But what had happened?
但是发生了什么事？

Some one had blundered.
　　有人犯了错。

Starting from her musing she gave meaning to words which she hadheld meaningless in her mind for a long stretch of time. —
从她的沉思中开始，她赋予了长时间以来在她脑海中毫无意义的词语以意义。 —

“Some one hadblundered”—Fixing her short-sighted eyes upon her husband, who wasnow bearing down upon her, she gazed steadily until his closeness revealedto her (the jingle mated itself in her head) that something hadhappened, some one had blundered. —
“有人犯了错” — 当她的目光落在她正在走向她的丈夫的身上时，她将目光稳定地注视着，直到他靠近揭示给她（这个顺口溜在她脑海中配合着发生了什么事情，有人犯了错。 —

But she could not for the life of herthink what.
但是她千方百计也想不明白发生了什么。

He shivered; he quivered. All his vanity, all his satisfaction in his ownsplendour, riding fell as a thunderbolt, fierce as a hawk at the head of hismen through the valley of death, had been shattered, destroyed. —
他颤抖了；他战栗了。他所有的虚荣，所有对自己辉煌的满足感，坐在他的男人中，骑在一匹像雷一样凶猛的老鹰的头上，在死亡的山谷中奔驰，全都被摧毁，毁掉了。 —

Stormedat by shot and shell, boldly we rode and well, flashed through the valleyof death, volleyed and thundered—straight into Lily Briscoe and WilliamBankes. —
防守被弹丸和炮弹困住，我们骑着勇敢地闯进死亡的山谷，冲入山谷之中，齐声呐喊——直指莉莉·布里斯科和威廉·班克斯。 —

He quivered; he shivered.
他颤抖了；他战栗了。

Not for the world would she have spoken to him, realising, from thefamiliar signs, his eyes averted, and some curious gathering together ofhis person, as if he wrapped himself about and needed privacy intowhich to regain his equilibrium, that he was outraged and anguished.
　　她决不会对他说话，从熟悉的迹象中意识到，他避开了目光，并收拢了自己的身体，仿佛要包裹自己，并需要隐私去恢复平衡，他感到愤怒和痛苦。

She stroked James’s head; she transferred to him what she felt for herhusband, and, as she watched him chalk yellow the white dress shirt of agentleman in the Army and Navy Stores catalogue, thought what a delightit would be to her should he turn out a great artist; —
她抚摸着詹姆斯的头；她将对丈夫的感受转移到了他身上，当她看着他用一支椰子在陆军和海军商店目录里的白衬衫上涂黄时，她想到如果他成为一名伟大的艺术家将会是多么让她高兴； —

and why shouldhe not? He had a splendid forehead. —
为什么他不能呢？他有一张杰出的额头。 —

Then, looking up, as her husbandpassed her once more, she was relieved to find that the ruin was veiled; —
然后，抬头看着当丈夫再次经过她时，她松了一口气，发现那废墟被遮掩起来了； —

domesticity triumphed; custom crooned its soothing rhythm, so thatwhen stopping deliberately, as his turn came round again, at the windowhe bent quizzically and whimsically to tickle James’s bare calf witha sprig of something, she twitted him for having dispatched “that poor
家庭生活赢得了胜利；习俗吟唱着它的抚慰节奏，所以当他故意停下来的时候，当他再次途经窗户时，他嬉笑打趣地弯下腰，用一小枝植物挠着詹姆斯的赤裸小腿，她戏谑着说他派遣了“那个可怜的

young man,” Charles Tansley. Tansley had had to go in and write hisdissertation, he said.
年轻人” 查尔斯·坦斯利。坦斯利不得不进去写他的论文，他说。

“James will have to write HIS dissertation one of these days,” he addedironically, flicking his sprig.
　　“詹姆斯总有一天也得写他的论文，”他讽刺地补充道，扭动着手中的小枝。

Hating his father, James brushed away the tickling spray with whichin a manner peculiar to him, compound of severity and humour, heteased his youngest son’s bare leg.
　　讨厌他的父亲，詹姆斯用一种他独特的方式，严厉和幽默的结合，挠着他年幼儿子的赤裸的腿，把那讨厌的水花拂开了。

She was trying to get these tiresome stockings finished to send toSorley’s little boy tomorrow, said Mrs Ramsay.
　　她正在努力完成这些令人厌烦的长袜，明天要寄给索利的小男孩，拉姆齐夫人说。

There wasn’t the slightest possible chance that they could go to theLighthouse tomorrow, Mr Ramsay snapped out irascibly.
　　拉姆齐先生愤怒地突然说，他们根本不可能明天去灯塔。

How did he know? she asked. The wind often changed.
　　她问道：他怎么知道的？风常常变来变去。

The extraordinary irrationality of her remark, the folly of women’sminds enraged him. —
　　她发表的那句非同寻常的不合理言论，女人思维的愚昧，激怒了他。 —

He had ridden through the valley of death, beenshattered and shivered; —
　　他曾经骑马穿越死亡的峡谷，被击碎和粉碎； —

and now, she flew in the face of facts, made hischildren hope what was utterly out of the question, in effect, told lies. —
　　而现在，她无视事实，在孩子们心中播下绝无可能的希望，实际上，说谎。 —

Hestamped his foot on the stone step. “Damn you,” he said. —
　　他在石阶上跺了一下脚。“该死的，”他说。 —

But what hadshe said? Simply that it might be fine tomorrow. So it might.
　　但她说了什么？只是明天可能是晴天而已。所以确实可能。

Not with the barometer falling and the wind due west.
　　当气压计下降，风向正西的时候不可能。

To pursue truth with such astonishing lack of consideration for otherpeople’s feelings, to rendthe thin veils of civilization so wantonly, so brutally,was to her so horrible an outrage of human decency that, withoutreplying, dazed and blinded, she bent her head as if to let the pelt ofjagged hail, the drench of dirty water, bespatter her unrebuked. —
　　她以如此惊人的缺乏对他人感情考虑的方式追求真理，如此肆意，如此残暴地撕裂文明的薄纱，让她觉得人类尊严受到了可怕的亵渎，她目瞪口呆，被弄瞎了眼睛，低下头，仿佛让锋利的冰雹和肮脏的水淋湿她而毫无反驳。 —

Therewas nothing to be said.
　　没什么好说的。

He stood by her in silence. Very humbly, at length, he said that hewould step over and ask the Coastguards if she liked.
　　他默默地站在她旁边。最后，非常谦卑地，他说如果她愿意，他会过去问问海岸警卫队的人。

There was nobody whom she reverenced as she reverenced him.
　　她没有任何人像她尊敬他一样。

She was quite ready to take his word for it, she said. —
　　她说，她完全相信他的话。 —

Only then theyneed not cut sandwiches—that was all. —
只有这样他们才不需要切三明治-就是这样。 —

They came to her, naturally, sinceshe was a woman, all day long with this and that; —
当然他们来找她，因为她是一个女人，整天忙忙碌碌； —

one wanting this, anotherthat; the children were growing up; —
一个想要这个，另一个想要那个；孩子们渐渐长大； —

she often felt she was nothingbut a sponge sopped full of human emotions. —
她常常感觉自己只是一个被人类情感浸透的海绵。 —

Then he said, Damn you.
然后他说，该死的你。

He said, It must rain. He said, It won’t rain; —
他说，必须下雨。他说，不会下雨； —

and instantly a Heaven of securityopened before her. —
瞬间，一片安全的天堂在她面前展开。 —

There was nobody she reverenced more. Shewas not good enough to tie his shoe strings, she felt.
她更崇敬的人简直没有。她觉得自己连给他系鞋带的资格都没有。

Already ashamed of that petulance, of that gesticulation of the handswhen charging at the head of his troops, Mr Ramsay rather sheepishlyprodded his son’s bare legs once more, and then, as if he had her leavefor it, with a movement which oddly reminded his wife of the great sealion at the Zoo tumbling backwards after swallowing his fish and wallopingoff so that the water in the tank washes from side to side, hedived into the evening air which, already thinner, was taking the substancefrom leaves and hedges but, as if in return, restoring to roses andpinks a lustre which they had not had by day.
已经为自己那种蛮横、在领导部队冲锋时做出的夸张手势感到羞愧，拉姆齐先生有些尴尬地再次戳了一下他儿子赤裸的腿，然后，仿佛获得妻子的许可一样，做出一个动作，奇怪地让他的妻子想起了动物园里那只大海狮吞下鱼后向后翻滚，并使水槽里的水左右晃动的情景，他俯冲进已经变得更加干燥的晚霞中，夺取了叶子和篱笆上的光芒，但似乎作为回报，将玫瑰和粉红色恢复到了白天未曾有过的光彩。

“Some one had blundered,” he said again, striding off, up and downthe terrace.
“有人犯了错，”他再次说着，大步走动着，上下踱着阳台。

But how extraordinarily his note had changed! It was like the cuckoo;” —
但他的语气变化得多么奇怪！就像布谷鸟一样；六月里它走调了。”他仿佛在试探着，试图寻找一种新的心情的词语，只能有这个在手，虽然有点说不出来。 —

in June he gets out of tune”; as if he were trying over, tentatively seeking,some phrase for a new mood, and having only this at hand, used it,cracked though it was. —
但这种说法听起来很荒谬——“有人犯了错”——像是一个问题，缺乏信念，还颇带旋律。 —

But it sounded ridiculous—”Some one hadblundered”—said like that, almost as a question, without any conviction,melodiously. —
拉姆齐夫人忍不住笑了，果然，他在走来走去时哼起来了，又停了下来，沉默了。 —

Mrs Ramsay could not help smiling, and soon, sureenough, walking up and down, he hummed it, dropped it, fell silent.
他消除了危险，他恢复了私人空间。

He was safe, he was restored to his privacy. —
他停下来点燃了烟斗，看了一眼窗户里他的妻子和儿子，就像坐在快车上看完一页书后，抬起眼睛看到田园、树木、一簇小屋，作为对书页上某件事情的说明、确认，让人心里受到安慰，得到满足一样，所以他并没有分辨出他的儿子还是妻子，看到他们让他坚定，满足，把他的精力投入到完全明了的问题上，这个问题现在占据着他那高尚的头脑的精力。 —

He stopped to light hispipe, looked once at his wife and son in the window, and as one raisesone’s eyes from a page in an express train and sees a farm, a tree, acluster of cottages as an illustration, a confirmation of something on theprinted page to which one returns, fortified, and satisfied, so without hisdistinguishing either his son or his wife, the sight of them fortified himand satisfied him and consecrated his effort to arrive at a perfectly clearunderstanding of the problem which now engaged the energies of hissplendid mind.
他那高尚的头脑。如果想象是钢琴键盘，按键一阵阵分布，或者像字母表按照顺序排列，共有二十六个字母，那么他那高尚的头脑不会有任何困难，可以坚定、准确地一个接着一个地运转那些字母，直到达到，比如说，字母 Q。他到达了 Q。在整个英国很少有人能够到达 Q。他在这里停下了，跟 Q 的事情没问题。他可以证明。

It was a splendid mind. For if thought is like the keyboard of a piano,divided into so many notes, or like the alphabet is ranged in twenty-sixletters all in order, then his splendid mind had no sort of difficulty inrunning over those letters one by one, firmly and accurately, until it hadreached, say, the letter Q. He reached Q. Very few people in the whole ofEngland ever reach Q. Here, stopping for one moment by the stone urnwhich held the geraniums, he saw, but now far, far away, like childrenpicking up shells, divinely innocent and occupied with little trifles attheir feet and somehow entirely defenceless against a doom which heperceived, his wife and son, together, in the window. —
他站在那儿，一时间在盛有天竺葵的石头瓮旁，他看到了，但现在已经远远地看到，就像孩子们捡贝壳一样，神情天真无邪，专注于脚下的小东西，迹象表明他们完全无法抵抗他察觉到的一个厄运，他的妻子和儿子，站在窗前，一起。 —

They needed hisprotection; he gave it them. But after Q? What comes next? —
他们需要他的保护；他给予他们。但是 Q 之后呢？接下来是什么？ —

After Q thereare a number of letters the last of which is scarcely visible to mortal eyes,
在 Q 之后，紧随其后的是很多字母，其中最后一个几乎对凡人来说难以看清，

but glimmers red in the distance. Z is only reached once by one man in ageneration. —
但在远处闪烁着红光。Z 只有一代人中的一个人曾到达过。 —

Still, if he could reach R it would be something. —
但是，如果他能到达 R，那也算是一件事。 —

Here at leastwas Q. He dug his heels in at Q. Q he was sure of. —
这里至少是 Q。他在 Q 处踩住了。 —

Q he could demonstrate.
他可以说明 Q。

If Q then is Q—R—. Here he knocked his pipe out, with two orthree resonant taps on the handle of the urn, and proceeded. —
如果Q，则是Q—R—。在这里，他重重地敲了两三下烟斗，继续说道。 —

“Then R… “He braced himself. He clenched himself.
“然后R… ”他咬紧了牙关。他使劲地收紧了自己。

Qualities that would have saved a ship’s company exposed on a broilingsea with six biscuits and a flask of water—endurance and justice,foresight, devotion, skill, came to his help. —
当曝露在烈日下的海洋上有六块饼干和一瓶水时，能够拯救船员的品质——忍耐力和正义，远见卓识，忠诚，技能，出现在他的帮助之中。 —

R is then—what is R?
R是什么—那么R是什么？

A shutter, like the leathern eyelid of a lizard, flickered over the intensityof his gaze and obscured the letter R. In that flash of darkness heheard people saying—he was a failure—that R was beyond him. —
一道百步蛇似的百叶窗忽闪了过去，遮蔽了他目光的强烈，模糊了字母R。在那一瞬间的黑暗中，他听到人们说——他失败了——R对他来说是遥不可及的。 —

Hewould never reach R. On to R, once more. —
他永远到不了R。再次向前，冲向R。 —

R—Qualities that in a desolate expedition across the icy solitudes of thePolar region would have made him the leader, the guide, the counsellor,whose temper, neither sanguine nor despondent, surveys with equanimitywhat is to be and faces it, came to his help again. —
R—在穿越极地荒原的荒凉远征中，这些品质，可以使他成为领袖，导师，顾问，他那既不悲观也不乐观的脾气，以平和的态度审视即将发生的事情，并勇敢面对，再次帮助了他。 —

R—The lizard’s eye flickered once more. —
R—百步蛇似的眼睑再次闪烁。 —

The veins on his forehead bulged.
他的额头上青筋凸显。

The geranium in the urn became startlingly visible and, displayedamong its leaves, he could see, without wishing it, that old, that obviousdistinction between the two classes of men; —
瓮里的天竺葵变得醒目可见，在叶子间展示出，他能看到，尽管不愿意，那显而易见的老套，两类人之间的区别； —

on the one hand the steadygoers of superhuman strength who, plodding and persevering, repeatthe whole alphabet in order, twenty-six letters in all, from start to finish; —
一方面是拥有超人力量的坚定前行者，勤奋不懈，按顺序重复整个字母表，总计二十六个字母，从头到尾； —

on the other the gifted, the inspired who, miraculously, lump all the letterstogether in one flash—the way of genius. —
另一方面是有天赋，有灵感的人，神奇地一下子把所有字母都 lump 在一起—天才之道。 —

He had not genius; he laidno claim to that: —
他并没有天赋；他不声称有； —

but he had, or might have had, the power to repeatevery letter of the alphabet from A to Z accurately in order. —
但他有，或者可能有，按顺序准确地重复字母表中每一个字母的能力。 —

Meanwhile,he stuck at Q. On, then, on to R.
与此同时，他卡在Q上。然后，前进，前往R。

Feelings that would not have disgraced a leader who, now that thesnow has begun to fall and the mountain top is covered in mist, knowsthat he must lay himself down and die before morning comes, stole uponhim, paling the colour of his eyes, giving him, even in the two minutes ofhis turn on the terrace, the bleached look of withered old age. —
一种情感涌上心头，这种情感绝不会丢脸，是一位领袖知晓在雪花飘落、山巅被雾笼罩的时候，自己必须在清晨来临之前躺下、离世了。这种情感淡化了他眼睛的颜色，即使在阳台上两分钟独立的时候，也让他看起来像干枯的老人一样苍白。 —

Yet hewould not die lying down; he would find some crag of rock, and there,his eyes fixed on the storm, trying to the end to pierce the darkness, hewould die standing. —
然而他不会趴着死去；他会寻找一块岩石，目光盯着暴风雨，直到最后试图看穿黑暗，在站立的姿势下死去。 —

He would never reach R.
他永远也到不了R。

He stood stock-still, by the urn, with the geranium flowing over it.
他就站在那里，靠着石瓮，长满了鲜红的天竺葵。

How many men in a thousand million, he asked himself, reach Z afterall? —
在一千万里有多少人，他自问，最终到达Z？ —

Surely the leader of a forlorn hope may ask himself that, and answer,
一个被遗弃希望的领袖，也会问自己这个问题，并回答说，也许只有一个。一代人中的一个。

without treachery to the expedition behind him, “One perhaps.” One in ageneration. —
如果他不是那一个，他也不会被责怪吗？ —

Is he to be blamed then if he is not that one? —
只要他诚实地努力过，尽力而为，直到伸不出更多的援手？ —

provided he hastoiled honestly, given to the best of his power, and till he has no moreleft to give? —
他的名望会持续多久？ —

And his fame lasts how long? —
即使一个奄奄一息的英雄在临终之际思考人们将来如何评说他，也是可以的。 —

It is permissible even for a dyinghero to think before he dies how men will speak of him hereafter. —
他的名望可能持续两千年。然而两千年算得了什么？ —

Hisfame lasts perhaps two thousand years. And what are two thousandyears? —
（Ramsay先生讽刺地问道，盯着篱笆）。 —

(asked Mr Ramsay ironically, staring at the hedge). —
事实上，如果你从山顶俯视漫长的岁月荒野，用脚踢的石头甚至会比莎士比亚更持久。 —

What, indeed,if you look from a mountain top down the long wastes of the ages? —
如果你从山顶俯视漫长的岁月荒野，用脚踢的石头甚至会比莎士比亚更持久。 —

Thevery stone one kicks with one’s boot will outlast Shakespeare. —
那么，用一双靴子踢飞的石头会比莎士比亚更持久。 —

His ownlittle light would shine, not very brightly, for a year or two, and wouldthen be merged in some bigger light, and that in a bigger still. —
他自己微弱的光芒将会闪耀，虽然不是很明亮，持续一两年，然后会融入到更大的光芒中，再接着融入更大的光芒。 —

(Helooked into the hedge, into the intricacy of the twigs. —
(他凝视着篱笆，凝视着交织在一起的树枝。 —

) Who then couldblame the leader of that forlorn party which after all has climbed highenough to see the waste of the years and the perishing of the stars, if beforedeath stiffens his limbs beyond the power of movement he does alittle consciously raise his numbed fingers to his brow, and square hisshoulders, so that when the search party comes they will find him deadat his post, the fine figure of a soldier? —
)那些在绝望小队中的领袖有谁能指责呢?他们已经攀登到足够高的位置，看到了岁月的荒凉和星星的消逝，如果在生命渐渐消失前，他们还有意识地稍微挺直了僵硬的手指，挺直了肩膀，这样当搜救队到来时，他们会发现他已经死在岗位上，一个出色的士兵形象。 —

Mr Ramsay squared his shouldersand stood very upright by the urn.
拉姆齐先生挺直了肩膀，站在水瓮旁儿。

Who shall blame him, if, so standing for a moment he dwells uponfame, upon search parties, upon cairns raised by grateful followers overhis bones? —
谁会责怪他呢?如果他站在那儿片刻，思绪飘向名誉、搜救队、感激追随者为他骨灰立起的小堆石。 —

Finally, who shall blame the leader of the doomed expedition,if, having adventured to the uttermost, and used his strength wholly tothe last ounce and fallen asleep not much caring if he wakes or not, henow perceives by some pricking in his toes that he lives, and does not onthe whole object to live, but requires sympathy, and whisky, and someone to tell the story of his suffering to at once? —
最后，如果这个注定失败的探险队领袖，曾经冒险到极致，将所有力量用尽到最后一丝一毫，倦意终将他熟睡，对醒或不醒都不在乎，如今他感受到脚趾发痛，意识到自己还在活着，并且不反对继续活下去，但需要同情，需要威士忌，需要有人立刻听他倾诉痛苦的故事，谁会责怪他呢? —

Who shall blame him?
谁能责怪他呢?

Who will not secretly rejoice when the hero puts his armour off, andhalts by the window and gazes at his wife and son, who, very distant atfirst, gradually come closer and closer, till lips and book and head areclearly before him, though still lovely and unfamiliar from the intensityof his isolation and the waste of ages and the perishing of the stars, andfinally putting his pipe in his pocket and bending his magnificent headbefore her—who will blame him if he does homage to the beauty of theworld?
谁会不暗自高兴，当英雄脱下盔甲，在窗前停下，凝视着妻子和儿子，他们一开始相距很远，但渐渐靠近，直到唇、书、头都清晰地出现在他眼前，尽管因为与世隔绝、岁月的浪费和星星的消逝而显得美好而陌生，最后，将烟斗放进口袋，屈膝致敬她——谁会责怪他若向世界之美致敬呢?