牛津书虫系列《苔丝》Chapter19 附中英双语文本

上床之前，他又读了苔丝那封热情洋溢的来信。那一晚，他辗转难眠。第二天早晨，他来到了邮电局，可是他们不知道有叫克莱尔或德北的人。
‘But there is the name of d'Urberville at Mrs Brooks'，’said the postman．
“可是在布鲁克斯夫人那儿住着个叫德伯的，”邮递员说道。
‘That's it！’cried Clare，pleased to think she had taken her ancestors’name，as he had suggested．
“就是它了！”克莱尔叫道，他很高兴，认为苔丝采纳了他的建议，使用了她祖先的姓氏。
He made his way quickly to Mrs Brooks' house，following the postman's directions．It was a large，impressive house，and he wondered if he should go to the back door，as Tess was probably a servant here．But he rang at the front．Mrs Brooks herself appeared．
顺着邮递员指引的方向，他急忙奔向布鲁克斯夫人的房子。这是一座宽敞、奢华得令人惊叹的房子，他怀疑他是否应该走后门，因为苔丝也许在这儿做用人。可是，他在前门按响了铃，布鲁克斯夫人亲自开门来了。
‘Is Teresa d'Urberville here？’he asked．
“苔莉莎·德伯住在这儿吗？”他问。
‘Mrs d'Urberville？’
“德伯太太吗？”
‘Yes．’He felt pleased that she was known there as a married woman．‘Please tell her that a relation wants to see her．Say it's Angel．’
“是的。”他感到很高兴，因为苔丝是以已婚妇女的身份住在这里的。“请转告她有一个亲戚想要见她，就说是安吉尔。”
‘Mr Angel？’
“安吉尔先生吗？”
‘No，just Angel．She'll know．’
“不，就是安吉尔，她会明白的。”
Angel waited in the sitting room，his heart beating painfully．
安吉尔在起居室里等候，他的心在痛苦地跳动着。
‘Whatever will she think of me？’he thought．‘I look so different，so much older！’He was still weak after his illness．He could hardly stand，and held on to the back of a chair，as she entered the room．
“她对我到底会有什么看法呢？”他在想，“我看起来完全不同了，老了这么多！”病后他的身子还很虚弱。当她走进房间时，他几乎无法站立，紧紧地抓着椅子的靠背。
He was not prepared for what he saw．Tess was wearing fashionable clothes，and looked even more beautiful than he remembered．He had held out his arms，but they fell to his side，because she stood still in the doorway．He thought she could not bear his changed appearance．
对他所见的情景，他没有心理准备，苔丝穿着时髦簇新的衣服，看起来比他记忆中的她更为楚楚动人。他伸出双臂，可又垂落下来，因为她木然不动地站在门口。他心想，她不能接受他改变了的模样。
‘Tess！’he whispered．His voice was low and breaking with emotion．‘Can you forgive me for going away？Can't you…come to me？Why are you… so beautiful？’
“苔丝！”他轻轻叫道。他的嗓音低沉，因情绪激动而断断续续。“你能宽恕我离你出走吗？难道你……不能向我走过来吗？为什么你……如此漂亮？”
‘It is too late，’she said，her voice hard and her eyes shining unnaturally．
“太晚了，”她说。她声音有些刺耳，眼睛的光芒也是躲躲闪闪的。
‘I didn't see you as you really were！Please forgive me，Tessy！’he begged． ‘Too late，too late！’she said，waving her hand impatiently．
“我过去没有看出你真正的本质，请你宽恕我，苔丝！”他请求道。
‘Don't come close，Angel！Keep away！’
“太晚了，太晚了！”她焦躁地挥着手，说道，“别靠近我，安吉尔！站开！”
‘But is it that you don't love me，my dear wife，because I've been ill？I've come to find you．My parents will welcome you！I've told them everything！’
“可是，我的好妻子，是因为我生了病，你就不爱我了吗？我是来找你的，我的父母也会欢迎你！我把一切都告诉他们了！”
‘Yes，yes！But it is too late．’Every moment seemed like an hour to her．She felt as if she was in a dream，trying to escape，but unable to．‘Don't you know what has happened？I waited and waited for you．But you didn't come！And I wrote to you，and you didn't come！He kept on saying you would never come back again，and he was very kind to my family after father's death．He…’
“是的，是的！可是，太晚了。”每一秒钟对她都像一个小时那样难捱，她觉得自己如同在梦中，想要逃，却不能。“你还不知道发生了什么事吗？我把你等了又等。可你没有来！后来我给你写了信，你还是没有来！他老是说，你永远不会再回来了，父亲去世后，他待我们家非常好，他……”
‘I don't understand．’
“我听不懂。”
‘He has won me back to him．’
“他重又把我拉过去了。”
Clare stared at her．He saw her fashionable clothes．He saw her relaxed，well－fed body．He saw her white，delicate hands．At last he understood，and fell into a chair，as if hit on the head．