苔絲 Chapter18
Meanwhile Tess was not hopeful that Angel would come in answer to her letter.The past had not changed，so he might not change either.Nevertheless she spent her spare time preparing for his possible return，practising singing the songs he used to like，tears rolling down her cheeks all the while.
同時(shí)，苔絲對(duì)安吉爾會(huì)響應(yīng)她的信而回來(lái)不抱什么希望了。過(guò)去并沒(méi)有改變，所以也許他也沒(méi)有改變。然而，她還是利用空閑的時(shí)間，為他可能的返回作著準(zhǔn)備，練習(xí)唱他過(guò)去愛(ài)聽(tīng)的歌，每到這個(gè)時(shí)候，眼淚就會(huì)從她的雙頰潸潸滾落。
One evening she was in the cottage as usual when there was a knock at the door.A tall thin girl came in and Tess recognized her young sister Liza-Lu.
一天晚上，像往常一樣，她正待在小屋里，這時(shí)響起了一陣敲門聲。一個(gè)高高瘦瘦的女孩走了進(jìn)來(lái)，苔絲認(rèn)出，是她的妹妹麗莎-露。
‘Liza-Lu!’said Tess.‘What's the matter?’
“麗莎-露!”苔絲說(shuō)，“出什么事兒啦?”
‘Mother is very ill，’her sister said seriously，‘and father is not well either and says a man of such noble family shouldn't have to work.So we don't know what to do.’
“媽媽病得很重，”她的妹妹焦慮地說(shuō)道，“爸爸的身體也不好，還說(shuō)像這樣一個(gè)高貴家族的人是不該工作的。所以我們不知道如何是好。”
Tess thought for a moment.She realized she had to go home immediately，although her time was not yet up at the farm.She left her sister to rest for a while，and she herself set off at once with her possessions in a basket.
苔絲想了一會(huì)兒。她意識(shí)到自己必須立即回家一趟，盡管她在農(nóng)場(chǎng)的干活期未滿。她讓妹妹留下來(lái)休息一會(huì)兒，自己把行李裝在一個(gè)籃子里，即刻啟程了。
Although it was night and she had a fifteen-mile walk， she felt quite safe.She was only worried about her mother， and did not notice the strange shapes of trees and hedges in the darkness.At three in the morning she passed the field where she had first seen Angel Clare，and felt again the disappointment when he did not dance with her.And when she saw the family cottage， it seemed to be part of her body and life，as it always did.
雖然是夜里了，她還有15英里的路要走，但她覺(jué)得十分安全。她只是擔(dān)心她的母親，根本注意不到黑暗中那些樹(shù)木和籬笆怪異的影子。凌晨3 點(diǎn)，她經(jīng)過(guò)與安吉爾·克萊爾初次見(jiàn)面的田野，因他沒(méi)有請(qǐng)她跳舞產(chǎn)生的失望又一次涌上心頭。她看到她們家的房子，它就像她身體和生活的一部分。它總是這樣的。
She found her mother recovering from her illness，and took over as head of the household.Her father did not seem ill，and had a new plan for earning money.
她發(fā)現(xiàn)她母親正從病中恢復(fù)，又接管了一家的事務(wù)，她的父親則不像生病的樣子，還制定了一個(gè)掙錢的新計(jì)劃。
