【荆棘鸟】第二章 08

It was lunchtime before the last of the pain died out of her hands. Meggie had passed the morning in a haze¹ of fright and bewilderment, not understanding anything that was said or done. Pushed into a double desk in the back row of the youngest children's classroom, she did not even notice who was sharing the desk until after a miserable³ lunch hour spent huddled⁴ behind Bob and Jack⁵ in a secluded⁶ corner of the playground. Only Bob's stern command persuaded her to eat Fee's gooseberry jam sandwiches. When the bell rang for afternoon classes and Meggie found a place on line, her eyes finally began to clear enough to take in what was going on around her. The disgrace of the caning⁷ rankled⁸ as sharply as ever, but she held her head high and affected⁹ not to notice the nudges and whispers of the little girls near her.

  Sister Agatha was standing² in front with her cane¹⁰; Sister Declan prowled up and down behind the lines: Sister Catherine seated herself at the piano just inside the youngest children's classroom door and began rather' play "Onward¹¹, Christian¹² Soldiers" with a heavy emphasis on two-four time. It was, properly speaking, a Protestant hymn¹³, but the war had rendered it interdenominational. The dear children marched to it just like wee soldiers, Sister Catherine thought proudly.

  Of the three nuns¹⁴, Sister Declan was a replica¹⁵ of Sister Agatha minus fifteen years of life, where Sister Catherine was still remotely human. She was only in her thirties, Irish of course, and the bloom of her ardor¹⁶ had not yet entirely¹⁷ faded; she still found joy in teaching, still saw Christ's imperishable Image in the little faces turned up to hers so adoringly. But she taught the oldest children, whom Sister Agatha deemed beaten enough to behave in spite of a young and soft supervisor¹⁸. Sister Agatha herself took the youngest children to form minds and hearts out of infantile clay, leaving those in the middle grades to Sister Declan.

  Safely hidden in the last row of desks, Meggie dared to glance sideways at the little girl sitting next to her. A gap-toothed grin met her frightened gaze, huge black eyes staring roundly out of a dark, slightly shiny face. She fascinated Meggie, used to fairness and freckles¹⁹, for even Frank with his dark eyes and hair had a fair white skin; so Meggie ended in thinking her deskmate the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. "What's your name?" the dark beauty muttered out of the side of her mouth, chewing on the end of her pencil and spitting the frayed²⁰ bits into her empty inkwell hole.

 

在吃午饭的时候，她手上的疼病才渐渐地完全消失。整个上午，梅吉都是在恐惧和昏昏然的状态中度过的，对周围的一切听而不闻，视而不见。她坐在小班教室后排的一张双人课桌旁，但直到在操场的一个冷僻的角落里缩在鲍勃和杰克的身后伤心地吃完那顿午饭之前，她甚至连是谁和她同坐在一张课桌上都没注意到。她只是在鲍勃的严厉的催促和劝慰之下，才把菲做的醋栗果酱三明治吃下去。

    当下课的钟声敲响，梅吉站在队伍里的时候，她的眼睛终于始能看清楚周围的事物了。受藤条抽打的耻辱和痛楚依然十分强烈，但她却昂首挺胸，对她旁边的小姑娘们的推来搡去和窃窃私语装作没有看见。

    阿加莎嬷嬷手执藤条站在前面，德克兰嬷嬷在队伍的后面三回踱着步，凯瑟琳嬷嬷坐在小班教室刚一进门处的钢琴旁，开始以强重音的四分之二拍弹起了《前进，基督的战士》。恰当地讲，这是一支新教徒的圣歌，但是战争使各国的守教信仰相互渗透了。

    凯瑟琳嬷嬷颇为自豪地感到，这些可爱的孩子就像小士兵一样踏着乐曲的节拍迈步前进。

    在这三位嬷嬷中，德克兰嬷嬷和阿加莎嬷嬷如出一辙，只不过年轻了15年而已，而凯瑟琳嬷嬷则仍然保持着淡淡的尘世之情。她仅有五十多岁，当然，是爱尔兰人，她的热情之花还没有完全凋谢：她仍然能感到为人师表的欢乐，仍然能在那一张张极其敬慕地转向她的小脸蛋上看到天主不朽的形象。不过她教的是年龄最大的孩子，尽管他们的主管老师年轻而又温和，阿加莎嬷嬷却认为这些孩子是打够了才懂得规矩的。阿加莎嬷嬷亲自负责塑造年龄最小的孩子的头脑和心灵，而把中班的学生留给了德克兰嬷嬷。

    梅吉平安无事地坐在最后一排的书桌后面，这位她敢于斜眼瞟着坐在她旁边的那位小姑娘，她用她那缺了牙齿的嘴对梅吉战战兢兢的凝视报以浅浅的一笑。她的脸黑黑的，有些闪闪发光，一双又大又黑的眼睛坦率地盯着她。她使看惯了白皮肤和雀斑的梅吉着了迷，因为，甚至连黑眼睛、黑头发的弗兰克的皮肤比起她来也显得相当白，所以梅吉最后得出了结论，和她同桌的同学是她所见到过的最美的人。

    “你叫什么名字？”那黑美人嚼着铅笔头，将碎木屑吐进她的空墨水池里，动了动嘴角一轻声问道。

1 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

4 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 caning   

n.鞭打

参考例句：

• Whether tried according to the law of the state or the Party discipline, he cannot escape the caning he deserves. 无论是按国法， 还是按党纪，他都逃不了挨板子。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His fingers were still stinging from the caning he had had. 他的手指经过鞭打后仍旧感到刺痛。 来自辞典例句

8 rankled   

v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her comments still rankled. 她的评价仍然让人耿耿于怀。
• The insult rankled in his mind. 这种侮辱使他心里难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 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。

11 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

14 nuns   

n.（通常指基督教的）修女， （佛教的）尼姑( nun的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ah Q had always had the greatest contempt for such people as little nuns. 小尼姑之流是阿Q本来视如草芥的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Nuns are under vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 修女须立誓保持清贫、贞洁、顺从。 来自辞典例句

15 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

16 ardor   

n.热情，狂热

参考例句：

• His political ardor led him into many arguments.他的政治狂热使他多次卷入争论中。
• He took up his pursuit with ardor.他满腔热忱地从事工作。

17 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

18 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

19 freckles   

n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She had a wonderful clear skin with an attractive sprinkling of freckles. 她光滑的皮肤上有几处可爱的小雀斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When she lies in the sun, her face gets covered in freckles. 她躺在阳光下时，脸上布满了斑点。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 frayed   

adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His shirt was frayed. 他的衬衫穿破了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The argument frayed their nerves. 争辩使他们不快。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》