美國語文第五冊 第76期：刻板守舊的姑娘（04）
The old lady appeared to forget Polly, at the end of her speech;
說話末了，老太太似乎忘了波莉，她坐在那里，
for she sat patting the plump little hand that lay in her own,
忘神地輕輕拍著握在她手里那只豐潤的小手，
and looking up at a faded picture of an old gentleman with a ruffled shirt and a queue. "Was he your father, Madam?"
然后抬頭看了看泛黃的相片，相片中老先生穿著襯衫，頭上系根發(fā)辮，衣服有點皺巴巴的。“這是你父親嗎？夫人？”
Yes, my dear; my honored father.
是的，親愛的，那就是我可愛的父親。
I did up his frills to the day of his death;
我一直給父親整理衣物，直到他離開人世。
and the first money I ever earned, was five dollars which he offered as a prize to whichever of his six girls would lay the handsomest darn in his silk stockings.
記得我第一次掙的五美元，就是他給他六個女兒定的規(guī)矩，誰的織補(bǔ)活最好，誰就得到那次獎勵。
"How proud you must have been!" CRIed Polly, leaning on the old lady's knee with an interested face.
“你一定非常自豪！”波莉叫了起來，她倚靠在老太太的膝頭，饒有興趣地看著老人。
Yes; and we all learned to make bread, and cook, and wore little chintz gowns, and were as gay and hearty as kittens.
你說得不錯，我們六姐妹都學(xué)會了做面包，燒飯，從小就穿粗布衣衫，整天活潑健康的，像一群活蹦亂跳的貓仔。
All lived to be grandmothers; and I'm the last—seventy next birthday, my dear, and not worn out yet; though daughter Shaw is an invalid at forty.
如今，我們姐妹六個都當(dāng)上奶奶了，我最小，明年就七十歲了，孩子，我這身子骨還結(jié)實著呢，可我的女兒肖才四十歲上下，身體就不中用了。
That's the way I was brought up, and that's why Fan calls me old-fashioned, I suppose.
那就是我接受的教育方式，我想，也就是范妮為什么總是叫我老古董。
Tell more about your papa, please; I like it, said Polly.
再說說你的爸爸，求你了，我喜歡聽。波莉說。
Say, 'father.' We never called him papa;
我們從不叫他‘爸爸'，只稱呼他‘父親'，
and if one of my brothers had addressed him as ‘governor,' as boys now do, I really think he'd have him cut off with a shilling.
如果我的兄弟中有人撒嬌地叫他‘老爸'，就像眼下孩子們習(xí)慣那樣，父親肯定會用一先令剝奪他的實際財產(chǎn)繼承權(quán)，這一點，我從不懷疑。
