On reading over what I have written of the Stricklands, I am conscious that they must seem shadowy. —
在阅读我写的关于史特里克兰德一家的内容时，我意识到他们似乎有些虚幻。 —

I have been able to invest them with none of those characteristics which make the persons of a book exist with a real life of their own; —
我没有赋予他们那些可以使书中人物具有真实生命的特征； —

and, wondering if the fault is mine, I rack my brains to remember idiosyncrasies which might lend them vividness. —
并且，我想知道这是否是我的错，我绞尽脑汁想起可能使他们生动的特点。 —

I feel that by dwelling on some trick of speech or some queer habit I should be able to give them a significance peculiar to themselves. —
我觉得只要多说一些他们的说话习惯或者奇怪的习惯，我就可以给他们赋予独特的意义。 —

As they stand they are like the figures in an old tapestry; —
他们就像一幅古老的挂毯中的人物； —

they do not separate themselves from the background, and at a distance seem to lose their pattern, so that you have little but a pleasing piece of colour. —
他们并没有和背景之间分离，并且在远处似乎失去了图案，这样你只能看到一块愉悦的色彩。 —

My only excuse is that the impression they made on me was no other. —
我唯一的借口是，他们给我的印象也不过如此。 —

There was just that shadowiness about them which you find in people whose lives are part of the social organism, so that they exist in it and by it only. —
他们身上有一种阴影，这种阴影存在于那些生活是社会有机体一部分的人身上，所以他们只存在于其中并为之服务。 —

They are like cells in the body, essential, but, so long as they remain healthy, engulfed in the momentous whole. —
他们就像身体里的细胞，是必不可少的，但只要保持健康，就会被整体所吞噬。 —

The Stricklands were an average family in the middle class. —
Stricklands是中产阶级的一家普通家庭。 —

A pleasant, hospitable woman, with a harmless craze for the small lions of literary society; —
一个友善好客的女人，对文学圈中小有名气的人物情有独钟； —

a rather dull man, doing his duty in that state of life in which a merciful Providence had placed him; —
一个相当乏味的男人，按照仁慈的天命安排他的生活； —

two nice-looking, healthy children. Nothing could be more ordinary. —
两个看起来漂亮健康的孩子。再平凡不过了。 —

I do not know that there was anything about them to excite the attention of the curious.
我不知道他们有什么能引起好奇的地方。

When I reflect on all that happened later, I ask myself if I was thick-witted not to see that there was in Charles Strickland at least something out of the common. —
当我回忆以后发生的一切时，我想知道自己是不是太迟钝，没有看出Charles Strickland至少有点不同寻常。 —

Perhaps. I think that I have gathered in the years that intervene between then and now a fair knowledge of mankind, but even if when I first met the Stricklands I had the experience which I have now, I do not believe that I should have judged them differently. —
也许我认为，通过这几年的经历，我对人性有了相当了解，但即使在我第一次遇到Stricklands时就有了现在的经验，我也不相信我会对他们有不同的评价。 —

But because I have learnt that man is incalculable, I should not at this time of day be so surprised by the news that reached me when in the early autumn I returned to London.
但是因为我已经了解到人是不可预测的，所以当我在初秋回到伦敦后得知的消息，我不会感到太惊讶。

I had not been back twenty-four hours before I ran across Rose Waterford in Jermyn Street.
我回到伦敦还不到二十四小时就在杰米恩街碰到了Rose Waterford。

“You look very gay and sprightly, ” I said. “What’s the matter with you?”
“你看起来很开心，精神焕发，”我说。“你怎么了？”

She smiled, and her eyes shone with a malice I knew already. —
她笑了，眼睛闪烁着我已经熟悉的恶意。 —

It meant that she had heard some scandal about one of her friends, and the instinct of the literary woman was all alert.
这意味着她听说了关于她的一个朋友的丑闻，作为文学家的直觉完全警觉。

“You did meet Charles Strickland, didn’t you?”
“你见过Charles Strickland了，对吧？”

Not only her face, but her whole body, gave a sense of alacrity. I nodded. —
不仅仅是她的脸，整个身体都透露出一种轻快感。我点了点头。 —

I wondered if the poor devil had been hammered on the Stock Exchange or run over by an omnibus.
我想知道这可怜的家伙是不是在股票交易所受到了打击，还是被公共汽车撞倒了。

“Isn’t it dreadful? He’s run away from his wife. “
“太可怕了吧？他逃离了妻子。”

Miss Waterford certainly felt that she could not do her subject justice on the curb of Jermyn Street, and so, like an artist, flung the bare fact at me and declared that she knew no details. —
沃特福德小姐肯定觉得在杰门街的路边无法充分表达她的主题，所以像一位艺术家一样向我摊牌，声明自己不知道具体细节。 —

I could not do her the injustice of supposing that so trifling a circumstance would have prevented her from giving them, but she was obstinate.
我不能不负起猜想她因为如此小的细节而不愿透露细节的不义之举，但她却固执己见。

“I tell you I know nothing, ” she said, in reply to my agitated questions, and then, with an airy shrug of the shoulders: —
她在回答我的激动问题时说：“我告诉你，我什么都不知道。”然后耸耸肩，爽快地说： —

“I believe that a young person in a city tea-shop has left her situation. “
“我相信一个城市茶馆里的年轻人已经辞职了。”

She flashed a smile at me, and, protesting an engagement with her dentist, jauntily walked on. —
她冲我一笑，声称有个牙医约会，轻快地走开了。 —

I was more interested than distressed. In those days my experience of life at first hand was small, and it excited me to come upon an incident among people I knew of the same sort as I had read in books. —
我感兴趣的多过痛心。那时我对现实生活的经验很少，遇到我所知道的同类人发生事件激起了我的兴奋，正如我在书籍中读到的那般。 —

I confess that time has now accustomed me to incidents of this character among my acquaintance. —
我承认，现在时光已经使我习惯于在我的熟人圈中发生这种事件。 —

But I was a little shocked. Strickland was certainly forty, and I thought it disgusting that a man of his age should concern himself with affairs of the heart. —
但是我有点震惊。斯特里克兰显然已经四十岁，我觉得一个这个年龄的男人关心感情事实实在是令人作呕。 —

With the superciliousness of extreme youth, I put thirty-five as the utmost limit at which a man might fall in love without making a fool of himself. —
极端年轻的倨傲使我认为35岁是一个男人可以坠入爱河而不至于死心踏地的最大年龄限度。 —

And this news was slightly disconcerting to me personally, because I had written from the country to Mrs. Strickland, announcing my return, and had added that unless I heard from her to the contrary, I would come on a certain day to drink a dish of tea with her. —
对我个人来说，这则消息有点令人不安，因为我已经从乡下写信给斯特里克兰夫人，宣布我要回来了，并补充说，除非我收到她反对的消息，否则我将在某一天前来与她喝一杯茶。 —

This was the very day, and I had received no word from Mrs. Strickland. —
这正是那一天，我没有收到斯特里克兰夫人的消息。 —

Did she want to see me or did she not? It was likely enough that in the agitation of the moment my note had escaped her memory. —
她是否想见我？这很有可能在那一刻的动荡中，我的便条被她忘记了。 —

Perhaps I should be wiser not to go. On the other hand, she might wish to keep the affair quiet, and it might be highly indiscreet on my part to give any sign that this strange news had reached me. —
也许我应该更明智，不去了。另一方面，她可能希望将这件事保密，而且我透露出对这个奇怪消息有了解可能是极其不慎重的。 —

I was torn between the fear of hurting a nice woman’s feelings and the fear of being in the way. —
我在伤害一个好女人的感情和担心自己碍事之间犹豫不决。 —

I felt she must be suffering, and I did not want to see a pain which I could not help; —
我觉得她一定很痛苦，我不想看到一个我无法帮助的痛苦。 —

but in my heart was a desire, that I felt a little ashamed of, to see how she was taking it. —
但我心里有一种渴望，让我感到有点羞愧，想看看她如何应对这一切。 —

I did not know what to do.
我不知道该怎么办。

Finally it occurred to me that I would call as though nothing had happened, and send a message in by the maid asking Mrs. Strickland if it was convenient for her to see me. —
最后我想起，我会以好像什么事都没有发生打电话，让女佣送进一张留言，问斯特里克兰太太是否方便见我。 —

This would give her the opportunity to send me away. —
这会让她有机会让我离开。 —

But I was overwhelmed with embarrassment when I said to the maid the phrase I had prepared, and while I waited for the answer in a dark passage I had to call up all my strength of mind not to bolt. —
但当我对女佣说出我准备好的短语时，我被尴尬淹没，等待在黑暗走廊里回答的时候，我必须调动所有的心智力量不逃跑。 —

The maid came back. Her manner suggested to my excited fancy a complete knowledge of the domestic calamity.
女佣回来了。她的态度让我兴奋的幻想，认为她完全了解家庭灾难。

“Will you come this way, sir?” she said.
“请跟我来，先生。”她说。

I followed her into the drawing-room. The blinds were partly drawn to darken the room, and Mrs. Strickland was sitting with her back to the light. —
我跟着她走进客厅。百叶窗部分拉下，使房间变暗，斯特里克兰太太背对着光坐着。 —

Her brother-in-law, Colonel MacAndrew, stood in front of the fireplace, warming his back at an unlit fire. —
她的姐夫，麦克安德鲁上校，站在壁炉前，背对着一堆不着火的火。 —

To myself my entrance seemed excessively awkward. —
在我看来，我的进入显得非常笨拙。 —

I imagined that my arrival had taken them by surprise, and Mrs. Strickland had let me come in only because she had forgotten to put me off. —
我想象自己的到来让他们感到意外，斯特里克兰太太只是因为忘记把我打发走才让我进来的。 —

I fancied that the Colonel resented the interruption.
我幻想上校对这个打扰感到不满。

“I wasn’t quite sure if you expected me, ” I said, trying to seem unconcerned.
“我不太确定你是否在等我，”我试图显得无所谓。

“Of course I did. Anne will bring the tea in a minute. “
“当然啦。安妮马上就会送茶来。”

Even in the darkened room, I could not help seeing that Mrs. Strickland’s face was all swollen with tears. —
即使在昏暗的房间里，我还是忍不住看到斯特里克兰夫人的脸肿得满是泪痕。 —

Her skin, never very good, was earthy.
她本来皮肤就不太好，现在更是黯淡无光。

“You remember my brother-in-law, don’t you? You met at dinner, just before the holidays. “
“你还记得我的姐夫，对吧？你们在假期前的晚宴上见过面。”

We shook hands. I felt so shy that I could think of nothing to say, but Mrs. Strickland came to my rescue. —
我们握手了。我感到非常害羞，一句话也说不出来，但斯特里克兰夫人救了我一把。 —

She asked me what I had been doing with myself during the summer, and with this help I managed to make some conversation till tea was brought in. —
她问我在夏天都在干些什么，借此我设法和她聊了一会，直到茶上来了。 —

The Colonel asked for a whisky-and-soda.
上校要了威士忌苏打。

“You’d better have one too, Amy, ” he said.
“艾米，你也来一杯吧，”他说。

“No; I prefer tea. “
“不，我喜欢喝茶。”

This was the first suggestion that anything untoward had happened. —
这是第一个暗示有什么不寻常的事发生了。 —

I took no notice, and did my best to engage Mrs. Strickland in talk. —
我没有理会，尽力让斯特里克兰夫人参与谈话。 —

The Colonel, still standing in front of the fireplace, uttered no word. —
上校依然站在壁炉前，一言不发。 —

I wondered how soon I could decently take my leave, and I asked myself why on earth Mrs. Strickland had allowed me to come. —
我想知道我什么时候才能礼貌地告辞，同时我想知道为什么斯特里克兰夫人让我来。 —

There were no flowers, and various knick-knacks, put away during the summer, had not been replaced; —
这里没有鲜花，各种小玩意在夏天被收起来后就没有重新放回去。 —

there was something cheerless and stiff about the room which had always seemed so friendly; —
房间里的气氛变得令人沮丧而呆板，这个曾经友好的地方; —

it gave you an odd feeling, as though someone were lying dead on the other side of the wall. I finished tea.
让你感到一种奇怪的感觉，好像隔壁墙的另一边有人躺着死了。我喝完了茶。

“Will you have a cigarette?” asked Mrs. Strickland.
“你要抽根香烟吗？”史特里克兰太太问道。

She looked about for the box, but it was not to be seen.
她四处找着香烟盒，但却没有找到。

“I’m afraid there are none. “
“恐怕没有了。”

Suddenly she burst into tears, and hurried from the room.
她突然哭了起来，匆匆离开了房间。

I was startled. I suppose now that the lack of cigarettes, brought as a rule by her husband, forced him back upon her recollection, and the new feeling that the small comforts she was used to were missing gave her a sudden pang. —
我被吓了一跳。我现在想，烟抽光了，通常由她丈夫带来的，强迫她回忆起他，以及缺少习惯上的小享受给她带来突如其来的痛苦。 —

She realised that the old life was gone and done with. —
她意识到旧生活已一去不复返。 —

It was impossible to keep up our social pretences any longer.
再也无法维持我们的社交伪装。

“I dare say you’d like me to go, ” I said to the Colonel, getting up.
“我想你可能想让我离开，”我对上校说着站起来。

“I suppose you’ve heard that blackguard has deserted her, ” he cried explosively.
“我想你已经听说那个无赖抛弃了她，”他愤怒地喊道。

I hesitated.
我迟疑了一下。

“You know how people gossip, ” I answered. “I was vaguely told that something was wrong. “
“你知道人们爱说闲话，”我回答道。”我模模糊糊地听说出了些问题。”

“He’s bolted. He’s gone off to Paris with a woman. He’s left Amy without a penny. “
“他溜走了。他和一个女人一起跑到巴黎去了。他把艾米丢下一无所有。”

“I’m awfully sorry, ” I said, not knowing what else to say.
“真为此感到难过，”我说，不知道还能说些什么。

The Colonel gulped down his whisky. He was a tall, lean man of fifty, with a drooping moustache and grey hair. —
上校痛快地喝下威士忌。他是一个身材高大、瘦削的五十岁男人，留着拱形的胡子，头发已经变成了灰色。 —

He had pale blue eyes and a weak mouth. I remembered from my previous meeting with him that he had a foolish face, and was proud of the fact that for the ten years before he left the army he had played polo three days a week.
他有一双淡蓝色的眼睛和一个软弱的嘴巴。我还记得上次见到他时，觉得他长了一张傻样子的脸，并且他骄傲地说他在离开军队前的十年中每周打马球三天。

“I don’t suppose Mrs. Strickland wants to be bothered with me just now, ” I said. —
“我想斯特里克兰太太现在可能不想和我打交道，”我说道。 —

“Will you tell her how sorry I am? If there’s anything I can do. —
“请转告她我非常抱歉。如果有什么我能帮忙的，请告诉我。 —

I shall be delighted to do it. “
我会很高兴帮忙的。”

He took no notice of me.
他完全没理会我。

“I don’t know what’s to become of her. And then there are the children. —
“我不知道她以后会怎么办。还有孩子们。” —

Are they going to live on air? Seventeen years. “
他们靠空气生活吗？十七年。

“What about seventeen years?”
“十七年呢？”

“They’ve been married, ” he snapped. “I never liked him. —
“他们结婚了，”他咬牙切齿地说。“我从来不喜欢他。 —

Of course he was my brother-in-law, and I made the best of it. —
当然他是我的姐夫，我尽量跟他处好关系。 —

Did you think him a gentleman? She ought never to have married him. “
你觉得他是绅士吗？她永远不该嫁给他。

“Is it absolutely final?”
“这是最终决定吗？”

“There’s only one thing for her to do, and that’s to divorce him. —
“她唯一该做的就是离婚。 —

That’s what I was telling her when you came in. ‘Fire in with your petition, my dear Amy, ’ I said. —
这就是我在你进来之前告诉她的。‘用请愿书对付他，亲爱的艾米，’我说。 —

`You owe it to yourself and you owe it to the children. —
‘你应该为了自己，也为了孩子。 —

’ He’d better not let me catch sight of him. —
‘他最好不要让我看到他。 —

I’d thrash him within an inch of his life. “
我会把他打得生不如死。”

I could not help thinking that Colonel MacAndrew might have some difficulty in doing this, since Strickland had struck me as a hefty fellow, but I did not say anything. —
我不禁想到麦克安德鲁上校可能会在这件事上遇到一些困难，因为我觉得斯特里克兰德是个魁梧的家伙，但我没有说什么。 —

It is always distressing when outraged morality does not possess the strength of arm to administer direct chastisement on the sinner. —
当道德受到冒犯却没有力量直接惩罚罪人时，总是让人痛苦的。 —

I was making up my mind to another attempt at going when Mrs. Strickland came back. —
当我正打算再次尝试离开时，斯特里克兰德夫人回来了。 —

She had dried her eyes and powdered her nose.
她已经擦干眼泪，抹了粉底。

“I’m sorry I broke down, ” she said. “I’m glad you didn’t go away. “
“对不起我崩溃了，”她说。“我很高兴你没有离开。”

She sat down. I did not at all know what to say. —
她坐了下来。我完全不知道该说什么。 —

I felt a certain shyness at referring to matters which were no concern of mine. —
我感到某种羞怯，提及那些与我无关的事情。 —

I did not then know the besetting sin of woman, the passion to discuss her private affairs with anyone who is willing to listen. —
那时我并不知道女人的常见罪过，即对她的私事与任何愿意听的人讨论的激情。 —

Mrs. Strickland seemed to make an effort over herself.
斯特里克兰夫人似乎对自己做出了努力。

“Are people talking about it?” she asked.
“人们在谈论吗？” 她问。

I was taken aback by her assumption that I knew all about her domestic misfortune.
她假定我知道她家庭不幸的情况，让我感到措手不及。

“I’ve only just come back. The only person I’ve seen is Rose Waterford. “
“我刚回来。我见到的唯一一个人是罗斯·沃特福德。”

Mrs. Strickland clasped her hands.
斯特里克兰夫人紧握双手。

“Tell me exactly what she said. ” And when I hesitated, she insisted. —
“告诉我她具体说了什么。” 当我犹豫时，她坚持要求。 —

“I particularly want to know. “
“我特别想知道。”

“You know the way people talk. She’s not very reliable, is she? She said your husband had left you. “
“你知道人们说话的方式。她不太可靠，对吧？她说你丈夫离开了你。”

“Is that all?”
“就这些？”

I did not choose to repeat Rose Waterford’s parting reference to a girl from a tea-shop. I lied.
我选择没有重复罗斯·沃特福德关于一个从茶店来的女孩的走后话。我撒谎了。

“She didn’t say anything about his going with anyone?”
“她没有提到他和别人一起走吗？”

“No. “
“不。”

“That’s all I wanted to know. “
“这就是我想知道的。”

I was a little puzzled, but at all events I understood that I might now take my leave. —
我有点困惑，但不管怎样，我明白现在可以告辞了。 —

When I shook hands with Mrs. Strickland I told her that if I could be of any use to her I should be very glad. She smiled wanly.
当我与斯特里克兰太太握手告别时，我告诉她如果我可以帮上忙，我会很乐意。她苍白地微笑着。

“Thank you so much. I don’t know that anybody can do anything for me. “
“非常感谢。我不知道有谁能帮到我。”

Too shy to express my sympathy, I turned to say good-bye to the Colonel. He did not take my hand.
由于太害羞以表达我的同情，我转身告别大校。他没有握住我的手。

“I’m just coming. If you’re walking up Victoria Street, I’ll come along with you. “
“我就要走了。如果你走维多利亚街，我就跟着你。”

“All right, ” I said. “Come on. “
“好的，” 我说。”走吧。”