美國語文第五冊 第268期：家庭場景（02）
The great table in the middle of the room, with its books and work, waits only for the lighting of the evening lamp,
房間中央的那張大桌上擺摞著書籍及物件，默默等待夜晚降臨的燈光。
to see a return to its stores of embroidery and of story.
唯有置身在這熟悉的光影流瀉里，才能恍然依稀回到昔日塵囂。
Upon a little stand under the mirror, which catches now and then a flicker of the fire light,
一個矮小身影站著鏡子下，眼光不時荒唐地追逐鏡面里亮光閃爍，那團映射到天花板上的搖曳火苗，
and makes it play, as if in wanton, upon the ceiling, lies that big book, reverenced of your New England parents—the Family Bible.
曾是你自尋其樂的玩耍；翻動家庭《圣經(jīng)》，那本遷居新大陸后父母敬畏的經(jīng)書。
It is a ponderous, square volume, with heavy silver clasps,
那本圣經(jīng)笨重，方形版面裝幀，配有厚實的銀色搭扣，
that you have often pressed open for a look at its quaint, old pictures, for a study of those prettily bordered pages,
你經(jīng)常將大書輕輕攤開，饒有興致地翻閱書中趣聞，瀏覽那些古老泛黃的畫面，好奇地琢磨鑲有彩框的書頁，
which lie between the Testaments, and which hold the Family Record.
鑲嵌在整套《新約全書》中的彩色插圖，以及家族傳承的相關記載。
There are the Births;—your father's and your mother's; it seems as if they were born a long time ago;
上面記錄著家族成員的出生日期——包括你父母誕日，他們來到這個世界的日子仿佛那么久遠，
and even your own date of birth appears an almost incredible distance back.
接著你又找到自己生辰，幾乎難以相信的遙遠昨天。
Then there are the Marriages;—only one as yet;
書中還記有家庭婚姻——不過僅僅一次，
and your mother's name looks oddly to you: it is hard to think of her as anyone else than your doting parent.
母親名字在你眼里顯得頗為古怪，除去那副極為慈愛的面孔，很難想象母親的其他模樣。
Last of all come the Deaths;—only one. Poor Charlie!
所有人最終都離開了這個世界，唯獨一人屬于非正常死亡，可憐的查理！
How it looks!—“ Died, 12 September, 18—, Charles Henry, aged four years.”
這究竟怎么回事？家庭圣經(jīng)里記載：“查理·亨利卒于18xx年，9月12日，時年4歲。”
You know just how it looks. You have turned to it often; there you seem to be joined to him, though only by the turning of a leaf.
你只知道世事無常，當年還時常翻動那本《圣經(jīng)》，不過輕輕將書翻動一頁，似乎也隨早殤的查理而去。
And over your thoughts, as you look at that page of the Record, there sometimes wanders a vague, shadowy fear,
翻閱瀏覽著家庭記載，你的思緒翻騰不安，模糊可怖的陰影不時無端闖入
which will come,—that your own name may soon be there.
很快，你的名字將會赫然出現(xiàn)在那本書上。
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