VOA慢速英语2015 《拉帕奇尼的女儿》纳撒尼尔·霍桑Ⅱ（在线收听）

Rappaccini’s Daughter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Part Two 《拉帕奇尼的女儿》纳撒尼尔·霍桑Ⅱ

Today, we complete the story "Rappaccini’s Daughter." It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Here is Kay Gallant with the second and final part of “Rappaccini’s Daughter.”

谢普奥尼尔：“现在，开始特别的英语节目‘美国故事’”。今天我们将完成故事“拉帕齐尼的女儿”的讲述。这个故事的作者是纳撒尼尔·霍桑。现在由凯·加兰特讲叙故事“拉帕齐尼的女儿”的第二部分,也是最后一个部分。

Many years ago, a young man named Giovanni Guasconti left his home in Naples to study in northern Italy. He took a room in an old house next to a magnificent garden filled with strange flowers and other plants.

凯·加兰特：很多年前，一个叫乔凡尼·卡斯孔缇的年轻男人离开家乡那不勒斯，来到意大利的北部城市帕多瓦求学。他在一座老房子里租了一间屋子住下。房子旁边有一个神秘的大花园。花园里种着许多奇异的花和植物。

The garden belonged to a doctor, Giacomo Rappaccini. He lived with his daughter, Beatrice, in a small brown house in the garden. From a window of his room, Giovanni had seen that Rappaccini’s daughter was very beautiful. But everyone in Padua was afraid of her father.

这个花园属于一个叫拉帕齐尼的医生，他跟他的女儿碧翠斯住在花园里的一个小棕色房子里。乔凡尼曾从房间的窗户里看见过拉帕齐尼的女儿。她非常美丽，但是她的父亲却让在帕多瓦的每个人感到害怕。

Pietro Baglioni, a professor at the university, warned Giovanni about the mysterious Doctor Rappaccini. “He is a great scientist,” Professor Baglioni told the young man. “But he is also dangerous. Rappaccini cares more about science than he does about people. He has created many terrible poisons from the plants in his garden.”

乔凡尼的大学教授博朗尼曾向他说起过神秘的拉帕齐尼的医生。教授告诉年青的乔凡尼：“拉帕奇尼医生是一个伟大的科学家，但他也很危险。 拉帕奇尼很关注科学实验，而很少关心别人。他用他花园里的植物研制出许多可怕的毒药。”

One day, Giovanni found a secret entrance to Rappaccini’s garden. He went in. The plants all seemed wild and unnatural. Giovanni realized that Rappaccini must have created these strange and terrible flowers through his experiments.

有一天，乔万尼发现了一个通向花园的秘密入口。他情不自禁地走了进去，花园里所有的植物千奇百怪。 乔瓦尼意识到，这肯定是拉帕奇尼医生实验出来的奇怪又可怕的花卉。

Suddenly, Rappaccini’s daughter came into the garden. She moved quickly among the flowers until she reached him. Giovanni apologized for coming into the garden without an invitation. But Beatrice smiled at him and made him feel welcome.

突然，拉帕奇尼的女儿来到花园。她很快穿过花丛走到乔万尼面前。乔瓦尼对自己擅自闯入花园的行为表示道歉。碧翠斯微笑地看着他，让他感到很友善。

“I see you love flowers,” she said. “And so you have come to take a closer look at my father’s rare collection.”

“我看你爱花，” 她说。 “所以你可以靠近一点观赏我父亲收集的珍藏品。”

While she spoke, Giovanni noticed a perfume in the air around her. He wasn’t sure if this wonderful smell came from the flowers or from her breath.

碧翠斯说话时，乔瓦尼感觉到在她周围的空气弥漫着一股香气。他不确定这美妙的气味来自鲜花还是来自她的呼吸。

She asked him about his home and his family. She told him she had spent her life in this garden. Giovanni felt as if he were talking to a very small child. Her spirit sparkled like clear water.

她询问了乔万尼的家庭和家人。她告诉乔万尼她一生都生活在这个花园。乔瓦尼觉得她说话的声音像非常小的孩子。她的精神像清水闪闪发光。

They walked slowly though the garden as they talked. At last they reached a beautiful plant that was covered with large purple flowers. He realized that the perfume from those flowers was like the perfume of Beatrice’s breath, but much stronger.

他们一边说着话，一边在花园里漫步。最后，他们来到一个美丽的植物面前，上面盛开着大朵大朵紫色的花儿。他感觉到花儿散发出的香气，很象碧翠斯呼吸里的香气，但是比碧翠斯的香气要强烈得多。

The young man reached out to break off one of the purple flowers. But Beatrice gave a scream that went through his heart like a knife. She caught his hand and pulled it away from the plant with all her strength.

乔万尼伸手摘了一朵紫色的花，碧翠斯尖叫起来，这声音就像一把刀刺在乔万尼的心上。碧翠斯一把抓住他的手，用尽全身的力气把他拽开。

“Don’t ever touch those flowers!” she cried. “They will take your life!” Hiding her face, she ran into the house. Then, Giovanni saw Doctor Rappaccini standing in the garden.

“永远不要碰那些花!“她哭着说。“它们会要你的命!”, 她捂着脸跑进屋里。随后, 乔瓦尼看到拉帕奇尼医生正站在花园里。

That night, Giovanni could not stop thinking about how sweet and beautiful Beatrice was. Finally, he fell asleep. But when the morning came, he woke up in great pain. He felt as if one of his hands was on fire. It was the hand that Beatrice had grabbed in hers when he reached for one of the purple flowers.

那天晚上, 乔瓦尼情不自禁地回想着碧翠斯是多么的甜美啊。最后, 他睡着了。但是，第二天清晨，一阵巨痛让他醒来。他觉得一只手象着火烧一样疼痛。这是他摘紫色的花时，被碧翠斯抓住的手。

Giovanni looked down at his hand. There was a purple mark on it that looked like four small fingers and a little thumb. But because his heart was full of Beatrice, Giovanni forgot about the pain in his hand.

乔瓦尼低头看着他的手。看到手上有四个小手指和一个小拇指的紫色斑痕。但因为他的心里都是碧翠斯, 乔万尼很快忘记了手的疼痛。

He began to meet her in the garden every day. At last, she told him that she loved him. But she would never let him kiss her or even hold her hand.

他开始每天在花园里与碧翠斯约会。后来, 碧翠斯告诉他，她爱上了他，但是她不会让他吻她甚至握着她的手。

One morning, several weeks later, Professor Baglioni visited Giovanni. “I was worried about you,” the older man said. “You have not come to your classes at the university for more than a month. Is something wrong?”

几周后的一天早上，博朗尼教授来看乔万尼，“我很担心你”老人说“你有一个多月没来大学里上课了，出了什么事吗？”

Giovanni was not pleased to see his old friend. “No, nothing is wrong. I am fine, thank you.” He wanted Professor Baglioni to leave. But the old man took off his hat and sat down.

乔万尼看到教授来了很不开心，“没，没什么事，我很好。谢谢你。”他想让教授快点离开。但教授却脱下帽子，坐了下来。

“My dear Giovanni,” he said. “You must stay away from Rappaccini and his daughter. Her father has given her poison from the time she was a baby. The poison is in her blood and on her breath. If Rappaccini did this to his own daughter, what is he planning to do to you?”

“亲爱的乔万尼,” 教授说:”你一定要远离拉帕奇尼医生和他的女儿。当他的女儿还是婴儿的时候，他就把毒药给他女儿吃，现在毒药渗入到了她的血液里和呼吸里。如果拉帕奇尼医生能对他的女儿下此毒手，他又会对你做些什么呢？”

Giovanni covered his face with his hands. “Oh my God!” he cried. “Don’t worry, the old man continued. “It is not too late to save you. And we may succeed in helping Beatrice, too. Do you see this little silver bottle? It holds a medicine that will destroy even the most powerful poison. Give it to your Beatrice to drink.”

乔万尼用手捂住脸叹息到：“哦，我的上帝啊！”他哭了。“别担心，”教授继续说：“你还有救，我们可能还能拯救碧翠斯。你看见这个银色的小瓶子了吗？里面的药可以解世上最毒的毒药。给一点让碧翠斯喝下。”

Professor Baglioni put the little bottle on the table and left Giovanni’s room. The young man wanted to believe that Beatrice was a sweet and innocent girl. And yet, Professor Baglioni’s words had put doubts in his heart.

博朗尼教授把小药瓶放在桌上然后起身离开了乔万尼的房间。乔万尼心想碧翠斯是位可爱而纯洁的女孩，而博朗尼教授的话让他心生疑虑。

It was nearly time for his daily meeting with Beatrice. As Giovanni combed his hair, he looked at himself in a mirror near his bed. He could not help noticing how handsome he was. His eyes looked particularly bright. And his face had a healthy warm glow.

与碧翠斯每天约会的时间要到了，他一边看着床边的镜子，一边梳理着头发。他觉得自己英俊极了。他的眼睛看上去特别的明亮，脸色温润健康。

He said to himself, “At least her poison has not gotten into my body yet.” As he spoke he happened to look at some flowers he had just bought that morning. A shock of horror went through his body.

他对自己说：“至少她身上的毒没有侵入到我的血液里。”正当他自言自语时，他的眼神突然落在了早上刚买的花上。他浑身打了个哆嗦。

The flowers were turning brown! Giovanni’s face became very white as he stared at himself in the mirror.

这些花在发黄变暗，乔万尼盯着镜子中的自己，脸色变得越来越苍白。

Then he noticed a spider crawling near his window. He bent over the insect and blew a breath of air at it. The spider trembled, and fell dead. “I am cursed,” Giovanni whispered to himself. “My own breath is poison.”

然后，他看到窗边有一只蜘蛛在爬行，他弯下腰向它吹了一口气，蜘蛛浑身抽搐，然后死去。“我中招了。”乔万尼轻声对自己说：“我的呼吸有毒。”

At that moment, a rich, sweet voice came floating up from the garden. “Giovanni! You are late. Come down.”

就在这时，一个甜美富有磁力的声音从花园里飘进来“乔万尼！你迟到了，快下来。”

“You are a monster!” Giovanni shouted as soon as he reached her. “And with your poison you have made me into a monster, too. I am a prisoner of this garden.”

“你是魔鬼！”乔万尼来到碧翠斯面前对她吼叫道：“你用你的毒药把我也变成了魔鬼。我成了这个花园的囚犯。”

“Giovanni!” Beatrice cried, looking at him with her large bright eyes. “Why are you saying these terrible things? It is true that I can never leave this garden. But you are free to go wherever you wish.”

“乔万尼！”碧翠斯哭了，用水汪汪的大眼睛看着他。“你为什么这样说我？是的，我永远不能离开这个花园，但可以自由自在地去任何你想去的地方。”

Giovanni looked at her with hate in his eyes. “Don’t pretend that you don’t know what you have done to me.”

乔万尼愤恨地看着她说：“你不要假装不知道对我做了些什么。”

A group of insects had flown into the garden. They came toward Giovanni and flew around his head. He blew his breath at them. The insects fell to the ground, dead.

一群昆虫在花园里飞舞，它们朝乔万尼飞来，在他头顶盘旋着。他朝它们吹了口气，昆虫们落在地上，死去了。

Beatrice screamed. “I see it! I see it! My father’s science has done this to us. Believe me, Giovanni, I did not ask him to do this to you. I only wanted to love you.”

碧翠斯尖叫起来：“我看到了！”“我明白了！这是我父亲的科学实验对我们捣的鬼。乔万尼我没有要他对你这样做，我只是想爱着你。”

Giovanni’s anger changed to sadness. Then, he remembered the medicine that Professor Baglioni had given him. Perhaps the medicine would destroy the poison in their bodies and help them to become normal again.

乔万尼由愤怒转为悲伤。他想起博朗尼教授给他的解药。也许这个药可以解除他们身上的毒，帮助他们重新恢复正常。

“Dear Beatrice,” he said, “our fate is not so terrible.” He showed her the little silver bottle and told her what the medicine inside it might do. “I will drink first,” she said. “You must wait to see what happens to me before you drink it.”

“亲爱的碧翠斯。”他说：“我们的命运不会这么糟。”他把银色的小药瓶给她看，并且告诉她里面的药的作用。“我先喝”她说：“你必须看着我没事了，你才喝。”

She put Baglioni’s medicine to her lips and took a small sip. At the same moment, Rappaccini came out of his house and walked slowly toward the two young people. He spread his hands out to them as if he were giving them a blessing.

她把博朗尼教授的药倒在嘴唇上抿了一小口，这时，拉帕奇尼医生来到屋外，向这两个年轻人慢慢走来。他向他们张开双手，好像要向他们表示祝福。

“My daughter,” he said, “you are no longer alone in the world. Give Giovanni one of the purple flowers from your favorite plant. It will not hurt him now. My science and your love have made him different from ordinary men.”

“我的女儿，”他说；“在这个世界上你不会再感到孤单。在你最喜欢的紫色花丛里摘一朵给乔万尼。现在，这花不会伤害到他了。我的科学实验以及你的爱使他成了不同寻常的人。”

“My father,” Beatrice said weakly, “why did you do this terrible thing to your own child?”

“爸爸，”碧翠斯虚弱地说：“你为什么对自己的孩子下这样的毒手？”

Rappaccini looked surprised. “What do you mean, my daughter?” he asked. “You have power no other woman has. You can defeat your strongest enemy with only your breath. Would you rather be a weak woman?”

拉帕奇尼医生惊讶地看着碧翠斯。“你到底在说什么，我的女儿？”他争辩道：“你拥有的力量别的女人都没有，你用你的呼吸就可以打败你最强的敌人，难道你愿意做一个弱女子吗？”

“I want to be loved, not feared,” Beatrice replied. “But now, it does not matter. I am leaving you, father. I am going where the poison you have given me will do no harm. Good bye to you, Giovanni.”

“我想被人爱，而不是让人害怕。”碧翠斯回答道：“但现在，这都不重要了。我要离开你，爸爸。我要去的地方，在那里你给我的毒药不会造成任何毒害。乔万尼，再见！”

Beatrice dropped to the ground. She died at the feet of her father and Giovanni. The poison had been too much a part of the young woman. The medicine that destroyed the poison, destroyed her, as well.

碧翠斯倒在了地上，她死在她父亲和乔万尼的脚下。毒素已侵入到这个年轻女孩身上的太多部位，摧毁毒素的解药也毁掉了碧翠斯。

Words in This Story

sparkle - v. to be or become bright and lively

scream - v. to suddenly cry out in a loud and high voice because of pain, surprise, etc.?

handsome - adj. pleasing to look at 

glow - n. a pink color in your face from exercising, being excited, etc.?

grab - v. to quickly take and hold (someone or something) with your hand or arms?

crawl - v. to move with the body close to or on the ground