英語美文:Thank You, M'am

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　　Thank You, M'am

　　謝謝您，夫人

　　By Langston Hughes

　　She was a large woman with a large purse. It had a long strap , and she carried it slung across her shoulder. It was about eleven o'clock at night, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch her purse. The strap broke with the sudden single tug the boy gave it from behind. But the boy's weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose his balance, so the boy fell on his back on the sidewalk. The large woman reached down, picked the boy up by his shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled .

　　她是個大個子女人，背著一個很大的包。包的肩帶很長，她把它斜挎在肩上。此時大約是晚上11點，她一個人在路上走著，一個男孩從她身后跑來，試圖搶走她的包。男孩從后面的這一記猛拉扯斷了肩帶，但他自身的重量與挎包的重量加在一起使他失去了平衡，于是他背部朝下摔倒在人行道上。大個子女人彎下腰，伸手抓住男孩襯衫的前襟，把他拎起來一個勁兒地猛搖，直晃得他牙齒咯咯作響方才罷休。

　　After that the woman said, "Pick up my pocketbook , boy, and give it here." She still held him. But she bent down enough to permit him to stoop and pick up her purse. Then she said, "Now ain't you ashamed of yourself?"

　　然后那女人說：“小子，撿起我的包，把它拿過來。”她仍舊抓著他沒放開，但她彎下了身子，好讓他能夠彎腰撿起她的包。然后她接著說：“現(xiàn)在，難道你不為自己感到害臊嗎？”

　　Firmly gripped by his shirt front, the boy said, "Yes 'm."

　　男孩的襯衫前襟被女人死死地拽著，他回答道：“我知錯了，夫人。”

　　The woman said, "What did you want to do it for?"

　　女人問他：“你為什么想搶我的包？”

　　The boy said, "I didn't aim to."

　　男孩答道：“我沒想搶。”

　　She said, "You lie!"

　　她說：“你撒謊！”

　　By that time two or three people passed, stopped, turned to look, and some stood watching.

　　這時候有兩三個路人經(jīng)過，他們停下來扭頭看著兩人，有的人還站在一旁圍觀起來。

　　I'm very sorry, lady. I'm sorry, whispered the boy.

　　“我非常抱歉，夫人。對不起。”男孩小聲說道。

　　Um-hum! Your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain't you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face?

　　“好吧！你的臉臟了，真想把你的臉給洗洗。你家里就沒人告訴你要洗臉嗎？”

　　No 'm,said the boy.

　　“沒有，夫人。”男孩說。

　　Then it will get washed this evening, said the large woman, starting up the street, dragging the frightened boy behind her.

　　“那今晚你這張臉可以好好洗一洗了。”大個子女人一邊說著，一邊拽著嚇壞了的男孩沿著馬路向前走去。

　　He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and willow-wild , in tennis shoes and blue jeans.

　　男孩看上去好像十四五歲的樣子，身形消瘦，頭發(fā)亂蓬蓬的，穿著網(wǎng)球鞋和藍色牛仔褲。

　　The woman said, "You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?"

　　女人對他說：“你應(yīng)該做我的兒子，我會教你什么是對什么是錯，至少現(xiàn)在能給你洗洗臉。你餓不餓？”

　　No 'm,said the being dragged boy. "I just want you to turn me loose ."

　　“不餓，夫人，”被拽著的男孩回答說，“我只希望您能放開我。”

　　Was I bothering you when I turned that corner? asked the woman.

　　“我剛才在街角轉(zhuǎn)彎的時候礙著你事兒了嗎？”女人問。

　　No 'm.

　　“沒有，夫人。”

　　But you put yourself in contact with me, said the woman. "If you think that that contact is not going to last a while, you got another thought coming.When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones."

　　“但你卻自己送上門來招惹我，”女人說，“如果你以為可以惹完就跑，那你可就想錯了。等我處理完咱倆今天這事，小伙子，你就會記住誰是露埃拉·貝茨·華盛頓·瓊斯夫人了。”

　　When Mrs. Jones got to her door, she dragged the boy inside, down a hall, into a large kitchenette -furnished room at the rear of the house. She switched on the light and left the door open. The boy could hear other roomers laughing and talking in the large house. Some of their doors were open, too, so he knew he and the woman were not alone. The woman still had him by the neck in the middle of her room.

　　瓊斯夫人走到家門口，把男孩拽進屋里，然后沿著過道走進屋子靠里面一個裝修得像廚房似的大房間。她打開燈，并沒有把門關(guān)上，男孩能聽見大房子里其他住戶的說笑聲。他們有的也敞著房門，所以男孩知道這大屋子里不只自己和瓊斯夫人兩個人。兩人走到瓊斯夫人房間中央的時候，她仍舊抓著他的脖子。

　　She said, "What is your name?"

　　她問：“你叫什么名字？”

　　Roger, answered the boy.

　　“羅杰。”男孩回答說。

　　Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face,said the woman, whereupon she turned him loose—at last.

　　“那好，羅杰，你去水池那邊洗洗臉。”女人說道，然后放開了他——終于放開了。

　　You gonna take me to jail? asked the boy, bending over the sink.

　　“您要把我送去監(jiān)獄嗎？”男孩一邊問，一邊在水池前彎下了腰。

　　Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere, said the woman. "Here I am trying to get home to cook me a bite to eat and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe, you ain't been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you?"

　　“就你那張臟臉，我可哪兒也不會送你去的，”女人說，“我這邊緊趕慢趕地想回家給自己弄口吃的，你卻跑來搶我的包！我想，也許你也還沒吃晚飯呢，雖然現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)很晚了。是嗎？”

　　There's nobody home at my house, said the boy.

　　“我家里沒人在。”男孩說。

　　Then we'll eat, said the woman, "I believe you're hungry—or been hungry—to try to snatch my pocketbook."

　　“那我們一起吃吧，”女人說，“我覺得你是因為餓了——或是餓了好久了——才會想要搶我的包的。”

　　I wanted a pair of blue suede shoes, said the boy.

　　“我想要一雙藍色的絨面革鞋。”男孩說。

　　Well, you didn't have to snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes, said Mrs. Jones. "You could've asked me."

　　“好吧，不過就為了雙絨面革鞋，你也用不著搶我的包啊，”瓊斯夫人說，“你可以問我要的。”

　　M'am?

　　“您說什么，夫人？”

　　The water dripping from his face, the boy looked at her. There was a long pause. A very long pause. After he had dried his face, and not knowing what else to do, he dried it again. The boy turned around, wondering what next. The door was open. He could make a dash for it down the hall. He could run, run, run, run, run!

　　男孩看著她，水珠從他的臉上滴下。然后是一段長時間的停頓，很長很長的停頓。男孩擦干臉后，不知道接下來還應(yīng)該做點什么，于是又把自己的臉擦了擦。之后他轉(zhuǎn)過身，想著接下來該做些什么事。瓊斯夫人的門是開著的，他可以很快沖到門外，沿著過道跑出去。他可以不停地跑、跑、跑、跑、跑！

　　The woman was sitting on the daybed . After a while she said, "I were young once and I wanted things I could not get. I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son—neither tell God, if He didn't already know. Everybody's got something in common. So you sit down while I fix us something to eat."

　　女人一直在沙發(fā)床上坐著。過了一會兒，她說：“我也年輕過，也曾想得到自己得不到的東西。我也做過些見不得人的事兒，孩子，這些事兒我不會告訴你，也不會告訴上帝，如果他也還不知道這些事的話。人們都有相似的地方。你坐下吧，我去給咱們倆弄點吃的。”

　　Mrs. Jones got up and went behind a screen. She did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse, which she left behind her on the daybed. But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room, where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye if she wanted to. He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.

　　瓊斯夫人起身走到一扇屏風的后面。她沒有看著那個男孩，看他現(xiàn)在是不是要逃跑；她也沒有看著她的包，那包就那樣被她放在了沙發(fā)床上。但男孩還是小心翼翼地坐到了房間的另一頭，坐到了一個他覺得只要她想看、用眼角一瞟就能看見他的地方。他相信這個女人是信任他的，他現(xiàn)在不想失去她的信任。

　　She heated some lima beans and ham, made the cocoa, and set the table. The woman did not ask the boy anything about where he lived, or his folks, or anything else that would embarrass him. Instead, as they ate, she told him about her job in a hotel beauty-shop that stayed open late. Then she cut him a half of her ten-cent cake.

　　女人熱了些利馬豆和火腿，沖了壺可可茶，然后擺好餐具。她并沒有問男孩住在哪兒、家里有些什么人或其他任何會讓他難堪的問題，反倒在吃飯的時候和他聊起了自己的工作——她在一家酒店的美容院上班，那里晚上很晚才關(guān)門。接著她把自己花了十美分買的蛋糕切了一半給他。

　　Eat some more, son,she said.

　　“再吃點，孩子。”她說。

　　When they were finished eating she got up and said, "Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time, do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocketbook nor nobody else's—because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet. I got to get my rest now. But from here on in, son, I hope you will behave yourself."

　　兩人吃完后，她站起身來，說：“來，給你，拿著這十美元給自己買雙藍色絨面革鞋吧。下次可別再犯渾搶我的包了，也不要去搶別人的包，因為用歪門邪道得來的鞋穿著會扎腳的。現(xiàn)在我要休息了。不過孩子，從今往后，我希望你能管好自己。”

　　She led him down the hall to the front door and opened it. "Good night! Behave yourself, boy!" she said, looking out into the street as he went down the steps.

　　她帶著他穿過過道來到前門，然后打開了門。“晚安！管好自 己，孩子！”男孩走下臺階時，她一面看向外面的街道，一面這樣叮囑道。

　　The boy wanted to say something else other than "Thank you, M'am" to Mrs. Jones, but he couldn't do so as he turned at the foot of the barren stoop and looked up at the large woman in the door. He barely managed to say "Thank you" before she shut the door. And he never saw her again.

　　男孩想對瓊斯夫人說點兒別的什么，而不只是說一句“謝謝您，夫人”，可當他走到光禿禿的門階下，轉(zhuǎn)身仰望站在門口的那個大個子女人時，卻什么也說不出來。他甚至連一句“謝謝”都還沒有說出口，她就關(guān)上了房門。這以后，他再沒見過她。