牛津書蟲系列 簡愛 chapter 19
Part Four A woman at Moor House 19 Finding shelter
第四部 在摩爾屋 19 尋找棲身地
I was put down at Whitcross，a crossroads on the moor，after travelling for two days in the coach.As it rolled away，I realized I had left my parcel inside，and given the coachman all the coins in my purse.I was alone on the open moor，with no money or possessions.Lonely white roads stretched across the great，wide moors as far as the hills.I was glad to see there were no towns here，because I did not want people to question me or pity me.So I walked across the moor，until I found a dry place to sleep，in the shelter of a small hill.Luckily it was a warm night，with no rain.The next day was hot and sunny，but I needed food and water，so I could not stay on the moor.
乘馬車行進了兩天后，我在威特考斯下車，一個沼澤地上的十字路口。馬車走后我才意識到自己把包裹忘在了車上，錢包里的所有硬幣又都給了車夫。我孤零零地站在曠野上，身無分文，一無所有。白色的道路孤獨地延伸在廣闊的草地上，一直通到山腳下。我很高興這里看不到鄉(xiāng)鎮(zhèn)，因為我不想讓別人問我或是可憐我。于是我走過沼澤地，直到在小山腳下的避風處找到一塊可以睡覺的干地方。所幸夜晚是溫暖的，沒有下雨。第二天，陽光燦爛，天氣很熱，但我需要食物和水，所以不能再在沼澤地上待下去。
Taking one of the white roads，I eventually found a small village.I needed all my courage to knock on some of the doors，asking if there was any paid work I could do.None of the village people could help me，and I could not bring myself to beg for food，although by now I felt weak and faint.At the baker’s I offered to exchange my leather gloves for a small cake，but the baker’s wife looked at my dirty clothes and said，’I’m sorry，but how do I know you haven’t stolen them?’All I ate that day was a piece of bread，which I begged from a farmer eating his supper.I spent another night on the moor，but this time the air was cold and the ground was damp.
我沿著一條白茫茫的路走著，終于找到一個小村子。我鼓起自己所有的勇氣，敲響了一些人家的門，打聽是否有什么能掙錢的活可干。村里沒人能幫助我;而且盡管我感到虛弱頭暈，卻不能讓自己去乞討。在面包店，我想用皮手套換一小塊點心，但面包師的妻子卻看著我的臟衣服說：“對不起，可我怎么知道這不是你偷的呢?”一整天我只吃了一片面包，是從一個正吃晚飯的農民那兒討來的。我在沼澤地上又過了一夜，但這夜天涼了，地上濕乎乎的。
Next day I walked from house to house again，looking in vain for work.I was now very weak from lack of food，and I began to wonder why I should struggle to stay alive，when I did not want to live.
第二天，我又挨家挨戶地去找工作，一無所獲?，F(xiàn)在我因為沒有食物已變得非常虛弱，不想活了時開始納悶自己為什么還拼命地要活著。
It was getting dark again，and I was alone on the moor.In the distance I could see a faint light，and I decided to try to reach it.The wind and rain beat down on me，and I fell down several times，but finally I arrived at a long，low house，standing rather isolated in the middle of the moor.Hiding near the door，I could just see into the kitchen through a small uncurtained window.There was an elderly woman，who might be the housekeeper，mending clothes，and two young ladies，who seemed to be learning a language with dictionaries.The kitchen looked so clean and bright，and the ladies so kind and sensible，that I dared to knock at the door.The elderly woman opened it，but she must have thought I was a thief or a beggar，because she refused to let me speak to the young ladies.The door closed firmly，shutting me out from the warmth inside.
天又黑了，我只身一人在沼澤地上。看到遠處有微弱的燈光，便決定到那兒去。風裹著雨打在我的身上，我跌倒了好幾次，但終于還是走到了一幢孤零零立在沼澤地中間的長長的矮房子前。我藏在門邊，只能從一個沒掛簾子的小窗看到廚房。一位上年紀的婦人，可能是管家，正在補衣服，還有兩個年輕姑娘似乎正借助字典學外語。廚房看上去干凈明亮，姑娘們顯得那么善良知理，于是我壯著膽子敲了門。年長的婦人開了門，但她一定以為我是一個小偷或乞丐，因為她不讓我和兩位年輕姑娘講話。門緊緊關上了，把我和屋里的溫暖斷然隔開。
I dropped on to the wet doorstep，worn out and hopeless，prepared to die.There the young ladies’brother found me，when he returned home a few minutes later，and he insisted，much against the housekeeper’s wishes，on bringing me into the house.They gave me bread and milk，and asked my
我倒在潮濕的臺階上，精疲力竭，不抱任何希望，只等著死。幾分鐘后，年輕姑娘的哥哥從外面回來，在這兒發(fā)現(xiàn)了我。他不聽管家的話，堅持要把我抬到屋里。他們給了我面包和牛奶，還問我叫什么名字。
’Jane Elliott，’I replied.I did not want anybody to know where I had come from.To their further questions I answered that I was too tired to speak.Finally they helped me upstairs to a bedroom，and I sank gratefully into a warm，dry bed.
“簡·艾略特，”我回答說。我不愿讓任何人知道我是從哪里來的。他們又問了其他問題，我只是說我太累了，不想說話。最后，她們扶我上樓到臥室休息，我感激地躺到了溫暖的、干燥的床上。
For three days and nights I lay in bed，exhausted by my experiences，and hardly conscious of my surroundings.As I was recovering，Hannah，the housekeeper，came to sit with me，and told me all about the family.She had known them since they were babies.Their mother had been dead for years，and their father had died only three weeks before.The girls，Diana and Mary Rivers，had to work as governesses，as their father had lost a lot of money in business.St John，their brother，was the vicar in the nearest village，Morton.They only used this house，called Moor House，in the holidays.
三天三夜，我由于勞累過度一直躺在床上，幾乎不知道我周圍的一切。隨著我漸漸好轉，管家漢娜就來陪我坐坐，并跟我講這家人的事情。他們還在兒時，漢娜就認識他們。他們的母親已去世多年，而父親在三個星期前剛剛死去。兩個女孩戴安娜和瑪麗·李維斯不得不做家庭教師，因為他們父親的生意虧了大本，她們的哥哥圣約翰是最近的村子莫頓的牧師。她們只是在假期里才住在這幢叫摩爾屋的房子里。
When I felt strong enough to get dressed and go downstairs，Diana and Mary looked after me very kindly，and made me feel welcome in their pleasant home.Their brother，however，seemed stern and cold.He was between twenty-eight and thirty，fair-haired and extremely handsome.Diana and Mary were curious about my past，but sensitive enough to avoid asking questions which would hurt me.St John，on the other hand，made determined efforts to discover who I was，but I，just as firmly，refused to explain more than necessary.I told them only that，after attending Lowood school，I became a governess in a wealthy family，where an unfortunate event，not in any way my fault，caused me to run away.That was all I was prepared to say.I offered to do any kind of work，teaching，sewing，cleaning，so that I could become independent again.St John approved of my keenness to work，and promised to find me some paid employment.
我有力氣穿好衣服下樓時，戴安娜和瑪麗和善地照顧著我，讓我覺得在這個和睦的家中是受歡迎的。但她們的哥哥卻似乎嚴肅而冷漠。他約莫28到30歲，金發(fā)，非常英浚戴安娜和瑪麗對我的過去感到好奇，但卻敏感地不提及可能傷害我的問題。另一方面，圣約翰卻堅持不懈地想要搞清我究竟是誰，而我也堅決地拒絕做出沒有必要的解釋。我只告訴他們在洛伍德上學之后，我到一個富人家做家庭教師，一件不幸的事使我跑掉了，但那絕不是由于我的過錯。我就準備說這些。我提出什么事我都愿做，教書、縫補、清洗，只要能再次獨立。圣約翰贊同我對工作的迫切要求，答應幫我找份掙錢的工作。
