牛津书虫系列《苔丝》Chapter5 附中英双语文本

她看到那些人还在疯狂地跳着舞，不像就要回去的样子，于是变得焦急起来。她又一次看到了亚历克，他正等在门口，雪茄烟在黑暗中闪烁着红光。最后她还是跟着一群人逛着回去，他们全都喝了酒，但是她觉得这样也比孤身一人安全些。但是过了一会儿，她卷入了一场争吵中，正极力想从愤怒的人群中脱开身时，亚历克骑着马过来了。他叫她坐在他的马背上，要带她回去。她犹豫了一下，同意了。
Together they rode along in the dark，Tess holding on to Alec．She was very tired：every day that week she had got up at five．So she did not notice that they were riding off the main road and into The Chase，the oldest wood in England．It began to get foggy，and finally Alec admitted honestly that he was lost．
他们在黑暗中往前骑着，苔丝扶着亚历克。她太累了，那个星期她每天都5点钟起床。因此，她没有注意到他们已经偏离了大道，进入逐猎林，那片英格兰最古老的森林。空气中开始弥漫着雾霭。终于，亚历克老实地承认他迷路了。
‘Put me down here，sir，’cried Tess at once．‘Let me walk home from here．How wrong of you to bring me away from the main road！I knew I shouldn't trust you！’
“放我下马吧，先生。”苔丝立即哭叫道，“让我从这儿走回去！你不该把我从大道带到这儿来，这太过分了！我早知道不该相信你的！”
‘Don't worry，my beauty，’laughed Alec．‘I thought you would enjoy a longer ride on such a lovely night．But I can't let you go．The fog is so bad now that you couldn't possibly find your way．I'll leave you here and go to find out where we are．When I come back，I'll tell you，and you can come with me on horseback or go alone on foot—just as you like．’
“别着急，我的美人儿，”亚历克笑着说，“我以为你会喜欢在这样美丽的夜晚多骑一会儿的。但我不能让你走。现在雾这么大，你是根本找不着路的。我把你放在这儿等着，我去看看我们现在到了哪儿。我回来以后就告诉你。那时，你可以跟我骑马回去，也可以一个人走回去——随你的便。”
She agreed to this．‘Shall I hold the horse？’she asked．
这么一说她便同意了。“我需要牵着马吗？”她问。
‘No，he'll stay quiet，’answered Alec．‘By the way， your father has a new horse today．And the children have some new toys．’
“不，它会乖乖地待着的，”亚历克回答道，“顺便告诉你，你父亲今天有匹新马了，孩子们也得到了一些新玩具。”
‘Was it…was it you who gave them？Oh，how good of you！’murmured Tess with a heavy heart．‘I almost wish you hadn't！’
“是……是你送给他们的吗？哦，真得谢谢你的一片好心！”苔丝心情沉重地嘀咕着，“我真有点儿希望你没这么做！”
‘Tessy，don't you love me just a little now？’
“苔丝，现在你会爱我一点了吧？”
‘I'm grateful，’she admitted，‘but I'm afraid I don't…’and slowly she started to cry．
“我很感激你，”她承认道，“但是，恐怕我并不——”她开始哭了起来。
‘Now don't cry，my dear．Sit here and wait for me．’He made a bed for the tired girl among the dead leaves， and covered her with his coat．He set off into the fog to find out where he was，and came back to find Tess fast asleep． He saw her in her white dress among the leaves， a pale，shining figure in the dark．He bent down and touched her cheek with his．Everywhere there was darkness and silence．The birds and animals slept，safe in and under the trees．But who was looking after Tess？Who was protecting her innocence？
“别哭，我的宝贝儿。现在你就坐在这儿，等我回来吧！”他用枯叶给这疲倦的女孩儿铺了张床，还给她披上了自己的衣服。然后他离开了她，走入大雾中，试图辨别他所在的地方。回来时他发现苔丝早已熟睡。他看到了在一堆树叶中穿着白色衣裙的她，黑暗中一个柔弱、美丽的身影。他俯下身来，用自己的脸颊贴着她的。这儿到处都那么漆黑、静谧。鸟兽们都安全地在树上或树下睡着了。但是有谁会来照料苔丝？又有谁会来保护她的贞节呢？
‘Tess！’said d’Urberville，and lay down beside her．The girl was not strong enough to resist him．
“苔丝！”德伯唤道，并在她身边躺了下来。这个柔弱的女子是无力抵挡他的。
Why was Tess's girlish purity lost？Why does the wrong man take the wrong woman？Why do the bad so often ruin the good？ Why is beauty damaged by ugliness？Thousands of years of philosophy cannot give us the answers to these questions．These things happen， and have always happened． Perhaps in the past，rolling home after a battle，Tess's ancestors，the real d’Urbervilles，had done the same，even more cruelly，to young country girls．But we cannot accept that that is Tess's fault，and should happen to her．As the people of her village say，‘It was to be．’And from now on，Tess's life was to be completely different．