牛津书虫系列《大卫科波菲尔》Chapter7 附中英双语文本

7 Good news and bad news for David
7 大卫的好消息和坏消息
All this time I had gone on loving Dora more than ever．
在这段日子里，我对朵拉的爱越来越强烈。
The more evil there seemed to be in the world，the more brightly Dora's star shone down on me．I am sure I considered her a beautiful angel，far above the rest of us poor humans，and I had no real hope of persuading her to love me．
似乎这世上有越多的罪恶、黑暗，朵拉这颗星就会照得我心里越亮。我确信自己已经把她看作是美丽的天使，远远地高于我们这些可怜的凡人之上。我并不真想说服她来爱我。
Peggotty had come to London with me，as she was feeling rather lonely after Barkis's death and Daniel's departure，and I could not stop myself telling her all about Dora．She was very interested，and most encouraging．
辟果提和我一起来到伦敦，因为巴克斯的死和丹尼尔的离开使她感到非常孤独。我控制不住把有关朵拉的事全告诉了她。她很感兴趣，并且一个劲地鼓励我。
‘The young lady should be very proud to have such a hand－some，intelligent young man as you，Master Davie！’she cried．‘And I'm sure her father will be delighted to accept you as her husband！’But I could not share her hopeful view of the sitution．
“有你这样英竣聪明的年轻人追求她，这位年轻小姐应该感到十分自豪，大卫少爷！”她叫道，“而且我相信她父亲也会很高兴接受你这位女婿！”然而，我不敢赞同她对我的处境所持的乐观态度。
However，a wonderful thing happened．During a long conversation with Mr Spenlow in the office，he mentioned that it was Dora's birthday the following week，and invited me to a picnic to celebrate it．As soon as I heard this，I went completely mad，and could not think at all clearly．In the next week I bought expensive new clothes and boots，and arranged to hire a handsome white horse．On the day of the picnic， I got up at six in the morning and went to Govent Garden market to buy the freshest and most beautiful flowers for Dora，and by ten o’clock I was riding towards the Spenlows’house．
不过，绝好的机会出现了。在办公室与斯本罗先生的一次长谈中，他透露下周是朵拉的生日，并邀请我一起去野餐以示庆祝。听到这消息，我完全喜疯了，根本不能冷静地考虑什么。到了第二周，我买了一身昂贵的衣服和一双靴子，订租了一匹漂亮的白马。野餐那天，我6点钟起床，到科文特花市给朵拉买了最新鲜最漂亮的一束花。10点钟，我骑着马来到了斯本罗先生家。
How lovely Dora looked，in her sky－blue dress and white hat，when I met her in the garden in front of the house！And when she accepted my flowers with delight，I almost thought I would die of happiness．
在门前的花园里我遇见了朵拉，多么可爱的朵拉，穿一身天蓝色的衣服，戴一顶白色的帽子！当她高兴地接过我的鲜花时，我感觉自己都快要幸福死了！
‘You'll be glad to hear，Mr Copperfield，’she said，smiling prettily，‘that cross Miss Murdstone isn't here．She'll be away for at least three weeks．Instead I have my dear friend，Miss Julia Mills，here with me．’
“跟你说了你准高兴，科波菲尔先生，”她妩媚地一笑，说道，“那位严厉的摩德斯通小姐不在。她至少三个星期不会回来。我嘛，有我的好朋友朱莉亚·米尔斯和我作伴。”
Sitting next to Dora was a young lady I had not noticed be－fore．Although she was only about twenty，she looked very calm and wise．I later discovered that she had had an unhappy experience in love，and had decided never again to become personally involved in matters of the heart．
坐在朵拉身边的是一位我刚才没注意到的年轻小姐。尽管她大约只有20岁，可她显得很沉稳，很机智。我后来知道，她有过一段不愉快的恋爱史，所以决定再也不卷入个人情感的漩涡中。
‘How delightful for you！’I answered，blushing as I always did when I spoke to Dora．‘And everything that is delightful to you is delightful to me，Miss Spenlow！’Miss Mills said nothing，but smiled kindly on us both．
“真替你高兴！”我红着脸回答，我一跟朵拉说话就脸红。“所有你高兴的事，我也高兴，斯本罗小姐！”米尔斯小姐没说什么，只是善意地冲我俩笑笑。
To get to the picnic place，which was some way from the house，Mr Spenlow，Dora and Miss Mills drove in an open carriage，while I rode by their side on my handsome white horse．I shall never have such a ride again．Dora sat with her back to the horses，looking towards me，and holding my flowers close to her sweet face．Our eyes often met，and I am surprised I did not fall off my horse．I did not notice the dust，or the road we were taking，Sometimes Mr Spenlow spoke to me about the scenery，and I replied politely，but I cannot remember what I said．All I could see was Dora．