Agatha's father, Frederick, died in 1901, when Agatha was eleven years old. He was an American, and was ten years older than Clara. After he died, Clara began to travel a lot, and often took Agatha with her.
阿加莎的父親弗雷德里克于1901年去世,當(dāng)時(shí)阿加莎只有11歲。他是一個(gè)美國(guó)人,比克拉拉年長(zhǎng)10歲。他去世以后,克拉拉開始到處旅行,并且經(jīng)常把阿加莎帶在身邊。
In 1911, when Agatha was twenty-one, Clara was ill.
1911年,阿加莎21歲的時(shí)候,克拉拉病了。
'You need to go somewhere warm and sunny to get better,' Clara's doctor told her.
“您需要去一個(gè)氣候溫暖、陽(yáng)光充足的地方才能夠康復(fù)。”克拉拉的醫(yī)生告訴她。
So Clara decided to go to Egypt again, and she took Agatha with her. They stayed in a hotel in Cairo. There were some English soldiers staying near the hotel, and they often came to the hotel dances.
于是克拉拉決定帶著阿加莎重返埃及。她們住在開羅的一家旅館里。旅館附近住著一些英國(guó)士兵,他們經(jīng)常來(lái)旅館參加舞會(huì)。
Agatha was a shy young woman, but she loved to dance. During her stay in Cairo, she went to fifty dances. She met a lot of exciting young men and had a wonderful time.
盡管阿加莎是個(gè)害羞的年輕女子,可她非常熱衷于參加舞會(huì)。在開羅逗留期間,她參加了50場(chǎng)舞會(huì),遇見了很多讓人心動(dòng)的年輕男子,度過了一段很美好的時(shí)光。
When she came back to England, she was soon getting invitations to garden parties, tennis parties, dances, and to country houses for the weekend.
回到英國(guó)后,很快她便接到了很多邀請(qǐng),請(qǐng)她去參加游園會(huì)、網(wǎng)球聚會(huì)、舞會(huì),或是去鄉(xiāng)下別墅度周末。
Then a young army officer called Reggie Lucy came home from Hong Kong. Agatha was a friend of Reggie's three sisters, and often played tennis with them. But she did not know Reggie. He was a very shy young man who did not go out very much. He liked to play golf but did not like parties or dances.
當(dāng)時(shí),一個(gè)名叫雷吉·盧西的年輕軍官剛從香港回來(lái)。阿加莎與雷吉的三個(gè)妹妹是朋友,經(jīng)常在一起打網(wǎng)球,但是她并不認(rèn)識(shí)雷吉。這個(gè)年輕人非常靦腆,不愛外出。他喜歡打高爾夫球,卻討厭參加那些聚會(huì)或是舞會(huì)。
'I like to play golf, but I'm not very good at it,' Agatha said when she met him.
“我喜歡打高爾夫球,可打得不好。”阿加莎見到他時(shí)說(shuō)。
'I—I could help you,' said Reggie, shyly. He had dark hair and brown eyes. Agatha liked him.
“我——我可以教你。”雷吉害羞地說(shuō)。他有著黑色的頭發(fā)和棕色的眼睛。阿加莎喜歡上了他。
So, while Reggie was in England, he and Agatha played golf nearly every day.
于是,雷吉在英國(guó)期間幾乎每天都和阿加莎在一起打高爾夫球。
One very warm day they played golf for a little while, then Agatha said, 'I'm hot, Reggie! Shall we have a rest?'
一天,天氣非常暖和,打了一會(huì)兒高爾夫球之后,阿加莎說(shuō)道:“雷吉,我覺得很熱!我們休息會(huì)兒好嗎?”
They sat under a tree, out of the sun, and talked. Then, suddenly, Reggie said, 'I want to marry you, Agatha. Did you know that? Perhaps you did. But you are still very young, and—'
他們坐在一棵能遮住太陽(yáng)的樹下,開始聊天。突然,雷吉說(shuō):“我想和你結(jié)婚,阿加莎。你知道嗎?或許知道吧??墒悄氵€很小,并且——”
'No, I'm not!' said Agatha. 'Not very young.'
“不,我不是!”阿加莎說(shuō),“不是很小了。”
'Of course, a pretty girl like you could marry anybody,' said Reggie.
“當(dāng)然了,像你這樣的漂亮女孩兒可以嫁給任何人。”雷吉說(shuō)。
'I don't think I want to marry anybody,' Agatha said. 'I—yes, I think I'd like to marry you!'
“我不是任何人都想嫁,”阿加莎說(shuō),“我——是的,我想嫁給你!”
'I have to go back to Hong Kong in ten clays' time,' said Reggie. 'And I'll be there for two years. But when I come back, if there isn't anybody...'
“十天后我就必須返回香港了,”雷吉說(shuō),“我要在那兒待兩年。如果我回來(lái)的時(shí)候仍然沒有其他人……”
'There won't be anybody,' said Agatha.
“不會(huì)有其他人了。”阿加莎說(shuō)。
So Reggie went back to Hong Kong.
于是雷吉返回香港了。
Agatha wrote letters to him, and he wrote to her. It was all agreed. When Reggie came home again, they would get married.
他們的信件你來(lái)我往。一切都已經(jīng)安排好。雷吉再回來(lái)時(shí),他們就結(jié)婚。
* * *
dance n. social gathering at which people dance. 舞會(huì)。
invitation n. request to go or come somewhere, or do sth. 邀請(qǐng)某人去或來(lái)某處或做某事。
golf n. outdoor game in which the player tries to hit a small hard ball into a series of 9 or 18 holes using as few strokes as possible. 高爾夫球運(yùn)動(dòng)。
marry v. take (sb.) as a husband or wife. 與(某人)結(jié)婚;嫁或娶(某人)。