第二冊第12篇：夏日

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Charles Dickens 查爾斯?狄更斯

One day thirty years ago Marseilles lay in the burning sun. A blazing non upon a fierce August day was no greater rarity in southern France then than at any other time before or since. Every-tiring in Marseiiles and about Marseilles had stared at the fervid sun, and been stared at in return, until a staring habit had become universal there. Strangers were stared out of countenance(1) by staring white houses, 8taring white streets, staring tracts of arid road, staring hills from which verdure was burnt away. The only things to be seen not fixedly staring and glaring were the vines drooping under their loads of grapes. These did occasionally wink a little, u the hot air barely moved their faint leaves.

三十年前的一天，馬賽躺在烈日之下。在法國南部，八月炎熱的日子里赤日當空，在那時以前或以后都不是什么罕見的事。馬賽范圍內以及馬賽周圍的一切都凝視著灼熱的太陽，而太陽反過來也凝視著這一切;久而久之，在馬賽普遍形成一種耀眼的色彩。白色的房屋，白色的街道，一段段干旱的大路，草木曬得枯死的小山都十分耀眼象在瞪著眼瞧人似的，使初到此地的人們手足無措。能看到的唯一不是老瞪著眼使人眼花繚亂的，只有墜著串串葡萄的葡萄藤;熱空氣微微吹動著萎縮的藤葉時，葡萄確實也偶而眨眨眼。

The universal stare made the eyes ache. Towards the distant blue(2) of the Italian coast, indeed, it was a little relieved by light clouds of mist Slowly rising from the evaporation of the sea, but it softened nowhere else. Far away the staring roads, deep in dust, stared from the hillside, stared from the hollow, stared from the interminable plain. Far away the dusty vines overhanging wayside cottages, and the monotonous wayside avenues of parched trees without shade, dropped beneath the stare of earth and sky. So did the horses with drowsy bells, in long files of carts, creeping slowly towards the interior; so did their recumbent drivers, when they were awake, which rarely happened; so did the exhausted laborers in the fields.(3) Every- thing that lived or grew was oppressed by the glare; except the lizard, passing swiftly over rough stone walls, and cicada, chirping its dry hot chirp, like a rattle. The very dust was scorched brown, and something quivered in the atmosphere as if the air itself were panting.

這種普遍的耀眼的色彩令人眼睛發(fā)痛。說實在的，要遠到意大利沿海蔚藍的天空，由于海水蒸發(fā)冉冉升起的縷縷薄霧，這耀眼的色彩才不致那么強烈，但是除此之外別的地方，它一點也不曾柔和下來。遠處，耀眼的大路，上面積著很厚的塵土，沿著山坡盯著人看，穿過山谷盯著人看，橫過一望無際的平原盯著人看。遠處，懸掛在路旁小屋上蒙著塵土的葡萄藤，還有路旁單調的成行的曬焦了不能遮蔭的樹木，都在大地和天空的凝視下耷拉著腦袋。長長的大車隊中，發(fā)出催人欲睡的鈴鐺聲的馬匹也耷拉著腦袋，慢慢地向內地爬行著;斜靠在車上的車夫們醒來時，也耷拉著腦袋，不過他們也難得醒;田野里筋疲力盡的農夫們耷拉著腦袋。一切動物和植物都受到這耀眼光芒的壓抑;例外的只是在那凹凸不平的石墻上敏捷爬行的蜥蜴和拔浪鼓似地發(fā)出強烈鳴聲的蟬兒。連那塵土都被炙烤成褐色了，大氣中似乎也有什么東西在顫抖，仿佛空氣本身也在氣喘吁吁。

Blinds, shutters, curtains ,awnings, were all closed and drawn to keep out the stare. Grant it but a chink or a keyhole, and it shot in like a white-hot arrow.(4)

竹簾子、百葉窗、窗簾、遮篷全都拉攏了，把這耀眼的光芒擋在外面。那怕只露出一條小縫或者一個鑰匙孔，它就會象一支白熱的箭直射進來。

英文注釋：

(1) out of countenance：感到難堪或局促不安。

(2)the blue：天空。有時也指海洋

(3) So did ...; so did ...; so did ...：這里 so did 代替 dropped beneath the stare of earth and sky.

(4)Grant it but a chink or a keyhole, and it...：那怕只給它一條小縫或者一個鑰匙孔，它就會……… Grant 解作"給予"， it 指 the stares.此句結構為"祈使句+ and +陳述句"，含義相當于"條件從句+主句"。