As she lurched (for she rolled like a ship at sea) and leered (for her eyesfell on nothing directly, but with a sidelong glance that deprecated thescorn and anger of the world—she was witless, she knew it), as sheclutched the banisters and hauled herself upstairs and rolled from roomto room, she sang. —
当她踉跄着（因为她像在海上船只上摇摆）和斜眼看着（因为她的目光没有直接落在任何物体上，却带着一种侧目的神情，对世界的轻蔑和愤怒表示道歉——她是愚蠢的，她知道），当她抓着扶手、艰难地拉着自己上楼，从房间滚到房间的时候，她唱着歌。 —

Rubbing the glass of the long looking-glass and leeringsideways at her swinging figure a sound issued from herlips—something that had been gay twenty years before on the stage perhaps,had been hummed and danced to, but now, coming from thetoothless, bonneted, care-taking woman, was robbed of meaning, waslike the voice of witlessness, humour, persistency itself, trodden downbut springing up again, so that as she lurched, dusting, wiping, sheseemed to say how it was one long sorrow and trouble, how it was gettingup and going to bed again, and bringing things out and puttingthem away again. —
擦拭着长长的镜子玻璃，斜眼瞟看着自己荡漾的身影，一种声音从她的嘴唇中发出—也许二十年前在舞台上时曾经很开心，曾经被哼唱和跳舞，但现在，从这位没有牙齿、戴着帽子、照料他人的妇女的口中传出，已被剥夺了意义，像是愚蠢、幽默、执着本身的声音，受到了践踏却又再度抬头，所以她踉跄着、擦拭、擦去灰尘时，她似乎在说这是一个漫长的悲伤和麻烦，这是起床又再睡觉，拿东西出来又放回去。 —

It was not easy or snug this world she had known forclose on seventy years. —
七十年来，她所认识的这个世界并不容易或舒适。 —

Bowed down she was with weariness. How long,she asked, creaking and groaning on her knees under the bed, dustingthe boards, how long shall it endure? —
她因疲惫而佝偻。她问道，躬身并在床底下的膝盖上吱吱作响，擦拭着木板，这将持续多久？ —

but hobbled to her feet again,pulled herself up, and again with her sidelong leer which slipped andturned aside even from her own face, and her own sorrows, stood andgaped in the glass, aimlessly smiling, and began again the old amble andhobble, taking up mats, putting down china, looking sideways in theglass, as if, after all, she had her consolations, as if indeed there twinedabout her dirge some incorrigible hope. —
但她又艰难地站了起来，自己拉起自己，再次以斜目瞟视，甚至连从自己的脸上、自己的悲伤上侧目瞟视，站在镜子前呆呆地微笑，再次开始老样子地慢慢走着，摇摆地，拿起垫子，放下瓷器，斜眼朝着镜子看，仿佛，终究，她也有自己的安慰，似乎她身边存在着某种坚定不移的希望。 —

Visions of joy there must havebeen at the wash-tub, say with her children (yet two had been base-bornand one had deserted her), at the public-house, drinking; —
在洗衣盆里一定有快乐的幻想，也许是跟她的孩子们（尽管有两个是私生子，还有一个抛弃了她），在酒吧里喝酒； —

turning overscraps in her drawers. Some cleavage of the dark there must have been,some channel in the depths of obscurity through which light enough issuedto twist her face grinning in the glass and make her, turning to herjob again, mumble out the old music hall song. —
在抽屉里翻找废弃物。黑暗中必定存在着一些裂缝，一些光线能够通过深渊中的某个渠道，足以扭曲她的脸在镜子中咧着嘴笑，让她转身继续工作时，嘟囔着老一套的音乐厅歌曲。 —

The mystic, the visionary,walking the beach on a fine night, stirring a puddle, looking at a stone,asking themselves “What am I,” “What is this?” —
神秘主义者，远见者，在一个晴朗的夜晚漫步在海滩上，搅动着一个水坑，看着一块石头，问自己：“我是谁”，“这是什么？” —

had suddenly an answer
突然间得到了一个答案

vouchsafed them: (they could not say what it was) so that they werewarm in the frost and had comfort in the desert. —
由他们领受：（他们说不出是什么），因此他们在严寒中感到温暖，在沙漠中得到安慰。 —

But Mrs McNab continuedto drink and gossip as before.
但麦克纳夫夫人继续像以前一样喝酒和闲聊。