The house was left; the house was deserted. —
房子被遗弃了；房子被荒废了。 —

It was left like a shell on asandhill to fill with dry salt grains now that life had left it. —
它被留在沙丘上，就像一个壳，现在充满了干燥的盐粒，因为生命已经离开了它。 —

The long nightseemed to have set in; the trifling airs, nibbling, the clammy breaths,fumbling, seemed to have triumphed. —
漫长的夜晚似乎已经到来；微不足道的微风，蚀刻的潮气，笨拙的呼吸，似乎已经获胜。 —

The saucepan had rusted and themat decayed. Toads had nosed their way in. —
平底锅生锈了，垫子腐烂了。蟾蜍挤进来了。 —

Idly, aimlessly, the swayingshawl swung to and fro. —
无聊地、漫不经心地，摇曳的披肩来回摇摆。 —

A thistle thrust itself between the tiles in the larder.
一株蓟草探入了食品储藏室的瓦片之间。

The swallows nested in the drawing-roon; the floor was strewnwith straw; —
燕子在客厅的巢里筑巢；地板上铺满了稻草； —

the plaster fell in shovelfuls; rafters were laid bare; —
灰泥纷纷掉落；梁木裸露； —

rats carriedoff this and that to gnaw behind the wainscots. —
老鼠把这个抱走那个去咬食在镶木板后面。 —

Tortoise-shell butterfliesburst from the chrysalis and pattered their life out on the windowpane.
玳瑁蝴蝶从蛹中破壳而出，在窗玻璃上拍打着生命的尽头。

Poppies sowed themselves among the dahlias; the lawn wavedwith long grass; —
罂粟在大丽花中自播；草坪上长满了高草； —

giant artichokes towered among roses; a fringed carnationflowered among the cabbages; —
巨大的朝鲜蓟在玫瑰丛中耸立；在卷心菜之间绽放着一朵缀花康乃馨； —

while the gentle tapping of a weed atthe window had become, on winters’ nights, a drumming from sturdytrees and thorned briars which made the whole room green in summer.
而窗外的一株杂草温和地敲击着窗户，在冬夜里成了坚实树木和荆棘灌木的轰鸣声，使整个房间在夏天变绿。

What power could now prevent the fertility, the insensibility ofnature? —
现在还有什么力量能阻止大自然的肥沃、麻木不仁？ —

Mrs McNab’s dream of a lady, of a child, of a plate of milk soup?
麦克纳布太太关于一位女士、一位孩子、一碗牛奶汤的梦想呢？

It had wavered over the walls like a spot of sunlight and vanished. Shehad locked the door; —
它像一抹阳光在墙上摇曳，然后消失了。她已经锁上了门； —

she had gone. It was beyond the strength of onewoman, she said. —
她已经离开了。她说，这是超出一个女人的力量范围的。 —

They never sent. They never wrote. —
他们从未派人来过。他们从未写过信。 —

There were thingsup there rotting in the drawers—it was a shame to leave them so, shesaid. —
有些东西在那里上面腐烂了，抽屉里面的东西就这样留着真是可惜，她说。 —

The place was gone to rack and ruin. Only the Lighthouse beamentered the rooms for a moment, sent its sudden stare over bed and wallin the darkness of winter, looked with equanimity at the thistle and theswallow, the rat and the straw. —
这地方已经破败不堪。只有灯塔的光束会在冬天的黑暗中照射进来，突然地凝视着床和墙，平静地看着蓟和燕子，老鼠和稻草。 —

Nothing now withstood them; nothingsaid no to them. Let the wind blow; —
没有什么可以挡住它们；没有什么可以对抗它们。让风吹吧； —

let the poppy seed itself and thecarnation mate with the cabbage. —
让罂粟播种，康乃馨与卷心菜结合。 —

Let the swallow build in the drawing-room, and the thistle thrust aside the tiles, and the butterfly sun itself onthe faded chintz of the arm-chairs. —
让燕子在客厅内筑巢，让蓟刺推开瓦片，让蝴蝶在褪色的坐椅上晒太阳。 —

Let the broken glass and the china lieout on the lawn and be tangled over with grass and wild berries.
让碎玻璃和瓷器留在草坪上，被草和野莓缠绕。

For now had come that moment, that hesitation when dawn tremblesand night pauses, when if a feather alight in the scale it will be weigheddown. —
因为那个时刻即将来临，那种犹豫让黎明颤抖，夜晚停顿，一根羽毛稍微落在天平上，将把它压倒。 —

One feather, and the house, sinking, falling, would have turnedand pitched downwards to the depths of darkness. —
一根羽毛，房屋将会下沉，坠落，直冲向黑暗深渊。 —

In the ruined room,picnickers would have lit their kettles; —
在废弃的房间里，野餐者将点燃水壶； —

lovers sought shelter there, lyingon the bare boards; —
情侣们寻找庇护所，在光秃秃的木板上躺着； —

and the shepherd stored his dinner on the bricks, andthe tramp slept with his coat round him to ward off the cold. —
牧羊人会在砖头上存放午餐，流浪汉则蜷缩着身子披着外套来防寒。 —

Then theroof would have fallen; briars and hemlocks would have blotted outpath, step and window; —
然后屋顶会坍塌；荆棘和毒芹将会遮住道路、楼梯和窗户。 —

would have grown, unequally but lustily overthe mound, until some trespasser, losing his way, could have told onlyby a red-hot poker among the nettles, or a scrap of china in the hemlock,that here once some one had lived; —
它们会在丘陵上茂盛地生长，不均匀地生长，直到有人迷路时，只能通过荨麻中的一把红热铁钩或在铅华中的一片瓷碎片认识到，在这里曾经住过一个人； —

there had been a house.
曾经有所房子。

If the feather had fallen, if it had tipped the scale downwards, thewhole house would have plunged to the depths to lie upon the sands ofoblivion. —
如果羽毛掉落了，如果它让天平倾斜，整个房子就会坠入深渊，沉入遗忘之沙。 —

But there was a force working; something not highly conscious; —
但有一股力量在起作用；一种并非非常有意识的东西； —

something that leered, something that lurched; —
一种冷笑，一种踉跄； —

something not inspired togo about its work with dignified ritual or solemn chanting. —
一种没有受到激励去以庄严的仪式或庄严的吟唱来进行工作的东西。 —

Mrs McNabgroaned; Mrs Bast creaked. They were old; they were stiff; their legsached. —
麦克纳太太呻吟；巴斯太太吱吱作响。她们年迈了；她们僵硬了；她们的腿疼痛。 —

They came with their brooms and pails at last; they got to work.
她们最终拿着扫帚和桶来了；她们开始工作了。

All of a sudden, would Mrs McNab see that the house was ready, one ofthe young ladies wrote: —
突然之间，麦克纳太太看到房子准备好了，一个年轻的女士写道： —

would she get this done; would she get thatdone; all in a hurry. —
她会做这个吗；她会做那个吗；都要赶快完成。 —

They might be coming for the summer; had lefteverything to the last; —
他们可能要来度假了；把一切都留到了最后； —

expected to find things as they had left them.
希望会发现一切都如他们离开时那样。

Slowly and painfully, with broom and pail, mopping, scouring, MrsMcNab, Mrs Bast, stayed the corruption and the rot; —
麦克纳太太、巴斯太太，拿着扫帚和桶，辛苦地、费力地，擦洗、擦拭，挽救了腐朽和腐烂； —

rescued from thepool of Time that was fast closing over them now a basin, now a cupboard; —
从时间的池塘中挽救回来，二十四史和一套茶具，一个清晨； —

fetched up from oblivion all the Waverley novels and a tea-setone morning; —
从遗忘中拯救了所有的《威弗利小说集》，一套茶具。 —

in the afternoon restored to sun and air a brass fender anda set of steel fire-irons. —
下午的阳光和空气中恢复了一只黄铜炉架和一套钢制火炉用具。 —

George, Mrs Bast’s son, caught the rats, and cutthe grass. They had the builders. —
乔治，巴斯特夫人的儿子，抓住了老鼠，修剪了草坪。他们的房子正在进行建设。 —

Attended with the creaking of hingesand the screeching of bolts, the slamming and banging of damp-swollenwoodwork, some rusty laborious birth seemed to be taking place, as thewomen, stooping, rising, groaning, singing, slapped and slammed, upstairsnow, now down in the cellars. —
伴随着铰链的吱吱声和螺栓的尖叫声，潮湿膨胀的木制品砰砰作响，一种生吞活剥的劳动似乎正在进行，女人们弯腰、站起来、呻吟、歌唱，楼上楼下拍打、砰门。 —

Oh, they said, the work!
哦，他们说，这份工作！

They drank their tea in the bedroom sometimes, or in the study; —
他们有时在卧室里喝茶，或者在书房里； —

breakingoff work at mid-day with the smudge on their faces, and their oldhands clasped and cramped with the broom handles. —
中午时分停下工作，脸上沾满污迹，古老的手因扫帚把柄而抽筋。 —

Flopped on chairs,they contemplated now the magnificent conquest over taps and bath; —
坐在椅子上，他们现在盯着那对水龙头和浴缸的壮丽征服； —

now the more arduous, more partial triumph over long rows of books,black as ravens once, now white-stained, breeding pale mushrooms and
现在更加艰难，对长长的一排书籍的胜利，曾经黑如乌鸦，如今已经被白色污渍覆盖，滋生着苍白的蘑菇和

secreting furtive spiders. Once more, as she felt the tea warm in her, thetelescope fitted itself to Mrs McNab’s eyes, and in a ring of light she sawthe old gentleman, lean as a rake, wagging his head, as she came up withthe washing, talking to himself, she supposed, on the lawn. —
隐秘的蜘蛛。当茶在她体内温暖起来时，望远镜自动配合麦克纳夫夫人的眼睛，在一圈光环中，她看到那个干瘦如骨干的老绅士，当她拿着洗衣服走过去时，摇着头，她猜想他在自言自语，站在草坪上。 —

He never noticedher. Some said he was dead; some said she was dead. Which wasit? —
他从未注意过她。有人说他死了；有人说她死了。究竟是哪一个？ —

Mrs Bast didn’t know for certain either. The young gentleman wasdead. —
巴斯太太也并不确定。那位年轻绅士死了。 —

That she was sure. She had read his name in the papers.
这点她是确信的。她在报纸上读到了他的名字。

There was the cook now, Mildred, Marian, some such name as that—ared-headed woman, quick-tempered like all her sort, but kind, too, ifyou knew the way with her. —
有厨师在，米尔德里德，玛丽安，类似这样的名字—一个红发女人，像她那种人一样脾气急躁，但如果你懂得和她相处，她也很善良。 —

Many a laugh they had had together. Shesaved a plate of soup for Maggie; —
他们曾经一起开心地笑过。她给玛吉留了一碗汤； —

a bite of ham, sometimes; —
有时一小口火腿； —

whateverwas over. They lived well in those days. —
无论多余的都留给她。那些日子他们过得很好。 —

They had everything theywanted (glibly, jovially, with the tea hot in her, she unwound her ball ofmemories, sitting in the wicker arm-chair by the nursery fender). —
他们什么都有 (她喝着热茶，轻松地，快活地，解开她那一团回忆，在育儿室的火炉旁坐在柳条扶手椅上)。 —

Therewas always plenty doing, people in the house, twenty staying sometimes,and washing up till long past midnight.
那时候总是忙忙碌碌，有很多人在家里，有时候住了二十个人，洗洗碗直到深夜。

Mrs Bast (she had never known them; —
巴斯太太 (她从来没有见过他们； —

had lived in Glasgow at thattime) wondered, putting her cup down, whatever they hung that beast’sskull there for? —
当时住在格拉斯哥) 惊讶地放下杯子，不知道他们为什么在那里挂那副兽头的头骨？ —

Shot in foreign parts no doubt.
肯定是在外国被打死的。

It might well be, said Mrs McNab, wantoning on with her memories; —
很可能是，麦克纳夫夫人继续陶醉在她的回忆里说。 —

they had friends in eastern countries; gentlemen staying there, ladies inevening dress; —
他们在东方国家有朋友；那里的绅士们是住在那里的，女士们都是穿着晚礼服； —

she had seen them once through the dining-room door allsitting at dinner. —
她曾经通过餐厅门看见他们都坐在那里吃晚餐。 —

Twenty she dared say all in their jewellery, and sheasked to stay help wash up, might be till after midnight.
她敢说有二十个人，都戴着珠宝，她请求能留下帮着洗碗，可能要一直忙到半夜。

Ah, said Mrs Bast, they’d find it changed. She leant out of the window.
啊，巴斯太太说，他们肯定会觉得这里变了。她探出窗外。

She watched her son George scything the grass. They might well ask,what had been done to it? —
她看着儿子乔治在割草。别人可能会问，这里到底发生了什么？ —

seeing how old Kennedy was supposed tohave charge of it, and then his leg got so bad after he fell from the cart; —
看着肯尼迪本来应该负责那片地，后来他从车子上摔下来腿也病了； —

and perhaps then no one for a year, or the better part of one; —
或许接下来有一年，或者更长时间谁也不管； —

and thenDavie Macdonald, and seeds might be sent, but who should say if theywere ever planted? —
接着是戴维·麦克唐纳，也许会寄种子过来，但谁又能说是否曾被种下？ —

They’d find it changed.
他们肯定会觉得这里变了。

She watched her son scything. He was a great one for work—one ofthose quiet ones. —
她看着儿子在割草。他是个做事很努力的人，属于那种沉默的人。 —

Well they must be getting along with the cupboards,she supposed. —
好吧，他们应该已经开始整理橱柜了吧，她想。 —

They hauled themselves up.
他们推开门进去了。

At last, after days of labour within, of cutting and digging without,dusters were flicked from the windows, the windows were shut to, keyswere turned all over the house; —
经过了好几天的室内清洁和室外的砍伐和挖掘，窗户上的灰尘被拂去，窗户关上了，整栋房子都锁上了； —

the front door was banged; it wasfinished.
前门砰的一声关上了；整个过程结束了。

And now as if the cleaning and the scrubbing and the scything and themowing had drowned it there rose that half-heard melody, that intermittentmusic which the ear half catches but lets fall; —
现在仿佛清洁、擦拭、割草都让我无法听见，却又时不时传来那半闻不到的旋律，耳朵捕捉到一半后又让其落下。 —

a bark, a bleat; irregular,intermittent, yet somehow related; —
树皮的狗吠，羊羔的咩叫;无规律的，间歇性的，但莫名相关的; —

the hum of an insect, the tremorof cut grass, disevered yet somehow belonging; —
昆虫的嗡嗡声，被割掉的草的颤动，被分离但却莫名属于一体; —

the jar of a dorbeetle, thesqueak of a wheel, loud, low, but mysteriously related; —
拉丁甲虫的叮咬声，车轮的咯吱声，高低不同却神秘相关的; —

which the earstrains to bring together and is always on the verge of harmonising, butthey are never quite heard, never fully harmonised, and at last, in theevening, one after another the sounds die out, and the harmony falters,and silence falls. —
耳朵努力聚拢，总是快要和谐，却始终没有完全听到，从傍晚开始，一串声音一个接一个地消失，和谐犹豫了，寂静降临。 —

With the sunset sharpness was lost, and like mist rising,quiet rose, quiet spread, the wind settled; —
随着日落，锐利的清晰度消失了，如雾升起，宁静升起，宁静弥漫，风安静了; —

loosely the world shook itselfdown to sleep, darkly here without a light to it, save what came greensuffused through leaves, or pale on the white flowers in the bed by thewindow.
宽松地，世界晃了下来睡觉，黑暗这里没有一点灯光，除了透过树叶苍翠的光线，或者在窗边花坛上淡淡的白光。

[Lily Briscoe had her bag carried up to the house late one evening inSeptember. —
[莉莉·布里斯科需要在九月的一个晚上把她的包被人拿到了房子里。 —

Mr Carmichael came by the same train.]
卡迈克先生乘坐同一趟火车经过了。]