書蟲三級《伊?！じチ_姆》：3、求診

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3.A visit to the doctor
3．求診

The next morning was cold and bright. Ethan was down at his saw-mill early because he had to take some wood to the village builder that day. The winter sun burned red in a clear sky, and the sunlight danced over the bright, snowy fields, leaving deep blue shadows under the trees.

第二天早晨晴朗而寒冷。伊桑一早就到了他的鋸木場，因為這一天他要把一些木材送到村上的建筑商那兒去。晴朗的天空中，冬日的太陽紅艷艷的，陽光在白雪皚皚的光燦燦的田野上跳著舞，在樹下投射出深藍色的影子。

Ethan's thoughts were always clearest when he was working in the quiet morning air. Last night, after the bedroom door had closed behind them, Zeena had taken her medicine and gone to bed without a word. Ethan lay next to her, watching the light from under Mattie's door, and thinking. Why had he not kissed her on the walk home? He remembered her soft lips in the moonlight. Now, in the clear morning sunshine, he could still see her face. He could see it in the red sky and in the bright shining snow.

在寧靜的清晨工作時，伊桑的腦子總是清醒得很。昨晚，關(guān)上臥室門后，齊娜服下她的藥，一言不發(fā)地上了床。伊桑在她身邊躺下，看著瑪?shù)俜块T下透出的光，思索著。在回家的路上他干嗎不親她呢？他記起月光下她柔軟的嘴唇?，F(xiàn)在，在這明亮的清晨陽光下，他依然看得見她的面龐，在那陽光映紅了的天空中，在那瑩瑩的白雪上。

Mattie was the daughter of Orin Silver, a cousin of Zeena Frome's. Silver's medicine company had seemed successful, and he had lived like a rich man. But when he died, his wife and daughter had a terrible surprise. They discovered that he had borrowed thousands of dollars which he could not pay back. This awful news killed Mrs Silver immediately. He had also lost money which belonged to his brothers and sisters, so there was nobody in the family who wanted to help poor Mattie. The twenty-year-old girl was alone in the world, without money and without friends. She was not strong, and she had never studied or learnt to do a job. So Mattie came to Starkfield to work, without pay, in her cousin Zeena's home. At first Zeena often complained about the girl's work. Then, as the months went by, Mattie grew stronger and found the work easier. Zeena had more time to think about her illnesses, and life under the Fromes' roof became more peaceful.

瑪?shù)偈菉W林·西爾弗的女兒，齊娜·弗羅姆的表妹。西爾弗的醫(yī)藥公司似乎曾生意興隆，他活得跟個有錢人似的?？伤篮?，他的妻女卻大吃一驚。她們發(fā)現(xiàn)，他借了上千美元，根本無法還清。這個壞消息立時要了西爾弗夫人的命。西爾弗先生甚至花掉了他兄弟姐妹的錢，因此，他的家族中沒人愿意幫助可憐的瑪?shù)?。這個20歲的女孩兒孤身一人，既沒錢也沒朋友。她不壯實，也從沒上過學或是去學著做過什么工作。因此她來到斯塔克菲爾德的齊娜表姐家干活，沒有報酬。最初齊娜經(jīng)常抱怨瑪?shù)僮龌畈?。幾個月過后，瑪?shù)匍L得壯實些了，感覺家務變得容易些了。齊娜有了更多的時間去琢磨她的病情，于是弗羅姆家的生活變得安寧多了。

But now, Zeena's strange silent looks, the warning in Mattie's eyes last night... Ethan was sure that something was wrong. By midday the wood was all loaded, ready to take to Andrew Hale the builder. But Ethan decided to go home. If there was going to be trouble, he wanted to be there. So Ethan and Jotham Powell, his hired man, walked through the fields back to the house.

可現(xiàn)在，齊娜奇怪的沉默表情，昨夜瑪?shù)倬娴难凵?hellip;…伊桑確信一定是出了什么問題了。中午之前，木材已經(jīng)全裝好了，要送到建筑商安德魯·黑爾那里去?？梢辽Q定回家，要是家里有什么麻煩，他想在那里。于是伊桑和他雇的幫手喬撒姆·鮑威爾穿過田野往家走去。

When they entered the kitchen, Mattie was making coffee. Zeena was sitting at the table, wearing her best brown dress and a tall hat. A suitcase stood beside her.

他們進廚房時，瑪?shù)僬谥罂Х?。齊娜坐在桌子前，穿著她最好的褐色衣服，戴著高高的帽子，身旁放著個手提箱。

Where're you going, Zeena?' asked Ethan, surprised.

“你要去哪兒，齊娜？”伊桑驚訝地問道。

My pains are getting really bad. I'm going over to my aunt's in Bettsbridge for the night, and tomorrow I'll see that new doctor,' she answered. 'If you're too busy, I suppose you can let Jotham Powell drive me to the station.'

“我的病痛正變得越來越厲害。我要去貝茨布里奇我姑媽家，在那兒過夜，明天我要去看一個新醫(yī)生。”她答道，“你要是太忙，我想你可以讓喬撒姆·鮑威爾送我到車站去。”

Ethan said nothing. He was lost in his own thoughts. He realized that, for the first time, he and Mattie would be alone for the night. He looked at Mattie. Was she thinking the same thing? Then he looked at his wife's thin, lined, bloodless face. Zeena was thirty-five, only seven years older than he was, but she was already an old woman.

伊桑沒回答。他陷入了思考。他發(fā)現(xiàn)，他和瑪?shù)賹⒌谝淮螁为氝^一夜了。他看著瑪?shù)?。她也有相同的想法嗎？然后他看著妻子瘦削的、布滿皺紋的、沒血色的臉。齊娜35歲，只比他大7歲，可她已經(jīng)是個老女人了。

Of course Jotham'll take you,' he said at last. 'I can't do it myself, because I've got to get the money for the wood from Andrew Hale.'

“喬撒姆當然能送你去了。”他終于說道，“我沒法兒親自送你去了，我得到安德魯·黑爾那兒拿木材錢。”

This was a lie. Andrew Hale never paid immediately, but Ethan really had no wish to make the long, slow journey to the station with his miserable wife at his side.

這是謊話。安德魯·黑爾從不馬上付錢，可伊桑實在不想讓滿口抱怨的妻子坐在他身邊，一起去度過到車站的這段漫長而緩慢的旅程。

Zeena made no reply, and soon afterwards she left with Jotham. Ethan picked up his coat and stood for a moment in the doorway. 'See you later, Matt,' he said.

齊娜沒回答，不久就和喬撒姆一塊兒離開了。伊桑拿起了外套，在門口站了一會兒。“再見，瑪?shù)佟?rdquo;他說。

It was warm and bright in the kitchen. The sun shone in on the flowering pot plants by the window, and the cat sleeping in a chair. Mattie looked up from her housework. 'See you later, Ethan,' she said happily.

廚房里溫暖又明亮。陽光照在窗邊正在開花的盆栽上，貓兒在椅子上睡覺?，?shù)偻Ｏ率种械募覄栈顑?，抬起頭來。“再見，伊桑。”她歡快地說。

All the way down to the village Ethan thought of his return to Mattie that night. Without Zeena, his house seemed more like a home. And as he drove through the snowy fields, this usually silent man began to sing.

去村里的路上，伊桑都在想著晚上回家去見瑪?shù)?。齊娜不在，他的房子會更像個家。當他駛過白雪覆蓋的田野時，這個通常沉默寡言的人唱起了歌。

Ethan Frome had not always been so quiet and lonely. As a student he had liked being among happy, friendly, young people. He had enjoyed his science studies and wanted to become an engineer. But after his father's accident and death, Ethan had to leave his studies and return home. Life was hard for him, working alone on the poor farm and unsuccessful saw-mill. Then his mother fell ill, and became more and more silent. Sometimes she used to say a few crazy words, but for most of the time she refused to speak at all. So with each long, cold Starkfield winter, the silence and loneliness round Ethan grew deeper.

伊桑·弗羅姆并非一向這么沉默孤獨。當學生時，他喜歡和快樂友好的年輕人在一起。他喜歡自然學科，想成為一名工程師?？筛赣H出事死后，他就不得不輟學回家了。對他來說，獨自一人在破舊的農(nóng)場和不景氣的鋸木場工作，生活很艱難。之后，他母親病倒了，變得越來越沉默。有時她會說些瘋言瘋語，可大多數(shù)時候她根本不說話。于是，伴隨著一個又一個漫長寒冷的冬季，伊桑周遭的沉寂與孤獨變得越來越深了。

As his mother came towards her last illness, Ethan's cousin Zeena arrived to take care of her. It was wonderful to hear another person's voice in the house again, and Zeena was an excellent nurse and housekeeper. Old Mrs Frome finally died on a dark winter's day, and the idea of being alone again filled Ethan with fear. He was grateful to Zeena for all that she had done, and he asked her to stay and marry him. They had at first planned to sell the farm and move to the town. But it was hard to find a buyer, and Ethan soon realized that his wife could not live in a place where she was not someone 'important'. In less than a year her 'sickliness' appeared; then she too fell silent. Her strange, wordless looks worried Ethan. Was she going a little crazy, like his mother? What thoughts and plans were hidden behind her cold eyes?

母親病危之際，伊桑的表姐齊娜趕來照顧她了。能在家中再聽到另外一個人的聲音真是太好了，齊娜又是個非常稱職的護士和管家。老弗羅姆夫人終于在一個陰晦的冬日去世了，一想到又要獨自一人，伊桑心中就充滿了恐懼。他十分感激齊娜所做的一切，并請求她留下來嫁給他。一開始他們計劃著賣掉農(nóng)場，搬到鎮(zhèn)上去住。可找不到買主，而且伊桑很快就意識到他妻子不能住在一個她不是什么“重要”人物的地方。不到一年她就出現(xiàn)了“病情”，隨后也沉默了起來。她奇怪的無言表情讓伊桑感到憂慮：她會變得瘋瘋癲癲的，就像他母親一樣嗎？她那雙冷酷的眼睛背后隱藏著什么想法和計劃？

But that afternoon, as Ethan drove to the village with his sleigh full of wood for the builder, he felt less afraid. Zeena had gone away to Bettsbridge, with all her thoughts on her own health. And tonight he had an evening alone with Mattie. But there was still one worry — the lie about the money from Andrew Hale. He knew that Zeena would want to know where it was.

可是那個下午，當伊桑駕著滿載木材的雪橇去村上的建筑商那兒的時候，他不那么害怕了。齊娜去貝茨布里奇了，腦子里想的全是她自己的健康問題。而今夜，他將和瑪?shù)俟蔡幰煌怼？蛇€有一個讓人煩心的事兒——他撒謊要從安德魯·黑爾那兒拿錢。他知道齊娜會問錢在哪兒。

When Ethan arrived at the builder's, Hale invited him into his office to sit down and get warm. He was a large, red-faced and likeable man, an old friend of Ethan's family. Ethan did not know how to begin, but at last he managed to ask Hale for the first fifty dollars towards this winter's wood. The builder was surprised. He always paid at the end of three months, never before. He refused in his warm, friendly way, and then asked:

伊桑到了建筑商那兒后，黑爾請他到辦公室坐坐，暖暖身子。黑爾是個大塊頭，紅臉膛，人緣不錯，是伊桑家的老朋友。伊桑不知道怎么開口，可最終他還是想法子跟黑爾要這個冬天所賣木材的第一筆50元錢。建筑商感到很意外，他總是在三個月結(jié)束時付款，從不提前。他溫和而友善地拒絕了伊桑，并問：

Look, you ain't got money problems, have you?'

“瞧，你在錢上不會有什么問題吧，是不是？”

No, not at all,' replied Ethan, very embarrassed.

“沒，一點兒問題也沒有。”伊桑很尷尬地答道。

The afternoon had turned into a cold grey evening by the time Ethan left the builder's. He heard the sound of sleigh-bells, and Denis Eady drove past, shouting 'Hello, Ethe!' Eady was going towards the Frome farm. Did he know that Zeena had gone? Was he going there to spend some time alone with Mattie? Ethan felt wildly jealous, then moments later was ashamed of his feelings.

伊桑離開建筑商那兒的時候，已經(jīng)是陰冷的傍晚了。他聽到了雪橇的鈴鐺聲，丹尼斯·伊迪駕著雪橇駛過，喊著：“你好哇，伊桑！”伊迪向著弗羅姆的農(nóng)場駛?cè)?。他知道齊娜走了？他是要去那兒和瑪?shù)賳为毚龝簡?？伊桑感到一陣強烈的嫉妒，可過了不久他又為自己的嫉妒感到羞愧。

By the Varnum house Ethan saw two figures standing together under the trees. He heard a kiss, and a surprised 'Oh!' as he passed by. Two happy lovers, kissing where he had stood with Mattie the night before. But unlike him, Ruth Varnum and Ned Hale didn't need to hide their feelings. How lucky they were!

駛過瓦納姆家的時候，伊?？吹皆跇湎掠袃蓚€人站在一起。經(jīng)過時他聽到一聲親吻，還有人驚訝地“哦”了一聲。一對幸福的戀人在他和瑪?shù)偾耙惶煲估镌?jīng)站過的地方親吻著。與自己不同，露絲·瓦納姆和內(nèi)德·黑爾無需隱藏他們的感情。他們多么幸運啊！

As night fell, Ethan passed by the Frome gravestones and drove up to the farmhouse. A light shone in a room upstairs.

夜幕降臨，伊桑駛過自家的墓地，來到了農(nóng)舍前。樓上的一間屋子里亮著燈。

She's getting herself ready for supper,' he thought.

“她正在準備晚飯。”他想。