《飘》精读 第1 章 5 《飘》阅读笔记

The twins looked at each other and nodded, but without compre-hension.

哥儿俩面面相觑，同时点了点头，可是并不了解其中的奥妙。

"Jeems is right. But I don't see why," said Stuart. "My Lord! Ashley don't mean anything to her, ecept a friend. She's not crazy about him. It's us she's crazy about." Brent nodded an agreement.

“吉姆说得对，但我不明白那究竟是为什么,"斯图尔特说。“我的上帝!艾希礼对她有什么意义?只不过是个朋友罢了。她感兴趣的只是我们，她对他不怎么感兴趣。”布伦特点点头表示同意。

"But do you suppose," he said, "that maybe Ashley hadn't told her he was going to announce it tomorrow night and she was mad at him for not telling her, an old friend, before he told everybody else? Girls set a big store on knowing such things first."

“可是，你想过没有,”他说，"也许艾希礼没告诉她明天晚上要宣布那件事，而她觉得不先告诉老朋友便对别的人都说了，因此生气了呢?姑娘们总是非常看重首先听到这种事情的。”

"Well, maybe. But what if he hadn't told her it was tomorrow? It was supposed to be a secret and a surprise, and a man's got a right to keep his own engagement quiet, hasn't he?

“唔，可能，就算没有告诉她又怎样呢?本来是要保密，叫人大吃一惊的嘛，一个男人就没有权利对自己订婚的计划秘而不宣吗?

We wouldn't have known it if Miss Melly's aunt hadn't let it out.

要不是媚兰小姐的姑妈泄漏出来，我们也不会知道呀。

But Scarlett must have known he was going to marry Miss Melly some time. Why, we've known it for years.

而且思嘉一定早已知道他总是要娶媚兰的。你想，我们知道也有好几年了。

The Wilkes and Hamiltons always marry their own cousins. Everybody knew he'd probably marry her some day, just like Honey Wilkes is going to marry Miss Melly's brother, Charles."

威尔克斯家和汉密尔顿家向来是姑表联姻。他总有一天要娶她的，这谁都知道，就像霍妮·威尔克斯要同媚兰小姐的兄弟查尔斯结婚一样。”

"Well, I give it up. But I'm sorry she didn't ask us to supper. I swear I don't want to go home and listen to Ma take on about us being expelled. It isn't as if this was the first time."

“好了，我不想谈下去了。不过，我对于她不留我们吃晚饭这一点，总是感到遗憾。老实说，我不想回家听妈妈对我们被学校开除的事大发雷霆，不能当做第一次那样看待了。”

"Maybe Boyd will have smoothed her down by now. You know what a slick talker that little varmint is. You know he always can smooth herdown."

“说不定博伊德已经把她的火气平息下来了。你明白那个讨厌的矮鬼是多么伶牙俐齿。他每次都能把她说得心平气和的。”

"Yes, he can do it, but it takes Boyd time.

“是呀，他办得到，不过那要花博伊德许多时间。

He has to talk around in circles till Ma gets so confused that she gives up and tells him to save his voice for his law practice.

他要拐弯抹角走来走去去，直到妈妈给弄得实在糊涂了，情愿让步，才肯放他省下点嗓子去干律师的事。

But he aren't had time to get good started yet.

可是眼下，他恐怕还没来得及准备好开场白呢。

Why, I'll bet you Ma is still so excited about the new horse that she'll never even realize we're home again till She sits down to supper tonight and sees Boyd.

我敢跟你打赌，你看，妈妈一定还在为那匹新来的马感到兴奋呢，说不定要到坐下来吃晚饭和看博伊德的时候才会想起我们又回家了。

And before supper is over she'll be going strong and breathing fire.

只要不吃完晚饭，她的怒火就会愈来愈旺。

And it'll be ten o'clock before Boyd gets a chance to tell her that it wouldn't have been honorable for any of us to stay in college after the way the Chancellor talked to you and me.

因此要到十点钟左右博伊德才有机会去告诉她，既然咱们校长采取了那样的态度斥责你我二人，我们中间谁要是还留在学校也就太不光彩了。

And it'll be midnight before he gets her turned around to where she's so mad at the Chancellor she'll be asking Boyd why he didn't shoot him. No, we can't go home till after midnight"

而要他把她扭过来转而对校长大发脾气，责问博伊德干吗不开枪把他打死，那就非到半夜不行。所以，我们要半夜过后才能回家。”

The twins looked at each other glumly.

哥儿俩你瞧着我，我瞧着你，不知说什么是好。

They were completely fearless of wild horses, shooting affrays and the indignation of their neigh-bors,

他们对于烈性的野马，对于行凶斗殴，以及邻里的公愤，都毫不畏惧，

but they had a wholesome fear of their red-haired mother's out-spoken remarks and the riding crop that she did not scruple to lay across their breeches.

惟独他们红头发母亲的痛责和有时不惜抽打在他们屁股上的马鞭，才让他们感到不寒而栗。

"Well, look," said Brent. "Let's go over to the Wilkes'. Ashley and the girls'll be glad to have us for supper."

“那么，就这样吧,”布伦特说。“我们到威尔克斯家去。艾希礼和姑娘们会乐意让我们在那里吃饭的。”

Stuart looked a little discom-forted.

斯图尔特显得有些不舒服的样子。

"No, don't let's go there. They'll be in a stew getting ready for the barbecue tomorrow and besides --"

"不，别到那里去。他们一定在忙着准备明天的野宴呢，而且。……"

"Oh, I forgot about that," said Brent hastily. "No, don't let's go there."

“唔，我忘记了，”布伦特连忙解释说。“不，我们别到那里去。”

They clucked to their horses and rode along in silence for a while, a flush of embarrassment on Stuart's brown cheeks.

他们对自己的马吆喝了两声，然后默无言语地骑着向前跑了一阵，这时斯图尔特褐色的脸膛上泛起了一抹红晕。

Until the previous summer, Stuart had courted India Wilkes with the approbation of both families and the entire County.

到去年夏天为止，斯图尔特曾经在双方家庭和全县的赞许下追求过英迪亚·威尔克斯。

The County felt that perhaps the cool and contained India Wilkes would have a quieting effect on him.

县里的人觉得也许那位冷静含蓄的英迪亚会对他起一种镇定作用。

They fervently hoped so, at any rate. And Stuart might have made the match, but Brent had not been satisfied.

无论如何，他们热切地希望这样。斯图尔特本来是可以匹配的，但布伦特不满意。

Brent liked India but he thought her mighty plain and tame, and he simply could not fall in love with her himself to keep Stuart company.

布伦特也喜欢英迪亚，可是觉得她太平淡也太过分柔顺，他自己简直无法对她产生爱情，因此在这一点上就无法与斯图尔特作伴了。

That was the first time the twins' interest had ever diverged, and Brent was resentful of his brother's attentions to a girl who seemed to him not at all remark-able.

这是哥儿俩头一次在兴趣上发生分歧，而且布伦特对于他兄弟居然会看上一个他认为毫不出色的姑娘，觉得很恼火。

Then, last summer at a political speaking in a grove of oak trees at Jonesboro, they both suddenly became aware of Scarlett O'Hara.

后来，去年夏天在琼斯博罗橡树林里一个政治讲演会上，他们两人突然发现了思嘉。

They had known her for years, and, since their childhood, she had been a favorite playmate, for she could ride horses and climb trees almost as well as they.

他们认识她已多年了，并且从童年时代起，她就是一个讨人喜欢的游伴，因为她会骑马，会爬树，几乎比男孩子毫不逊色。

But now to their amazement she had become a grown-up young lady and quite the most charming one in all the world.

可现在他们惊奇地发现她已经是个成年姑娘，而且可以说是全世界最迷人的一个呢。

They noticed for the first time how her green eyes danced, how deep her dimples were when she laughed, how tiny her hands and feet and what a small waist she had.

他们第一次注意到她那双绿眼睛在怎样跳舞，她笑起来两个酒窝有多么深，她的手和脚多么娇小，而那腰肢又多么纤细呀！

Their clever remarks sent her into merry peals of laughter and, inspired by the thought that she considered them a remarkable pair, they fairly outdid them-selves.

他们对她的巧妙赞扬使她乐得放声大笑，同时，一想到她已把他们当做一对出众的小伙子，他们自己也不禁有点飘飘然了。

It was a memorable day in the life of the twins.

那是哥儿俩一生中值得纪念的一天。

Thereafter, when they talked it over, they always wondered just why they had failed to notice Scarlett's charms before.

从那以后，每当他们谈起这件事来都觉得奇怪，为什么从前竟没有注意到思嘉的美貌。

They never arrived at the correct answer, which was that Scarlett on that day had decided to make them notice.

他们至今没有找到正确的答案，来说明为什么思嘉偏偏决定要在那一天引起他们的注意。

She was constitutionally unable to endure any man being in love with any woman not herself, and the sight of India Wilkes and Stuart at the speaking had been too much for her predatory nature.

原来思嘉生成的不能容忍任何男人同别的女人恋爱，因此她一见到英迪亚和斯图尔特在一起说话便觉得受不了，便会产生掠夺之心。

Not content with Stuart alone, she had set her cap for Brent as well, and with a thoroughness that overwhelmed the two of them.

她并不满足于单单占有斯图尔特，还要把布伦特也猎取过来，并且以一种十分巧妙的手腕把他们两人控制住。

Now they were both in love with her, and India Wilkes and Letty Munroe, from Lovejoy, whom Brent had been half-heartedly courting, were far in the back of their minds.

如今他们两人双双坠入了她的情网，而英迪亚·威尔克斯和布伦特曾经半心半意追求过的那位来自洛夫乔伊的莱蒂·芒罗，都被远远地抛在他们脑后了。

Just what the loser would do, should Scarlett accept either one of them, the twins did not ask.

至于如果思嘉接受他们中的某一个时，那个落选的该怎么办，这个问题哥儿俩并不考虑。

They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

到了河边再过桥吧。

For the present they were quite satisfied to be in accord again about one girl, for they had no jealousies between them.

眼下他们对一位姑娘取得了一致的看法，这就相当满意了，因为他们中间并没有什么嫉妒之心。

It was a situation which interested the neighbors and annoyed their mother, who had no liking for Scarlett.

这种局面引起了左邻右舍的注意，并叫他们的母亲苦恼不堪——她是不怎么喜欢思嘉的。