|“HONORED Sir, Father and Benefactor!” a petty clerk called Nevyrazimov was writing a rough copy of an Easter congratulatory letter. —
“尊敬的先生，父亲和恩人！”一名小职员尼维拉兹莫夫正在起草一封复活节的祝贺信。 —

“I trust that you may spend this Holy Day even as many more to come, in good health and prosperity. —
“我希望您度过这个圣洁的日子，还有无数更多的日子，健康繁荣。 —

And to your family also I…”
而且也祝您的家人…”

The lamp, in which the kerosene was getting low, was smoking and smelling. —
那盏煤油灯已经快要耗尽，冒着烟，发出一股刺鼻的气味。 —

A stray cockroach was running about the table in alarm near Nevyrazimov’s writing hand. —
一只流落的小蟑螂惊慌失措地在桌子上跑来跑去，就在尼维拉兹莫夫写字的手边。 —

Two rooms away from the office Paramon the porter was for the third time cleaning his best boots, and with such energy that the sound of the blacking-brush and of his expectorations was audible in all the rooms.
离办公室两个房间的地方，门卫帕拉蒙正在第三次擦拭他最好的靴子，动作如此用力，以至于黑油刷和他的痰的声音在所有房间里都能听到。

“What else can I write to him, the rascal? —
“还能写些什么给他，这个无赖？ —

” Nevyrazimov wondered, raising his eyes to the smutty ceiling.
”尼维拉兹莫夫纳闷地想着，抬起眼睛看向被煤烟弄脏的天花板。

On the ceiling he saw a dark circle—the shadow of the lamp-shade. —
在天花板上他看到一个深色的圆圈—灯罩的阴影。 —

Below it was the dusty cornice, and lower still the wall, which had once been painted a bluish muddy color. —
下面是积满灰尘的饰条，再下面是曾经被刷成淡蓝土色的墙壁。 —

And the office seemed to him such a place of desolation that he felt sorry, not only for himself, but even for the cockroach.
对他来说，办公室显得如此凄凉，以至于他不仅为自己感到遗憾，甚至为那只蟑螂感到遗憾。

“When I am off duty I shall go away, but he’ll be on duty here all his cockroach-life,” he thought, stretching. —
“等我下下班就走，但他将一生都在这里值班，” 他想着，伸了个懒腰。 —

“I am bored! Shall I clean my boots?”
“我很无聊！我该清洁我的靴子吗？”

And stretching once more, Nevyrazimov slouched lazily to the porter’s room. —
然后又伸了个懒腰，尼维拉兹莫夫懒洋洋地走向了门卫的房间。 —

Paramon had finished cleaning his boots. —
帕拉蒙已经擦拭完他的靴子。 —

Crossing himself with one hand and holding the brush in the other, he was standing at the open window-pane, listening.
一个手交叉着胸，另一个手拿着刷子，他站在打开的窗户边，聆听着。

“They’re ringing,” he whispered to Nevyrazimov, looking at him with eyes intent and wide open. “Already!”
“他们在敲钟，”他对尼维拉兹莫夫低声说，眼睛睁得大大的。“已经开始了！”

Nevyrazimov put his ear to the open pane and listened. —
尼维拉兹莫夫把耳朵贴在打开的窗格上，听着。 —

The Easter chimes floated into the room with a whiff of fresh spring air. —
复活节钟声随着一阵新鲜的春风飘进房间。 —

The booming of the bells mingled with the rumble of carriages, and above the chaos of sounds rose the brisk tenor tones of the nearest church and a loud shrill laugh.
钟声的钟声和马车的隆隆声混杂在一起，而在混乱的声音中，最近的教堂传来了明快的男高音和一个尖锐的大笑声。

“What a lot of people!” sighed Nevyrazimov, looking down into the street, where shadows of men flitted one after another by the illumination lamps. —
“人真多！”尼维拉兹莫夫叹了口气，向下面的街道望去，街灯下一个接一个地掠过的人影。 —

“They’re all hurrying to the midnight service. —
“他们都在赶去午夜弥撒。 —

… Our fellows have had a drink by now, you may be sure, and are strolling about the town. —
…我们这些家伙现在可能已经喝了一杯，肯定在城里闲逛。 —

What a lot of laughter, what a lot of talk! —
有多少笑声，有多少闲聊！ —

I’m the only unlucky one, to have to sit here on such a day: —
我就是唯一倒霉的，不能在这样的日子里外出： —

And I have to do it every year!”
每年都要这样做！”

“Well, nobody forces you to take the job. —
“嗯，没有人逼你干这活。 —

It’s not your turn to be on duty today, but Zastupov hired you to take his place. —
今天并不是你轮到值班，但扎斯图波夫雇了你来替他值班。 —

When other folks are enjoying themselves you hire yourself out. —
当其他人尽情享乐时，你却出卖自己。 —

It’s greediness!”
这就是贪婪！”

“Devil a bit of it! Not much to be greedy over—two roubles is all he gives me; —
“魔鬼，真是不计较啊！他只给我两卢布； —

a necktie as an extra…. It’s poverty, not greediness. —
还有一条领带作为额外的礼物…这是贫困，不是贪婪。 —

And it would be jolly, now, you know, to be going with a party to the service, and then to break the fast. —
现在，你知道，跟着一群人去教堂参加礼拜会是多么愉快，然后一起吃斋饭。 —

… To drink and to have a bit of supper and tumble off to sleep. —
…喝点酒，吃点夜宵，然后滚去睡觉。 —

… One sits down to the table, there’s an Easter cake and the samovar hissing, and some charming little thing beside you. —
…你坐在餐桌旁，有一个复活节蛋糕和嘶嘶作响的热水壶，还有一个迷人的小东西坐在你旁边。 —

… You drink a glass and chuck her under the chin, and it’s first- rate. —
…你喝一杯酒，轻轻拍她下巴，太棒了。 —

… You feel you’re somebody…. Ech h-h!… I’ve made a mess of things! —
…你会感觉自己是个人物…额，我把事情弄糟了！ —

Look at that hussy driving by in her carriage, while I have to sit here and brood.”
“看看那个坐着马车路过的荡妇，而我却得坐在这里发愁。”

“We each have our lot in life, Ivan Danilitch. —
“我们每个人都有自己的命运，伊万·达尼利奇。” —

Please God, you’ll be promoted and drive about in your carriage one day.”
“请上帝保佑，也许有一天你会晋升，开着马车四处奔波。”

“I? No, brother, not likely. I shan’t get beyond a ‘titular,’ not if I try till I burst. —
“我？不，兄弟，不太可能。哪怕拼命也不会超过‘名义’。 —

I’m not an educated man.”
我不是受过教育的人。”

“Our General has no education either, but…”
“我们的将军也没有受过教育，但是…”

“Well, but the General stole a hundred thousand before he got his position. —
“嗯，但是将军在获得职位之前偷了十万卢布。 —

And he’s got very different manners and deportment from me, brother. —
而且他与我风度截然不同，兄弟。” —

With my manners and deportment one can’t get far! And such a scoundrelly surname, Nevyrazimov! —
有礼貌和举止端正是走不远的。而且这个满是恶棍的姓氏，涅维拉兹莫夫！ —

It’s a hopeless position, in fact. One may go on as one is, or one may hang oneself…”
事实上，这是一个绝望的处境。一个可以按原样继续下去，也可以选择上吊……

He moved away from the window and walked wearily about the rooms. —
他从窗前走开，在房间里疲倦地走动。 —

The din of the bells grew louder and louder. —
钟的喧响越来越响亮。 —

… There was no need to stand by the window to hear it. —
……站在窗前听不到也无妨。 —

And the better he could hear the bells and the louder the roar of the carriages, the darker seemed the muddy walls and the smutty cornice and the more the lamp smoked.
他越能听到钟声和车马的轰鸣，墙壁和天花板上的泥泞越显得更黑暗，灯也冒烟越厉害。

“Shall I hook it and leave the office?” thought Nevyrazimov.
“我应该抄起走，离开办公室吗？”涅维拉兹莫夫想道。

But such a flight promised nothing worth having. —
但这样逃跑并不会带来什么值得拥有的东西。 —

… After coming out of the office and wandering about the town, Nevyrazimov would have gone home to his lodging, and in his lodging it was even grayer and more depressing than in the office. —
……离开办公室后，四处逛逛城市，涅维拉兹莫夫会回到自己的住处，而在他的住处，比办公室里更显得灰暗和压抑。 —

… Even supposing he were to spend that day pleasantly and with comfort, what had he beyond? —
……即使他能舒适愉快地度过那一天，除此之外他还有什么呢？ —

Nothing but the same gray walls, the same stop-gap duty and complimentary letters….
除了同样灰色的墙壁、同样临时的责任和恭维的信件……

Nevyrazimov stood still in the middle of the office and sank into thought. —
涅维拉兹莫夫站在办公室中间停住，陷入沉思。 —

The yearning for a new, better life gnawed at his heart with an intolerable ache. —
对于一种新的、更好的生活的渴望让他的心如此难以忍受地剧痛。 —

He had a passionate longing to find himself suddenly in the street, to mingle with the living crowd, to take part in the solemn festivity for the sake of which all those bells were clashing and those carriages were rumbling. —
他热切渴望自己突然出现在街上，融入那活跃的人群中，参与为了那些钟声敲响和车马轰鸣而举行的庄严盛会。 —

He longed for what he had known in childhood—the family circle, the festive faces of his own people, the white cloth, light, warmth. —
他渴望在童年时期曾经经历过的家庭圈，自己人的喜庆面孔，白色的桌布，明亮，温暖。 —

..! He thought of the carriage in which the lady had just driven by, the overcoat in which the head clerk was so smart, the gold chain that adorned the secretary’s chest. —
..!他想起了刚才那位女士驾驶的马车，那位首席办事员穿着整洁的大衣，那位秘书胸前佩戴的金链。 —

… He thought of a warm bed, of the Stanislav order, of new boots, of a uniform without holes in the elbows. —
…他想起了温暖的床，斯坦尼斯拉夫勋章，新靴子，没有肘部破洞的制服。 —

… He thought of all those things because he had none of them.
…他之所以想到这些，是因为他一个都没有。

“Shall I steal?” he thought. “Even if stealing is an easy matter, hiding is what’s difficult. Men run away to America, they say, with what they’ve stolen, but the devil knows where that blessed America is. —
“我要偷吗？”他想，“就算偷东西容易，藏起来才难。他们说人们拿着偷来的东西跑去美国，但天晓得那个该死的美国在哪里。 —

One must have education even to steal, it seems.”
连偷东西都要有文化程度似的。”

The bells died down. He heard only a distant noise of carriages and Paramon’s cough, while his depression and anger grew more and more intense and unbearable. —
钟声渐渐平息下去。他只听到远处的马车声和帕拉蒙的咳嗽声，而他的沮丧和愤怒却越来越强烈和难以忍受。 —

The clock in the office struck half-past twelve.
办公室里的时钟敲响了半小时。

“Shall I write a secret report? Proshkin did, and he rose rapidly.”
“我要写份密报吗？普罗什金就是这样做的，然后他就晋升得很快。”

Nevyrazimov sat down at his table and pondered. —
涅维拉济莫夫坐到桌前沉思起来。 —

The lamp in which the kerosene had quite run dry was smoking violently and threatening to go out. —
那只煤油已经全都用完的灯正在冒烟并且有熄灭的危险。 —

The stray cockroach was still running about the table and had found no resting-place.
那只流浪的蟑螂还在桌子上跑来跑去，找不到停歇的地方。

“One can always send in a secret report, but how is one to make it up? —
“总可以递交一份密报，但该如何虚构呢？ —

I should want to make all sorts of innuendoes and insinuations, like Proshkin, and I can’t do it. —
我想要暗示和讽刺各种事情，就像普罗什金那样，但我做不到。 —

If I made up anything I should be the first to get into trouble for it. —
如果我捏造了什么东西，我自己会第一个为此惹上麻烦。 —

I’m an ass, damn my soul!”
我真是个蠢货，该死！”

And Nevyrazimov, racking his brain for a means of escape from his hopeless position, stared at the rough copy he had written. —
纳夫拉季莫夫苦苦思索着如何摆脱绝望的处境，盯着他写的草稿。 —

The letter was written to a man whom he feared and hated with his whole soul, and from whom he had for the last ten years been trying to wring a post worth eighteen roubles a month, instead of the one he had at sixteen roubles.
这封信是写给一个他全心恐惧和憎恶的人的，他已经尽力争取着从这个人手里挣到一个值18卢布每月的职位，而不是他目前的16卢布的那一个。

“Ah, I’ll teach you to run here, you devil! —
“啊，我会教训你，你这个恶魔！ —

” He viciously slapped the palm of his hand on the cockroach, who had the misfortune to catch his eye. “Nasty thing!”
”他狠狠地扇打着手掌，打在了那只不幸被他盯上的蟑螂上。“可恶的东西！”

The cockroach fell on its back and wriggled its legs in despair. —
蟑螂翻倒在地，绝望地扭动着脚。 —

Nevyrazimov took it by one leg and threw it into the lamp. —
纳夫拉季莫夫用一条腿拎起它，把它扔进了灯里。 —

The lamp flared up and spluttered.
灯突然亮了起来，打着火花。

And Nevyrazimov felt better.
纳夫拉季莫夫感觉好多了。