美國語文第五冊 第79期：不滿意的鐘擺（02）
"Very good!" replied the pendulum;
“太妙了！”鐘擺反譏道，
it is vastly easy for you, Mistress Dial, who have always, as everybody knows, set yourself up above me, —it is vastly easy for you, I say, to accuse other people of laziness!
對你來說，說說總是再容易不過，表盤夫人，大家看得都很清楚，究竟誰總是凌駕在我的頭上？我要說的是，你總是指責(zé)別人懶惰！這點(diǎn)對你來說，簡直太過容易。
you who have had nothing to do all your life but to stare people in the face, and to amuse yourself with watching all that goes on in the kitchen.
你一生無所事事，除了瞪眼看著別人的臉，廚房里發(fā)生的大小事情你只會袖手旁觀，圍觀為樂。
Think, I beseech you, how you would like to be shut up for life in this dark closet, and to wag backward and forward year after year, as I do.
我請你想想，如果年復(fù)一年地像我這樣不停地左搖右擺，你是否樂意被關(guān)在這黑暗籠子里度過一生？
"As to that," said the dial, "is there not a window in your house on purpose for you to look through?"
“說到這一點(diǎn)，”表盤說，“難道不是特意為你安了個窗口，讓你可以看到外面？”
"For all that," resumed the pendulum,
“那就索性說清楚吧，” 鐘擺接著說，
it is very dark here; and, although there is a window, I dare not stop even for an instant to look out at it.
雖然開了個窗口，這里可太黑了，我甚至不敢停頓片刻向外張望，
Besides, I am really tired of my way of life;
再說，我實(shí)在厭倦了這種生活方式；
and, if you wish, I'll tell you how I took this disgust at my employment.
如果你不計(jì)較的話，那我不妨說說，我對這份工作實(shí)在過于厭惡。
I happened, this morning, to be calculating how many times I should have to tick in the course of only the next twenty-four hours;
今天早晨，我碰巧算了一下，接下來一天24小時內(nèi)，我需要滴答多少次呀，
perhaps some one of you above there can give me the exact sum.
你們上面諸位或許能給我報個準(zhǔn)確數(shù)字。
