《简·爱》 Chapter 13 第十三章（6）

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"Don't trouble yourself to give her a character," returned Mr. Rochester.

"别忙着给她作鉴定了，"罗切斯特先生回答说。

Eulogiums will not bias¹ me. I shall judge for myself. She began by felling my horse.

歌功颂德并不能使我偏听偏信，我会自己作出判断。她是以把我的马弄倒在地开始给我产生印象的。

"Sir?" said Mrs. Fairfax.

"先生？"费尔法克斯太太说。

I have to thank her for this sprain².

我得感谢她使我扭伤了脚。

The widow looked bewildered.

这位寡妇一时莫名其妙。

Miss Eyre, have you ever lived in a town?

爱小姐，你在城里住过吗？

No, sir.

没有，先生。

Have you seen much society?

见过很多社交场合吗？

None but the pupils and teachers of Lowood, and now the inmates⁴ of Thornfield.

除了罗沃德的学生和教师，什么也没有。如今还有桑菲尔德府里的人。

Have you read much?

你读过很多书吗？

Only such books as came in my way, and they have not been numerous or very learned.

碰到什么就读什么，数量不多，也不高深。

You have lived the life of a nun⁵. No doubt you are well drilled in religious forms.

你过的是修女的生活，毫无疑问，在宗教礼仪方面你是训练有素的。

Brocklehurst, who I understand directs Lowood, is a parson, is he not?

布罗克赫斯特，我知道是他管辖着罗沃德，他是位牧师，是吗？

Yes, sir.

是的，先生。

And you girls probably worshipped him, as a convent full of religieuses would worship their director.

你们姑娘们也许都很崇拜他，就像住满修女的修道院，崇拜她们的院长一样。

Oh, no.

啊，没有。

You are very cool! No! What! a novice⁶ not worship her priest! That sounds blasphemous⁷.

你倒很冷静！不！一位见习修女不崇拜她的牧师？那听起来有些亵渎神灵。

I disliked Mr. Brocklehurst, and I was not alone in the feeling.

我不喜欢布罗克赫斯特先生，有这种感觉的不只我一个。

He is a harsh man, at once pompous⁸ and meddling⁹.

他是个很严酷的人，既自负而又爱管闲事。

He cut off our hair, and for economy's sake bought us bad needles and thread, with which we could hardly sew.

他剪去了我们的头发，而为节省，给我们买了很差的针线，大家差点都没法儿缝。

"That was very false economy," remarked Mrs. Fairfax, who now again caught the drift of the dialogue.

"那是种很虚假的节省，"费尔法克斯太太议论道，此刻她又听到了我们的一阵交谈。

"And was that the head and front of his offending?" demanded Mr. Rochester.

"而这就是他最大的罪状？"罗切斯特先生问。

He starved us when he had the sole superintendence of the provision department, before the committee was appointed.

他还让我们挨饿，那时他单独掌管供应部，而委员会还没有成立。

And he bored us with long lectures once a week,

他弄得我们很厌烦，一周一次作长篇大论的讲道，

and with evening readings from books of his own inditing¹⁰, about sudden deaths and judgments¹¹, which made us afraid to go to bed.

每晚要我们读他自己编的书，写的是关于暴死呀，报应呀，吓得我们都不敢去睡觉。

What age were you when you went to Lowood?

你去罗沃德的时候几岁？

About ten.

十岁左右。

And you stayed there eight years. You are now, then, eighteen?

你在那里待了八年，那你现在是十八岁罗？

I assented¹².

我表示同意。

Arithmetic, you see, is useful.

你看，数学还是有用的。

Without its aid, I should hardly have been able to guess your age.

没有它的帮助，我很难猜出你的年纪。

It is a point difficult to fix where the features and countenance¹³ are so much at variance¹⁴ as in your case.

像你这样五官与表情相差那么大，要确定你的年纪可不容易。

And now what did you learn at Lowood? Can you play?

好吧，你在罗沃德学了些什么？会弹钢琴吗？

A little.

会一点。

Of course. That is the established answer.

当然，都会这么回答的。

Go into the library — I mean, if you please. — Excuse my tone of command; I am used to say, 'Do this,' and it is done.

到书房去 — 我的意思是请你到书房去 — 请原谅我命令的口气，我已说惯了‘你作这事’，于是他就去作了。

I cannot alter my customary habits for one new inmate³.

我无法为一个新来府上的人改变我的老习惯。

Go, then, into the library; take a candle with you; leave the door open; sit down to the piano, and play a tune¹⁵.

那么，到书房去，带着你的蜡烛，让门开着，坐在钢琴面前，弹一个曲子。

1 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

2 sprain   

n.扭伤,扭筋

参考例句：

• He got a foot sprain in his ankle. 他脚踝受了严重的扭伤。
• The sprain made my ankle swell up. 我的脚踝扭伤肿了起来。

3 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

4 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

6 novice   

adj.新手的，生手的

参考例句：

• As a novice writer,this is something I'm interested in.作为初涉写作的人，我对此很感兴趣。
• She realized that she was a novice.她知道自己初出茅庐。

7 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

8 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

9 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

10 inditing   

v.写（文章，信等）创作，赋诗，创作( indite的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The inditing experiments of searching-root writers and the attempts of avant-grade authors embody these two aspects. 这两个层面又集中体现在寻根派作家的创作实践与先锋作家群的尝试中。 来自互联网
• Network literature has definite appreciating values, meanwhile, it has obvious aesthetic defects in inditing. 网络文学在具有一定的观赏性的同时，也有着不可回避的创作审美缺陷。 来自互联网

11 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

12 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

13 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

14 variance   

n.矛盾，不同

参考例句：

• The question of woman suffrage sets them at variance. 妇女参政的问题使他们发生争执。
• It is unnatural for brothers to be at variance. 兄弟之间不睦是不近人情的。

15 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。