Well then, Nancy had gone with them, Mrs Ramsay supposed, wondering,as she put down a brush, took up a comb, and said “Come in” to atap at the door (Jasper and Rose came in), whether the fact that Nancywas with them made it less likely or more likely that anything wouldhappen; —
那么，南希跟他们一起去了，拉姆赛夫人想，她放下一个刷子，拿起一个梳子，对着门外轻轻敲了一下，说“请进”(贾斯珀和罗丝走了进来)，不确定南希和他们在一起是不是会让事情发生的可能性变小还是变大； —

it made it less likely, somehow, Mrs Ramsay felt, very irrationally,except that after all holocaust on such a scale was not probable.
某种程度上，拉姬赛夫人感觉让南希和他们在一起会让事情的发生变得更不可能，尽管非常不合理，不过大规模的大屠杀毕竟不太可能。

They could not all be drowned. And again she felt alone in the presenceof her old antagonist, life.
她们不可能全部被淹死。再一次，她感到自己在她的老对手，生命的存在下孤独。

Jasper and Rose said that Mildred wanted to know whether sheshould wait dinner.
贾斯珀和罗丝说米尔德雷德想知道她是不是应该等晚餐。

“Not for the Queen of England,” said Mrs Ramsay emphatically.
“即使是英格兰女王也不用等”，拉姬赛夫人断然地说。

“Not for the Empress of Mexico,” she added, laughing at Jasper; —
“即使是墨西哥女皇也不用等”，她补充道，笑着看着贾斯珀； —

for heshared his mother’s vice: he, too, exaggerated.
因为他和他的母亲有着一样的毛病：他也喜欢夸大。

And if Rose liked, she said, while Jasper took the message, she mightchoose which jewels she was to wear. —
如果Rose喜欢的话，她会说，贾斯珀正在传达消息，她可以选择要戴哪些珠宝。 —

When there are fifteen people sittingdown to dinner, one cannot keep things waiting for ever. —
当有十五个人坐下用餐时，不能让事情等待太久。 —

She wasnow beginning to feel annoyed with them for being so late; —
她现在开始对他们迟到感到恼火； —

it was inconsiderateof them, and it annoyed her on top of her anxiety about them,that they should choose this very night to be out late, when, in fact, shewished the dinner to be particularly nice, since William Bankes had atlast consented to dine with them; —
这让她感到不满，因为他们迟到很不周到，令她在对他们的担忧之上感到恼火，他们偏偏选择了这个晚上晚归，而她希望这顿饭特别美好，因为威廉·班克斯终于同意和他们一起用餐； —

and they were having Mildred’s masterpiece—BOEUF EN DAUBE. Everything depended upon things beingserved up to the precise moment they were ready. —
一切取决于食物被准时上桌。 —

The beef, the bayleaf,and the wine—all must be done to a turn. —
牛肉、月桂叶和葡萄酒—一切都必须恰到好处。 —

To keep it waiting was out ofthe question. —
让它等待是不可能的。 —

Yet of course tonight, of all nights, out they went, and theycame in late, and things had to be sent out, things had to be kept hot; —
但是，当然是今晚，偏偏要晚出去，而且他们晚归了，食物不得不送出去，保持热气； —

theBOEUF EN DAUBE would be entirely spoilt.
BOEUF EN DAUBE将完全毁掉。

Jasper offered her an opal necklace; Rose a gold necklace. —
贾斯珀给了她一个蛋白石项链；罗斯给了她一个金项链。 —

Whichlooked best against her black dress? —
哪个搭配她的黑色礼服更好看？ —

Which did indeed, said Mrs Ramsayabsent-mindedly, looking at her neck and shoulders (but avoiding her
哪个实际上更好，兰姆西夫人心不在焉地说，看着她的颈部和肩膀（但避开她的面庞）在镜子里。然后，当孩子们在她的物品中翻找时，她看向了窗外一个总是让她感到有趣的景象—乌鸦试图决定在哪棵树上停栖。

face) in the glass. And then, while the children rummaged among herthings, she looked out of the window at a sight which always amusedher—the rooks trying to decide which tree to settle on. —
每次，他们似乎改变主意，又再次飞入空中，因为，她想，老乌鸦，父乌鸦，老约瑟夫是她给他起的名字，是一只性情非常刁钻和难搞的鸟。 —

Every time, theyseemed to change their minds and rose up into the air again, because,she thought, the old rook, the father rook, old Joseph was her name forhim, was a bird of a very trying and difficult disposition. —
他是一只名声不好的老鸟，有一半的翅膀羽毛掉光了。 —

He was a disreputableold bird, with half his wing feathers missing. —
他就像一个破旧的老绅士，头戴高礼帽，在一家酒吧前吹号角。 —

He was like someseedy old gentleman in a top hat she had seen playing the horn in frontof a public house.
他是如此不堪一干，以至于每次他都努力挑选哪棵树落脚。

“Look!” she said, laughing. They were actually fighting. Joseph andMary were fighting. —
“看！”她笑着说道。他们实际上在争吵。Joseph和Mary在争吵。 —

Anyhow they all went up again, and the air wasshoved aside by their black wings and cut into exquisite scimitar shapes.
无论如何，他们又都升上去了，空气被它们黑色的翅膀推开，形成了精美的弯刀形状。

The movements of the wings beating out, out, out—she could never describeit accurately enough to please herself—was one of the loveliest ofall to her. —
翅膀的拍动，向外、向外、向外——她永远无法准确描述得足够好，这对她来说是最美丽的场面之一。 —

Look at that, she said to Rose, hoping that Rose would see itmore clearly than she could. —
“看那个，”她对Rose说道，希望Rose能更清楚地看到。 —

For one’s children so often gave one’s ownperceptions a little thrust forwards.
因为人的孩子往往会推动一个人自己的感知略微向前。

But which was it to be? They had all the trays of her jewel-case open.
但会选哪个呢？她的首饰盒里所有的托盘都打开着。

The gold necklace, which was Italian, or the opal necklace, which UncleJames had brought her from India; —
那个黄金项链，是意大利的，还是乌克兰风琴项链，是姨父James从印度带给她的； —

or should she wear her amethysts?
还是她应该戴上她的紫水晶？

“Choose, dearests, choose,” she said, hoping that they would makehaste.
“选择吧，亲爱的们，选吧，”她说道，希望她们能快点。

But she let them take their time to choose: —
但她让她们慢慢来选择：她让Rose，特别是让Rose，拿起这个然后那个，把她的珠宝对着黑色礼服，因为这个每晚必定经历的珠宝选择仪式是Rose最喜欢的，她知道。 —

she let Rose, particularly,take up this and then that, and hold her jewels against the black dress,for this little ceremony of choosing jewels, which was gone throughevery night, was what Rose liked best, she knew. —
她有自己隐藏的原因，非常重视母亲该穿戴什么。 —

She had some hiddenreason of her own for attaching great importance to this choosing whather mother was to wear. —
Mrs Ramsay想，是什么原因？她停下来让Rose扣上她选择的项链，透过自己的过去，推测出，年纪正是Rose的年纪时，人对母亲有一种深刻的、潜藏的、完全无法言喻的感觉。 —

What was the reason, Mrs Ramsay wondered,standing still to let her clasp the necklace she had chosen, divining,through her own past, some deep, some buried, some quite speechlessfeeling that one had for one’s mother at Rose’s age. —
像所有为自己感受的感情一样，Mrs Ramsay想，它让人伤感。 —

Like all feelings feltfor oneself, Mrs Ramsay thought, it made one sad. —
它是如此不足，一个人能回报的； —

It was so inadequate,what one could give in return; —
这种感觉，她觉得，是非常不够，她送出去的感情。 —

and what Rose felt was quite out of proportionto anything she actually was. —
玫瑰感觉到的与她实际上所经历的完全不成比例。 —

And Rose would grow up; —
玫瑰会长大； —

andRose would suffer, she supposed, with these deep feelings, and she saidshe was ready now, and they would go down, and Jasper, because hewas the gentleman, should give her his arm, and Rose, as she was thelady, should carry her handkerchief (she gave her the handkerchief), andwhat else? —
而玫瑰将会遭受痛苦，她自己想，因为这些深刻的感受，她现在准备好了，他们将要下楼去，而贾斯帕，因为他是绅士，应该搀扶她，而玫瑰，因为她是淑女，应该拿着手帕(她递给了她手帕)，还有什么? —

oh, yes, it might be cold: a shawl. Choose me a shawl, she
哦，是的，天气可能会冷：一条披肩。给我选一条披肩，她

said, for that would please Rose, who was bound to suffer so. —
说，因为玫瑰一定会受苦。 —

“There,“she said, stopping by the window on the landing, “there they are again.” —
“看,”她停在楼梯平台的窗前说，“它们又出现了。” —

Joseph had settled on another tree-top. “Don’t you think they mind,” shesaid to Jasper, “having their wings broken?” —
约瑟夫停在另一棵树梢上。”你不认为它们在意，”她对贾斯帕说，“翅膀受伤了吗？” —

Why did he want to shootpoor old Joseph and Mary? —
他为什么想要射击可怜的约瑟夫和玛利亚呢？ —

He shuffled a little on the stairs, and felt rebuked,but not seriously, for she did not understand the fun of shootingbirds; —
他在楼梯上有点蹒跚，感到受到责备，但并不严重，因为她不理解射击鸟类的乐趣； —

and they did not feel; and being his mother she lived away in anotherdivision of the world, but he rather liked her stories about Maryand Joseph. —
它们不感觉；因为她是他的母亲，她生活在世界的另一个部分，但他相当喜欢她讲述有关玛利亚和约瑟夫的故事。 —

She made him laugh. But how did she know that those wereMary and Joseph? —
她让他笑了。但她怎么知道那是玛利亚和约瑟夫呢？ —

Did she think the same birds came to the same treesevery night? he asked. —
她认为同样的鸟儿每天晚上都来同一棵树上吗？他问。 —

But here, suddenly, like all grown-up people, sheceased to pay him the least attention. —
但突然间，就像所有成年人一样，她完全不再理会他。 —

She was listening to a clatter in thehall.
她在大厅里听到一阵喧闹声。

“They’ve come back!” she exclaimed, and at once she felt much moreannoyed with them than relieved. —
“他们回来了！”她惊呼道，并立刻感到比安心更为恼火。 —

Then she wondered, had it happened?
然后她想，事情发生了吗？

She would go down and they would tell her—but no. —
她会下楼他们会告诉她—但不。 —

They could not tellher anything, with all these people about. —
在所有这些人周围，他们什么都不能告诉她。 —

So she must go down and begindinner and wait. —
所以她必须下楼，并开始晚餐并等待。 —

And, like some queen who, finding her peoplegathered in the hall, looks down upon them, and descends among them,and acknowledges their tributes silently, and accepts their devotion andtheir prostration before her (Paul did not move a muscle but lookedstraight before him as she passed) she went down, and crossed the halland bowed her head very slightly, as if she accepted what they could notsay: —
就像某个发现她的人民聚集在大厅里的女王一样，她俯视着他们，走下台阶，默默地承认他们的贡献和对她的顶礼膜拜（保罗一动不动地直视前方，当她走过时）。她下了楼，穿过大厅，微微点头，好像她接受了他们不能说出口的话： —

their tribute to her beauty.
对她美丽的礼赞。

But she stopped. There was a smell of burning. Could they have let theBOEUF EN DAUBE overboil? —
但她停下来。有一股烧焦的味道。他们难道让胡椒焅炖肉烧焦了吗？ —

she wondered, pray heaven not! when thegreat clangour of the gong announced solemnly, authoritatively, that allthose scattered about, in attics, in bedrooms, on little perches of theirown, reading, writing, putting the last smooth to their hair, or fasteningdresses, must leave all that, and the little odds and ends on theirwashing-tables and dressing tables, and the novels on the bed-tables,and the diaries which were so private, and assemble in the dining-roomfor dinner.
她想，愿天堂不要这样！当大锣声庄重、权威地响起时，宣告着那些散落在阁楼、卧室、自己小巢般的地方读书、写作、理好头发、扣衣扣的人，必须放下手边的一切，包括洗脸台和梳妆台上的一点零碎，床头的小说和那么私密的日记，都必须集合在餐厅吃饭。