《简·爱》 Chapter 08 第八章（1）

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Ere the half-hour ended, five o'clock struck;

半个小时不到，钟就敲响了五点。

School was dismissed, and all were gone into the refectory to tea.

散课了，大家都进饭厅去吃茶点。

I now ventured to descend¹.

我这才大着胆走下凳子。

It was deep dusk. I retired² into a corner and sat down on the floor.

这时暮色正浓，我躲进一个角落，在地板上坐了下来。

The spell by which I had been so far supported began to dissolve. Reaction took place,

一直支撑着我的魔力消失了，被不良反应所取代。

And soon, so overwhelming was the grief that seized me, I sank prostrate³ with my face to the ground.

我伤心不已，脸朝下扑倒在地，

Now I wept.

嚎啕大哭起来。

Helen Burns was not here. Nothing sustained me.

海伦·彭斯不在，没有东西支撑我。

Left to myself I abandoned myself, and my tears watered the boards.

孤身独处，我难以自制，眼泪洒到了地板上。

I had meant to be so good, and to do so much at Lowood, to make so many friends, to earn respect and win affection.

我曾打算在罗沃德表现那么出色，做那么多事情，交那么多朋友，博得别人的尊敬，赢得大家的爱护。

Already I had made visible progress.

而且已经取得了明显的进步。

That very morning I had reached the head of my class.

就在那天早上，我在班上己经名列前矛。

Miss Miller⁴ had praised me warmly.

米勒小姐热情夸奖我。

Miss Temple had smiled approbation⁵.

坦普尔小姐微笑着表示赞许。

She had promised to teach me drawing, and to let me learn French, if I continued to make similar improvement two months longer.

她还答应教我绘画，让我学法文、只要我在两个月之内继续取得同样的进步，

And then I was well received by my fellow-pupils; treated as an equal by those of my own age, and not molested⁶ by any;

此外，我也深受同学们的欢迎，同我年龄相仿的人也对我平等相待，我已不再受人欺悔。

Now, here I lay again crushed and trodden on, and could I ever rise more?

然而此刻，我又被打倒在地，遭人践踏。我还有翻身之日吗？

"Never," I thought, and ardently⁷ I wished to die.

“永远没有了，”我想，满心希望自己死掉。

1 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 prostrate   

v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的

参考例句：

• She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
• The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

4 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

5 approbation   

n.称赞；认可

参考例句：

• He tasted the wine of audience approbation.他尝到了像酒般令人陶醉的听众赞许滋味。
• The result has not met universal approbation.该结果尚未获得普遍认同。

6 molested   

v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• The bigger children in the neighborhood molested the younger ones. 邻居家的大孩子欺负小孩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He molested children and was sent to jail. 他猥亵儿童，进了监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 ardently   

adv.热心地，热烈地

参考例句：

• The preacher is disserveing the very religion in which he ardently believe. 那传教士在损害他所热烈信奉的宗教。 来自辞典例句
• However ardently they love, however intimate their union, they are never one. 无论他们的相爱多么热烈，无论他们的关系多么亲密，他们决不可能合而为一。 来自辞典例句