22.Anne Is Invited Out to Tea安妮应吃茶点-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《绿山墙的安妮Anne of Green Gables》下

Chapter XXII Anne Is Invited Out to Tea "And what are your eyes popping out of your head about.Now?" asked Marilla,when Anne had just come in from a run to the post office."Have you discovered another kindred spirit?"Excitement hung around Anne like a garment. "No,Marilla,but oh,what do you think?I am invited to tea at the manse tomorrow afternoon!Mrs.Allan left the letter for me at the post office..” "Mrs.Allan told me she meant to have all the members of her Sunday-school class to tea in turn,"said Marilla,regarding the wonderful event very coolly."You needn't get in such a fever over it.Do learn to take things calmly,child." Anne went to bed that night speechless with misery because Matthew had said the wind was round northeast and he feared it would be a rainy day tomorrow. But all things have an end,even nights before the day on which you are invited to take tea at the manse.The morning,in spite of Matthew's predictions,was fine and Anne's spirits soared to their highest."Oh, Marilla,"she exclaimed as she washed the breakfast dishes."I feel so ·234· 第二十二章 安妮应邀吃茶点 “这会儿你眼晴睁得大大的又是干吗？”安妮 刚从邮局跑回来，玛丽拉问，“难道你又发现了 一个知音不成？”安妮像着了魔似的，兴奋不已. 容光焕发。 “不，玛丽拉，哦，您猜怎么回事？我被邀 请参加明天下午牧师家的聚会了！阿伦太太在邮 局里给我留了一封信。” “阿伦太太跟我说过，她打算轮流邀请主日 学校她那个班的学生吃茶点，”玛丽拉说起这件 惊人的大事，语气很冷淡，“你用不着大惊小怪 的。要学会办事冷静，孩子。” 那天晚上，安妮去睡觉的时候很伤心，一言 不发。因为马修说东北风刮起来了，明天恐怕会 是个雨天。 然而万事总有尽头，被邀请去牧师家用茶点 的那个夜晚也不例外。尽管马修做过不祥的预 ①soar/s3/猛增：高飞，升 腾：高涨 言，到底还是迎来了一个晴朗的早晨，安妮的情 绪也随之达到了最高点。“哦，玛丽拉，”她边 ·235· Anne of Green Gables anxious.What if I shouldn't behave properly?I'm so afraid I'll do something silly or forget to do something I should do." "The trouble with you,Anne,is that you're thinking too much about yourself.You should just think of Mrs.Allan and what would be nicest and most agreeable to her,"said Marilla,hitting for once in her life on a very sound and pithy piece of advice.Anne instantly realized this. "You are right,Marilla.I'll try not to think about myself at all." Anne came home through the twilight,under a great,high-sprung sky gloried over with trails of saffron and rosy cloud,in a beatified state of mind and told Marilla all about it happily,sitting on the big red- sandstone slab at the kitchen door with her tired curly head in Marilla's gingham lap. "Oh,Marilla,I've had a most FASCINATING time.I feel that I have not lived in vain and I shall always feel like that even if I should never be invited to tea at a manse again.When I got there Mrs.Allan met me at the door.Mrs.Lynde says I'm full of original sin5.No matter how hard I try to be good I can never make such a success of it as those who are naturally good.But don't you think the trying so hard ought to count for something?Mrs.Allan is one of the naturally good people.I love her passionately.There was another little girl named Laurette Bradley at the manse to tea.We had an elegant tea,and I think I kept all the rules of etiquette pretty well.After tea Mrs.Allan played and sang and she got Lauretta and me to sing too.Mrs.Allan says I have a good voice and she says I must sing in the Sunday-school choir after this. Lauretta says that the Americans at the hotel give a concert every fortnight in aid of the Charlottetown hospital,and they ask lots of the White Sands people to recite.Lauretta said she expected to be asked ·236· 绿山墙的安妮 洗早餐碗碟边嚷嚷道，“我觉得好紧张。要是我 表现不好该怎么办？我真担心自己会干出些傻事 来，或忘了该做的事。” “安妮，你的问题就在于对自己考虑太多。 你应该多为阿伦太太着想，想想哪些事最能使得 ①pithy /'pi/a.简练的 她满意和喜欢。”这是玛丽拉一生第一次提出的 非常准确精辟的忠告。安妮立刻就领悟了。 “说对了，玛丽拉。我要尽量做到不想自已。” 安妮回家的时候已是傍晚时分，辽阔的高空 ②glory'glbl,变得灿烂 上，一朵朵橘黄色和玫瑰色的云彩飘飘荡荡，灿 ③saffron/safran/n.橘黄色 烂辉煌。安妮心情舒畅，坐在厨房门前的红砂岩 ④sab/slcb/.平板 大石板上，长着卷发的脑袋疲惫地依偎在穿着方 格花布衣服的玛丽拉的膝盖上，兴奋地向她讲述 吃茶点的前后经过。 “哦，玛丽拉，我度过了一段最最迷人的时 光。我觉得自己没有白活，即使从此再也没人邀 5 original sin原罪 请我去牧师家做客。我到的时候，阿伦太太在门 口迎接我。蕾切尔太太说我身上有许许多多的原 罪。不管我多努力做个好人，都不能成功，成不 了天生就是好人那样的人。但是您不认为付出努 力总会有收获吗？阿伦太太就是天生的好人。我 爱死她了。在牧师家吃茶点的还有一个小女孩， 名叫洛丽塔·布莱德利。我们吃的茶点很丰盛， 我认为自己方方面面都做得很规矩。茶点后，阿 伦太太又弹琴唱歌，后来还让洛丽塔和我也唱 歌。阿伦太太说我的嗓子很好，以后让我参加主 fortnight /f:tnat/n.两星 日学校的唱诗班。洛丽塔说，旅馆里的那些美国 期 人为资助夏洛特敦医院筹款，每隔两星期就举行 ·237· Anne of Green Gables herself someday.I just gazed at her in awe.After she had gone,Mrs. Allan and I had a heart-to-heart talk.I told her everything-about Mrs. Thomas and the twins and Katie Maurice and Violetta and coming to Green Gables and my troubles over geometry.And would you believe it, Marilla?Mrs.Allan told me she was a dunce at geometry too.You don't know how that encouraged me.Mrs.Lynde came to the manse just before I left,and what do you think,Marilla?The trustees have hired a new teacher and it's a lady.Her name is Miss Muriel Stacy. Isn't that a romantic name?Mrs.Lynde says they've never had a female teacher in Avonlea before and she thinks it is a dangerous innovation. But I think it will be splendid to have a lady teacher,and I really don't see how I'm going to live through the two weeks before school begins. I'm so impatient to see her." ·238· 绿山墙的安妮 一次音乐会。他们请许多白沙镇的人来朗诵。 洛丽塔说，她希望自己有朝一日也得到邀请。 我听完对她肃然起敬。她走后我和阿伦太太推 心置腹地交谈了一次。我把一切都跟她说 ①dunce /dAns/m.(学习迟钝 了一关于托玛斯太太，那几对双胞胎，以及 的人，愚笨的人 后来我来到绿山墙和我学几何遇到的麻烦，全 2 trustee/trA'sti:ln（公司、 跟她说了。您相信吗，玛丽拉？阿伦太太跟我 学院或其他机构的)理事， 董事 说，她在学几何方面也是很笨的。您不知道她 ③hie/"haIa/雇请，雇佣 的话给了我多大的鼓舞。就在我要离开的时候， 蕾切尔太太来了。您猜怎么着，玛丽拉？学校 理事会请了一位新老师，是位小姐，名叫穆里 尔·斯塔西小姐。这名字够浪漫吧？蕾切尔太太 说，过去埃文利从来没有请过女教师，她认为 这一前所未有的举动很危险。可我认为有位女 教师是件很好的事。离开学还有两个星期，我 真不知道自己怎么熬过这段时间。我急着能见 到她呢。” ·239·