3 ERMENGARDE厄门加德-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《小公主A Little Princess》

3 ERMENGARDE ON that first morning,when Sara sat at Miss Minchin's side,aware that the whole school-room was devoting itself to observing 2 her,she had noticed very soon one little girl,about her own age,who looked at her very hard with a pair of light,rather dull,blue eyes.She was a fat child who did not look as if she were in the least clever,but she had a good-naturedly pouting mouth.Her flaxen hair was braided in a tight pigtail,tied with a ribbon,and she had pulled this pigtail round her neck and was biting the end of the ribbon,resting her elbows on the desk,as she stared wonderingly at the new pupil.When Monsieur Dufarge began to speak to Sara,she looked a little frightened;and when Sara stepped forward and,looking at him with the innocent,appealing eyes,answered him,without any warning,in French,the fat little girl gave a startled jump,and grew quite red in her awed amazement Having wept hopeless tears for weeks in her efforts to remember that "la mere”meant“the mother,”and“le pere,.”“the father'”-when one spoke sensible English-it was almost too much for her suddenly to fred herself listening to a child her own age who seemed not only quite familiar with ·038· 3 厄门加德 就在这第一天上午，当萨拉坐在明钦小姐身 ①devote/di'vaut/v.专心致 力于 旁，意识到全班都在专心地观察她时，她很快就 ②observe/ab'za:vl观察 注意到有一个小姑娘，年龄同她相仿，她那双浅 蓝色、略显呆滞的眼睛紧盯着她。她长得胖乎乎 的，看来一点儿也不伶俐，但她却有一张敦厚的 翘嘴巴。她那淡黄色的头发编成一条结结实实的 ③pout/paut/.k掇（嘴） 辫子，用缎带扎住，在她惊讶地看着这个新学生 ④pigtail/'pig.teil/n.游子 ③elbow /elbau/n时部 时，她把那条辫子绕在脖子上，嘴咬着缎带的末 梢，胳膊肘放在课桌上。杜法奇先生开始向萨拉 说话时，她显得有些慌；当萨拉走上前去，用天 真的、恳求似的眼神瞧着他，事先没有任何迹象 ⑥appealing'pi:lin/a.恳求 就用法语答话时，这个胖乎乎的小姑娘惊慌得几 的 乎跳起来，敬畏和惊异使她满脸通红。几个星期 来，她始终绝望地以泪水洗面，只是为了努力记 ⑦startle/'sta:t山ly(使)震 惊，使惊愕 住“la mere”是“母亲”，“le pere”是“父亲” 8 amazement /a'meizmant/ n惊奇，诧异 一以便在讲英语时插用。现在忽然发现她在听 一个和自己一般大的小孩说法语，这个小孩看来 不仅非常熟悉这些单词，而且显然知道大量别的 单词，还能把它们和动词搭配，好像它们只是些 ·039· ALittle Princess these words,but apparently knew any number of others,and could mix them up with verbs as if they were mere trifles She stared so hard and bit the ribbon on her pigtail so fast that she attracted the attention of Miss Minchin,who,feeling extremely cross at the moment,immediately3 pounced upon her. “Miss St..John!”she exclaimed severely.“What do you mean by such conduct⑤？Remove your elbows！Take your ribbon out of your mouth!Sit up at once!" Upon which Miss St.John gave another jump,and when Lavinia and Jessie tittered she became redder than ever-so red,indeed,that she almost looked as if tears were coming into her poor,dull,childish eyes; and Sara saw her and was so sorry for her that she began to rather like her and want to be her friend.It was a way of hers always to want to spring into any fray in which someone was made uncomfortable or unhappy. "If Sara had been a boy and lived a few centuries ago,"her father used to say,"she would have gone about the country with her sword drawn,rescuing and defending every one in distress.She always wants to fight when she sees people in trouble." So she took rather a fancy to fat,slow,little Miss St.John,and kept glancing toward her through the morning.She saw that lessons were no easy matter to her,and that there was no danger of her ever being spoiled by being treated as a show pupil.Her French lesson was a pathetic thing.Her pronunciation made even Monsieur Dufarge smile in spite of himself,and Lavinia and Jessie and the more fortunate girls either giggled or looked at her in wondering disdain But Sara did not laugh.She tried to look as if she did not hear when Miss St.John called “le bon pain"”,“lee bong pang”.She had a fine,hot little temper of her own,and it made her feel rather savage when she heard the titters and ·040· 小公主 apparently /'parantli/ 小玩意儿似的，这真让她受不了。 ad显然 ②trifle/'traif/n琐事，小事 她那么死盯着看，又那么紧地咬着辫子上的 缎带，以致引起了正觉得很不高兴的明钦小姐的 注意，立刻招来了她的叱责。 immediately /i'mi:djatli/ “圣约翰小姐！”她厉声大喊道。“你这样做 ad立刻：马上 ④pounce/pauns/g.攻击 是什么意思？把你的胳膊挪开！把缎带从嘴里拿 出来！马上坐直！” conduct/'kondAkt,-dokt/ n行为 圣约翰小姐听了又吓了一跳，当拉维尼娅和 杰西吃吃窃笑时，她的脸更红了，红得真厉害， 看上去她那可怜的、呆滞而稚气的眼睛里马上就 ⑥titter /tita/.窃笑 要流下泪来；萨拉瞧着她，很为她难过，她开始 有点儿喜欢她了，想做她的朋友。萨拉就是这样， 她总想介人使什么人感到不舒服或不愉快的冲突 中去。 ⑦fray /frev/n.吵架，争论 “要是萨拉是个男孩子，生活在几个世纪以 前，”她的父亲常这样说，“她就会拔出剑周游 全国，营救和保护危难中的每个人。她见到什么 ⑧sword/s:d/n.剑 人遇到麻烦，总是喜欢打抱不平。” ⑨distress/dis'tres/h苦恼 所以她有点喜欢这个胖胖的、迟钝的小圣约 翰小姐，整个上午，一直不断地向她瞥视。她看 出来了，对圣约翰小姐来说，这些功课不容易 学，而把她当作装点门面的学生也没有把她宠坏 的危险。圣约翰小姐的法文课糟糕得可怜。她的 发音甚至使杜法奇先生也不禁失笑，拉维尼娅、 杰西和一些比较幸运的姑娘不是格格直笑，就是 ⑧pathetic/p'0etk/a.可怜 异常轻蔑地看着她。可萨拉却没有笑。当圣约翰 的 pronunciation 小姐把“1 le bon pain(法语：好面包)”读成“lee pra,nAnsi'eifan/n发音， bong pang”时，她也设法装作没有听到。她有 读法 ②disdain/dis'dein/某，蔑视 她自己那善良、急躁的小脾气。她听到吃吃的笑 savage /'savid3/a.愤怒的 声和看到那可怜的、感觉迟钝的孩子那痛苦的面 庞时，就感到相当气愤。 ·041· ALittle Princess saw the poor,stupid,distressed child's face. “It isn't funny,really,”she said between her teeth①，as she bent over her book.“They ought not to laugh.” When lessons were over and the pupils gathered together in groups to talk,Sara looked for Miss St.John,and finding her bundled rather disconsolately3 in a window-seat,she walked over to her and spoke.She only said the kind of thing little girls always say to each other by way of beginning an acquaintance,but there was something nice and friendly about Sara,and people always felt it. “What is your name?”she said. To explain Miss St.John's amazement one must recall that a new pupil is,for a short time,a somewhat uncertain thing;and of this new pupil the entire school had talked the night before until it fell asleep quite exhausted by excitement and contradictory stories.A new pupil with a carriage and a pony and a maid,and a voyage from India to discuss,was not an ordinary acquaintance. "My name's Ermengarde St.John,"she answered. “Mine is Sara Crewe,”said Sara.“Yours is very,pretty.It sounds like a story-book.” “Do you like it?”fluttered®Ermengarde.“T-I like yours.”Miss St.John's chief trouble in life was that she had a clever father. Sometimes this seemed to her a dreadful calamity.If you have a father who knows everything,who speaks seven or eight languages,and has thousands of volumes which he has apparently learned by heart,he frequently expects you to be familiar with the contents of your lesson- books at least;and it is not improbable that he will feel you ought to be able to remember a few incidents of history and to write a French exercise.Ermengarde was a severe trial to Mr.St.John.He could not understand how a child of his could be a notably and unmistakably ·042· 小公主 “这其实没有什么好笑，”她低声说，一边低 ①between one's teeth低声 头看书。“她们不应该笑。” 地 课后，学生们成群地聚在一起闲聊，萨拉寻 找着圣约翰小姐，发现她有几分闷闷不乐地缩身 ②bundle /bandl/ad.绻缩 坐在靠窗的座位上，就走过去同她说话。她说的 ③disconsolately 不过是一些小姑娘相识之初常说的那种话，可是 /dis'konsalitli/ad.郁阀 地，忧伤地 萨拉说出来总使别人感到很亲切友好。 “你叫什么名字？”她问。 要说明圣约翰小姐的惊讶，人们一定要回想 到这是一个新学生，暂时还是一个难以捉摸的人 物；昨天晚上全校都在纷纷议论这个新学生，直 到因激动和相互矛盾的说法弄得大家精疲力尽才 ④entire /in'taia/a.整个的 睡着。来找她谈话的新学生有一辆马车、一匹小 ⑤exhausted/igzo:stid/a.筋 马和一名女仆，又是从印度航行来的，这可不是 疲力尽的 ⑥contradictory 一次普普通通的结识。 /kontra'diktari/a.矛盾的 “我叫厄门加德·圣约翰，”她答道。 ⑦ordinary's:dinari/a.普通 的：平凡的 “我叫萨拉·克鲁，”萨拉说。“你的名字很 可爱。听起来像一本故事书似的。” “你喜欢吗？”厄门加德忐，忑不安地说。 “我—我喜欢你的名字。” 圣约瀚小姐生活中主要的苦恼在于她有一个 ®flutter/'flAta/v.心绪不 宁，坐立不安 聪明的父亲。有时她觉得这是一种可怕的灾难。 要是你有一个父亲，什么都懂，能讲七八种语言， ②calamity /ka'laemiti/n.灾 有几千册书显然都能记得住，他就经常希望你起 难，不幸的事 码熟悉你所学的教课书的内容；他也未必不会觉 improbable /im'probobl/ a.不大可能发生的 得你应该能记住历史上的一些事件和做一道法文 incident/'insidant/n. 习题。厄门加德使圣约翰先生感到深恶痛绝。他 件，事变 @trial /traial/m.讨厌的人 无法理解，他的孩子怎么能是毫无出色之处、货 ③notable /nautabl/a.出色 真价实的蠢材呢？ 的，著名的 unmistakable “天哪！”他不止一次盯着她说，“有时我常 'Anmis'teikabl/a不会错 觉得她像她的姑妈伊莱扎一样笨！” 的 ·043· ALittle Princess dull creature who never shone in anything. "Good heavens!"he had said more than once,as he stared at her, "there are times when I think she is as stupid as her Aunt Eliza!" If her Aunt Eliza had been slow to learn and quick to forget a thing entirely when she had learned it,Ermengarde was strikingly like her. She was the monumental dunce of the school,and it could not be denied. "She must be made to learn,"her father said to Miss Minchin. Consequendy Ermengarde spent the greater part of her life in disgrace or in tears.She learned things and forgot them;or,if she remembered them,she did not understand them.So it was natural that, having made Sara's acquaintance,she should sit and stare at her with profound admiration. "You can speak French,can't you?"she said respectfully. Sara got on to the window-seat,which was a big,deep one,and, tucking up her feet,sat with her hands clasped round her knees. "I can speak it because I have heard it all my life,"she answered. “You could speak it if you had always heard it..” “Oh,no,I couldn't,”said Ermengarde.“I never could speak it!" “Why?”inquired Sara,curiously.. Ermengarde shook her head so that the pigtail wobbled."You heard me just now,"she said."I'm always like that.I can't say the words. They're so queer..” She paused a moment,and then added with a touch of awe in her voice: "You are clever,aren't you?" Sara looked out of the window into the dingy square,where the sparrows were hopping and twittering on the wet,iron railings and the sooty branches of the trees.She reflected a few moments.She had ·044· 小公主 如果说，她的姑妈伊莱扎学什么东西总是很 慢，而却能很快忘干净的话，厄门加德同她是惊 人地相似。她是这个学校里智力最迟钝的学生， 这是无法否认的。 ①striking/straikin/a惊人 的 “一定要逼着她学。”她父亲对明钦小姐说。 ②monumental 结果，厄门加德有生以来大部分时间是在屈 /monju'mentl/a.纪念碑 似的 辱或泪水中度过的。她学习一些功课，又把它们 ③dunce/dAns/n笨人，劣 等生 忘了；或者她即使记住了，也不懂得它们的意 思。因此和萨拉相识，她自然得坐在那里，用十 分羡慕的眼神目不转睛地看着她了。 “你会讲法语，是吗？”她崇敬地问。 ④profound/pro'faund/a.极 萨拉走近靠窗那个又大又宽的座位，踡起 度的 腿，两手抱膝地坐着。 “我会讲法语，因为我从生下来以后就一直 ⑤clasp/kla:spl.抱紧，拥 听人们讲法语，”她答道。“要是你老听别人讲 抱 法语，那你也会讲的。” “唉，不，我不会，”厄门加德说，“我永远 也不会讲它！” “为什么？”萨拉好奇地问。 厄门加德摇摇头，把辫子摇得晃来晃去。 wobble /wobl/往返地 摇动 “你刚听我讲过，”她说，“我老是那样，我 不会念单词。这些单词真古怪。” 她停了一会儿，接着带着一点敬畏的口气加 ⑦dingy /'dind3i/.肮脏的 ⑧hop /hop/,.单脚跳，跳跃 了一句：“你很灵，是吗？” ⑨twitter/"twita/g(鸟等) 啁啾 萨拉望着窗外昏暗的广场，广场上几只麻雀 0 sooty/'suti/a.被煤烟弄 正在潮湿的铁栅栏上和落满烟灰的树枝上跳跃， 脏的 ⑩reflect/ri'iekt/某沉思，思 嘁嘁喳喳地叫着。她考虑了一会儿。她老听人家 考 说她很“灵，”她不知道她是不是这样—要是 ·045· ALittle Princess heard it said very,often that she was "clever,"and she wondered if she was-and if she was,how it had happened. “Idon't know,”she said.1can't,tell.”Then seeing a mournful look on the round,chubby face,she gave a little laugh and changed the subject. “Would you like to see Emily?”she inquired. "Who is Emily?"Ermengarde asked,just as Miss Minchin had done. "Come up to my room and see,"said Sara,holding out her hand. They jumped down from the window-seat together,and went up- stairs. "Is it true,"Ermengarde whispered,as they went through the hall- "is it true that you have a play-room all to yourself?" “Yes,”Sara answered.“Papa asked Miss Minchin to let me have one,because-well,it was because when I play I make up stories and tell them to myself,and I don't like people to hear me.It spoils it if I think people listen.” They had reached the passage leading to Sara's room by this time, and Ermengarde stopped short,staring,and quite losing her breath. “You make up stories！”she gasped..“Can you do that--as well as speak French？Can you?” Sara looked at her in simple surprise. “Why,anyone can make up things,”she said.“Have you never tried?” She put her hand warningly on Ermengarde's. “Let us go very quietly to the door,”she whispered,“and then I will open it quite suddenly;perhaps we may catch her." She was half laughing,but there was a touch of mysterious hope in her eyes which fascinated 5 Ermengarde,though she had not the remotest idea what it meant,or whom it was she wanted to "catch"or ·046· 小公主 这样，那究竞是怎么发生的。 “我不知道，”她说，“我说不上来。”这时 ①mournful/m:nful/a悲 候，她瞧见那圆圆的胖脸上显出一副沮丧的神 哀的，哀痛的 色，便轻声笑了一下，转了话题。 “你想看看埃米莉吗？”她问。 “埃米莉是谁？”厄门加德问，像明钦小姐问 的一样。 “到我房间里去看看吧，”萨拉说着伸出手。 她们从靠窗的座位上一起跳下，向楼上走去。 “是真的吗，”她们穿过门厅时，厄门加德低 声问一“你真的有一间全归你的游戏室吗？” “是的，”萨拉答道，“爸爸要求明钦小姐给 我一个房间，因为一咳，那是因为我玩时常常 编一些故事讲给自己听，我不喜欢人家听我讲。 ②spoil/spoil/.扫兴 要是我觉得有人在听就该扫兴了。” 这时她们正来到通往萨拉房间的过道，厄门 ③passage/"paesid3/n通道 加德突然停住，瞪着眼，气都喘不过来了。 “你会编故事！”她上气不接下气地说，“你 能编故事—像讲法语一样，是吗？” 萨拉很吃惊地瞧着她。 “怎么啦，谁都能编些东西，”她说，“你从 来没试过吗？” 她告诫似地把一只手按在厄门加德的手上。 “让我们轻轻地走到门口，”她低声说，“然 waringly /wo:ninli/ad. 警告地 后我就突然打开门；也许我们可以把她逮住。” ⑤fascinate/faesineit/v.吸 引 她似笑非笑地说，她的眼神里含有一种神秘 ⑥remote/ri'maut/a.极小 的期望强烈地吸引住厄门加德，虽然她一点都不 的，细微的 明白这是什么意思，她想要逮住谁，或者她干吗 要逮住她。不管她是什么意思，厄门加德都肯定 ·047·