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长腿叔叔

忧郁星期三|“Blue Wednesday”

属类: 双语小说 【分类】双语小说 阅读:[504]
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忧郁星期三

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每个月的第一个礼拜三都糟糕透顶——是满怀恐惧地等待,鼓足勇气地承受,而后再急急忙忙地忘掉的一天。每层楼的地板都得一尘不染,每把椅子都必须整洁无瑕,每张床都要铺得一丝不皱。要给九十七个四处乱爬的小孤儿梳洗干净,套上刚刚浆洗过的花格布衬衫,一个个地提醒他们注意自己的仪态,还要教他们学会不管理事什么时候问话,要回答“是的,先生”或“不,先生”。

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这个时候真是令人痛苦。可怜的杰瑞莎·艾伯特作为最年长的孤儿,这一天对她来说就更倒霉了。像往常一样,这个特殊的星期三总算挨到了尾声,杰瑞莎终于从厨房逃了出来,她刚在这里为客人们做了三明治,又跑到楼上去完成她的日常任务。她负责的是第六室,那里有十一个四岁到七岁不等的小不点儿,放了十一张排成一行的小床,杰瑞莎好不容易才把他们集合起来,帮他们整理好皱巴巴的上衣,擦了擦鼻涕,让他们心甘情愿地排成整齐的队伍,而后领着他们去餐室,吃面包,喝牛奶,还有李子布丁,享受半个小时的快乐时光。

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做完这些后,她跌坐在靠窗台的椅子上,将涨得生疼的太阳穴抵住冰冷的玻璃。她从早上五点钟开始就手脚不停地忙,还时不时地被神经质的女监事责骂、催促,私底下的李佩特太太可并不会一直保持她面对理事及女宾时平静、庄重的样子。杰瑞莎的目光越过一片上了冻的开阔草地,越过孤儿院高高的铁栏杆,落在远处起伏的山峦、山间散落着的农庄,以及光秃秃的树丛中露出的村庄尖屋顶上。

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这一天结束了——就她所知,相当顺利。理事和巡查委员会成员照例巡视了孤儿院,读完了报告,喝完了茶,现在正急匆匆地赶回家享受令人欢欣的炉火,至少要到下个月才能想起他们照管的这些折磨人的小鬼。杰瑞莎探着身子,好奇并带着一丝憧憬地望着那成队的马车、小汽车驶出孤儿院的大门。她幻想自己跟随着一辆又一辆车,去了那些沿着山腰星罗棋布的大房子前。她看到自己穿着皮大衣,戴着插了羽毛的天鹅绒帽子,靠在椅子后背上漫不经心地对车夫说:“回家。”然而到了门槛上,家的画面便模糊不清了。

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杰瑞莎喜欢幻想——李佩特太太告诉她说,幻想,要是不小心的话会惹麻烦——但是不管她的想象力有多么丰富,都无法带领她跨过门廊,走进那些她想去的屋子里。可怜的、富有冒险精神的小杰瑞莎,在她有生的十七年间,从未跨入一扇平常的家门,她根本就想象不出那些没有孤儿烦扰的人怎样生活。

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杰——瑞——莎 艾——伯——特

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办公室有人找

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照我看

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你还是快点为妙!

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汤米·迪伦参加了唱诗班,从楼梯到走廊他一路都在唱歌,靠近第六室的时候,他的歌声越发嘹亮起来。杰瑞莎从窗口收回了目光,不得不再次面对生活的烦恼。

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“谁找我?”她打断了汤米的歌唱,急切地问。

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办公室里的李佩特太太

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我想她快疯啦

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阿——门!

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汤米拖长了声音唱着,他的语调并没有恶意。甚至连心肠最硬的小孤儿也会对犯了错被叫到办公室的姐姐满怀同情,因为她得到办公室去面对招人讨厌的老太太。汤米还是蛮喜欢杰瑞莎的,虽然她有时使劲儿地拽着他的胳膊,或是差点要把他的鼻子给擦下来。

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杰瑞莎没有再说话,走了,只是额头多了两条皱纹。她想知道哪里出问题了,是三明治不够薄吗?是果仁饼里有壳吗?还是哪位女宾发现苏茜·霍森的长袜上有个洞呢?是不是——哦,糟糕!——第六室那些天真无邪的小宝贝跟理事顶嘴了?

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低矮的长廊上灯还没有亮,她下楼的时候,最后一位理事站在那儿,正准备离开,他站在通向院外的门口,杰瑞莎对他只有个一闪即逝的印象——他很高。他正朝着一辆停在弯道上的汽车挥手,车子启动开过来时,耀眼的光芒把他的影子投在了室内的墙壁上。影子奇形怪状的:拉长的四肢沿着地板奔跑,蹿上了走廊墙壁,就像人们常常说的“长腿叔叔”——那是一种摇摇晃晃的大蜘蛛。

18
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杰瑞莎紧锁的眉头顿时松开了,发出了一阵欢快的笑声。她性格开朗,一点点小事都能把她逗乐。谁能从哪个理事的难堪之中找到点乐子,自然是意外的惊喜啦!她继续往办公室走去,这个小小的插曲让她非常开心,面对着李佩特太太时也是笑逐颜开。出乎意料的是,杰瑞莎发现李佩特太太也相当和蔼,即便她没有笑容。她的表情愉快得像在接待来访的客人。

19
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“坐下,杰瑞莎,我有话要对你说。”

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杰瑞莎坐在了离她最近的椅子上,屏住了呼吸等待着。一辆汽车从窗外闪过,李佩特太太的目光跟在它后头。

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“你注意到刚刚走的这位先生了吗?”

22
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“我看到了他的背影。”

23
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“他是我们最富有的理事之一,给救济院捐赠了大笔的款项来支持我们。我没有权利说出他的名字,他特别要求不要说出他的名字。”

24
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杰瑞莎的眼睛微微睁大,她不习惯被召到办公室里来和监事谈论理事们的古怪脾气。

25
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“这位先生一直很关注我们的几个男孩子。你记得查理·本顿和亨利·弗瑞兹吧?他们两个都是——这位,呃……理事先生送去大学的,他们两个人都很用功,都以良好的成绩回报了这位先生的慷慨资助。别的回报这位先生并不想要。迄今为止,他的善心仅限于男孩子,我从来没能让他对这里的女孩子有一点点的兴趣,不管是多么值得的姑娘。我可以告诉你,他不喜欢女孩子。”

26
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“是的。太太。”杰瑞莎讷讷地回答,因为此时,这样的回答似乎是李佩特太太希望听到的。

27
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“今天在例会上,有人提到了你的前途问题。”

28
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李佩特太太略微停顿了片刻,而后又慢条斯理地说了下去,这让她的听众的神经骤然紧绷了起来。

29
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“你也知道,通常,孩子们十六岁以后就不能留在这里了,但你是个例外。你十四岁就完成我们的课程,成绩不错——但也不尽然,得说你的操行并非一向优良——我们才让你继续在村里的中学读书。如今你就要毕业了,当然,院里不能再负担你的费用。即便如此,你也比大部分孩子多读了两年书。”

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李佩特太太全然不提在这两年里,杰瑞莎为了自己的食宿卖力地工作。救济院一直是第一位的,她的学习排在第二位,一旦遇到像今天这样的日子,杰瑞莎就得被留下来打扫卫生。

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“我刚才说了,有人提出你的前途问题,讨论了你的表现——一场彻底的讨论。”

32
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李佩特太太用谴责的目光望着这个“被告席上的小囚犯”,而“犯人”也配合地露出有罪的神情。因为这种表情是李佩特太太希望看到的,并不是因为她自己记起了自己有什么让人侧目的污点记录。

33
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“自然,像你这种情况,通常安排一个工作就可以了。但是你在学校的时候有些学科学得很不错,英文甚至可以说非常优秀。普里查德小姐是我们巡查委员会的委员,也是学校理事会的成员,她曾经和你的语文老师谈过话,她说了一大通你的好话。她还大声地朗读了你写的一篇作文,叫作《忧郁星期三》。”

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这下杰瑞莎可真的知罪了。

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“你嘲笑这个为你做了这么多事情的救济院,这让我感觉你丝毫不知道感恩。要是你没有这么幽默的话,我怀疑会不会有人原谅你。然而,幸运的是,那位先生,刚刚走掉的那位理事先生表现出了极大的幽默感,就因为那篇无礼的作文,他决定送你去上大学。”

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“上大学?”杰瑞莎瞪大了双眼。

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李佩特太太点了点头。

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“他留下来和我谈了条件,条件不同寻常。我觉得这位先生相当古怪。他认为你很有天分,他想把你培养成作家。”

39
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“作家?”杰瑞莎的脑袋一下就蒙了,只能重复李佩特太太的话。

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“这只是他的愿望,能否成功将来自然会知道的。他会给你提供充裕的零花钱,对一个从来没管过钱的女孩子来说,几乎是过于慷慨了。不过他把事情的细节都计划好了,我感觉似乎不能再提建议了。今年夏天你还是在这里,普里查德小姐慷慨地答应帮你添置衣服。至于你的膳食费以及学费,直接由那位先生付给校方。大学的四年里,你每个月会有三十五美元的零用钱,这足以使你和其他学生的情况相当。这位先生的私人秘书每个月会把钱寄给你,而你每个月收到钱以后要写信给他。并不是要你感谢他给的零用钱,他不在乎你提不提这个,而是让你写一封信说说你的学习进展,以及生活细节,就好像你的父母还在世,你会给他们写的信一样。收信人的名字叫约翰·史密斯,信件由他的秘书转交。这并不是他的真名,他宁愿不让人知道他的真名。对你而言,他永远就是约翰·史密斯。他让你写信,是因为他认为没什么能比写信更能培养人的文学表达能力,既然你没有家人可以通信,他希望你用给家人写信的方式来给他写信。同样地,他也希望能知道你的进展。他不会回你的信,也不会特别挑剔你的来信。他不喜欢写信,也不希望写信成为你的负担。如果有什么紧急问题,有必要回复你的话——譬如你被开除,我相信这种事是不会发生的——你可以和他的秘书格利兹先生联系。对你这一方,这些信件则是绝对的义务,这是史密斯先生对你唯一的要求。因此,你必须把信当成要按时支付的账单一样准时寄出。我希望你的语气能一直保持恭敬,这能反映出你所受到的教育。你必须牢牢记住,你的信是写给约翰·格里尔之家的一位理事。”

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杰瑞莎的眼神急切地找寻门在哪里,她已经兴奋得晕头转向了,这会儿,她只希望从李佩特太太的老生常谈中逃开,而后想一想。她起身,试探着退了一步,李佩特太太用手势示意她留下来——这可是一个难得的演说机会。

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“我相信,对于这从天而降的好运气你一定是心存感激吧?像你这种情况的女孩子很少有这种见世面的机会,你必须永远地记住——”

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“我——是的,太太,谢谢您。我想,要是没有其他事的话,我得去补弗雷德的裤子了。”

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门在她身后关上了。李佩特太太盯着门咽下了一肚子被打断的唠叨。她才刚刚说到兴头呢。

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“Blue Wednesday”

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The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day—a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage, and forgotten with haste. Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle. Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say “Yes, sir,” “No, sir,” whenever a Trustee spoke.

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It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it. But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close. Jerusha escaped from the pantry where she had been making sandwiches for the asylum’s guests, and turned upstairs to accomplish her regular work. Her special care was room F, where eleven little tots, from four to seven, occupied eleven little cots set in a row. Jerusha assembled her charges, straightened their rumpled frocks, wiped their noses, and started them in an orderly and willing line toward the dining room to engage themselves for a blessed half hour with bread and milk and prune pudding.

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Then she dropped down on the window seat and leaned throbbing temples against the cool glass. She had been on her feet since five that morning doing everybody’s bidding, scolded and hurried by a nervous matron. Mrs. Lippett, behind the scenes, did not always maintain that calm and pompous dignity with which she faced an audience of Trustees and lady visitors. Jerusha gazed out across a broad stretch of frozen lawn, beyond the tall iron paling that marked the confines of the asylum, down undulating ridges sprinkled with country estates, to the spires of the village rising from the midst of bare trees.

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The day was ended—quite successfully, so far as she knew. The Trustees and the visiting committee had made their rounds, and read their reports, and drunk their tea, and now were hurrying home to their own cheerful firesides, to forget their bothersome little charges for another month. Jerusha leaned forward watching with curiosity—and a touch of wistfulness—the stream of carriages and automobiles that rolled out of the asylum gates. In imagination she followed first one equipage then another to the big houses dotted along the hillside. She pictured herself in a fur coat and a velvet hat trimmed with feathers leaning back in the seat and nonchalantly murmuring “Home” to the driver. But on the doorsill of her home the picture grew blurred.

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Jerusha had an imagination—an imagination, Mrs. Lippett told her, that would get her into trouble if she didn’t take care—but keen as it was, it could not carry her beyond the front porch of the houses she would enter. Poor, eager, adventurous little Jerusha, in all her seventeen years, had never stepped inside an ordinary house; she could not picture the daily routine of those other human beings who carried on their lives undiscommoded by orphans.

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Je-ru-sha Ab-bott

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You are wan-ted

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In the of-fice,

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And I think you’d

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Better hurry up!

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Tommy Dillon who had joined the choir, came singing up the stairs and down the corridor, his chant growing louder as he approached room F. Jerusha wrenched herself from the window and refaced the troubles of life.

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“Who wants me?” she cut into Tommy’s chant with a note of sharp anxiety.

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Mrs. Lippett in the office,

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And I think she’s mad.

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Ah-a-men!

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Tommy piously intoned, but his accent was not entirely malicious. Even the most hardened little orphan felt sympathy for an erring sister who was summoned to the office to face an annoyed matron; and Tommy liked Jerusha even if she did sometimes jerk him by the arm and nearly scrub his nose off.

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Jerusha went without comment, but with two parallel lines on her brow. What could have gone wrong? she wondered. Were the sandwiches not thin enough? Were there shells in the nut cakes? Had a lady visitor seen the hole in Susie Hawthorn’s stocking? Had—O horrors!—one of the cherubic little babes in her own room F “sassed” a Trustee?

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The long lower hall had not been lighted, and as she came downstairs, a last Trustee stood, on the point of departure, in the open door that led to the porte-cochère. Jerusha caught only a fleeting impression of the man—and the impression consisted entirely of tallness. He was waving his arm toward an automobile waiting in the curved drive. As it sprang into motion and approached, head on for an instant, the glaring headlights threw his shadow sharply against the wall inside. The shadow pictured grotesquely elongated legs and arms that ran along the floor and up the wall of the corridor. It looked, for all the world, like a huge, wavering daddy-long-legs.

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Jerusha’s anxious frown gave place to quick laughter. She was by nature a sunny soul, and had always snatched the tiniest excuse to be amused. If one could derive any sort of entertainment out of the oppressive fact of a Trustee, it was something unexpected to the good. She advanced to the office quite cheered by the tiny episode, and presented a smiling face to Mrs. Lippett. To her surprise the matron was also, if not exactly smiling, at least appreciably affable; she wore an expression almost as pleasant as the one she donned for visitors.

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“Sit down, Jerusha, I have something to say to you.”

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Jerusha dropped into the nearest chair and waited with a touch of breathlessness. An automobile flashed past the window; Mrs. Lippett glanced after it.

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“Did you notice the gentleman who has just gone?”

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“I saw his back.”

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“He is one of our most affluential Trustees, and has given large sums of money toward the asylum’s support. I am not at liberty to mention his name; he expressly stipulated that he was to remain unknown.”

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Jerusha’s eyes widened slightly; she was not accustomed to being summoned to the office to discuss the eccentricities of Trustees with the matron.

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“This gentleman has taken an interest in several of our boys. You remember Charles Benton and Henry Freize? They were both sent through college by Mr.—er—this Trustee, and both have repaid with hard work and success the money that was so generously expended. Other payment the gentleman does not wish. Heretofore his philanthropies have been directed solely toward the boys; I have never been able to interest him in the slightest degree in any of the girls in the institution, no matter how deserving. He does not, I may tell you, care for girls.”

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“No, ma’am,” Jerusha murmured, since some reply seemed to be expected at this point.

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“Today at the regular meeting, the question of your future was brought up.”

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Mrs. Lippett allowed a moment of silence to fall, then resumed in a slow, placid manner extremely trying to her hearer’s suddenly tightened nerves.

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“Usually, as you know, the children are not kept after they are sixteen, but an exception was made in your case. You had finished our school at fourteen, and having done so well in your studies—not always, I must say, in your conduct—it was determined to let you go on in the village high school. Now you are finishing that, and of course the asylum cannot be responsible any longer for your support. As it is, you have had two years more than most.”

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Mrs. Lippett overlooked the fact that Jerusha had worked hard for her board during those two years, that the convenience of the asylum had come first and her education second; that on days like the present she was kept at home to scrub.

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“As I say, the question of your future was brought up and your record was discussed—thoroughly discussed.”

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Mrs. Lippett brought accusing eyes to bear upon the prisoner in the dock, and the prisoner looked guilty because it seemed to be expected—not because she could remember any strikingly black pages in her record.

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“Of course the usual disposition of one in your place would be to put you in a position where you could begin to work, but you have done well in school in certain branches; it seems that your work in English has even been brilliant. Miss Pritchard, who is on our visiting committee, is also on the school board; she has been talking with your rhetoric teacher, and made a speech in your favor. She also read aloud an essay that you had written entitled, Blue Wednesday.”

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Jerusha’s guilty expression this time was not assumed.

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“It seemed to me that you showed little gratitude in holding up to ridicule the institution that has done so much for you. Had you not managed to be funny I doubt if you would have been forgiven. But fortunately for you, Mr. ——, that is, the gentleman who has just gone—appears to have an immoderate sense of humor. On the strength of that impertinent paper, he has offered to send you to college.”

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“To college?” Jerusha’s eyes grew big.

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Mrs. Lippett nodded.

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“He waited to discuss the terms with me. They are unusual. The gentleman, I may say, is erratic. He believes that you have originality, and he is planning to educate you to become a writer.”

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“A writer?” Jerusha’s mind was numbed. She could only repeat Mrs. Lippett’s words.

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“That is his wish. Whether anything will come of it, the future will show. He is giving you a very liberal allowance, almost, for a girl who has never had any experience in taking care of money, too liberal. But he planned the matter in detail, and I did not feel free to make any suggestions. You are to remain here through the summer, and Miss Pritchard has kindly offered to superintend your outfit. Your board and tuition will be paid directly to the college, and you will receive in addition during the four years you are there, an allowance of thirty-five dollars a month. This will enable you to enter on the same standing as the other students. The money will be sent to you by the gentleman’s private secretary once a month, and in return, you will write a letter of acknowledgment once a month. That is—you are not to thank him for the money; he doesn’t care to have that mentioned, but you are to write a letter telling of the progress in your studies and the details of your daily life. Just such a letter as you would write to your parents if they were living.

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“These letters will be addressed to Mr. John Smith and will be sent in care of the secretary. The gentleman’s name is not John Smith, but he prefers to remain unknown. To you he will never be anything but John Smith. His reason in requiring the letters is that he thinks nothing so fosters facility in literary expression as letter writing. Since you have no family with whom to correspond, he desires you to write in this way; also, he wishes to keep track of your progress. He will never answer your letters, nor in the slightest particular take any notice of them. He detests letter writing, and does not wish you to become a burden. If any point should ever arise where an answer would seem to be imperative—such as in the event of your being expelled, which I trust will not occur—you may correspond with Mr. Griggs, his secretary. These monthly letters are absolutely obligatory on your part; they are the only payment that Mr. Smith requires, so you must be as punctilious in sending them as though it were a bill that you were paying. I hope that they will always be respectful in tone and will reflect credit on your training. You must remember that you are writing to a Trustee of the John Grier Home.”

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Jerusha’s eyes longingly sought the door. Her head was in a whirl of excitement, and she wished only to escape from Mrs. Lippett’s platitudes, and think. She rose and took a tentative step backwards. Mrs. Lippett detained her with a gesture; it was an oratorical opportunity not to be slighted.

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“I trust that you are properly grateful for this very rare good fortune that has befallen you? Not many girls in your position ever have such an opportunity to rise in the world. You must always remember—”

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“I—yes, ma’am, thank you. I think, if that’s all, I must go and sew a patch on Freddie Perkins’s trousers.”

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The door closed behind her, and Mrs. Lippett watched it with dropped jaw, her peroration in midair.

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序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

scrub

[skrʌb]

n.用力擦洗;矮树;渺小之物

starch

[stɑːtʃ]

n.淀粉

Trustee

[trʌ’stiː]

n.受托人;理事

distressingly

[dɪ’stres]

n.不幸;危难;苦恼;痛苦

tot

[tɒt]

n.小孩;(酒等)一杯;一口

cot

[kɒt]

n. 棚;栏 【【同】 cote】;

frock

[frɒk]

n.罩袍;僧衣;女上装

orderly

[’ɔːdəli]

adj.有秩序的;整齐的;一丝不苟的

dine

[daɪn]

v.用正餐;进餐

prune

[pruːn]

v.修剪;削减

pudding

[’pʊdɪŋ]

n.布丁;甜食;血肠

throb

[θrɒb]

n.跳动,搏动,悸动

trustee

[trʌ’stiː]

n.受托人;理事

asylum

[ə’saɪləm]

n.收容所;避难所;(政治)庇护;精神病院

undulate

[’ʌndjuleɪt]

adj.波动的;起伏的

spire

[’spaɪə(r)]

n.(教堂的)尖塔;尖顶;螺旋

fireside

[’faɪəsaɪd]

n.炉边;家

carriage

[’kærɪdʒ]

n.四轮马车

hillside

[’hɪlsaɪd]

n.山腰;山坡

nonchalant

[’nɒnʃələnt]

adj.若无其事的;不关心的;冷淡的

murmur

[’mɜːmə(r)]

n. 低沉连续的声音(如风的沙沙声、流水的淙淙声等);

blur

[blɜː(r)]

v.弄脏;使 ... 模糊

adventurous

[əd’ventʃərəs]

adj.爱冒险的;大胆的;冒险的;惊险的

Tommy

[’tɒmi]

n.英国兵;抵作工资的粮食;【机】螺丝旋杆

choir

[’kwaɪə(r)]

n.唱诗班;合唱队;唱诗班的席位

chant

[tʃɑːnt]

n.圣歌;赞美诗;旋律;喊叫

pious

[’paɪəs]

adj.虔诚的;伪善的;不太可能实现的

intone

[ɪn’təʊn]

v.吟咏;吟诵

malicious

[mə’lɪʃəs]

adj.怀恶意的;恶毒的

felted

[’feltɪd]

v. 把 ... 制成毡(使 ... 粘结)

err

[ɜː(r)]

v.犯错;做错

jerk

[dʒɜːk]

v.急动;猛拉

parallel

[’pærəlel]

adj.平行的

brow

[braʊ]

n.前额;眉毛;山脊;表情

babe

[beɪb]

n.小孩;不知世故的人;女孩

sass

[sæs]

v.对 ... 出言不逊

downstairs

[ˌdaʊn’steəz]

adj.楼下的

glare

[ɡleə(r)]

n.闪耀光;刺眼

headlight

[’hedlaɪt]

n.前灯;桅灯

grotesque

[ɡrəʊ’tesk]

adj.奇形怪状的;奇怪的;怪诞的;可笑的

elongate

[’iːlɒŋɡeɪt]

v.延长;伸长

waver

[’weɪvə(r)]

v.动摇;摇曳;犹豫;颤抖

snatch

[snætʃ]

n.抢夺;一阵;一点点

episode

[’epɪsəʊd]

n.一段情节;片段;轶事;插曲

don

[dɒn]

n.先生(西班牙用语)

past

[pɑːst]

a. 过去的;

expressly

[ɪk’spresli]

adv.清楚地;特意地;专门地

stipulate

[’stɪpjuleɪt]

v.规定;保证

eccentricity

[ˌeksen’trɪsəti]

n.古怪;古怪的行为;怪癖;离心率

repay

[rɪ’peɪ]

v.偿还;报答;还钱给

expend

[ɪk’spend]

vt.花费;消耗

placid

[’plæsɪd]

a. 平静的;

thorough

[’θʌrə]

adj.彻底的;完全的;详尽的;细致深入的

disposition

[ˌdɪspə’zɪʃn]

n.性情;倾向;安排;处置;控制;【计算机】 配置情况

fortunate

[’fɔːtʃənət]

adj.幸运的;侥幸的;带来幸运的

originality

[əˌrɪdʒə’næləti]

n.独创性;创造力;新颖

allowance

[ə’laʊəns]

n.津贴

kindly

[’kaɪndli]

adj.和蔼的;温和的;爽快的

acknowledgement

[ək’nɒlɪdʒmənt]

n.承认;确认;感谢.

detest

[dɪ’test]

v.厌恶;痛恨

imperative

[ɪm’perətɪv]

adj.紧要的;必要的;祈使的

obligatory

[ə’blɪɡətri]

adj.强制性的;义务的;必须的

bill

[bɪl]

①帐单;清单;

whirl

[wɜːl]

vt. 使旋转;

platitude

[’plætɪtjuːd]

n.陈词滥调;平凡;陈腐

tentative

[’tentətɪv]

adj.不确定的;暂时的;试验性质的;犹豫不决的

detain

[dɪ’teɪn]

vt.扣留;拘押;耽搁;延误

befall

[bɪ’fɔːl]

v.发生;降临

midair

[mɪd’eə]

n.半空中

peroration

[ˌperə’reɪʃn]

n.结语;结论

midair

[mɪd’eə]

n.半空中

简典