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洛娜·杜恩|Lorna Doone

.伦敦之行|5.To London

属类: 双语小说 【分类】世界名著 -[作者: 布拉克莫尔] 阅读:[7958]
:埃克斯莫尔的所有居民都对杜恩家族的人又恨又怕。当杜恩家族的人从杜恩山谷里骑马出来,在当地的农庄打家劫舍时,没人能阻挡他们。他们生性野蛮、体格强健,任何试图反抗他们的人很快便会招致杀身之祸。例如约翰·里德的父亲就是在骑马从集市回家的途中被他们所杀害。在那个没有法制的时代,只有国王的士兵们才能惩戒杜恩家族的人。但国王远在伦敦,而且他自己还有一身麻烦事。
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但是,我没能像预期中那么快与洛娜再次相见。一个月的时间还没过去,我就被人莫名其妙地从家里叫走了。

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But I was not able to see Lorna again as soon as I had hoped. Before the month had passed, I was called away from home, in a very strange and unexpected way.

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有一天下午,我正在屋外喂马,一个陌生人骑马来到我家大门口,冲着我大喊。那人长着一张冷酷刻板的脸,约摸四十岁上下,小眼珠转得飞快,衣着打扮跟埃克斯莫尔居民迥然不同。他说自己正在找普罗沃斯巴若斯农庄和一个名叫约翰·里德的人。当我告诉他二者都近在眼前时,他自我介绍说,他叫杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯,是国王的仆人。接着,他递给我一封信。我惶恐地望着他,但他说信中没什么会让我担忧的事。

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One afternoon, as I was outside the house feeding the horses, a stranger rode up to our gate and shouted at me. He was a tough-looking, hard-faced man, about forty years old, with small, quick eyes, and he was dressed very differently from the way we dress in Exmoor. He said he was looking for Plover’s Barrows farm, and a man called John Ridd. When I told him he had found them both, he introduced himself as Jeremy Stickles, a servant of the King, and he gave me a letter. I looked at him in alarm, but he said there was nothing in the letter to worry me.

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信纸顶端用很大的字体写着我的名字。信上写道:

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At the top of the letter, my name was written in large letters. I read:

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致约翰·里德:

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TO JOHN RIDD:

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此信命令你前往伦敦拜见国王的法官们,并向他们如实禀报你所知道的可能对国王和国家不利的事。

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This letter is to order you to appear before the King’s judges in London, and tell them anything you know about some matters which may be harmful to the King and the country.

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看到我读信时所表现出的恐惧和惊讶,杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯似乎感到很满意,但他重申没人会伤害我,我所需要做的只是说出真相。

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Jeremy Stickles seemed very pleased by my fear and surprise at the letter, but he said again that no one was going to hurt me. All I had to do was tell the truth.

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当母亲读到这封信时,她担心得哭了起来。她很想知道国王是如何得知我的存在的,以及他想把我怎么样。但斯蒂克尔斯先生其实没有看上去那么刻板,他仔细地向母亲解释了一切。他告诉她,国王之所以知道我的存在,只是因为关于我体型庞大、力气过人的传闻已经传到了伦敦。国王听说我是个好人,觉得我能帮助他,就这么简单。

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When my mother read the letter, she became very worried and began to cry. She wondered how the King had heard of me, and what he wanted to do with me. But Mr Stickles, who wasn’t really as hard as he seemed, explained everything carefully to her. He told her that the King only knew of me because the stories of my great size and strength had reached even London. He had heard I was a good man, and thought I could help him, that was all.

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这一席话让母亲感觉好些了,但我却闷闷不乐。我在想洛娜。我如何才能将自己要走的消息告诉她呢?我向她保证过一个月之内不会回到山谷,而现在离一个月的期限还有几天。可万一她在这个月底来找我,而我却不在那儿,那该有多糟糕啊!我只能不守承诺,在约定期限前到那儿去了。

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This made my mother feel better, but I was very unhappy. I was thinking of Lorna. How could I tell her I was going away? I had promised not to go back to the valley for a month, and that was still a few days away. But how terrible it would be if she came to look for me at the end of the month, and I was not there! I would have to break my promise and go before the agreed time.

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斯蒂克尔斯先生很高兴能在农庄呆上一两天,尝尝我们埃克斯莫尔的美食。于是我便利用这段时间来寻找洛娜。但我在山谷中没见到她的半点身影,也没见到她需要我帮助时用的信号。我无计可施。斯蒂克尔斯先生想上路了,而我只好在没见到洛娜的情况下前往伦敦。

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Mr Stickles was happy to stay at the farm for one or two days, to try our good Exmoor food. So I used the time to look for Lorna. But I saw nothing of her in the valley, and no signal that she needed me. There was nothing else I could do. Mr Stickles wanted to go, and I had to leave for London without seeing her.

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在那个年代,去往伦敦的路途遥远而危险,因为沿途不时有强盗出没。我同母亲和妹妹们告别,最后看了一眼农庄的房子,心里非常难受。幸好杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯是个不错的旅伴。我们一路骑马前行,他给我讲了很多关于伦敦生活的趣闻,我们成了最好的朋友。

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A journey to London was both long and dangerous in those days, because of all the robbers on the roads. As I said goodbye to my mother and sisters and took my last look at the farmhouse, I felt very miserable. But Jeremy Stickles was a good companion. As we rode, he told me many amusing stories of London life, and we became the best of friends.

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我并不喜欢伦敦。那是个拥挤而肮脏的地方,跟埃克斯莫尔截然不同——而更糟糕的是,我还得再等两个多月国王的法官们才能接见我。当时伦敦一片混乱,国王和伦敦市民之间纠纷不断。没有人有空搭理约翰·里德,而我也没获准离开伦敦回家。最终,杰弗里斯法官召见了我。

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I did not like London. It was a crowded, dirty place, not at all like Exmoor — and, even worse, I had to wait more than two months before the King’s judges were ready to see me. There was a lot of trouble in London at that time, with arguments between the King and the City of London. Nobody had time to talk to John Ridd, but I was not allowed to leave and go home. At last, I was called to see Judge Jeffreys.

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杰里米·斯蒂克尔斯给我描述过杰弗里斯法官。他是国王的首席法官,有不少关于他的令人心惊胆颤的传闻。要是有人胆敢同他争论,他就会暴跳如雷。他还曾经把国王的许多敌人送上了断头台。

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Jeremy Stickles had told me about Judge Jeffreys. He was the King’s chief judge, and there were terrible stories about him. He became very angry if anyone argued with him, and he had sent many of the King’s enemies to their deaths.

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我走进了一个房间,里面有三位衣着华贵的人坐在高高的椅子上,每人面前都有一张书桌,上面摆放着纸笔。中间那人看样子是最重要的人物。那是一位身材高大壮硕的男子,方下巴、目光如炬,几乎人人见了他都会惧怕三分。这位一定是杰弗里斯法官。

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In the room I walked into, there were three men sitting on high seats, and they were dressed in very rich clothes. In front of each of them was a desk, with pen and paper. The man in the middle seemed to be the most important. He was a big, heavy man, with a square chin and a kind of fire in his eyes. He was a man that almost anyone would be afraid of. This was certainly Judge Jeffreys.

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他严厉地瞪了我一眼,询问我的身份和籍贯。我回答完后,他说:“很好,约翰·里德,你回答我的问题时毫不畏惧。我现在想起来了。我要问你几个问题,”他紧紧逼视着我。“在埃克斯莫尔,”他问道,“有一个强盗家族,这是真的吗?”

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He gave me a terrible stare, and asked me who I was and where I came from. When I had told him, he said: ’Well done, John Ridd. You have answered me without fear. I remember this matter now. I will ask you some questions.’ He looked at me more closely. ’In Exmoor,’ he said, ’there is a family of robbers. Is that true?’

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我告诉他的确如此。

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I told him it was.

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“那为什么你们当地的法官没对他们采取任何行动?”

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And why isn’t your local judge doing anything about them?’

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“我想是因为他害怕那些强盗,法官大人。那些强盗势力非常强大,而且他们的山谷也很难攻破。”

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I suppose he’s afraid, my Lord. The robbers are very strong, and their valley is hard to attack.’

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“但他们还是得接受法律的制裁!”杰弗里斯法官说,“这些人叫什么名字,总共有多少人?”

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But they must still answer to the law!’ Judge Jeffreys said. ’What’s the name of these people, and how many of them are there?’

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“他们姓杜恩,估计山谷里有四十人左右。”

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They are the Doones, and we think there are about forty men in the valley.’

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“我会对这些盗贼采取行动的,”他说,“也许我会亲自到西部去一趟。”但紧接着,他又使劲盯着我,问道:“在埃克斯莫尔有没有对国王不满的迹象?”

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I will do something about these thieves,’ he said. ’Perhaps I will come down to the west myself.’ But then he stared hard at me again, and asked: ’Is there any sign, in Exmoor, of any dislike of the King?’

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“没有,法官大人。我们对国王知道的不多。”

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No, my Lord. We don’t know much about him.’

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“回答得很好,”他笑着说,“但国王知道他在国内有敌人。不过我看出你对他们一无所知。你是个好人,约翰·里德,别给自己惹麻烦。离国王的敌人们远点,也离杜恩家族远点,这样你就安全了。我原本想让你做一名间谍,但看得出你为人太实在了。我会另外派人去的。不过永远别把我说的话告诉任何人。”说到这里,他恶狠狠地瞪着我;但当他看出他已经把我吓得够呛时,又笑了。“好了,回家去吧,约翰。我会记住你的——而且我想你也不会忘记我的。”

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That’s a good answer,’ he laughed. ’But the King knows he has enemies in the country. I see you know nothing about them, though. You’re a good man, John Ridd. Keep out of trouble. Keep away from the King’s enemies, and from the Doones as well, and you will be safe. I was going to use you as a spy, but I see you’re too honest. I will send someone else. But never tell anyone what I’ve said to you.’ Here he stared at me very angrily, but when he saw he had frightened me enough, he smiled again. ’Now go home, John. I will remember you — and I don’t think you will forget me.’

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我已经没有余钱雇马回埃克斯莫尔,所以只能一路走回去。我走了整整七天,十分庆幸能再次回到家中。

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I had no money left to hire a horse for the journey back to Exmoor, so I had to walk the whole way. It took me seven days, and I was very glad to get home again.

序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

barrow

[’bærəʊ]

n.手推车;古坟

Jeremy

[ˈʤerɪmɪ]

n.杰里米(男子名)

goodbye

[gʊdˈbaɪ]

再见

miserable

[’mɪzrəbl]

adj.痛苦的;悲惨的;贫乏的;狼狈的

angrily

[’æŋɡrəli]

adv.气愤地

简典