英语阅读一-The-open-window

“My aunt will come down very soon, Mr. Nuttel,” said a very calm young lady of fifteen years of age; “meanwhile you must try to bear my company.” Framton Nuttel tried to say something which would please the niece now present, without annoying the aunt that was about to come. He was supposed to be going through a cure for his nerves; but he doubted whether these polite visits to a number of total strangers would help much. “I know how it will be,” his sister had said when he was preparing to go away into the country; “you will lose yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever through loneliness. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice.”“纳托先生，我姑妈不久就会下来”，说话人是一位十五岁的年轻小姐，看上去沉着自信，“目前我来陪您，请多包涵。” 弗雷顿想说些让面前这位侄女快乐，并且又不会令即将到来的姑妈感到厌烦的话。弗雷顿?纳托目前需要接受精神忧郁症的治疗，可是一种接着一种的拜访这样完全陌生的人真的会对她的神经有什么协助吗？ 当时她正收拾行装准备来乡下静居，姐姐对她说：“我懂得最后会是什么样子！到了那里你会迷糊，不跟任何人说一句话，而你的神经会由于抑郁不乐而变得更加糟糕。我还是要写某些引见信，把你简介给那里所有我结识的人，在我的印象中，有人还是很和蔼的。” Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was bringing one of the letters of introduction, one of the nice ones. “Do you know many of the people round here?” asked the niece, when she thought that they had sat long enough in silence. “Hardly one,” said Framton. “My sister was staying here, you know, about four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here.” He made the last statement in a sad voice.弗雷顿目前就要把这样一封引见信交给赛普顿夫人，不懂得这位夫人是不是属于和蔼之流。 “您在这里结识诸多人吗？”那位小姐开口问道，由于她发现她们这样沉默的交流时间过长了。 “几乎一种人都不结识，”弗雷顿答道，“四年前我的姐姐在这里住过一段时间，是她写的引见信让我结识这里的人。” 她说最后一句话时，语调中透露出伤感。 “Then you know almost nothing about my aunt?” continued the calm young lady. “Only her name and address;” Framton admitted. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was married; perhaps she had been married and her husband was dead. But there was something of a man in the room. “Her great sorrow came just three years ago,” said the child. “That would be after your sisters time. “Her sorrow?” asked Framton. Somehow, in this restful country place, sorrows seemed far away. “那么您事实上对我姑妈是一无所知了？”年轻的小姐继续问道。 “只懂得她的名字和地址，”弗雷顿承认，同步她又在暗自考虑，这位赛普顿夫人与否结婚了，也许她结过婚但她的丈夫去世了。但房间里有些说不清的迹象表白这里是有男人居住的。 “三年前她的家里发生了一场悲剧，”那孩子接着说，“当时您的姐姐应当已经离开这里了。” “悲剧？”弗雷顿觉得有些不可思议，不知为什么她觉得在这样的乡村静地是不会发生什么悲剧的。“You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon,” said the niece, pointing to a long window that opened like a door on to the grass outside. “It is quite warm for the time of the year,” said Framton; “but has that window got anything to do with your aunts sorrow?”“也许您会奇怪，为什么十月份的下午我们会将窗户大敞着，”那位小姐用手指着那扇宽阔的象扇门的落地窗说。窗外是一片草坪。 “今年的十月天气不是很凉，”弗雷顿回答，“但是你的意思是说，这扇窗户跟那场悲剧有什么关系吗？” “Out through that window, exactly three years ago, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their days shooting. They never came back. In crossing the country to the shooting-ground, they were all three swallowed in a bog. It had been that terrible wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years became suddenly dangerous. Their bodies were never found. That was the worst part of it.” Here the childs voice lost its calm sound and became almost human. “Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown dog that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dark. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing a song, as he always did to annoy her, because she said it affected her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on quiet evenings like this, I almost get a strange feeling that they will all walk in through the window ?”“三年前的今天，她的丈夫和两个弟弟，就是穿过那扇窗户去打猎，但是一去无返。她们当时要去那块最适合猎射的地方，但是在穿过野地的时候，三个人意想不到的所有陷进沼泽里。就是那个可怕的潮湿的夏天，让在其她年份里始终很安全的地方变得忽然危险了。最糟糕的是从未找到她们的尸体。”说到这小孩的声音变得不再镇定，而是布满了感情色彩。“可怜的姑妈总是相信她们有一天会回来，她们三个，尚有那条跟她们一块儿失踪的棕色猎狗，会像从前同样从那扇窗户走进来。那就是为什么这扇窗每个傍晚都会敞开着直到很晚的时候才关。可怜的，亲爱的姑妈，她总是跟我提起当时她们出门的情景，她的丈夫胳膊上搭着一件白色外衣，她最小的弟弟，罗尼，象平常同样唱着会让她心烦意乱的歌，她曾说她的歌刺激着她的神经。你懂得吗，在这样安静的夜晚，我有时也会觉得她们会从那扇窗子走进来，这种感觉让我浑身发怵。” She stopped and trembled. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt came busily into the room and apologized for being late. “I hope Vera has been amusing you?” she said. “She has been very interesting,” said Framton. “I hope you dont mind the open window,” said Mrs. Sappleton brightly; “my husband and brothers will be home soon from shooting, and they always come in this way. Theyve been shooting birds today near the bog, so theyll make my poor carpets dirty. All you men do that sort of thing, dont you?讲到这里，她停了下来，打了个寒颤。这时，那位姑妈匆匆走进房间，让弗雷顿松了一口气，她一进屋就不断的道歉说自己这样迟才下楼来。 “维拉没有让您觉得无聊吧？”她问道。 “她是位很有趣的小姐。”弗雷顿回答。“但愿您不会介意我把窗户开着，”赛普顿夫人轻快的说，“我丈夫和弟弟打猎后来回家，总是从这边进来。她们今天去沼泽地打鸟，回来的时候肯定会把我的地毯弄得脏兮兮的。男人都是这样子，对吧？”She talked on cheerfully about the shooting and the scarcity of birds, and the hopes of shooting in the winter. To Framton it was all quite terrible. He made a great effort, which was only partly successful, to turn the talk on to a more cheerful subject. He was conscious that his hostess was giving him only a part of her attention, and her eyes were frequently looking past him to the open window and the grass beyond. It was certainly unfortunate that he should have paid his visit on this sorrowful day.“The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, no excitement and no bodily exercise,” said Framton, who had the common idea that total strangers want to know the least detail of ones illnesses, their cause and cure. “On the matter of food, they are not so much in agreement,” he continued. “No?” said Mrs. Sappleton in a tired voice. Then she suddenly brightened into attention? but not to what Framton was saying.接着她又饶有爱好喋喋不休地谈起打猎，说近来树林里面鸟不多，能否有所收获寄但愿今年冬天了。在弗雷顿看来，没什么比这更可怕的了。她费了好大的劲儿想把谈话引到比较快乐的话题上去，但没有多大效果。弗雷顿意识到这位女主人大部分的注意力并不在她的身上，她的眼光不断的绕过她，朝那扇开着的窗和窗外的草坪望去。她居然会在这样一种令人悲哀的日子拜访这位夫人，这真是太不幸了！ “医生们一致觉得我应当彻底休息，避免任何心理刺激，和任何形式的剧烈体力运动，”弗雷顿说道，她一般觉得陌生人很想理解一种人病情的最具体状况，涉及病因和治疗手段。“在饮食方面她们没有一致意见。”“是吗？”赛普顿夫人回答，声音听上去很疲倦。忽然，她精神一振，脸上神采焕发，但并不是由于弗雷顿说的话。 “Here they are at last!” she cried. “Just in time for tea, and dont they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes! ” Framton trembled slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to show sympathetic understanding. The child was looking out through the open window with fear in her eyes. With a shock Framton turned round in his seat and looked in the same direction.“她们终于回来啦！”她大声说，“正好赶上下午茶。她们看上去简直从头脏到了脚！” 弗雷顿轻轻打了个寒颤，目光朝向维拉，那位侄女儿，望去，脸上的表情想表达她的理解和同情。但是那孩子正用惊呆了的目光直直的盯着那扇敞开的窗。一阵莫名的恐惊像冷气同样袭来，弗雷顿在椅子上迅速的转过身，朝同一种方向望去。In the increasing darkness three figures were walking across the grass towards the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them had also a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown dog kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they drew near to the house, and then a young voice started to sing in the darkness. Framton wildly seized his hat and stick; he ran out through the front door and through the gate. He nearly ran into a man on a bicycle.“Here we are, my dear,” said the bearer of the white coat, coming in through the window; “fairly muddy, but most of its dry. Who was that who ran out as we came up?” “A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel,” said Mrs. Sappleton; “he could only talk about his illnesses, and ran off without a word of good-bye or apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost. ” 在慢慢变深的夜色中，有三个人正穿过草坪朝窗户走来：三个人胳膊上都挎着枪，其中一种人肩上还披了一件白色的外套，一条疲倦的棕色猎犬紧跟在她们脚边。她们悄无声息，离房子越来越近，接着一种年轻的声音在夜色中唱歌。 弗雷顿不顾一切的抓起自己的手杖和帽子，她从前门狂奔出去然后跑出大院门。她差一点撞到一种骑车人。 “我们回来了，亲爱的，”那位身披白色外衣的男人一边穿过窗子走进房间，一边说道，“浑身都是泥，还好衣服没怎么弄湿。刚刚有个人看见我们走过来，就匆忙离开了，是谁呀？” “一位十分不可思议的人，叫什么纳托先生，”赛普顿夫人说，“张口闭口就只懂得说她的病情。看见你们回来了居然连一句告辞或者抱歉的话也不说，转身就走，不懂得的还觉得看见鬼了呢。“I expect it was the dog,” said the niece calmly; “he told me he had a terrible fear of dogs. He was once hunted into a graveyard somewhere in India by a lot of wild dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly-dug grave with the creatures just above him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve.” She was very clever at making up stories quickly.“我想也许是由于那条猎狗吧，”她的侄女儿不动声色的说，“她刚刚对我说她非常怕狗，有一次她被一群流浪狗始终追赶到了印度的一种公墓里，实在没措施只得在一种新挖的墓穴里呆了一晚上，那些可怕的野狗就在她的头顶上，换成是谁，魂儿也得被吓飞了。” 不做准备就编故事是这位小姐的拿手好戏。