26. The Story Club Is Formed成立故事俱乐部-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《绿山墙的安妮Anne of Green Gables》下

Chapter XXVI The Story Club Is Formed Junior Avonlea found it hard to settle down to humdrum existence again.To Anne in particular things seemed fearfully flat,stale,and unprofitable after the goblet of excitement she had been sipping2 for weeks. "I'm positively certain,Diana,that life can never be quite the same again as it was in those olden days,"she said mournfully3."Perhaps after a while I'll get used to it,but I'm afraid concerts spoil people for everyday life.I suppose that is why Marilla disapproves of them. Eventually,however,Avonlea school slipped back into its old groove and took up its old interests.Ruby Gillis and Emma White no longer sat at the same desk,and a promising friendship of three years was broken up.Josie Pye and Julia Bell did not "speak"for three months.None of the Sloanes would have any dealings with the Bells. Finally,Charlie Sloane fought Moody Spurgeon MacPherson,because Moody Spurgeon had said that Anne Shirley put on airs about her recitations,and Moody Spurgeon was "licked";consequently Moody Spurgeon's sister,Ella May,would not "speak"to Anne Shirley all the ·270· 第二十六章 成立故事俱乐部 ①humdrum /hAmdrAm/a.单 埃文利的年轻人不愿意过单调平淡的日子 调的，乏味的 了。特别是安妮，她在兴奋了好几个星期之后， 觉得一切都平淡无奇，百无聊赖。 2sip/sp/g啜饮，啜，这里指 慢慢地沉浸于 “戴安娜，我敢肯定生活绝对不会再和过去 一样了，”她忧伤地说，“也许过一段时间我会习 惯这种生活的，但是恐怕音乐会扰乱了人们的日 3 moumfully /'mo:nfoli/ad. 悲哀地 常生活。我想这就是玛丽拉反对音乐会的原因。” 然而埃文利学校还是悄悄地恢复了老样子， 孩子们又重新捡起了从前的兴趣。鲁比·吉利斯和 埃玛·怀特不再坐同桌了，保持了三年的很有发展 ④groove/gru:v/n.惯例 前途的友谊破裂了。乔西·派伊和朱莉娅·贝尔三 个月没“讲话”。斯隆家不理贝尔家了。还有，查 利·斯隆和穆迪·斯珀吉翁·麦克弗森打起来了，原 因是穆迪·斯珀吉翁说安妮·雪利朗诵的时候摆架 子，而他“吃亏了”，因此穆迪的姐姐埃拉·梅一 冬天没理安妮。 冬日悄悄逝去。安妮生日那天，她们脚步轻 盈地穿过小路，叽叽喳喳地说着话，眼睛和耳朵 ·271· Anne of Green Gables rest of the winter. The winter weeks slipped by.On Anne's birthday they were tripping lightly down it,keeping eyes and ears alert amid all their chatter,for Miss Stacy had told them that they must soon write a composition on "A Winter's Walk in the Woods,"and it behooved them to be observant. "Just think,Diana,I'm thirteen years old today,"remarked Anne in an awed voice."I can scarcely2 realize that I'm in my teens3.It makes life seem so much more interesting.In two more years I'll be really grown up.It's a great comfort to think that I'll be able to use big words then without being laughed at." "Ruby Gillis says she means to have a beau as soon as she's fifteen,”said Diana. “Ruby Gillis thinks of nothing but beaus,”said Anne disdainfully⑤. "But I'm afraid that is an uncharitable speech.I'm trying to be as much like Mrs.Allan as I possibly can,for I think she's perfect.Mr. Allan thinks so too.Mrs.Lynde says he just worships the ground she treads on and she doesn't really think it right for a minister to set his affections so much on a mortal being.But then,Diana,even ministers are human and have their besetting sins just like everybody else.My besetting sin is imagining too much and forgetting my duties.I'm striving very hard to overcome it and now that I'm really thirteen perhaps I'll get on better." "In four more years we'll be able to put our hair up,"said Diana. "Alice Bell is only sixteen and she is wearing hers up,but I think that's ridiculous.I shall wait until I'm seventeen." “If I had Alice Bell's crooked nose,”said Anne decidedly,“T wouldn't-but there!I won't say what I was going to because it was extremely uncharitable.Oh,Diana,look,there's a rabbit.That's ·272· 绿山墙的安妮 却始终留着神，因为斯塔西小姐说了她们必须尽 快写一篇“冬日林中漫步”的作文，她们得注意 观察才行。 “戴安娜，你看，我今天都十三岁了，”安妮 ①behoove/bI'huv/理应， 用一种严肃的语调说，“我简直没有意识到我是 有必要 一个青少年了。生活似乎变得更有趣了。再过两 ②scarcely /skeasl/ad..几乎 不，简直没有 年，我就真的长大了。一想到那时候我就能像大 3 in one's teens在l3岁到1g 人那样说话，又没人嘲笑我，我心里就舒服极 岁时 了。” “鲁比·吉利斯说她打算一到十五岁就交个男 明友。”戴安娜说。 ④beau /b3o/m.男朋友 “鲁比·吉利斯除了男朋友什么也不想，”安 妮鄙夷地说，“这样说恐怕太刻薄了。我正在努 disdainfully /dis'deinfal/ 力，学阿伦太太的样儿，我觉得她很完美。阿伦 ad.鄙视地，不屑一顾地，轻 先生也这样认为。林德太太说他非常赞赏自己太 蔑地 太的看法，但她认为牧师把爱意这样过多地施与 uncharitable /An't faeritabl/ a.无慈悲心的，无情的 一个普通人其实不好。戴安娜，实际上牧师也是 人，人人都有难改的恶习，牧师也不例外。我难 改的恶习是想象过于丰富和把该干的事忘了，我 mortal /'m3:tWa人世间的 8 besetting/br'setn/a.不断 正竭尽全力克服这个缺点，现在我已经满十三岁 攻击的，困扰的 了，我也许会有进步的。” “再过四年，我们就能把头发盘到头上了，"” strive /straiv/g奋斗，努力， 力求 戴安娜说，“艾丽丝·贝尔只有十六岁，就把头 发盘起来了，我觉得那样子很可笑。我要等到十 七岁再盘。” “如果我长着艾丽丝那样的鹰钩鼻子，”安妮很 坚决地说，“我决不会一算了，不说了！我不说 0 crooked /'krukid/a.弯曲的 我要梳成什么样了，这太刻薄了。噢，戴安娜，瞧， 那儿有一只免子。我们该想想森林作文的事了。” “我不怕写这篇作文，”戴安娜叹了口气， ·273· Anne of Green Gables something to remember for our woods composition. "I won't mind writing that composition when its time comes," sighed Diana."I can manage to write about the woods,but the one we're to hand in Monday is terrible.The idea of Miss Stacy telling us to write a story out of our own heads!" "Why,it's as easy as wink,"said Anne. "It's easy for you because you have an imagination,"retorted Diana,"but what would you do if you had been born without one?I suppose you have your composition all done?" Anne nodded. "I wrote it last Monday evening.It's called 'The Jealous Rival;or In Death Not Divided'.It's about two beautiful maidens called Cordelia Montmorency and Geraldine Seymour.Cordelia was a regal brunette with a coronet2 of midnight hair and duskly 3 flashing eyes.Geraldine was a queenly blonde 5 with hair like spun gold and velvety purple eyes." "I never saw anybody with purple eyes,"said Diana dubiously "Neither did I.I just imagined them." "Well,what became of Cordelia and Geraldine?"asked Diana. "They grew in beauty side by side until they were sixteen.Then Bertram DeVere came to their native village and fell in love with the fair Geraldine.He saved her life when her horse ran away with her in a carriage,and she fainted in his arms and he carried her home three miles.Bertram gave her a diamond ring and a ruby necklace and told her they would go to Europe for a wedding tour.But then,alas,Cordelia was secretly in love with Bertram herself and when Geraldine told her about the engagement she was simply furious.But she pretended to be Geraldine's friend the same as ever.One evening they were standing on the bridge over a rushing turbulent stream and Cordelia pushed ·274· 绿山墙的安妮 “我会描写森林，可怕的是星期一要交的那篇。 斯塔西小姐是要我们写一篇自己动脑子想出来的 故事！” “哎呀，那就像眨眼睛一样容易啊。”安妮 说。 “你是觉得容易，你富有想象力啊，”戴安娜 反驳道，“但是如果你生来就没有想象力，那该 怎么办呢？我猜你的作文都写完了吧？” 安妮点点头。 “我上星期一晚上写的。题目叫作《爱妒忌 的对手》，或者叫《死也不分离》。故事说的是两 个美丽的少女，她们叫科迪莉亚·蒙莫朗西和杰 ①brunette/bru':net/i.黑（或 拉尔丁·西摩。科迪莉亚长得高贵庄重，皮肤微 深褐)色头发的女子 黑，顶着一头漆黑的秀发，眼睛又黑又亮。杰拉 2 coronet/koranit/L.冠，花 冠 尔丁则像王后一样美丽，金丝般的头发，天鹅绒 3 duskly /dAskl/ad.颜色暗 般的紫色眼睛。” 沉地，昏暗地 “我从来没见过谁长着紫色眼睛。”戴安娜半 ④queenly"kwi:nl/a.女王般 信半疑地说。 的 blonde/blond/n.金发女子 “我也没见过，是我想象的。” spin/spn/g纺（线），纺 “行了，科迪莉亚和杰拉尔丁怎么样了？”戴 (纱) 安娜问。 ⑦velvety"vevt/a.像天鹅 绒的，轻软光滑的，柔软的 “她们长到了十六岁，出落得楚楚动人。后 8 dubiously /'dju:biasl/ad. 来伯特伦·德弗雷来到了她们住的村子，爱上了 疑地，怀疑地 美丽的杰拉尔丁。他救了她的命，当时她坐的马 车失去控制了，她在他的怀里晕了过去，他走了 三英里路送她回了家。伯特伦送给她一只钻戒和 engagement /in'gerd3mant/ 一条红宝石项链，对她说他们将去欧洲旅行结 订婚，婚约 婚。可是，唉，科迪莉亚悄悄地爱着伯特伦，杰 0 turbulent/t3:bjulant/a.狂暴 的，汹涌的 拉尔丁对她讲了订婚的事，她勃然大怒。不过她 装成和以前一样，仍然是杰拉尔丁的朋友。一天 ·275· Anne of Green Gables Geraldine over the brink with a wild,mocking,'Ha,ha,ha.'But Bertram saw it all and he at once plunged into the current,exclaiming, 'I will save thee,my peerless Geraldine.'But he couldn't swim,and they were both drowned.Their bodies were washed ashore2 soon afterwards.They were buried in the one grave and their funeral was most imposing3.” “How perfectly lovely！”sighed Diana.“Anne,I wish my imagination was as good as yours." “It would be if you'd only cultivate it,”said Anne cheeringly.“Let you and me have a story club all our own and write stories for practice. I'll help you along until you can do them by yourself." This was how the story club came into existence.No boys were allowed in it and each member had to produce one story a week. “ITt's extremely interesting,”Anne told Marilla.“Each girl has to read her story out loud and then we talk it over.We each write under a nom-de-plume Mine is Rosamond Montmorency.Ruby Gillis is rather sentimental5.Jane's stories are extremely sensible.Then Diana puts too many murders into hers.I mostly always have to tell them what to write about,but that isn't hard for I've millions of ideas." "I think this story-writing business is the foolishest yet,"scoffed Marilla."You'll get a pack of nonsense into your heads and waste time. Reading stories is bad enough but writing them is worse." "But we're so careful to put a moral into them all,Marilla," explained Anne."I'm sure that must have a wholesome effect.Diana wrote her Aunt Josephine about our club and her Aunt Josephine wrote back that we were to send her some of our stories.So we copied out four of our very best and sent them.Miss Josephine Barry wrote back that she had never read anything so amusing in her life.I'm glad Miss Barry ·276· 绿山墙的安妮 ①mocking"mpk0/a.嘲笑 晚上，她们站在桥上，桥下是湍急的溪流，科迪 的，愚弄的 莉亚一把将吉拉尔丁推人水中，狂笑起来：‘哈， 哈，哈。’但是伯特伦目睹了这一切，他立即跳入 ②shore /a'∫b:/ad.在岸上， 激流，大叫：‘我来救你，我最亲爱的杰拉尔 上岸 丁。’可是天哪，他不会游泳。他们双双被淹死 ③imposing /im'pauzr0/a.令 了。没过多久他们的尸体被冲上了岸。人们把他 人难忘的 俩合葬在一个墓穴，他们的葬礼太令人难忘了。” “多优美动听呀！”戴安娜感叹道，“安妮，要 是我的想象力像你一样丰富该多好呀。” “只要你去培养想象力就会有的，”安妮鼓励 她，“我和你成立一个完全属于我们自己的故事 俱乐部练习写故事吧。我会帮助你的，直到你能 够独立编故事。” 这就是故事俱乐部诞生的过程。男孩子不允 许加入，每个成员每周必须写一个故事。 “真是太有趣了，”安妮告诉玛丽拉，“每个 ④nom-de-plume笔名 人得朗读自己的故事，然后我们一起讨论一番。 sentimental /senti'mentl/ 我们每个人都用笔名写作。我的笔名是罗莎蒙 a,感伤性的，感情脆弱的 德·蒙特莫伦西。鲁比·吉利斯可温柔多情了。简 的故事非常理智。还有戴安娜，她的故事凶杀情 节泛滥。我总得告诉她们写些什么，不过这不 难，因为我有数不清的主意。” “我倒觉得这种编故事的事最蠢不过了，”玛 丽拉嘲笑道，“你又弄得满脑子胡思乱想，把时 间都浪费了。看小说就不是什么好事，写故事就 更不像话了。” “但是我们非常注意每个故事都有寓意，玛 丽拉，”安妮解释说，“我肯定这样会有好处的。 戴安娜给她约瑟芬姑婆写信，讲了我们俱乐部的 事，约瑟芬姑婆回信要我们寄一些自己写的小说 ·277· Anne of Green Gables liked them.It shows our club is doing some good in the world.I hope I shall be a little like Mrs.Allan when I grow up.Do you think there is any prospect of it,Marilla?" "I shouldn't say there was a great deal."was Marilla's encouraging answer."I'm sure Mrs.Allan was never such a silly,forgetful little girl as you are.” "No;but she wasn't always so good as she is now either,"said Anne seriously."She told me so herself.I felt so encouraged when I heard that.Mrs.Lynde says she always feels shocked when she hears of anyone ever having been naughty,no matter how small they were.Now, I wouldn't have felt that way." “The way I feel at present,Anne,”said Marilla,“is that it's high time you had those dishes washed." ·278· 绿山墙的安妮 给她。我们已经选了四篇最好的寄出去了。约瑟 芬·巴里小姐回信说她有生以来还从没读过这么 ①prospect /prospekt/L.希望， 好笑的故事。不过我很高兴巴里小姐喜欢它们。 前景 这说明我们的俱乐部做的事情到底是有益的。我 希望我长大以后能有点儿像阿伦太太。玛丽拉， 您看这种可能性大吗？” “要我看可能性不太大，”玛丽拉的回答还是 挺鼓舞人心的，“我肯定阿伦太太小时候才不会 像你这样傻乎乎的，什么都忘呢。” “对，可是她也不总是像她现在这样好哇，” 安妮认真地说，“她亲口跟我说的。我听了这话 真是大受鼓舞。林德太太说听到谁以前干过坏 事，不管他那时年纪多小，她总是感到惊讶。 哎，我不会这样的。” “安妮，我现在的感受是，”玛丽拉开了口， “你应当马上去洗碗了。” ·279·