【荆棘鸟】第二章 06

 The sight was truly extraordinary; three dabs¹ of person, which were Sister Agatha's face and hands, the rest white starched² wimple and bib glaring against layers of blackest black, with a massive rope of wooden rosary beads³ dangling⁴ from an iron ring that joined the ends of a wide leather belt around Sister Agatha's stout⁵ middle. Sister Agatha's skin was permanently⁶ red, from too much cleanliness and the pressure of the knifelike edges of the wimple framing the front center of her head into something too disembodied to be called a face; little hairs sprouted⁷ in tufts all over her chin, which the wimple ruthlessly squashed double. Her lips were quite invisible, compressed into a single line of concentration on the hard business of being the Bride of Christ in a colonial backwater with topsy-turvy seasons when she had taken her vows⁸ in the sweet softness of a Killarney abbey over fifty years before. Two small crimson⁹ marks were etched into the sides of her nose from the remorseless grip of her round, steel-framed spectacles, and behind them her eyes peered out suspiciously, pale blue and bitter. "Well, Robert Cleary, why are you late?" Sister Agatha barked in her dry, once Irish voice.

  "I'm sorry, Sister," Bob replied woodenly, his blue green eyes still riveted¹⁰ on the tip of the quivering cane¹¹ as it waved back and forth¹². "Why are you late?" she repeated.

  "I'm sorry, Sister."

  "This is the first morning of the new school year, Robert Cleary, and I would have thought that on this morning if not on others you might have made an effort to be on time."

  Meggie shivered, but plucked up her courage. "Oh, please, Sister, it was my fault!" she squeaked¹³.

  The pale-blue eyes deviated¹⁴ from Bob and seemed to go through and through Meggie's very soul as she stood there gazing up in genuine innocence¹⁵, not aware she was breaking the first rule of conduct in a deadly duel¹⁶ which went on between teachers and pupils ad infinitum: never volunteer information. Bob kicked her swiftly on the leg and Meggie looked at him sideways, bewildered. "Why was it your fault?" the nun¹⁷ demanded in the coldest tones Meggie had ever heard.

  "Well, I was sick all over the table and it went right through to my drawers, so Mum had to wash me and change my dress, and I made us all late," Meggie explained artlessly.

  Sister Agatha's features remained expressionless.

 

梅吉以前从没见过修女，因此目瞪口呆地望着她。她看到的情况的确实少见：阿加莎嬷嬷的身上只露出了脸和双手，其余就是浆得雪白的修女头巾和胸巾了，它们在其黑无比的衣服的衬托下，耀人眼目。

    阿加莎修女那粗壮的腰上围着一条宽皮带，皮带套在一个铁环上，环上挂着一大串用结实的绳子串起来的木念珠。阿加莎嬷嬷的皮肤永远是红的，一来是因为它过于干净，二来是因为那压得紧紧的头巾褶边裹着她的头，只露出了前面中间的一部分，她的脸因而显得过于超凡拔俗，难于称之为脸了。她的下巴上长满了一撮撮的汗毛，它们被头巾毫不留情地挤压着。她的嘴唇干瘪得成了一条细缝，几乎看不见了，这是由于她五十多年前在基拉尔尼修道院的温暖怀抱里立下誓言，到这季节颠倒的穷僻的殖民地来当修女的艰苦生活所造成的。她鼻子的两侧各有一块绯红的疤痕，这是她那副圆形眼镜的钢框压出来的，眼镜的后面闪着一双浅蓝色的、严厉而又疑心重重的眼睛。

    “喂，罗伯特·克利里，你怎么迟到了？”阿加莎嬷嬷那一度是操着爱尔兰腔的、干巴巴的嗓音厉声喝道。

    “对不起，嬷嬷。”鲍勃毫无表情地答道，他那双翠蓝的眼睛仍然死死地盯着那前后挥动着的藤条尖。

    “你为什么迟到？”她又问了一遍。

    “对不起，嬷嬷。”

    “罗伯特·克利里，这可是新学期的第一天早晨，我以为在这一天早晨你是会尽量准时到校的，即使在别的时候你不这样做。”

    梅吉发着抖，但还是鼓起了勇气说：“哦，对不起，嬷嬷，这是我的错！”她尖声说道。

    那双浅蓝色的眼睛离开了鲍勃，似乎想要把梅吉的灵魂彻底地看个透似的。这时，她天真无邪地站在那里，仰脸望着，她没有意识到，她破坏了师生之间无时无刻不在进行着的激烈的对话中那首要的行为准则，即决不要自动打报告。鲍勃飞快地在她的腿上踢了一下，梅吉莫名其妙地斜眼看了看他。

    “为什么是你的错？”嬷嬷用一种梅吉闻所未闻的最冷冰冰的声调问道。

    “嗯，吃饭的时候我一直恶心，把吃的东西全都吐在衬裤上了，所以妈妈只好给我洗了洗，换了身衣服。是因为我。我们才都迟到了。”梅吉天真地解释道。

    阿加莎嬷嬷的脸上依然毫无表情，

1 dabs   

少许( dab的名词复数 )； 是…能手； 做某事很在行； 在某方面技术熟练

参考例句：

• Each of us had two dabs of butter. 我们每人吃了两小块黄油。
• He made a few dabs at the fence with the paint but didn't really paint it. 他用颜料轻刷栅栏，但一点也没刷上。

2 starched   

adj.浆硬的，硬挺的，拘泥刻板的v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My clothes are not starched enough. 我的衣服浆得不够硬。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The ruffles on his white shirt were starched and clean. 白衬衫的褶边浆过了，很干净。 来自辞典例句

3 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

4 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

5 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

6 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

7 sprouted   

v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了，都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

9 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

10 riveted   

铆接( rivet的过去式和过去分词 )； 把…固定住； 吸引； 引起某人的注意

参考例句：

• I was absolutely riveted by her story. 我完全被她的故事吸引住了。
• My attention was riveted by a slight movement in the bushes. 我的注意力被灌木丛中的轻微晃动吸引住了。

11 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

14 deviated   

v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• On this occasion the plane deviated from its usual flight path. 这一次那架飞机偏离了正常的航线。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His statements sometimes deviated from the truth. 他的陈述有时偏离事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

16 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

17 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。