牛津书虫系列《苔丝》Chapter6 附中英双语文本

“别的日子我为人们工作，但星期天我为上帝工作。这是一种更好的工作，你不觉得吗？等一下，在这儿我有点儿事要做。”他在一个大门前停了下来，并用很大的红字在门中间的栏杆上刷上《圣经》中的几个字：
PUNISHMENT AWAITS YOU
惩罚等着你
In the soft air，against the gentle green of the trees and the peaceful fields， these great red words stared at Tess． They pointed a finger at her．This man was a stranger and could not know her story， but the words accused her．
在柔和的空气里，在嫩绿的树木和宁静的田野的包围中，这些大红字在盯着苔丝，它们在指责她。刷字的只不过是个陌生人，他并不知道她的经历，但这些红字在谴责她。
‘Do you believe what you paint？’she asked in a low voice．
“你相信你刷的那些话吗？”苔丝轻轻地问道。
‘Do I believe those words？Do I believe I am alive！’
“你问我相信那些话吗？就跟相信我活着一样！”
‘But，’she whispered，trembling，‘suppose you were forced to do wrong？’
“但是，”她的声音很低，有些发颤，“假如你是被迫做错了事呢？”
He shook his head．‘I can't answer that question．I paint the words and leave others to think about them in their own hearts．’
他摇了摇头：“我无法回答这个问题。我刷写这些话是留给人们用他们自己的心灵去思考的。”
‘I think they are horrible words！’cried Tess．‘I'll take my basket and go on now， and she walked away from him，her heart beating fast．‘I don't believe God said those things！’she thought，as she reached her village．
“我认为这些话很可怕！”苔丝喊道。“给我篮子吧，我要走了。”她从他身边走开了，心在剧烈地跳动着。当她到达村子时，她想：“我相信上帝是不会那样说的！”
There was smoke coming from her father's chimney， but seeing the inside of the cottage made her heart ache．It was as poor as ever．Her mother jumped up，surprised to see her．
家里的烟囱冒着烟，但屋子里面的情景让她觉得心痛。这儿还像过去一样贫穷。见到她，母亲觉得很奇怪，急忙站了起来。
‘Well，my dear Tess!’she said，kissing her．‘How are you？ Have you come home to be married？’
“哦，我亲爱的苔丝！”她一边说，一边吻着她。“你好吗？你是要回来结婚的吗？”
‘No， not for that， mother．’
“不，不是为那个，妈。”
‘What，isn't your cousin going to marry you？’
“什么，难道你表哥不打算跟你结婚吗？”
‘He's not my cousin， and he's not going to marry me．’
“他不是我的表哥，他也不会跟我结婚的。”
Her mother looked at her closely．‘Come，you haven't told me everything．’
她的母亲关切地看着她。“过来，你还什么都没跟我说呢。”
Then Tess went up to her mother，put her head on Joan's shoulder，and told her the whole story．
苔丝走近母亲，把自己的头靠在琼的肩上，把事情的来龙去脉都告诉了她。
‘And you haven't persuaded him to marry you！’cried Joan． ‘What's the good of going there？ Why didn't you think of doing some good for your family instead of thinking only of yourself？’
“而你没有说服他跟你结婚！”琼叫道，“那去那儿有什么好处？你为什么不能想想为家里做点儿好事，而不是只考虑你自己呢？”
Tess was confused． Alec had never mentioned marriage to her．But even if he had，she would never have accepted him， because she did not love him．This made her hate herself for what she had done．She would certainly never love him in the future． She did not quite hate him， but did not wish to marry him，even to remain respectable．
苔丝很迷惑。亚历克从来没有提过要跟她结婚。而即便他提过，她也永远不会接受他的，因为她不爱他。这一点让她为自己所做的事而恨自己。将来她当然也不会爱上他的。她并不十分痛恨他，但她不想跟他结婚，哪怕是为了维护自己的尊严。
‘You ought to have been more careful if you didn't want to marry him！’
“如果你不愿嫁给他，你就应该更小心才是！”
‘Oh mother！’cried the poor girl，her heart breaking．‘Why didn't you warn me about men？I was a child when I left home！I didn't know how dangerous they can be，and you didn't tell me！’
“哦，妈妈！”可怜的女孩哭道，她的心碎了。“为什么以前你没警告我要提防男人？我离开家的时候还只是一个孩子！我不知道他们会有多危险，你并没有告诉我！”
‘Well，we must make the best of it，’said her mother．‘It's only human nature， after all．’
“嗯，我们必须尽量往好处想。”她母亲说，“毕竟，这只不过是人类的天性。”
That afternoon the little cottage was full of Tess's friends， girls who lived in the village and who had missed her while she had been away．They whispered to each other that Tess was sure to marry that handsome gentleman．Fortunately Tess did not hear them．She joined in their laughing and talking，and for a short time almost forgot her shame．