Now, who mid ye think I've heard news o' this morning?' --- <span><tang1>现在，你们猜我今天早上听到了什么消息?’ —

said Dairyman Crick, as he sat down to breakfast next day, with a riddling gaze round upon the munching men and maids. —
乳品商克里克如此说道，当天早餐时，用谜一般的目光环视着吃东西的男男女女们。 —

Now, just who mid ye think?' <span><tang1>那么，你们觉得是谁呢?’

One guessed, and another guessed. Mrs Crick did not guess, because she knew already.
有人猜测，又有人猜测。克里克夫人不猜，因为她已经知道了。

Well,' said the dairyman,‘tis that slack-twisted ‘hore’s-bird of a feller, Jack Dollop. —
嘿，'乳品商说，是那个颓废的混蛋杰克·多洛普。 —

He’s lately got married to a widow-woman.’
他最近娶了个寡妇。’

Not Jack Dollop? A villain - to think o' that!' said a milker. <span><tang1>不可能是杰克·多洛普吧？一个恶棍——想想就觉得可恨！’一个挤奶工说。

The name entered quickly into Tess Durbeyfield’s consciousness, for it was the name of the lover who had wronged his sweetheart, and had afterwards been so roughly used by the young woman’s mother in the butter-churn.
这个名字迅速进入苔丝·德伯菲尔德的意识中了，因为那是那位曾经伤害过自己心爱的人的情人的名字，后来被那位年轻女子的母亲在摇奶桶时粗暴对待过。

And has he married the valiant matron's daughter, as he promised?' --- <span><tang1>那么他是否娶了那位勇敢母亲的女儿，就像他承诺的那样?’ —

asked Angel Clare absently, as he turned over the newspaper he was reading at the little table to which he was always banished by Mrs Crick, in her sense of his gentility.
安吉尔·克莱恍惚地问道，他正在小桌子上翻阅着他总是被克里克夫人赶到的那张桌子上的报纸，因为她认为他很优雅。

Not he, sir. Never meant to,' replied the dairyman. --- <span><tang1>没有，先生。他从来没打算娶她，’乳品商回答道。 —

As I say, 'tis a widow-woman, and she had money, it seems - fifty poun' a year or so; --- <span><tang1>就像我说的，那是个寡妇，似乎还有点钱——大约五十镑一年; —

and that was all he was after. They were married in a great hurry; —
他只是为了这点才结婚的。他们结婚匆匆忙忙; —

and then she told him that by marrying she had lost her fifty poun’ a year. —
然后她告诉他，结婚后她失去了那五十镑一年的钱。 —

Just fancy the state o’ my gentleman’s mind at that news! —
想象一下我这位绅士听到这个消息时的心情！ —

Never such a cat-and-dog life as they’ve been leading ever since! —
从来没有像他们自从那时以来一直过着的那种狗血关系！ —

Serves him well beright. But onluckily the poor woman gets the worst o’t.’
真是罪有应得。但可怜的女人却倒霉到了无以复加。

`Well, the silly body should have told en sooner that the ghost of her first man would trouble him,’ said Mrs Crick.
“唉，那个傻瓜早该告诉他，她前夫的幽灵会来纠缠他的。”克里克夫人说。

Ay; ay,' responded the dairyman indecisively.Still, you can see exactly how ‘twas. —
“是啊，是啊。”奶场主含糊地回应道。“不过，你们可以看清楚当时的情况。” —

She wanted a home, and didn’t like to run the risk of losing him. —
她想要一个家，又不想失去他。 —

Don’t ye think that was something like it, maidens?’
你们认为是这样的吗，姑娘们？

He glanced towards the row of girls.
他朝着一排女孩们瞥了一眼。

`She ought to ha’ told him just before they went to church, when he could hardly have backed out,’ exclaimed Marian.
“她应该在他们结婚之前告诉他，那时他几乎无法推却。”玛丽安惊叫道。

`Yes, she ought,’ agreed Izz.
“是的，她应该，”伊茨同意道。

`She must have seen what he was after, and should ha’ refused him,’ cried Retty spasmodically.
“她必须看出他的用心，应该拒绝他，”瑞蒂抽泣着说。

`And what do you say, my dear?’ asked the dairyman of Tess.
“亲爱的，你怎么看？”奶场主问着泰丝。

`I think she ought - to have told him the true state of things - or else refused him - I don’t know,’ replied Tess, the bread-and-butter choking her.
“我认为她应该-告诉他真实情况-或者拒绝他-我不知道，”泰丝答道，面包和黄油让她呛得说话困难。

`Be cust if I’d have done either o’t,’ said Beck Knibbs, a married helper from one of the cottages. —
“我才不会做这两者中的任何一个，”来自某个小屋的已婚帮手贝克·尼布斯说。 —

`All’s fair in love and war. I’d ha’ married en ‘ust as she did, and if he’d said two words to me about not telling him beforehand anything whatsomdever about my first chap that I hadn’t chose to tell, I’d ha’ knocked him down wi’ the rolling-pin - a scram little feller like he! —
“爱情和战争都是没有规则的。我会如她一样嫁给他，如果他向我提到关于我的前男友不告诉他事先任何情况，我会用擀面杖把他打倒-像他那样个细小可怜的家伙！任何女人都能做到。” —

Any woman could do it.’
任何女人都能做到。

The laughter which followed this sally was supplemented only by a sorry smile, for form’s sake, from Tess. What was comedy to them was tragedy to her; —
听到这句戏谑之后的笑声，只得得到了来自塔丝的一种可怜的微笑，仅仅为了形式。对他们来说是喜剧，而对她来说是悲剧； —

and she could hardly bear their mirth. She soon rose from table, and, with an impression that Clare would follow her, went along a little wriggling path, now stepping to one side of the irrigating channels, and now to the other, till she stood by the main stream of the Var. Men had been cutting the water-weeds higher up the river, and masses of them were floating past her - moving islands of green crowfoot, whereon she might almost have ridden; —
她几乎无法忍受他们的欢笑。她很快离开餐桌，带着一种克莱尔会跟着她的感觉，沿着一条蜿蜒的小径走去，有时踩在灌溉渠道的一侧，有时又踩在另一侧，直到站在瓦尔河的主河道旁边。男人们在河上游镜割水草，一片片漂过她的身边 - 绿色的群萱流岛，几乎可以在上面骑乘； —

long locks of which weed had lodged against the piles driven to keep the cows from crossing.
那些水草的长卷鬈已经搁浅在被驱赶的桩子上。想到这一切都很痛苦。对女人讲述她的故事这个问题 - 对她自己来说是最沉重的十字架 - 对他人来说却只是娱乐；

Yes, there was the pain of it. This question of a woman telling her story - the heaviest of crosses to herself - seemed but amusement to others. —
这似乎是人们对殉道者耸人听闻出现了。 —

It was as if people should laugh at martyrdom.
“泰丝！”她身后传来克莱尔的声音，克莱尔跨过沟壑，落在她脚旁。“我的妻子 - 很快！”

Tessy!' came from behind her, and Clare sprang across the gully, alighting beside her feet.My wife - soon!’
“不，不；我不能。为了你，奥克莱尔先生；为了你，我说不！”

`No, no; I cannot. For your sake, O Mr Clare; for your sake, I say no!’
“泰丝！”

`Tess!’
“我还是说不！”她重复道。

`Still I say no!’ she repeated.
没有料到这一点，他刚刚说完话后，轻轻地在她腰间搂住她。

Not expecting this he had put his arm lightly round her waist the moment after speaking, beneath her hanging tall of hair. —
（包括泰丝在内的年轻奶牛女工，在周日早晨披着散发吃早餐，然后为了去教堂参加礼拜堂，她们会把头发编得越高越好，这在挤奶时是不可能的风格。 —

(The younger dairymaids, including Tess, breakfasted with their hair loose on Sunday mornings before building it up extra high for attending church, a style they could not adopt when milking with their heads against the cows. —
）如果她说“是”而不是“不”，他本来会吻她的； —

) If she had said Yes' instead ofNo’ he would have kissed her; —
显然这是他的意图；但她坚决的拒绝阻止了他谨慎的心。 —

it had evidently been his intention; but her determined negative deterred his scrupulous heart. —
由于他们作为合住伴侣的条件将她作为女人置于劣势地位，强迫性的互动使他觉得如果她更能避免他，那对她不公平，所以他决定不要对她施加他本来可以诚实使用的约束力。 —

Their condition of domiciliary comradeship put her, as the woman, to such disadvantage by its enforced intercourse, that he felt it unfair to her to exercise any pressure of brandishment which he might have honestly employed had she been better able to avoid him. —
他释放了她被困的腰部，没有亲吻。 —

He released her momentarily-imprisoned waist, and withheld the kiss.
他不情愿地放开囚禁的腰部，没有吻她。

It all turned on that release. What had given her strength to refuse him this time was solely the tale of the widow told by the dairyman; —
一切都取决于那次拒绝。给予她拒绝他的力量的仅仅是牧场主所讲述的寡妇的故事； —

and that would have been overcome in another moment. —
且那一刻很快就被克服了。 —

But Angel said no more; his face was perplexed; he went away.
但安吉尔不再说话；他的脸上带着困惑，他离开了。

Day after day they met - somewhat less constantly than before; and thus two or three weeks went by. —
他们日复一日地见面 - 没有之前那么频繁；于是过了两三个星期。 —

The end of September drew near, and she could see in his eye that he might ask her again.
九月底临近，她可以看出他可能再次向她求婚。

His plan of procedure was different now - as though he had made up his mind that her negatives were, after all, only coyness and youth startled by the novelty of the proposal. —
他的行动计划现在不同了 - 好像他已下定决心，她的拒绝只不过是一时的羞涩和被求婚提议的新奇所吓到的青春。 —

The fitful evasiveness of her manner when the subject was under discussion countenanced the idea. —
她在讨论这个话题时那种反复无常的态度证明了这一点。 —

So he played a more coaxing game; and while never going beyond words, or attempting the renewal of caresses, he did his utmost orally.
因此，他开始了更加撒娇的手段；尽管从未超越言辞，或者试图恢复以往的爱抚，但口头上他竭尽所能。

In this way Clare persistently wooed her in undertones like that of the purling milk - at the cow’s side, at skimmings, at butter-makings, at cheese-makings, among broody poultry, and among farrowing pigs - as no milkmaid was ever wooed before by such a man.
克莱尔以这种方式坚持不懈地向她求爱，就像牛身旁那拨动心弦的牛奶声那样，他在抽奶、打奶油、做奶酪、在孵蛋的家禽之间以及在产子的猪群中求爱，就像以前没有任何一个牧场姑娘曾被如此男人讨好过一样。

Tess knew that she must break down. Neither a religious sense of a certain moral validity in the previous union nor a conscientious wish for candour could hold out against it much longer. —
特丽丝知道她必须妥协。对之前的婚姻关系具有一定道德有效性的宗教感，或者一种渴望坦诚的良心也无法再抵挡多久。 —

She loved him so passionately, and he was so godlike in her eyes; —
她对他如此热烈地爱着，而他在她眼中就像是神一般； —

and being, though untrained, instinctively refined, her nature cried for his tutelary guidance. —
虽然缺乏训练，但本能上是优雅的，她的天性渴望他的引导。 —

And thus, though Tess kept repeating to herself, `I can never be his wife,’ the words were vain. —
尽管特丽丝一遍又一遍对自己说，“我永远不可能成为他的妻子”，但这些话都是徒劳的。 —

A proof of her weakness lay in the very utterance of what calm strength would not have taken the trouble to formulate. —
她脆弱的证据在于，平静坚定永远不会费力去形成的话语。 —

Every sound of his voice beginning on the old subject stirred her with a terrifying bliss, and she coveted the recantation she feared.
他的声音一听到新话题就开始，就让她充满了一种可怕的幸福，她渴望那个她害怕的反悔。

His manner was - what man’s is not? - so much that of one who would love and cherish and defend her under any conditions, changes, charges, or revelations, that her gloom lessened as she basked in it. —
他的态度是 - 哪个男人的不是呢？ - 如同一个愿意爱护和保护她的人，无论条件、变化、指责或揭示，她在其中沐浴时，心情也随之变得愈发明朗。 —

The season meanwhile was drawing onward to the equinox, and though it was still fine, the days were much shorter. —
与此同时，季节渐渐接近秋分，尽管天气仍好，但白昼变得更短了。 —

The dairy had again worked by morning candle-light for a long time; —
奶牛场又开始了早晨用蜡烛的工作; —

and a fresh renewal of Clare’s pleading occurred one morning between three and four.
某天早晨三四点之间，克莱尔又开始恳求起来。

She had run up in her bedgown to his door to call him as usual; —
她穿着睡袍跑到他的房门口叫他起床，与往常一样; —

then had gone back to dress and call the others; —
然后回去穿衣服，叫醒其他人; —

and in ten minutes was walking to the head of the stairs with the candle in her hand. —
十分钟后，她手持蜡烛走到楼梯的最上面。 —

At the same moment he came down his steps from above in his shirt-sleeves and put his arm across the stairway.
与此同时，他赤着胳膊从楼上走下来，把手臂横在楼梯前。

`Now, Miss Flirt, before you go down,’ he said peremptorily. —
“现在，芙莉特小姐，在你下楼之前，”他霸道地说道。 —

`It is a fortnight since I spoke, and this won’t do any longer. —
“我已经说了有两个星期了，再这样下去不行了。 —

You must tell me what you mean, or I shall have to leave this house. —
你必须告诉我你到底是什么意思，否则我就要离开这个家。 —

My door was ajar just now, and I saw you. For your own safety I must go. —
我的房门刚刚开着，我看见了你。基于你自身的安全，我必须离开。 —

You don’t know. Well? Is it to be yes at last?’
你不清楚。那么呢？最终是说，是吗？”

`I am only just up, Mr Clare, and it is too early to take me to task!’ she pouted. —
“克莱尔先生，我刚刚才起床，现在太早了来责备我！”她撅嘴道。 —

`You need not call me Flirt. ‘Tis cruel and untrue. Walt till by and by. —
“你没必要叫我花花公子。这是残忍和不真实的。等会再说吧。 —

Please wait till by and by! I will really think seriously about it between now and then. —
请等待那之后！我会在现在和那个时候认真考虑这件事。 —

Let me go downstairs!’
让我下楼吧！

She looked a little like what he said she was as, holding the candle sideways, she tried to smile away the seriousness of her words.
当她侧着烛光，微笑着试图淡化她话语的严肃时，她看起来有点像他所说的那样。

`Call me Angel, then, and not Mr Clare.’
“那就叫我安吉尔吧，而不是克莱尔先生。”

`Angel.’
“安吉尔。”

`Angel dearest - why not?’
“亲爱的安吉尔，为什么不呢？”

`‘Twould mean that I agree, wouldn’t it?’
“那不是意味着我同意吗？”

`It would only mean that you love me, even if you cannot marry me; —
这只会意味着你爱我，即使你不能与我结婚； —

and you were so good as to own that long ago.’
而你很早就拥有了那一点。

`Very well, then, “Angel dearest”, if I must,’ she murmured, looking at her candle, a roguish curl coming upon her mouth, notwithstanding her suspense.
“好吧，‘最亲爱的安吉尔’，如果非得这样的话，”她低声说着，看着手中的蜡烛，尽管心急如焚，嘴角却露出一丝顽皮的微笑。

Clare had resolved never to kiss her until he had obtained her promise; —
克莱尔已经决定，除非获得她的承诺，他决不会吻她； —

but somehow, as Tess stood there in her prettily tucked-up milking gown, her hair carelessly heaped upon her head till there should be leisure to arrange it when skimming and milking were done, he broke his resolve, and brought his lips to her cheek for one moment. —
但不知何故，当苔丝穿着整洁的挽起的挤奶服站在那儿时，头发随意地搭在头顶等挤奶和挤奶结束后再整理时，他打破了自己的决心，把嘴唇贴在她的脸颊上瞬间。 —

She passed downstairs very quickly, never looking back at him or saying another word. —
她迅速走下楼，从未回头看他，也没有说另一句话。 —

The other maids were already down, and the subject was not pursued. —
其他女仆已经下去，这个话题就没再继续。 —

Except Marian they all looked wistfully and suspiciously at the pair, in the sad yellow rays which the morning candles emitted in contrast with the first cold signals of the dawn without.
除了玛丽安，她们都在悲伤的黎明烛光中对着这对恋人看着，带着渴望和猜疑的眼神。

When skimming was done - which, as the milk diminished with the approach of autumn, was a lessening process day by day. —
当挤奶结束时——随着秋天的临近，牛奶日渐减少的过程。 —

Retty and the rest went out. The lovers followed them.
雷蒂和其他人出去了。情侣们跟着她们。

`Our tremulous lives are so different from theirs, are they not?’ —
“我们颤抖的生活与她们的生活有那么大的不同，不是吗？” —

he musingly observed to her, as he regarded the three figures tripping before him through the frigid pallor of opening day.
他若有所思地对她说，看着三个人轻快地走在他们前面，在黎明刚刚露出的刺骨寒光中。

`Not so very different, I think,’ she said.
“我觉得没有那么大不同，”她说。

`Why do you think that?’
“你为什么这样认为？”

`There are very few women’s lives that are not tremulous,’ Tess replied, pausing over the new word as if it impressed her. —
“我觉得几乎没有女人的生活是不颤抖的，”苔丝回答，顿了一下，仿佛新词让她印象深刻。 —

`There’s more in those three than you think.’
在那三个里面有比你想象的更多。

`What is in them?’
它们里面有什么？

Almost either of 'em,' she began,would make - perhaps would make - a properer wife than I. And perhaps they love you as well as I - almost.’
她开始说：`或许其中任何一个，都会比我更适合做妻子。也许他们和我一样爱你，几乎一样。

O, Tessy!' <span><tang1>哦，泰丝！

There were signs that it was an exquisite relief to her to hear the impatient exclamation, though she had resolved so intrepidly to let generosity make one bid against herself. —
她看到他不耐烦的呼喊，感到一种极大的解脱，虽然她已经下决心要慷慨地为自己开价。 —

That was now done, and she had not the power to attempt self-immolation a second time then. —
这件事现在已经完成，她没有力气再尝试第二次牺牲了。 —

They were joined by a milker from one of the cottages, and no more was said on that which concerned them so deeply. —
他们被一个来自农舍的挤奶工人加入，关系最深的问题就没有再谈起。 —

But Tess knew that this day would decide it.
但泰丝知道今天会决定一切。

In the afternoon several of the dairyman’s household and assistants went down to the meads as usual, a long way from the dairy, where many of the cows were milked without being driven home. —
下午，奶工和助手们像往常一样下到草地，离牧场很远，那里有很多奶牛可以不用赶回家就挤奶。 —

The supply was getting less as the animals advanced in calf, and the supernumerary milkers of the lush green season had been dismissed.
随着动物怀孕逐渐加重，奶源正在减少，多余的挤奶工人在青翠的季节已经被解雇。

The work progressed leisurely. Each pailful was poured into tall cans that stood in a large spring-waggon which had been brought upon the scene; —
工作进行得很悠闲。每桶牛奶都倒入高大的罐子里，这些罐子放在一辆大型的四轮马车上； —

and when they were milked the cows trailed away.
等挤完奶后，奶牛就被跟走了。

Dairyman Crick, who was there with the rest, his wrapper gleaming miraculously white against a leaden evening sky, suddenly looked at his heavy watch.
身穿白色外套的克里克牧场主，忽然看了看他那块沉重的手表。

Why, 'tis later than I thought,' he said.Begad! —
天哪，我以为现在还早呢，'他说。该死！ —

We shan’t be soon enough with this milk at the station, if we don’t mind. —
如果我们不小心的话，要把这些奶送到车站，我们可能来不及了。 —

There’s no time to-day to take it home and mix it with the bulk afore sending off. —
今天没有时间把它带回家，与其他的草料混合后再送走。 —

It must go to station straight from here. —
必须直接从这里送到车站。 —

Who’ll drive it across?’
谁来开车送过去？

Mr Clare volunteered to do so, though it was none of his business, asking Tess to accompany him. —
克莱尔先生自告奋勇去做，虽然这与他无关，他请泰丝陪同。 —

The evening, though sunless, had been warm and muggy for the season, and Tess had come out with her milkinghood only, naked-armed and jacketless; —
这个傍晚虽然没有太阳，但对这个季节来说，却是温暖而闷热的，泰丝只穿着挤奶罩，赤臂裸袖，没有穿夹克; —

certainly not dressed for a drive. She therefore replied by glancing over her scant habiliments; —
克莱尔轻声劝说她。她就看了一眼自己的稀少衣物; —

but Clare gently urged her. She assented by relinquishing her pall and stool to the dairyman to take home; —
但克莱尔温柔地说服她。她同意了，把挤奶用的褥单和凳子交给了挤奶工带回家; —

and mounted the spring-waggon beside Clare.
然后登上马车，坐在克莱尔旁边。