書蟲三級《三個陌生人》：1、三個陌生人之 第一個陌生人

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1.The first stranger
1．第一個陌生人

In the south-west of England there are many long, low, grassy hills, which have not changed their appearance for centuries. Farmers still keep their sheep on them, and the only buildings are lonely cottages, where shepherds live.

英格蘭西南部綿亙著許多低矮而蔥郁的山丘，它們的面貌千百年來未曾改變。農(nóng)夫們依舊在山上放羊，山上唯一的一種建筑就是牧羊人居住的那些孤零零的小屋。

Fifty years ago there was a shepherd's cottage on one of these hills. It was only three miles from the market town of Casterbridge, but it was unusual for travellers to pass this way. There was no road, just two footpaths which crossed in front of the cottage door. During the long winters, snow and rain fell heavily here, which made travelling difficult.

50年前，其中一座山上有一間牧羊人的小屋。盡管它距離卡斯特橋的集鎮(zhèn)僅有3英里，卻很少有行人從此經(jīng)過。這里沒有大路，僅有兩條小徑在小屋門前交會。在漫長的冬季里，這里雨雪很大，行走很困難。

The night of March 28th, 1825, was one of the coldest and wettest that winter, but inside the cottage all was warm and cheerful. Shepherd Fennel had invited family and friends to drink to the health of his youngest child, a recent arrival in the family. Nineteen people were at the party: married women and single girls, shepherds and farm workers, young people talking of love, and old friends talking of the past.

1825年3月28日那晚是那年冬天最濕冷的一夜，不過小屋里卻十分溫暖，氣氛歡快。牧羊人芬內(nèi)爾邀請了親朋好友來家里喝酒，祝福他最小的孩子——一個剛出生不久的家庭成員——身體健康。19個人參加了這次聚會：有已婚的婦人和單身的女孩，也有牧羊人和農(nóng)場工人。年輕人談?wù)撝鴲矍椋吓笥褌儎t追憶起往昔時光。

Shepherd Fennel had chosen his wife well. She was a farmer's daughter from one of the valleys, and when she married, she brought fifty pounds with her in her pocket — and kept it there, for the needs of a coming family. She did not like to spend money unnecessarily, and had worried about the kind of party to give that evening. 'At a sit-still party,' she thought, 'the men'll get too comfortable and drink the house dry. But at a dancing-party people get hungry and then they'll eat all our food! We'll have both sitting and dancing — that's the best way.' And secretly she told the fiddler to play for no more than fifteen minutes at a time.

牧羊人芬內(nèi)爾找了個好妻子。她是山谷里一個農(nóng)夫的女兒，結(jié)婚的時候口袋里揣來了50英鎊——并且一直沒花，準(zhǔn)備貢獻(xiàn)給即將組成的家庭。她不喜歡亂花錢，還一直為那晚該舉行哪種聚會而憂心忡忡。“在坐著不動的聚會中，”她盤算著，“男人們通常會舒服得過了頭，把家里的酒喝個底朝天?？墒窃谖钑?，人們又容易饑餓，會吃掉我們所有的食物！所以我們既要坐著又要跳舞——這是最好的辦法。”她還偷偷告訴拉小提琴的人，一次最多只拉15分鐘琴。

But when the dancing began, nobody wanted to stop. The fiddler refused to catch Mrs Fennel's eye, and played on. The music got louder and louder, and the excited dancers stepped faster and faster. Mrs Fennel could do nothing about it, so she sat helplessly in a corner, as the minutes became an hour.

可是舞會開始后，就沒有人想停下來了。拉小提琴的人不肯看芬內(nèi)爾太太的眼色，只管繼續(xù)拉琴。音樂聲越來越大，而興奮的人們也越跳越快。芬內(nèi)爾太太對此束手無策，只能無助地坐在角落里；而原本打算舉行十來分鐘的舞會竟延長到了一個小時。

While this was happening indoors, outside in the heavy rain and darkness a figure was climbing up the hill from Casterbridge. It was a tall, thin man, about forty years old, dressed all in black and wearing thick, heavy boots.

屋內(nèi)的人們正興高采烈地跳著舞；屋外暴雨滂沱，漆黑一片，一個身影正從卡斯特橋向山上艱難地攀爬著。這是一名四十歲左右的瘦高男人，一身黑衣，腳穿厚重的靴子。

When he reached the shepherd's cottage, the rain came down harder than ever. The man left the footpath and went up to the door. He listened carefully, but the music inside had now stopped, and the man seemed unsure what to do. He looked around, but could see no one on the footpath behind him, and no other houses anywhere near.

到達(dá)牧羊人的小屋時，雨下得越發(fā)大了。男人走下小徑，來到門前。他仔細(xì)聆聽，但這時音樂已經(jīng)停了，他似乎有些不知所措。他環(huán)顧四周，身后的小徑上空無一人，而附近也沒有其他房屋。

At last he decided to knock on the door.

終于，他決定敲門。

Come in!' called Shepherd Fennel. All eyes turned towards the stranger, as he entered the warm room.

“請進(jìn)！”牧羊人芬內(nèi)爾喊道。陌生人走進(jìn)了溫暖的房間，所有的目光都轉(zhuǎn)到了他身上。

He kept his hat on, low over his face. 'The rain is heavy, friends,' he said in a rich, deep voice. 'May I come in and rest here for a while?'

他沒有摘下帽子，壓低的帽沿?fù)踝×怂哪槨?ldquo;這雨可真大呀，伙計(jì)們，”他的聲音渾厚而低沉，“我能進(jìn)來在這兒休息一會兒嗎？”

O' course, stranger,' replied the shepherd. 'You've chosen your moment well, because we're having a party tonight. There's a new baby in the family, you see.'

“當(dāng)然可以，陌生的朋友，”牧羊人答道，“你來得正是時候，我們今晚正好在舉行聚會。你看，我家里添了個小孩子。”

I hope you and your fine wife'll have many more, shepherd,' the man answered, smiling politely at Mrs Fennel. He looked quickly round the room, and seemed happy with what he saw. He took his hat off, and shook the water from his shoulders.

“希望您和您的賢妻多生貴子，牧羊人。”男人答道，禮貌地對芬內(nèi)爾太太微笑著。他迅速環(huán)視了一下房間，看樣子對眼前的一切很滿意。他摘下帽子，抖落了肩上的雨水。

Will you have a drink with us, stranger?' asked Fennel. He passed a mug of his wife's home-made mead to the newcomer, who drank deeply from it and held it out for more.

“跟我們喝一杯好嗎，陌生的朋友？”芬內(nèi)爾問。他遞給這位新來者一杯妻子自釀的蜂蜜酒。陌生人一飲而盡，伸過杯子要再來一杯。

I'll take a seat in the chimney corner, if you don't mind,' said the man, 'to dry my clothes a bit.' He moved closer to the fire, and began to look very much at home.

“如果你們不介意的話，我想坐在壁爐邊的座位上，”那人說，“這樣可以把我的衣服烘一烘。”他又朝爐火湊了湊，開始變得隨意起來，看著跟在自己家里差不多。

There's only one more thing that I need to make me happy,' he added, 'and that's a little tobacco.'

“再有一樣?xùn)|西我就心滿意足了，”他又說，“那就是一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)煙葉。”

I'll fill your pipe,' said the shepherd kindly.

“我給你裝煙斗。”牧羊人親切地說。

Can you lend me one?'

“你能借給我一只煙斗嗎？”

You're a smoker, and you've no pipe?' said Fennel.

“你抽煙，卻沒有煙斗？”芬內(nèi)爾問道。

I dropped it somewhere on the road.' The man lit the pipe that Fennel gave him, and seemed to want to talk no more.

“我在路上把它弄丟了。”那人點(diǎn)燃了芬內(nèi)爾給他的煙斗，看樣子不想再多說話了。