牛津書蟲系列 大衛(wèi)·科波菲爾 chapter 1 David Copperfield's childhood

1 David Copperfield's childhood

1 大衛(wèi)·科波菲爾的童年

I was born at Blunderstone，in Suffolk， in the east of England，and was given my poor father's name，David Copperfield. Sadly， he never saw me He was much older than my mother when they married， and died six months before I was born. My father's death made my beautiful young mother very unhappy， and she knew she would find life extremely difficult with a new baby and no husband The richest and most important person in our family was my father's aunt，Miss Betsey Trotwood. She had in fact been married once， to a handsome young husband. But because he demanded money from her， and sometimes beat her， she decided they should separate He went abroad， and soon news came of his death.

我出生在英國東部薩福克郡的布蘭德斯通，并沿用了我不幸的父親之名——大衛(wèi)·科波菲爾。可悲的是，他從未見過我的面。他同我母親結婚時比我母親大許多，在我出生前6個月就謝世了。他的死使我年輕美貌的母親感到極為痛苦，因為她知道沒有丈夫獨自帶嬰兒的日子將會異常艱難。在我們家族中最富有、最重要的人物要數(shù)我父親的姨媽——貝茜·特拉伍德小姐。其實她結過一次婚，嫁的是一個英俊的青年。但是，由于這位丈夫總找她要錢，有時還動手打她，她便決定與他分手。他出了國，不久就有消息說他已去世了。

Miss Trotwood bought a small house by the sea， and lived there alone， with only one servant. She had not spoken to my father since his marriage， because she considered he had made a mistake in marrying a very young girl But just before I was born， when she heard that my mother was expecting a baby， she came to visit Blunder- stone.

特拉伍德小姐在海邊買了一所小房子，獨自生活在那里，身邊只隨了一位用人。自從我父親結婚后她就不理睬我父親了，因為她認為我父親娶這么年輕的小姐做妻子是個錯誤。然而，在我出生前，當她聽說我母親臨產(chǎn)時，就來到布蘭德斯通拜訪我們。

It was a cold， windy Friday afternoon in March. My mother was sitting by the fire， feeling very lonely and unhappy， and crying a little. Suddenly a stern， strange-looking face appeared at the window.

那是在三月份的一個寒冷、多風的星期五下午，我母親正獨自坐在火爐旁，因感到孤單和不幸而輕聲抽泣著。突然一張嚴肅、陌生的臉出現(xiàn)在窗外。

‘Open the door!’ ordered the sternfaced lady. My mother was shocked，but obeyed at once. ‘You must be David Copper field's wife，’said the lady as she entered.‘I'm Betsey Trotwood. You've heard of me?’

“開門!”這位滿臉嚴肅的女人命令道。我母親嚇了一跳，但還是很快開了門。“你就是大衛(wèi)·科波菲爾的妻子吧，”她邊進門邊說，“我叫貝茜·特拉伍德，你聽說過吧?”“聽說過，”母親輕聲答道，聲音發(fā)顫。“你真年輕呀，”貝茜小姐叫道，“簡直還是個孩子!”

‘Yes，’whispered mother，trembling. ‘How young you are!’ cried Miss Betsey.‘Just a baby!’ My mother started sobbing again.‘I know I look like a child! I know I was young to be a wife， and I'm young to be a mother! But perhaps I'll die before I become a mother!’ ‘Come， come! answered Miss Betsey.‘Have some tea.Then you'll feel better.What do you call your girl?’ ‘My girl? I don't know yet that it will be a girl，’replied my mother miserably. ‘No，I don't mean the baby，I mean your servant!’

母親開始抽泣，“我知道我看著像個孩子!我知道我年紀還小，不該為人妻，不該為人母!但也許我會在成為一個母親之前死去!”“行了，行了!”貝茜小姐回答說，“喝口茶水吧，這樣你會好受些。你叫你的女孩什么?”“我的女孩?我還不知道是不是女孩，”我母親疑惑地答道。“不，我不是指小孩，我是說你的女用人!”

‘Her name's Peggotty. Her first name's Clara，the same as mine， so I call her by her family name，you see.’ ‘What a terrible name! However， never mind. Peggotty!’she called， going to the door.‘Bring Mrs Copperfield some tea at once!’ She sat down again and continued speaking.‘You were talking about the baby. I'm sure it'll be a girl. Now， as soon as she’ s born…’ ‘He， perhaps，’ said my mother bravely. ‘Don’ t be stupid， of course it’ ll be a she.I'm going to send her to school，and educate her well. I want to prevent her from making the mistakes I've made in life.’ Miss Betsey looked quite angry as she said this. My mother said nothing，as she was not feeling at all well.‘But tell me， were you and your husband happy?’asked Miss Betsey.

“她叫辟果提。她的教名是克拉拉，因為和我同名，所以我就以她的姓稱呼她，就這樣!”“多難聽的名字!不過沒關系，辟果提!”她走到門邊叫道。“馬上給科波菲爾太太上點茶水!”她又坐下來，繼續(xù)說道：“你剛才說到孩子，我肯定她會是個女孩。那么，只要她一出生，……”“他，或許是，”母親勇敢地更正道。“別犯傻，當然應該是她，我會送她上學，讓她接受良好的教育。我要讓我生活中所犯的錯誤避免在她身上重演。”貝茜小姐說此話時顯得很憤怒。母親沒吭聲，因為她感覺不太舒服。“好吧，告訴我，你和你丈夫過得幸福嗎?”貝茜小姐問道。

This made my poor mother feel worse than ever.‘I know I wasn't very sensible—about money—or cooking—or things like that!’ she sobbed.‘But we loved each other—and he was helping me to learn—and then he died!Oh!Oh!’And she fell back in her chair， completely unconscious.

這個問題讓我母親更感難受。“我知道我很不開竅——在錢方面，做飯方面，等等!”她抽泣著說，“但我們彼此相愛——他幫助我慢慢學——可他死了，唉!唉!”她倒在椅子上，失去了知覺。

Peggotty， who came in just then with the tea，realized how serious the situation was， and took my mother upstairs to bed. The doctor arrived soon afterwards， and stayed all evening to take care of his patient.

辟果提正巧端著茶進來，意識到情況的嚴重性，把我母親扶到樓上。醫(yī)生隨即叫到，并徹夜守護著病人。

At about midnight he came downstairs to the sitting-room where Miss Betsey was waiting impatiently.

大約午夜時分，醫(yī)生下樓來到客廳，貝茜小姐已經(jīng)等得很不耐煩了。

‘Well，doctor, what's the news? How is she?’

“大夫，有什么消息嗎?她怎么樣了?”

‘The young mother is quite comfortable， madam，’ replied the doctor politely.

“年輕的母親情況很好，小姐，”大夫很禮貌地回答。

‘But she， the baby， how is she?’ cried Miss Betsey.

“她，孩子，她怎么樣?”貝茜小姐追問。

The doctor looked strangely at Miss Betsey.‘It's a boy，madam，’ he replied.

大夫很納悶地看著貝茜小姐，“是個男孩，小姐。”他回答道。

Miss Betsey said nothing，but walked straight out of the house， and never came back.

貝茜小姐二話沒說，徑直走出屋子，從此不再登門。

That was how I was born. My early childhood was extremely happy， as my beautiful mother and kind Peggotty took care of me. But when I was about eight， a shadow passed over my happiness. My mother often went out walking，in her best clothes， with a gentleman called Mr Murdstone. He had black hair， a big black moustache and an unpleasant smile， and seemed to be very fond of my mother. But I knew that Peggotty did not like him.

就這樣我來到了世上。孩提時的我非常幸福，因為有我美麗的母親和善良的辟果提照顧我。然而，在我8歲左右，我的幸福生活開始蒙上了陰影。我母親經(jīng)常穿著最好的衣服，和一位叫摩德斯通的先生出去散步。那人有一頭黑發(fā)，留一大撇黑胡子，笑容陰沉，似乎很喜歡我母親。但我知道辟果提不喜歡他。

A few months later Peggotty told me that my mother was going to have a short holiday with some friends. Meanwhile Peggotty and I would go to stay with her brother Daniel in Yarmouth，on the east coast， for two weeks.I was very excited when we climbed into the cart， although it was sad saying goodbye to my mother. Mr Murdstone was at her shoulder，waving goodbye， as the driver called to his horse， and we drove out of the village.

幾個月后，辟果提告訴我，母親要和幾位朋友出去度短假。辟果提可以趁此機會帶我去東海岸的雅茅斯鎮(zhèn)和她兄弟丹尼爾生活兩個星期。登上馬車時我興奮不已，雖然與母親分手有些傷感。摩德斯通先生和我母親并肩站著，向我們揮手道別。這時，馬車夫吆喝一聲，把我們拉出村去。

When we got down from the cart in Yarmouth，after our journey，Peggotty said， ‘That's the house，Master David!’

當我們結束旅程，在雅茅斯下車時，辟果提說：“到家了，大衛(wèi)少爺。”

I looked all round， but could only see an old ship on the sand.‘Is that—that your brother's house?’I asked in delight. And when we reached it，I saw it had doors and windows and a chimney，just like a real house. I could not imagine a nicer place to live. Everything was clean and tidy， and smelt of fish. Now I was introduced to the Peggotty family.There was Daniel Peggotty， a kind old sailor. Although he was not married， he had adopted two orphans， who lived with him and called him Uncle. Ham Peggotty was a large young man with a gentle smile，and Emily was a beautiful，blue-eyed little girl. They all welcomed Peggotty and me warmly.

我環(huán)顧四周，只看見沙灘上的一艘舊船，便高興地問道：“那個——那個就是你兄弟的家?”我們走到近處一看，船上有門，有窗，有煙囪，儼然是一所名符其實的住房。我再也想像不出比這更好的住處了。屋內(nèi)一切陳設干凈、整齊，散發(fā)著魚味。這時，我被介紹給辟果提一家。家里有丹尼爾·辟果提，一位善良的老水手，他沒有結婚，但收養(yǎng)了兩個孤兒。孩子們和他生活在一起，管他叫叔叔。哈姆·辟果提是一位壯小伙子，臉上總是現(xiàn)出親切的笑容，埃米莉是一位美麗的姑娘，長著一對藍眼睛。他們都熱情地歡迎我和辟果提的到來。

I spent a wonderfully happy two weeks there， playing all day on the beach with Emily，and sleeping in my own little bed on the ship. I am sure I was in love with little Emily in my childish way， and I cried bitterly when we had to say goodbye at the end of the holiday.

在這兒的兩個星期我過得相當愉快，整天和埃米莉在海灘上玩，夜里就睡在船屋里我的小床上。我相信當時我的確以孩童的方式愛上了小埃米莉。當假日結束我倆不得不道別時我哭得很傷心。

But on the way home to Blunderstone， Peggotty looked at me very worriedly.‘Master David，my dear，’she said suddenly in a trembling voice.‘I must tell you—you'll have to know now… While we've been away， your dear mother—has married Mr Murdstone!He's your stepfather now!’

在我們回布蘭德斯通的路上，辟果提很憂郁地看著我。“大衛(wèi)少爺，親愛的，”她突然說道，聲音顫抖，“我必須告訴你——你現(xiàn)在該知道了……在我們離家的這段時間，你親愛的母親嫁給了摩德斯通先生!他如今已是你的繼父了!”

I was deeply shocked. I could not understand how my mother could have married that man.And when we arrived home， I could not help showing my mother how very miserable I was. I went straight to my room and lay sobbing on my bed，which made my poor mother very unhappy too. As she sat beside me， holding my hand， Mr Murdstone suddenly came in.

我非常震驚，不明白母親怎么會嫁給那個人。我們回到家后，我控制不住自己，讓母親看出了我有多痛苦。我徑直走進我的臥室，倒在床上哭泣，弄得我可憐的母親也傷心起來。正當她坐在我床邊，拉著我的手時，摩德斯通先生突然走了進來。

‘What's this， Chara， my love?’ he asked sternly.‘Remember，you must be firm with the boy!I've told you before，you're too weak with him!’

“怎么了，克拉拉，我親愛的?”他嚴肅地說道，“記住，對孩子應該嚴厲點!我已經(jīng)跟你說過，你太嬌慣他了!”

‘ Oh yes，Edward，I'm afraid you're right，’ my mother replied quickly.‘I'm very sorry. I'll try to be firmer with him.’ And when she left the room， Mr Murdstone whispered angrily to me，‘David，do you know what I'll do if you don't obey me? I'll beat you like a dog!’ I was still very young，and I was very frightened of him. If he had said one kind word to me， perhaps I would have liked and trusted him，and my life would have been different. Instead， I hated him for the influence he had over my dear mother，who wanted to be kind to me， but also wanted to please her new husband.

“哦，是的，愛德華，恐怕你是對的，”母親趕緊答道，“我很抱歉，我會盡量對他嚴厲些。”她離開房間后，摩德斯通先生壓低聲音，憤憤地說道，“大衛(wèi)，你知道你要是不聽話我會怎么對待你嗎?我會像揍一條狗一樣揍你!”我當時還小，很怕他。當時他要是跟我說上一句和藹的話，或許我會喜歡他，信任他，我后來的生活也就會完全不同。然而，我恨他給我親愛的母親施加壓力，她總想好好待我，可還得討好她的新丈夫。

That evening Mr Murdstone's sister arrived to ‘help’my mother in the house. A tall dark lady， with a stern， frowning face，she looked and sounded very much like her brother.I thought she was planning to stay with us for a long time， and I was right.In fact，she intended to stay for ever. She started work the next morning.

當天晚上，摩德斯通先生的姐姐來到家中“幫助”我母親料理家務。她又高又黑，眉頭緊鎖，板著面孔，神態(tài)和說話聲音和她兄弟別無兩樣。我想她可能要長期和我們呆在一起了，果不出所料，她準備永遠住下去。第二天一早她就開始行動起來了。

‘Now， Clara，’ she said firmly to my mother at breakfast，‘I am here to help you. You’ re much too pretty and thoughtless to worry about the servants， the food and so on. So just hand me your keys to all the cupboards， and I'll take care of everything for you.’ My poor mother just blushed，looked a little ashamed，and obeyed. From then on， Miss Murdstone took complete control of the house， keeping the keys hanging from her waist as she hurried through the house，checking that everything was being done just as she wished.

“現(xiàn)在，克拉拉，”早餐時她嚴肅地告訴我母親，“我到這兒是來幫助你的。你在安排用人、食品等方面顯得太幼稚，太沒主意。所以你把所有櫥子、柜子的鑰匙交給我，我來為你照料一切。”可憐的母親只是一陣陣臉紅，顯得很羞愧，最終還是同意了。從那以后，摩德斯通小姐完全掌管了家事，她把鑰匙掛在手腕上，來回地穿梭在屋里屋外，檢查著每一件事是否照她的意思辦了。