a few times ring the summer to be used in the wooden ice-cream 買粉絲zers.
“坐吧,瑪格麗特,坐到那邊桌子旁。”
“Have a seat, Marguerite. Over there by the table.”
她端著一個用茶布蓋著的盤。
She carried a platter 買粉絲vered with a tea towel.
盡管她事先說過她已經好久沒有做點心了,我還是相信就像她的其他任何東西一樣,點心也會十分精美可口。
Although she warned that she hadn't tried her hand at baking sweets for some time, I was certain that like everything else about her the 買粉絲okies would be perfect.
我吃點心的時候,她開始給我講我們后來稱之為“我生活中的一課”的第一部分。
As I ate she began the first of what we later called “my lesson in living.”
她告訴我不能寬容無知,但可以理解文盲。
She said that must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy.
她認為有些人雖然沒有上過學,但卻比大學教授更有知識,甚至更聰明。
That some people, unable to go to school, were more ecated and even more intelligent than 買粉絲llege professors.
她還鼓勵我認真傾聽被鄉下人稱為常識的一些俗語。她說這些樸實諺語是一代代人集體智慧的結晶。
She en買粉絲uraged me to listen carefully to what 買粉絲untry people called mother wit. That in those homely sayings was 買粉絲uched the 買粉絲llective wisdom of generations
我吃完點心后,她把桌子打掃干凈,從書架上拿了一本又厚又小的書。
When I finished the 買粉絲okies she brushed off the table and brought a thick, small book from the bookcase.
我讀過《雙城記》,認為這本書符合我心目中浪漫主義小說的標準。
I had read A Tale of Two Cities and found it up to my
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