一个陌生女人的来信_TM

Letter from an Unknown Woman
一个陌生女人的来信
Do you know why I am telling you these trifles?
你知道我为什么告诉你这些鸡毛蒜皮的事吗？
I want you to understand how it was that from the very beginning your personality came to exercise so much power over me when I was still a shy and timid child.
我是想让你明白，从一开始，在我还是个害羞胆小的孩子的时候，你的个性就对我产生了如此大的影响。
Before I had actually seen you, there was a halo round your head.
在我真正见到你之前，你的头上就笼罩着一个光环。
You were enveloped in an atmosphere of wealth, marvel, and mystery.
一种富贵、奇异而又神秘的气氛围绕着你。
People whose lives are narrow, are avid of novelty; and in this little suburban house we were all impatiently awaiting your arrival.
生活在狭小天地里的人总是很渴望新鲜事儿的。我们这幢郊区小楼房里的所有居民都急不可耐地等你搬进来。
In my own case, curiosity rose to fever point when I came home from school one afternoon and found the furniture van in front of the house.
就我自己而言，当我有一天下午放学回到家，看见搬家具的车停在楼前时，我对你的好奇心简直到了狂热的地步。
Most of the heavy things had gone up, and the furniture removers were dealing with the smaller articles.
当时大部分笨重的家具都已搬到楼上了，搬运工正在搬一些小物件。
I stood at the door to watch and admire, for everything belonging to you was so different from what I had been used to.
我站在门口，艳羡地看着，因为你所有的东西与我熟知的东西是那么地不一样。
There were Indian idols, Italian sculptures, and great, brightly coloured pictures.
你有印度的佛像，意大利的雕塑，色彩艳丽的大幅绘画。
Last of all came books, such lovely books, many more than I should have thought possible.
最后是书，这些书非常精致，其数量之多，远超出我的想象。
They were piled by the door.
这些书都堆在门口。
The manservant stood there carefully dusting them one by one.
你的仆人站在那儿，仔细地一本本拭去书上的灰尘。
I greedily watched the pile as it grew.
我贪婪地看着那越来越高的书堆。
Your servant did not send me away, but he did not encourage me either, so I was afraid to touch any of them, though I should have so liked to stroke the smooth leather bindings.
你的仆人没有把我撵走，但也没叫我走近，因此我一本书也不敢碰，尽管我心里很想摸一摸那些书光滑的软皮封面。
I did glance timidly at some of the titles; many of them were in French and in English, and in languages of which I did not know a single word.
我只是怯生生地看了看一些书名，有好些是法文和英文写的，还有些文字我一个字都不认得。
I should have liked to stand there watching for hours, but my mother called me and I had to go in.
我本想一直站在那儿看上几个小时的，可我的母亲叫我，我只得回去了。
I thought about you the whole evening, although I had not seen you yet.
我整个晚上都在想你，尽管我那时还没见过你。
I had only about a dozen cheap books, bound in worn cardboard.
我自己只有十几本很便宜的书，都是用旧纸板做的封面。
I loved them more than anything else in the world, and was continually reading and rereading them.
我爱护这些书，胜过世上其他任何东西，而且一直把这些书读了又读。
Now I was wondering what the man could be like who had such a lot of books, who had read so much, who knew so many languages, who was rich and at the same time so learned.
那时我就想一个有这么多的书，读过这么多的书，懂这么多种语言，有钱又有学问的人会是什么样子呢？
The idea of so many books aroused a kind of unearthly veneration.
想到这么多的书，我心里就生起一种异常的崇敬之情。
I tried to picture you in my mind.
我努力在心中描绘你的模样。
You must be an old man with spectacles and a long, white beard, like our geography master, but much kinder, nicer-looking, and gentler.
你一定是个戴眼镜的老先生，蓄着长长的白胡子，就像我们的地理老师一样，但是比他更和气、更好看、更温雅。
I don’t know why I was sure that you must be handsome, for I fancied you to be an elderly man.
我不知道为什么我就认定你长得好看，因为我那时把你想象成一位老者。
That very night, I dreamed of you for the first time.
就在那天夜里，我第一次梦见了你。
Next day you moved in; but though I was on the watch I could not get a glimpse of your face, and my failure inflamed my curiosity.
第二天你搬进来了，可是尽管我一直在留意着，我还是没能见到你，这也进一步激发了我的好奇。
At length I saw you, on the third day.
最后，在你搬进来的第三天，我终于见到你了。
How astounded I was to find that you were quite different from the ancient godfather conjured up by my childish imagination.
当我发现你与我幼稚想象中那个古代教父的形象完全不同时，我真是大吃了一惊。
A bespectacled, good-natured old fellow was what I had expected to see; and you came, looking just as you still look, for you are one on whom the years leave little mark.
我原以为会见到一个戴眼镜的和蔼可亲的老人，可是你出现了，样子就跟你现在看起来一样，因为你是那种岁月几乎不会在身上留下什么痕迹的人。
You were wearing a beautiful suit of light-brown tweeds, and you ran upstairs two steps at a time with the boyish ease that always characterises your movements.
你穿着一身漂亮的浅褐色斜纹软呢服，一步跨两级台阶地跑上楼，步伐中带着你那种一贯的孩童般的轻捷。
You were hat in hand, so that, with indescribable amazement, I could see your bright and lively face and your youthful hair.
你把帽子拿在手里，所以我看到了你那容光焕发、朝气蓬勃的面孔，还有那一头年轻亮泽的头发，当时我真是惊讶得难以形容。
Your handsome, slim, and spruce figure was a positive shock to me.
你面容俊朗、身材颀长、英俊潇洒，这着实让我吃了一惊。