牛津书虫系列《神秘及幻想故事集》Chapter1 附中英双语文本

Worst of all，he was a prisoner of his own fear．‘I shall die，’he used to say，‘because of this fear，I'm not afraid of danger．What frightens me is fear itself．At the moment I am fighting against fear，but sooner or later I won't be able to fight any more．’
最糟糕的是，他成了自己的恐惧的囚徒。“我要死了，”他常常说，“死于这种恐惧。我并不害怕危险。令我丧胆的是恐惧本身。此刻我在同恐惧搏斗，但迟早我会丧失这奋力搏斗的能力。”
During long conversations with Usher I learnt more about his strange illness．He was sure that it came from the House of Usher itself．He had not left the house for many years and he had become，he thought，as sad as the house itself．The gloom of its grey walls and its dark silent lake had become his own．
在与鄂榭的长谈中，我对他的怪病有了更多的了解。他坚信这个病症来自鄂榭府本身。他已有多年未离开这座宅子了，于是他想，他已经变得跟宅子自身一样悲哀了。它那灰色的石墙与暗黑、凝止的湖水间所蕴藏的阴悒业已化作他个人的愁苦心绪。
He also believed that much of his sadness was because his dear sister was seriously ill．He had one sister，Madeleine，the only other person in his family who was still living，but each day she seemed a little nearer to death．
他还相信他身染怪病在很大程度上是由于他亲爱的妹妹病得十分严重。他有一个妹妹，名叫玛德琳，是他家族中另一位仅存于阳世间的成员，然而似乎每过一天，她就要朝着死神迈近一小步。
‘Her death，’Usher said blackly，‘will leave me alone in the world，the last of all the Ushers．’
“她这一死，”鄂榭闷闷不乐地说道，“就将把我，鄂榭家族的末代孑遗，独自撇在这世界上了。”
While he was speaking，Madeleine passed slowly through the back of the long room and，without noticing me，disappeared．As I looked at her，my eyes felt heavy with．sleep，and I had a strange feeling of fear．I looked across at Usher．He had covered his face with his hands，but I could see that he had become even paler，and that he was crying silently．
他正说着，玛德琳从这长长的房间的远端缓缓走了过去，她并没有注意到我，便不见了影子。我盯着她，两眼昏昏欲睡，然后心头涌起一阵莫名其妙的惶恐。我再转脸看鄂榭，只见他已用双手掩面，不过我仍能看到他的脸色变得更加苍白，而且他正在无声地哭泣。
Lady Madeleine's illness was a mysterious one which no doctor could understand．Every day she became weaker and thinner，and sometimes went into a sleep which was more like death than sleep．For years she had fought bravely against her illness，but on the night of my arrival she went to bed and did not get up from it again．‘You will probably not see her again alive，’Usher said to me，shaking his head sadly．
玛德琳小姐的病症极为古怪，哪个医生都瞧不出个名堂来。她一天比一天衰弱，一天比一天单薄，有时候一觉睡去，与其说是睡着了，还不如说是死掉了更形象。多年以来她同病魔进行了勇敢的斗争，谁知就在我到来的那天夜里，她上了床，并且就此卧床不起。“你可能再也不会见到她活着了，”鄂榭悲哀地摇着头，对我说。
During the next few days Usher and I never spoke about his sister．We spent a lot of time painting and reading together，and sometimes he played on his guitar．I tried very hard to help my friend，but I realized that his sadness was too deep．It was a black gloom that covered everything that belonged to his world；sometimes，indeed，he seemed close to the edge of madness．
此后的数日内鄂榭和我一直绝口不提他的妹妹。我们花了好多时间一起画画，一起读书，有时他还操起吉他弹上一曲。我尽了极大的努力去帮助我的朋友，但是却发现悲哀在他心中已如此根深蒂固。那黑魆魆的阴悒笼罩着属于他的世界的每一样东西；说实在的，有时候他似乎已接近了疯狂的边缘。
He painted strange pictures，and sang mysterious songs with wild words．His ideas，too，were strange，and he had one idea thst seemed more important to him than all the others．He was quite sure that all things，plants，trees，even stones，were able to feel．
他画了一些古怪的画，唱了一些神秘的歌曲，歌词中尽是些狂野的字眼儿。还有，他脑子里的念头也很古怪，其中有一个想法好像比其他想法对他来说更重要。他相当肯定地认为，万事万物，花草，树木，甚至石头，都是有感知能力的。
‘The House of Usher itself，’he told me，‘is like a living thing．When the walls were first built，life went into the stones themselves and year after year it has grown stronger．Even the air around the walls and above the lake has its own life，and belongs to the house．Don't you see，’he cried，‘how the stones and the air have shaped the lives of the Usher family？’