3级-《三个陌生人》-第21课

前情提要 

巴普蒂丝塔和查尔斯结婚了，在等待上船的时候，查尔斯想去海里游泳打发时间。巴普蒂丝塔同意了，然而让她意想不到的是，她再也找不到查尔斯了，他可能溺亡了……

故事原文 

The Three Strangers and Other Stories 21

三个陌生人 21

She began to cry, still standing there on the beach. She did not know what to do, or even what to think. Finally, she remembered the boat, and catching the boat home seemed the easiest thing to do. So she walked to the station, arranged for(1) someone to carry her luggage, and went down to the boat. She did all this automatically, in a kind of dream.

她站在海滩上哭了起来，不知道该做什么，甚至不知道该想什么。最后，她想起了船，看样子最简单的事就是坐船回家了。于是她走到码头，叫人帮忙提着行李上了船。她机械地做着这些事情，如同梦游一般。

Just before the boat left, she heard part of a conversation which made her sure that Charles was dead. One passenger said to another, 'A man drowned here earlier today, you know. He swam out too far, they say. A stranger, I think. Some people in a boat saw him, but they couldn't get to him in time(2).'

就在开船前，她听到了一小段对话，让她确信查尔斯真的死了。一名旅客对另一名旅客说：“今天早些时候有个男人在这里溺死了，知道吗。他们说他游得太远了。我猜他是个异乡人。有人在船上看见了他，但却没来得及赶过去。”

The boat was a long way out to sea before Baptista realized that Mr Heddegan was on the boat with her. She saw him walking towards her and quickly took the wedding ring off her left hand.

船在海上驶出了很远，巴普蒂丝塔才意识到赫德根先生跟她在同一条船上。她看到他朝自己走过来，于是飞快地将左手上的结婚戒指撸了下来。

'I hope you're well, my dear?' he said. He was a healthy, red-faced man of fifty-five. 'I wanted to come across to meet you. What bad luck that you missed the boat on Saturday!'

“希望你一切都好，亲爱的。”他说。他55岁，身体健康，红光满面。“我想要过来接你。你星期六误了船，真是不走运啊！”

And Baptista had to agree, and smile, and make conversation. Mr Heddegan had spoken to her before she was ready to say anything. Now the moment had passed.

巴普蒂丝塔只得点头赞同，微笑着跟他交谈。赫德根先生还没等她开口就已经跟她聊了起来。而现在，坦言一切的时机已经过去了。

When the boat arrived, her parents were there to meet her. Her father walked home beside Mr Heddegan, while her mother walked next to Baptista, talking all the time.

船靠岸时，她的父母已经在那儿迎接她了。父亲与赫德根先生并肩往家走，母亲则走在巴普蒂丝塔身旁，喋喋不休地边走边说。

'I'm so happy, my child,' said Mrs Trewthen in her loud, cheerful voice, 'that you've kept your promise to marry Mr Heddegan. How busy we've been! But now things are all ready for the wedding, and a few friends and neighbours are coming in(3) for supper this evening.' Again, the moment for confessing had passed, and Baptista stayed silent.

“我很高兴，我的孩子，”特鲁森太太兴奋地大声说，“很高兴你能信守诺言嫁给赫德根先生。我们都快忙坏啦！不过，现在婚礼上的一切都准备好了，今天晚上就会有几个朋友和邻居来吃晚餐。”坦白一切的时机再一次错过了，巴普蒂丝塔一直保持着沉默。

When they reached home, Mrs Trewthen said, 'Now, Baptista, hurry up to your room and take off your hat, then come downstairs. I must go to the kitchen.'

到家后，特鲁森太太说：“巴普蒂丝塔，快回你的房间摘下帽子，然后下楼来。我得去厨房了。”

The young woman passively obeyed her mother's orders. The evening was a great success(4) for all except Baptista. She had no chance to tell her parents the news, and it was already much more difficult than it had been at first. By the end of the evening, when all the neighbours had left, she found herself alone in her bedroom again. She had come home with much to say, and had said none of it. She now realized that she was not brave enough to tell her story. And as the clock struck midnight, she decided it should stay(5) untold.

年轻的姑娘听从了母亲的吩咐。整个晚上，除了巴普蒂丝塔之外，人人都很开心。她没有机会跟父母坦白，而现在要说出来更是难上加难了。晚餐结束时，邻居们纷纷走了，她发现自己再一次独自待在了卧室里。她回家本来有满腹的话要说，但却什么都没说出来。她这才意识到自己没勇气说出自己的故事。钟敲12点的时候，她终于决定对此只字不提。

Morning came, and when she thought of Charles, it was more with fear than with love. Her mother called from downstairs, 'Baptista! Time to get up! Mr Heddegan will be at the church in three-quarters of an hour!'

到了早上，她想起了查尔斯，心里更多的是恐怖而不是爱。母亲在楼下喊：“巴普蒂丝塔！该起床了！赫德根先生会在45分钟内到达教堂！”

Baptista got out of bed, looked out of the window, and took the easy way. She put her best clothes on, confessed nothing, and kept her promise to marry David Heddegan.

巴普蒂丝塔从床上起身望着窗外，选择了一条平坦的道路。她穿上自己最好的衣裳，没露一点儿口风，信守诺言嫁给了戴维·赫德根。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点 

1. arrange for sb. to do sth. 安排某人做某事

    make arrangement 做安排

例句：

I will arrange for someone to take you round.

我安排个人带你到周围转转。

She's arranged for her son to have swimming lessons.

她已经安排了自己的儿子去上游泳课。

2. in time 及时

例句：

They arrived just in time to catch the last train out of town.

他们及时到达， 赶上了最后一班出城的火车。

3. come in 到达

例句：

The store will have some exciting new products coming in next week.

下周这家商店将有一些激动人心的新产品到货。

4. success 成功

例句：

The play was a box-office success.

这是部卖座的戏剧。

The book has enjoyed a lot of success.

这本书走红了。

5. stay + v.的过去分词 保持（某种状态）

    stay focused 专注

例句：

The students stay focused during the whole class.

学生们上课都注意听讲。