3级-《三个陌生人》-第19课

前情提要 

巴普蒂丝塔并不着急自己婚礼的事，一切都听从父母的安排。她没有赶上回家的船，于是找了个小旅馆住在了镇上，在镇上他遇到了一个名叫查尔斯的男子……

故事原文 

The Three Strangers and Other Stories 19

三个陌生人 19

'What do you mean?'

“你指的是什么？”

'Well — in a hurry(1) to be somebody's wife. Any husband is better than no husband for you, it seems. You couldn't wait for me, oh no! Well, thank God, that's all in the past for me!'

“嗯——草率地成为某人的妻子。看情形，你似乎觉得有丈夫总比没丈夫强。你等不了我了，哦，不！嗯，感谢上帝，对我而言，一切都过去了！”

'Wait for you? What does that mean(2), Charley? You never showed that you felt anything special for me.'

“等你？这是什么意思，查理？你从没表现出对我有什么特别的感觉呀。”

'Oh really, Baptista dear!'

“哦，是真的吗，亲爱的巴普蒂丝塔！”

'What I mean is, there was nothing that I could be sure of. I suppose you liked me a little, but I didn't think you meant to make an honest engagement of it.'

“我是说，我不敢确定。我猜你是有一点喜欢我，可我并不认为你真的会正儿八经地跟我订婚。”

'That's just it! You girls expect a man to talk about marrying after the first look! But I did mean to get engaged to(3) you, you know.'

“这话算是说到点子上了！你们女孩子总希望男人看你们一眼就谈婚论嫁！可我的确曾经打算跟你订婚，知道吗？”

'But you never said so, and a woman can't wait for ever!'

“但你从没说过这话，一个女人总不能永远等下去吧！”

'Baptista, I promise you that I was planning to ask you to marry me in six months' time.'

“巴普蒂丝塔，我发誓我曾经打算在6个月之内向你求婚。”

She appeared very uncomfortable, and they walked along in silence. Soon he said, 'Did you want to marry me then?'

她显得很不自在，两人默默地往前走。没过多久，他问：“那时你想嫁给我吗？”

And she whispered sadly back, 'Yes!'

她忧伤地低声回答道：“想！”

As they walked on, away from the town and into the fields, her shoulder and his were close together. He held her arm with a strong hand. This seemed to say, 'Now I hold you, and you must do what I want.'

他们走着走着，走出了小镇，来到田野里，两人的肩并在一起。他用一只有力的手抓住了她的胳膊，就像是在说：“现在我抓住你了，我想让你做什么你就得做什么。”

'How strange that we should meet like this!' said the young man. 'You and I could be husband and wife, going on our honeymoon together. But instead of that, we'll say goodbye in half an hour, perhaps for ever. Yes, life is strange!'

“我们这样见面真是太奇怪了！”小伙子说，“你我原本可以结为夫妻、一起度蜜月的，可这一切却没有发生。我们半小时后就要说再见了，也许永远无法再见。是啊，人生是多么奇怪啊！”

She stopped walking. 'I must go back. This is too painful, Charley! You're not being kind today.'

她停下了脚步。“我得回去了。这太痛苦了，查理！你今天太不友善了。”

'I don't want to hurt you — you know I don't,' he answered more gently. 'But it makes me angry — what you're going to do. I don't think you should marry him.'

“我不想伤害你——你知道我不想，”他温柔地回答道，“但你将要做的事使我很生气。我觉得你不应该嫁给他。”

'I must do it, now that I've agreed.'

“既然我已经同意了，就必须那么做。”

'Why?' he asked, speaking more seriously now. 'It's never too late to(4) stop a wedding if you're not happy with it. Now — you could marry me, instead of him, although you were in too much of a hurry to wait for me!'

“为什么？”他问道，语气更加严肃了，“取消一场你不情愿的婚礼永远都不算晚。喏——你可以跟我结婚，而不是跟他，尽管你等了我没多久！”

'Oh, it isn't possible to think of that!' she cried, shaking her head. 'At home everything will be ready for the wedding!'

“哦，想想就知道那是不可能的！”她摇着头喊道，“家里肯定已经把婚礼的一切都准备停当了！”

'If we marry, it must be at once. This evening you can come back with me to Trufal, the town where I live. We can get married there on Tuesday, and then no Mr David Heddegan, or anyone else, can take you away from me!'

“如果我们要结婚，那就必须马上结。今天晚上你可以跟我回到我居住的小镇特鲁福去。我们星期二就可以在那里结婚，那么无论是戴维·赫德根还是其他什么人，都不能把你从我身边带走了！”

'But I must go home on the Tuesday boat,' she said worriedly. 'What will they think if I don't arrive?'

“可我必须坐星期二的船回家，”她焦虑地说，“如果我没回家，他们会怎么想呢？”

'You can go home on that boat just the same. The only difference is that I'll go with you. You'll tell your parents that you've married a young man with a good job, someone that you met at the training college. When I meet them, they'll accept that we're married and it can't be changed. And you won't be miserable for ever as the wife of an awful old man. Now honestly, you do like me best, don't you, Baptista?'

“你一样可以坐那趟船回家。唯一不同的是我会跟你一起回去。你可以告诉你父母，你嫁给了一位有体面工作的年轻人，是在培训学院认识的。等见面以后，他们就会接受我们结婚这个事实，这是无法改变的。你就永远不会因为嫁给一个可怕的老头而痛苦了。好了，老实说，你最喜欢的的确是我，是不是，巴普蒂丝塔？”

'Yes,' she whispered.

“是的。”她轻声说道。

'Then we will do what I say.'

“那咱们就照我说的办。”

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点 

1. in a hurry = in a rush 急促， 匆忙

例句：

You'll make mistakes if you do things in too much of a hurry.

如果你太着急， 就会犯很多错误。

Sorry, I was in a hurry.

抱歉， 我有点急。

2. mean 意思是，意味着

例句：

What I mean is, I don't feel alone anymore.

我意思是我现在不孤独。

When she says the play was "interesting," she means it wasn't very good.

当她说这部电影“有趣” 的时候， 她其实意思是不怎么好。

3. get engaged to sb. 与某人订婚

例句：

He gets engaged to a lovely woman.

他和一位很好的女士订婚了。

Lots of people get engaged to be married on holidays.

很多人订婚后选择在假期结婚。

4. It's never too late to do sth. 做某事不会太晚。

例句：

It's never too late to realize what's important in life that fight for.

知道生命中最重要的东西并为之奋斗， 这永远不晚。

It's never too late to start learning anything.

什么时候学习都不晚。