月亮和六便士 第三十八章(4)

 They pinched and saved so that I should have enough to live on, 他们老两口省吃俭用，好叫我能够维持生活。

and when my first picture was exhibited they came to Amsterdam to see it,  当我的第一幅绘画参加展出的时候，他们到阿姆斯特丹看来了，

my father and mother and my sister, and my mother cried when she looked at it. His kind eyes glistened¹. 我的父亲、母亲和妹妹都来了。我的母亲看见我的图画，眼泪都流出来了。”说到这里，施特略夫自己的眼睛也挂上了泪花。

"And now on every wall of the old house there is one of my pictures in a beautiful gold frame." “现在老家的屋子四壁都挂着我的一张张画，镶在漂亮的金框子里。”

He glowed with happy pride. 他的一张脸因为幸福的骄傲而闪闪发亮。

I thought of those cold scenes of his, with their picturesque² peasants and cypresses³ and olive-trees. 我又想起来他画的那些毫无生气的景物，穿得花花绿绿的农民啊、丝柏树啊、橄榄树啊什么的。

They must look queer in their garish⁴ frames on the walls of the peasant house. 这些画镶着很讲究的金框子，挂在一家村舍的墙上是多么不伦不类呀！

The dear soul thought she was doing a wonderful thing for me when she made me an artist, “我那可怜的母亲认为她把我培养成一个艺术家是干了一件了不起的事，

but perhaps, after all, it would have been better for me if my father's will had prevailed and I were now but an honest carpenter. 但是说不定要是父亲的想法得以实现，我如今只不过是个老老实实的木匠，对我说来倒更好一些。”

Now that you know what art can offer, would you change your life? Would you have missed all the delight it has given you? “现在你已经了解了艺术会给人们带来些什么。你还愿意改变你的生活吗？你肯放弃艺术给与你的所有那些快感吗？”

Art is the greatest thing in the world, he answered, after a pause. “艺术是世界上最伟大的东西。”他沉吟了片刻说。

He looked at me for a minute reflectively; he seemed to hesitate; then he said: 他沉思地看了我一会儿，好象对一件什么事拿不定主意。最后，他开口说：

Did you know that I had been to see Strickland? “你知道我去看思特里克兰德了吗？”

You? I was astonished. I should have thought he could not bear to set eyes on him. Stroeve smiled faintly. “你？”我吃了一惊。我本来以为他非常恨他，决不会同他见面的。施特略夫的脸浮起一丝笑容。

You know already that I have no proper pride. “你已经知道我这人是没有自尊心的。”

What do you mean by that? “这话是什么意思？”

He told me a singular story. 他给我说了一个奇异的故事。

1 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

3 cypresses   

n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Green and luxuriant are the pines and cypresses. 苍松翠柏郁郁葱葱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Before them stood a grove of tall cypresses. 前面是一个大坝子，种了许多株高大的松树。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

4 garish   

adj.华丽而俗气的，华而不实的

参考例句：

• This colour is bright but not garish.这颜色艳而不俗。
• They climbed the garish purple-carpeted stairs.他们登上铺着俗艳的紫色地毯的楼梯。