牛津书虫系列《勃朗特一家的故事》Chapter7 附中英双语文本

1846年的冬天非常寒冷，风把雪花吹起来，在屋子四周和墓地上空盘旋。村子里大批的孩子死去了。安妮也生病了，布兰韦尔更糟糕。我们在每间屋于里都生起了火，可是早上窗户内层还是结了冰。我把大部分时间都花在陪布兰韦尔上，没有太注意女儿们。
And then，one afternoon，Charlotte came into my room．I was sitting here，in this same chair，beside the fire．She had a book in her hand， and that strange，happy look on her face．
后来，一天下午，夏洛蒂来到我的房间。我坐在现在的这把椅子上，就在炉火旁。她手里拿着本书，脸上带着一种奇怪的快乐表情。
'Papa，'she said．'I've been writing a book．'
“爸爸，”她说，“我在写本书。”
I smiled．'Have you，my dear？'I thought she had written another little book about Angria．
我微笑着说：“是吗，亲爱的？”我以为她又写了本关于安哥利亚的小书。
'Yes， and I want you to read it．'
“是啊，我还想让您读读呢。”
'Oh，I'm afraid it will hurt my eyes too much．'My eyes were much better，but the tiny writing in the Angria books was too small for me．
“噢，恐怕会太伤我的眼睛的。”我的眼睛虽然好了，但是安哥利亚故事里纤细的笔迹对我来说还是太小了些。
'Oh no，'she said．'It's not in my handwriting；it is printed．'She held out the book in her hand．
“哦，不！”她说，“不是我手写的，而是印刷的。”然后她把手里的书递了过来。
'My dear！Think how much it will cost！You will almost certainly lose money，because no one will buy it！No one knows your name ！'
“亲爱的，想想这得花很多钱！你几乎肯定要赔钱的，因为没有人会买！没有人知道你的名字！”
'I don't think so，father．I didn't pay to get it printed，you know．The publishers paid me．Listen to what people say about it in these magazines．'
“我倒不这么看；爸爸，要知道我没有付印刷费。出版商付给我钱。听听，这些杂志上人们是怎么说这本书的。”
She sat down， and read to me from some of the most famous magazines in England．There were long articles in them，about a book called Jane Eyre， by Currer Bell．They were kind arti－cles；most of the magazine writers liked the book．
她坐下来，给我念英国最有名的一些杂志上的文章。那上面有几篇长长的文章，都是谈论一本叫做《简·爱》的书，作者是柯勒·贝尔。那些评论都很善意，大多数作者都很喜欢这本书。
'This Currer Bell， then，'I ashed．'Is it you？'
“这个柯勒·贝尔，那么说就是你啰？”我问。
Charlotte laughed．'Yes，papa．It's a man's name， with the same first letters：CB—Charlotte Bront， Currer Bell．'
夏洛蒂大笑起来。“是呵，爸爸。这是个男人的名字，但和我的名字有同样的字母开头。”
She gave me the book，and went out．I began to read．
她把书给我，就出去了。我开始读它。
I think I read for two hours， but it seemed like ten minutes．It was a wonderful，beautiful book—the story of a little girl called Jane Eyre．Her parents are dead，so she lives with an un－kind aunt and her children．Then Jane goes away to a school called Lowood．This school is a terrible place，and it is very like the school at Cowan Bridge．Jane Eyre's best friend， Helen Burns，falls ill at the school， and dies． This Helen is just like my own little Maria．When I read about her death，my eyes fillled with tears．But it was a beautiful book， too；I did not want to put it down．
我想我读了两个钟头，却好像只有10分钟，这是本奇妙而美丽的书——关于一个叫简·爱的女孩的故事。她父母死了，所以和一个坏舅妈及她的孩子们住在一起，后来简去了一个叫劳渥德的学校，那是个可怕的地方，非常像考恩桥的那所学校。简·爱最好的朋友，海伦·彭斯，在学校染上了病，死了。这个海伦就像是我的小玛丽亚。当我读到她的死时，双眼噙满泪水。但这确是一本优美的书。我简直不想把它放下来。
At five o'clock I got up and went into the sitting－room． My three daughters sat there waiting for me．Their eyes were very bright．I still had tears in my eyes，but I had a big smile on my face too．I held up Jane Eyre in my hand，and said：'Girls，do you know Charlotte has written a book？ And it is more than good， you know—it is very， very fine indeed！'
5点钟我起身走进客厅，我的3个女儿都在那儿等着我。她们的眼睛都闪着亮。我的眼里还含着眼泪，可脸上带着舒心的笑容。我举起《简·爱》，说：“孩子们，你们知道夏洛蒂写了本书吗？它简直棒极了，你们知道吗——确实非常、非常好！”