MY duties in the workshop were not complicated. —
我在车间的职责并不复杂。 —

In the morning when theywere all asleep, I had to prepare the samovar for the men, and while theydrank tea in the kitchen, Pavl and I swept and dusted the workshop, set outred, yellow, or white paints, and then I went to the shop. —
早晨他们都还在睡觉时，我要给男人们准备热水瓶，当他们在厨房喝茶时，Pavl和我扫地、拂尘车间，准备红色、黄色或白色颜料，之后我就去了店里。 —

In the evening I hadto grind up colors and “watch” the work. —
晚上我要磨碎颜料并“看守”工作。 —

At first I watched with greatinterest, but I soon realized that all the men who were engaged on thishandicraft which was divided up into so many processes, disliked it, andsuffered from a torturing boredom.
起初我很感兴趣地观察，但很快我就意识到，所有从事这种被细分为多个过程的手工艺的人都不喜欢它，并且遭受着折磨般的无聊。

　　The evenings were free. I used to tell them stories about life on thesteamer and different stories out of books, and without noticing how it cameabout, I soon held a peculiar position in the workshop as story-teller andreader.
晚上是空闲的时光。我常给他们讲述在轮船上的生活以及不同的书中故事，而且不知不觉地，我很快在车间里担任了一个特殊的角色，讲故事者和朗读者。

I soon found out that all these people knew less than I did; —
我很快发现，所有这些人都比我知识面更狭窄； —

almost all ofthem had been stuck in the narrow cage of workshop life since theirchildhood, and were still in it. —
几乎所有人从小时候起就被困在工作车间这个狭窄的笼子里，到现在仍然如此。 —

Of all the occupants of the workshop, onlyJikharev had been in Moscow, of which he spoke suggestively andfrowningly:
车间里的所有人中，只有基哈列夫曾去过莫斯科，他说起时眉头紧锁着，含蓄地表示：

　　“Moscow does not believe in tears; there they know which side theirbread is buttered.”
“莫斯科不相信眼泪；在那里，他们知道自己在哪一边有利可图。”

None of the rest had been farther than Shuya, or Vladimir. —
其他人都没有走得比舒亚或弗拉基米尔更远的地方。 —

Whenmention was made of Kazan, they asked me :
当提到喀山时，他们问我：

　　“Are there many Russians there? Are there any churches?”
“那里有很多俄罗斯人吗？有教堂吗？”

　　For them, Perm was in Siberia, and they would not believe that Siberiawas beyond the Urals.
对他们来说，彼尔姆是西伯利亚，他们不相信西伯利亚在乌拉尔山脉以东。

　　“Sandres come from the Urals; and sturgeon — where are they found?
“三文鱼来自乌拉尔；鲟鱼——它们是在哪里发现的？他们是从哪里得来的？来自里海吗？那么乌拉尔就靠海了！”

　　Where do they get them? From the Caspian Sea? That means that the Uralsare on the sea!”
有时我觉得他们在取笑我，他们说英国在大西洋的另一边，拿破仑出生在卡隆加的贵族家庭。

Sometimes I thought that they were laughing at me when they declaredthat England was on the other side of the Atlantic, and that Bonapartebelonged by birth to a noble family of Kalonga. —
当我告诉他们我见过的事情时，他们几乎不相信我，但他们都喜欢充满历史的可怕故事。 —

When I told them stories ofwhat I had seen, they hardly believed me, but they all loved terrible talesintermixed with history. —
甚至那些年龄稍大的人显然更喜欢想象力胜过真相。 —

Even the men of mature years evidently preferredimagination to the truth. —
我清楚地看到，事件越不可信，故事越是奇幻，他们就越专心地倾听我。 —

I could see very well that the more improbable theevents, the more fantastic the story, the more attentively they listened to me.
总的来说，现实并不引起他们的兴趣，他们都梦幻地凝视着未来，不愿看到现实的贫穷和丑陋。

　　On the whole, reality did not interest them, and they all gazed dreamily intothe future, not wishing to see the poverty and hideousness of the present.
这让我更加惊讶，因为我切身感受到生活与书本之间存在的矛盾。

This astonished me so much the more, inasmuch as I had felt keenlyenough the contradiction existing between life and books. —
眼前的是活生生的人，而书本中却找不到类似他们的人——没有司摩里，装煤工亚科夫，逃亡者亚历山大·瓦西里耶夫，基哈列夫。 —

Here before mewere living people, and in books there were none like them — no Smouri,stoker Yaakov, fugitive Aleksander Vassiliev, Jikharev. —
他们都狂热地追求想象，迷恋虚构故事，对于现实仿佛漠不关心。 —

or washerwomanNatalia.
或者洗衣女纳塔利娅。

In Davidov’s trunk a torn copy of Golitzinski’s stories was found — “IvanVuijigin,” “The Bulgar,” “A Volume of Baron Brambeuss. —
在达维多夫的大衣箱里找到了一本破旧的戈里金斯基的故事书——《伊万维吉金》、《布尔加尔人》、《布兰布斯男爵的卷册》。 —

” I read all thesealoud to them, and they were delighted. Larionovich said:
我把这些全部读给他们听，他们欢喜不已。拉里昂诺维奇说：

　　“Reading prevents quarrels and noise; it is a good thing!”
“阅读可以防止争吵和喧闹；这是一件好事！”

I began to look about diligently for books, found them, and read almostevery evening. —
我开始勤奋地四处寻找书籍，找到了，几乎每个晚上都会读。 —

Those were pleasant evenings. It was as quiet as night in theworkshop; —
那些晚上很愉快。车间里像夜晚一样安静； —

the glass balls hung over the tables like white cold stars, their rayslighting up shaggy and bald heads. —
玻璃球挂在桌子上，像白色的寒星，在他们的光线下照亮着浓密和秃头。 —

I saw round me at the table, calm,thoughtful faces; —
我看到周围的人在桌子旁，面容沉静、深思； —

now and again an exclamation of praise of the author, orhero was heard. —
时不时会传来对作者或英雄的赞美声。 —

They were attentive and benign, quite unlike themselves. —
他们专心而仁慈，与平时完全不同。 —

Iliked them very much at those times, and they also behaved well to me. —
我在那些时刻很喜欢他们，他们也对我很好。 —

I feltthat I was in my right place.
我感到自己在正确的地方。

“When we have books it is like spring with us; —
“当我们有书籍时，就像春天来临一样； —

when the winter framesare taken out and for the first time we can open the windows as we like,” saidSitanov one day.
当冬季的框架被拿开，我们第一次可以随心所欲地打开窗户时，”有一天西塔诺夫说。

It was hard to find books. We could not afford to subscribe to a library,but I managed to get them somehow, asking for them wherever I went, as acharity. —
找书很费事。我们支付不起加入图书馆，但我设法想办法，无论去哪里都会请求书籍，作为一种慈善。 —

One day the second officer of the fire brigade gave me the firstvolume of “Lermontov,” and it was from this that I felt the power of poety,and its mighty influence over people. —
有一天，消防队的副官给我送来了《莱蒙托夫》的第一卷，从那时起，我感受到了诗歌的力量，以及其对人们的巨大影响。 —

I remember even now how, at the firstlines of “The Demon,” Sitanov looked first at the book and then at my face,laid down his brush on the table, and, embracing his knee with his longarms, rocked to and fro, smiling.
我记得清楚，当“恶魔”这首诗的开头时，斯坦诺夫先看了书，然后看了看我的脸，把刷子放在桌上，用长臂抱住自己的膝盖，摇摆着笑了起来。

“Not so much noise, brothers,” said Larionovich, and also laying asidehis work, he went to Sitanov’s table where I was reading. —
“别这么吵，兄弟们”，拉里奥诺维奇也放下手中的工具，走到斯坦诺夫的桌子旁，我的那张桌子。 —

The poem stirredme painfully and sweetly; —
这首诗让我痛苦而甜蜜地震动着； —

my voice was broken; I could hardly read the lines.
我的声音颤抖着；我几乎无法读下去了。

Tears poured from my eyes. But what moved me still more was the dull,cautious movement of the workmen. —
泪水从我的眼睛中流淌出来。但更让我感动的是几名工人单调而小心翼翼的动作。 —

In the workshop everything seemed tobe diverted from its usual course — drawn to me as if I had been a magnet.
在车间里，一切似乎都偏离了正常的轨道 —— 像铁磁般被吸引着向我靠拢。

　　When I had finished the first part, almost all of them were standing roundthe table, closely pressing against one an — other, embracing one another,frowning and laugh — ing.
当我完成第一部分时，几乎所有人都站在桌子周围，紧紧地挨着对方，拥抱着彼此，皱着眉头或者笑了起来。

　　“Go on reading,” said Jikharev, bending my head over the book.
“继续读”，基哈列夫弯下我的头看着书说。

　　When I had finished reading, he took the book, looked at the title, put itunder his arm, and said :
当我读完后，他拿起书，看了看标题，放在臂下，说：

　　“We must read this again! We will read it tomorrow! I will hide the bookaway.”
“我们必须再读一遍！明天我们会读！我会把书藏起来。”

He went away, locked “Lermontov” in his drawer, and returned to hiswork. —
他走了，把“莱蒙托夫”锁在抽屉里，然后回到工作中。 —

It was quiet in the workshop; the men stole back to their tables.
车间里安静了下来，工人们悄悄回到自己的工位上。

Sitanov went to the window, pressed his forehead against the glass, andstood there as if frozen. —
斯坦诺夫走到窗前，把额头贴在玻璃上，站在那里如同冻结了一般。 —

Jikharev, again laying down his brush, said in a sternvoice:
基哈列夫再次放下刷子，用严厉的声音说道：

　　“Well, such is life; slaves of God — yes — ah!”
“嗯，生活就是这样；上帝的奴仆——是的——啊！”

　　He shrugged his shoulders, hid his face, and went on :
他耸了耸肩，掩面而去：

　　“I can draw the devil himself; black and rough, with wings of red flame,with red lead, but the face, hands, and feet — these should be bluish-white,like snow on a moonlight night.”
“我能够画出魔鬼本身；黑色而粗糙，翅膀是红色的火焰，用红铅，但是脸、手和脚——这些应该是苍白略带蓝色，就像月光下的雪一样。”

　　Until close upon suppertime he revolved about on his stool, restless andunlike himself, drumming with his fingers and talking unintelligibly of thedevil, of women and Eve, of paradise, and of the sins of holy men.
直到接近晚饭时间，他在凳子上不停地转动，不安地像是变了个人，用手指敲打着，说着让人费解的话，关于魔鬼，妇女和夏娃，关于天堂，关于圣人的罪过。

“That is all true!” he declared. —
“那全都是真的！”他宣布道。 —

“If the saints sinned with sinful women,then of course the devil may sin with a pure soul.”
“如果圣人们和有罪的女人犯罪，那么魔鬼当然也可以和一个纯洁的灵魂犯罪。”

They listened to him in silence; probably, like me, they had no desire tospeak. —
他们默默地听着他说话；可能，像我一样，他们也不想开口说话。 —

They worked unwillingly, looking all the time at their watches, and assoon as it struck ten, they put away their work altogether.
他们不情愿地工作着，一直盯着手表，当十点敲响的时候，他们就把工作收拾好了。

Sitanov and Jikharev went out to the yard, and I went with them. —
斯坦诺夫和吉哈廖夫走出去到院子里，我跟着他们。 —

There,gazing at the stars, Sitanov said :
在那里，凝视着星星，斯坦诺夫说道：

　　“Like a wandering caravan Thrown into space, it shone.”
“像是一个漂泊的商队被抛入太空，它闪耀着。”

“You did not make that up yourself! —
“你可不是自己编的这话！” —

” “I can never remember words,” saidJikharev, shivering in the bitter cold. —
“我永远记不住词句，”吉哈廖夫在刺骨的寒冷中颤抖着说。 —

“I can’t remember anything; but he, Isee — It is an amazing thing — a man who actually pities the devil! —
“我什么都记不住；但是，我看了——是一个惊人的事——一个真正可怜魔鬼的人！ —

He hasmade you sorry for him, hasn’t he?”
他让你为他感到遗憾，不是吗？”

　　“He has,” agreed Sitanov.
西塔诺夫同意：“他有。”

“There, that is a real man!” exclaimed Jikharev reminiscently. —
吉赫拉涅夫充满回忆地说：“看，那才是个真正的男人！” —

In thevestibule he warned me: “You, Maxim, don’t speak to any one in the shopabout that book, for of course it is a forbidden one.”
在门厅里，他警告我说：“马克西姆，不要和商店里的任何人谈论那本书，因为那是一本禁书。”

　　I rejoiced; this must be one of the books of which the priest had spokento me in the confessional.
我感到高兴；这一定是那个神父在忏悔时和我提到过的书之一。

　　We supped languidly, without the usual noise and talk, as if somethingimportant had occurred and we could not keep from thinking about it, andafter supper, when we were going to bed, Jikharev said to me, as he drewforth the book:
我们无精打采地吃过晚饭，没有平时的嘈杂声和谈话，仿佛发生了重要的事情，我们不禁陷入沉思。晚饭后，当我们准备上床睡觉时，吉赫拉涅夫拿出那本书，对我说：

　　“Come, read it once more!”
“来，再读一遍！”

　　Several men rose from their beds, came to the table, and sat themselvesround it, undressed as they were, with their legs crossed.
几个人从床上起来，走到桌子旁，跷着腿坐下，穿着睡衣。

　　And again when I had finished reading, Jikharev said, strumming hisfingers on the table :
当我读完后，吉赫拉涅夫在桌子上弹奏着手指说：

　　“That is a living picture of him! Ach, devil, devil — that’s how he is,brothers, eh?”
“那就是他的生动画像！啊，魔鬼，魔鬼——兄弟们，对吧？”

　　Sitanov leaned over my shoulder, read something, and laughed, as hesaid:
西塔诺夫俯身看了看我的肩膀，读了一些，笑着说：

　　“I shall copy that into my own note-book.”
“我要把这个抄到我的笔记本里。”

　　Jikharev stood up and carried the book to his own table, but he turnedback and said in an offended, shaky voice:
吉赫拉涅夫站起来，把书拿到自己的桌子上，但他转身说出一种受伤和颤抖的声音：

“We live like blind puppies — to what end we do not know. —
“我们过着像瞎小狗一样的生活——我们不知道我们存在的目的。 —

We are notnecessary either to God or the devil! How are we slaves of the Lord? —
我们对上帝或魔鬼都不是必要的！我们怎么成了主的奴隶？ —

TheJehovah of slaves and the Lord Himself speaks with them! —
奴隶的耶和华和主亲自与他们交谈！” —

With Moses, toolHe even gave Moses a name; —
随着梅西，工具他甚至给了摩西一个名字； —

it means This is mine’ — a man of God. And we— what are we?”
它的意思是‘这是我的’ — 一个神的人。而我们呢？

　　He shut up the book and began to dress himself, asking Sitanov :
他合上书，开始穿衣服，问着希塔诺夫：

　　“Are you coming to the tavern?”
“你去酒馆吗？”

　　“I shall go to my own tavern,” answered Sitanov softly.
“我会去我自己的酒馆，”希塔诺夫轻声回答。

When they had gone out, I lay down on the floor by the door, beside PavlOdintzov. —
当他们出去后，我躺在门边的地板上，靠近帕夫尔·奥丁佐夫。 —

He tossed about for a long time, snored, and suddenly began toweep quietly.
他辗转反侧很长时间，打鼾，突然开始悄悄地哭泣。

　　“What is the matter with you?”
“你怎么了？”

“I am sick with pity for all of them,” he said. —
“我为他们都感到难过，”他说。 —

“This is the fourth year ofmy life with them, and I know all about them.”
“这是我与他们在一起的第四年，我对他们的一切了如指掌。”

　　I also was sorry for these people. We did not go to sleep for a long time,but talked about them in whispers, finding goodness, good traits in each oneof them, and also something which increased our childish pity.
我们没能很快入睡，但小声谈论着他们，发现每个人身上的善良和好品质，还有一些使我们童稚的怜悯增加的东西。

I was very friendly with Pavl Odintzov. —
我和帕夫尔·奥丁佐夫非常友好。 —

They made a good workman ofhim in the end, but it did not last long; —
最后他们把他培养成一个好工人，但这种状态没持续多久; —

before the end of three years he hadbegun to drink wildly, later on I met him in rags on the Khitrov market-placein Moscow, and not long ago I heard that he had died of typhoid. —
三年后他开始疯狂地饮酒，后来我在莫斯科的希特洛夫市场上看到他穿着破烂，不久前我听说他死于伤寒。 —

It is painfulto remember how many good people in my life I have seen senselesslyruined. —
回忆起我一生中有多少善良的人被毫无意义地毁灭是痛苦的。 —

People of all nations wear themselves out, and to ruin themselvescomes natural, but nowhere do they wear themselves out so terribly quickly,so senselessly, as in our own Russia.
世界各国的人们都疲惫不堪，自毁也是顺理成章的，但没有任何地方能像在我们的俄罗斯这样，他们如此迅速、如此无谓地消耗自己。

Then he was a round-headed boy two years older than myself; —
那时他是一个比我大两岁的圆脸男孩； —

he waslively, intelligent, and upright; he was talented, for he could draw birds, cats,and dogs excellently, and was amazingly clever in his caricatures of theworkmen, always depicting them as feathered. —
他活泼、聪明、正直；他有天赋，因为他能出色地画鸟、猫和狗，而且在讽刺工人方面非常聪明，总是把他们描绘得像羽毛一样。 —

Sitanov was shown as a sad-looking wood-cock standing on one leg, Jikharev as a cock with a torn comband no feathers on his head ; —
Sitanov被画成一个悲伤的啄木鸟，站在一只腿上，Jikharev被描绘成一个缺少鸡冠和光秃秃的鸡； —

sickly Davidov was an injured lapwing. But bestof all was his drawing of the old chaser, Golovev, representing him as a batwith large whiskers, ironical nose, and four feet with six nails on each. —
病弱的Davidov被画成一只受伤的麦鸻。但最厉害的是他画的老追求者，Golovev，将他描绘成一只长着大胡须、讽刺性的鼻子，四只有着每只六根指甲的蝙蝠。 —

Fromthe round, dark face, white, round eyes gazed forth, the pupils of whichlooked like the grain of a lentil. —
从那张圆圆的黑脸上，一双白色的圆眼睛凝视着外面，瞳孔看起来像小扁豆一样。 —

They were placed crossways, thus giving tothe face a lifelike and hideous expression.
它们是交叉排列的，从而给脸孔赋予了栩栩如生且可怕的表情。

　　The workmen were not offended when Pavl showed them thecaricatures, but the one of Golovev made an unpleasant impression on themall, and the artist was sternly advised :
工人们看到那些讽刺画并不生气，但Golovev的那幅给他们都留下了不好的印象，艺术家严肃地建议：

　　“You had better tear it up, for if the old man sees it, he will half kill you!”
“最好把它撕掉，因为如果老人看到了，他会拿你没办法的！”

The dirty, putrid, everlastingly drunk old man was tiresomely pious, andinextinguishably malicious. —
这位肮脏、腐烂、总是喝醉的老人无所不在地虔诚，且心机深沉。 —

He vilified the whole workshop to the shopmanwhom the mistress was about to marry to her niece, and who for that reasonfelt himself to be master of the whole house and the workpeople. —
他对整个车间进行诽谤，说给女主人打算嫁给她侄女的店员听，正是因为这个原因，他觉得自己是全店的主人和工人们。 —

Theworkmen hated him. but thcj were afraid of him, and for th€ —
工人们讨厌他，但他们害怕他，也因为同样的原因害怕Golovev。 —

same reasonwere afraid of Golovev, too.
Pavl疯狂地、以各种方式烦扰这个追求者，仿佛他自己立下目标永远不让Golovev安宁。

Pavl worried the chaser furiously and in all manner of ways, just as if hehad set before himself the aim of never allowing Golovev to have a moment’speace. —
我满怀热情地帮助他，工作间通过我们几乎非常无情地恶作剧来娱乐自己。但我们被警告： —

I helped him in this with enthusiasm, and the workshop amused itselfwith our pranks, which were al — most always pitilessly coarse. But we werewarned:
不要太过分。

　　“You will get into trouble, children! Kouzka-Juchek will half kill you!”
“孩子们，你们会惹上麻烦的！Kouzka-Juchek会把你们半打死的！”

　　Kouzka-Juchek was the nickname of the shopman, which was given tohim on the quiet by the workshop.
Kouzka-Juchek是店员的绰号，车间里给他取的。

The warning did not alarm us. We painted the face of the chaser when hewas asleep. —
警告并没有吓到我们。我们在追赶者睡着时给他画脸。 —

One day when he was in a drunken slumber we gilded his nose,and it was three days before he was able to get the gold out of the holes in hisspongy nose. —
有一天，他醉醺醺地睡着了，我们给他的鼻子镀金，直到三天后他才能把金子从他松软的鼻子孔里拿出来。 —

But every time that we succeeded in infuriating the old man, Iremembered the steamboat, and the little Viatski soldier, and I wasconscious of a disturbance in my soul. —
但每次我们成功激怒那位老人，我就想起了那艘汽船，那位小维亚茨基士兵，我感到内心不安。 —

In spite of his age, Golovev was sostrong that he often beat us, falling upon us unexpectedly; —
虽然戈洛夫年纪大了，但他很强壮，经常突然袭击我们，揍我们，然后向女主人抱怨。 —

he would beat usand then complain of us to the mistress.
他会打我们，然后向女主人抱怨我们。

　　She, who was also drunk every day, and for that reason always kind andcheerful, tried to frighten us, striking her swollen hands on the table, andcrying:
“她每天也喝醉酒，所以总是和善快乐，试图吓唬我们，把肿胀的手拍在桌子上，喊道：

“So you have been saucy again, you wild beast? —
“你们又调皮了，你们这些野兽？ —

He is an old man, andyou ought to respect him! —
他是个老人，你们应该尊重他！” —

Who was it that put photographic solution in hisglass, instead of wine?”
“是谁把显影液放进他的酒杯里，而不是酒？”

　　“We did.”
“是我们。”

　　The mistress was amazed.
女主人很惊讶。

　　“Good Lord, they actually admit it! Ah, accursed ones, you ought torespect old men!”
“天啊，他们居然承认了！啊，可恨的家伙，你们应该尊重老人！”

　　She drove us away, and in the evening she complained to the shopman,who spoke to me angrily:
她把我们赶走，晚上向店员抱怨，店员生气地对我说：

“How can you read books, even the Holy Scriptures, and still be so saucy,eh? —
“你怎么能读书，甚至读经书，还这么嚣张呢，嗯？” —

Take care, my brother!”
“小心，我的兄弟！”

The misjtress was solitary and touchingly sad. —
这位女主人是孤独而令人触动的悲伤。 —

Sometimes when she hadbeen drinking sweet liqueurs, she would sit at the window and sing:
有时候她喝了甜酒后，会坐在窗边唱道：

“No one is sorry for me,And pity have I from none ; —
“没有人为我难过，也没有人怜悯我； —

What my grief is no one knows ;To whom shall I tell my sorrow.”
我的悲伤无人知晓，我该向谁诉说我的悲伤。”

　　And sobbingly she drawled in the quavering voice of age:
她带着衰老的哽咽声泣不成声：

　　“U— oo — oc.”
“嗯——呜——哦。”

One day I saw her going down the stairs with a jug of warm milk in herhands, but suddenly her legs gave way under her. —
有一天，我看到她手里拿着一罐温暖的牛奶下楼，但突然她的腿脚软了下来。 —

She sat down, anddescended the stairs, sadly bumping from step to step, and never letting thejug out of her hand. —
她坐下来，沿着楼梯慢慢下去，悲伤地从台阶撞到台阶，从未松开手中的牛奶罐。 —

The milk splashed over her dress, and she, with herhands outstretched, cried angrily to the jug:
牛奶溅洒在她的裙子上，她双手伸出，愤怒地对着牛奶罐喊道：

　　“What is the matter with you, satyr? Where are you going ?”
“你怎么了，色狼？你要去哪？”

　　Not stout, but soft to flabbiness, she looked like an old cat which hadgrown beyond catching mice, and, languid from overfeeding, could do nomore than purr, dwelling sweetly on the memories of past triumphs andpleasures.
她虽然不胖，但软绵绵的，看起来像一只老猫，已经长大到无法捉到老鼠，饱食后懒洋洋的，只会呼噜，甜蜜地依恋过去的胜利和快乐回忆。

“Here,” said Sitanov, frowning thoughtfully, “was a large — business, afine workshop, and clever men labored at this trade; —
“看，”斯坦诺夫皱着眉头想了一会儿，“这曾经是一家大生意，一个漂亮的车间，聪明的人们在这个行业努力工作； —

but now that is all donewith, all gone to ruin, all directed by the paws of Kuzikin I . —
但现在一切都结束了，都毁了，一切都被库兹金的鬼饿搞砸了！” —

It is a case ofworking and working, and all for strangers! —
这简直是为了陌生人而工作，一味地工作！ —

When one thinks of this, a sort ofspring seems to break in one’s head. —
当一个人想到这个时，头脑中似乎有一种弹簧松动的感觉。 —

One wants to do nothing, — a fig for anykind of work I— just to lie on the roof, lie there for the whole summer andlook up into the sky.”
人想什么事也不想做，对于任何工作都无所谓，只是想躺在屋顶上，整个夏天都躺在那里，仰望着天空。

Pavl Odintzov also appropriated these thoughts of Sitanov, and smokinga cigarette which had been given him by his elders, philosophized about God,drunkenness, and women. —
巴尔夫·奥金佐夫也用思特诺夫的这些想法，点着一支被他的前辈们给的香烟，思考着上帝、酗酒和女人。 —

He enlarged on the fact that all work disappears; —
他谈论着所有的工作都会消失； —

certain people do it and others destroy it, neither valuing it norunderstanding it.
有些人做，有些人毁，都不重视也不理解。

At such times his sharp, pleasant face frowned, aged. —
在这种时候，他那张尖锐而愉悦的脸会皱起，显得苍老。 —

He would sit on hisbed on the floor, embracing his knees, and look long at the blue square of thewindow, at the roof of the shed which lay under a fall of snow, and at thestars in the winter sky.
他坐在床上，拥抱着膝盖，长时间地注视着窗子上的蓝色方块，铺满雪的棚屋顶和冬季天空中的星星。

The workmen snored, or talked in their sleep; one of them raved,choking with words ; —
工人们打鼾，或者说着梦话；其中一人胡言乱语，几乎窒息； —

in the loft, Davidov coughed away what was left of hislife. —
在阁楼上，达维多夫咳嗽着渐渐消逝的生命。 —

In the corner, body to body, wrapped in an iron-bound sleep ofintoxication, lay those “slaves of God” — Kapendiukhin, Sorokhin, Pcrshin; —
在角落里，身体紧贴在一起，醉酒的铁链睡眠中躺着那些“上帝的奴隶” — 卡彭迪金，索罗金，珀尔舍茨； —

from the walls icons with — out faces, hands, or feet looked forth. —
墙上的圣像没有脸、没有手，也没有脚。在看着。 —

There wasa close smell of bad eggs, and dirt, which had turned sour in the crevices ofthe floor.
地板的缝隙里呈酸味的蛋和污垢散发着刺鼻的气味。

　　“How I pity them all!” whispered Pavl. “Lord!”
“我多么怜悯他们啊！”巴尔夫低声说，“主啊！”

This pity for myself and others disturbed me more and more. —
这对自己和他人的怜悯越来越令我烦恼。 —

To us both,as I have said before, all the workmen seemed to be good people, but theirlives were bad, unworthy of them, unbearably dull. —
正如我之前所说，对我们来说，所有工人似乎都是好人，但他们的生活却很糟糕，不值得他们，极其乏味。 —

At the time of the wintersnowstorms, when everything on the earth — the houses, the trees — wasshaken, howled, and wept, and in Lent, when the melancholy bells rang out,the dullness of it all flowed over the workshop like a wave, as oppressive aslead, weighing people down, killing all that was alive in them, driving themto the tavern, to women, who served the same purpose as vodka in helpingthem to forget.
在冬天的暴风雪期间，当地球上的一切事物——房屋、树木——都在摇动、呼啸和哭泣时，而在四旬期时，当忧郁的钟声响起时，这一切的沉闷就像一波波潮水般流过车间，压得人们喘不过气来，杀死他们体内所有活力，驱使他们前往酒馆、妇女那里，这些对他们来说与伏特加一样有助于忘却。

On such evenings books were of no use, so Pavl and I tried to amuse theothers in our own way: —
在这种日子里，书籍已不再有用，于是帕夫尔和我试图以我们自己的方式来取悦其他人： —

smearing our faces with soot and paint, dressingourselves up and playing different comedies composed by ourselves,heroically fighting against the boredom till we made them laugh.
我们在脸上涂黑烟和油漆，打扮自己并表演我们自己编写的各种喜剧，英勇地与无聊斗争，直到让他们笑起来。

　　Remembering the “Account of how the soldier saved Peter the Great,” Iturned this book into a conversational form, and climbing on to Davidov’spallet-bed, we acted thereon cheerfully, cutting off the head of an imaginarySwede. Our audience burst out laughing.
记得“关于士兵如何拯救彼得大帝的故事”，我将这本书改为了对话形式，并爬上达维多夫的板床，快乐地在上面表演，想象中砍掉一名瑞典人的头。我们的观众哈哈大笑。

They were especially delighted with the legend of the Chinese devil, Sing-U-Tongia. —
“他们尤其喜欢《中国魔鬼辛古通吉亚的传说》。” —

Pashka represented the unhappy devil who had planned to do agood deed, and I acted all the other characters — the people of the field,subjects, the good soul, and even the stones on which the Chinese devilrested in great pain after each of his unsuccessful attempts to perform a goodaction.
巴什卡扮演不幸的魔鬼，计划做一件好事，而我饰演其他所有角色——田野上的人、臣民、善良的灵魂，甚至那些中国魔鬼每次企图做一件好事时都会在其上休息的石头。

Our audience laughed loudly, and I was amazed when I saw how easilythey could be made to laugh. —
我们的观众大声笑着，当我看到他们对笑声的容易感到惊讶时，我感到不愉快。 —

This facility provoked me unpleasantly.
“啊，小丑们，”他们叫喊道。“啊，你们这些魔鬼！”

　　“Ach, clowns,” they cried. “Ach, you devils!”
但我走得越远，就越为这样一个念头所困扰，即悲伤比快乐更能触动这些人的内心。

But the further I went, the more I was troubled with the thought thatsorrow appealed more than joy to the hearts of these people. —
快乐在他们的生活中没有立足之地，因此它没有价值，但他们从琐事中唤起它，作为对梦幻般的俄式悲伤的对比。 —

Gaiety has noplace in their lives, and as such has no value, but they evoke it from undertheir burdens, as a contrast to the dreamy Russian sadness. —
从不是因为它想要而活着，而是因为它被悲伤的日子的呼唤唤醒，这种内在的快乐强大而不受欢迎。 —

The inwardstrength of a gaiety which lives not of itself not because it wishes to live, butbecause it is aroused by the call of sad days, is suspect. —
俄式快乐使然的内在力量不可信任。 —

And too often Russiangaiety changes suddenly into cruel tragedy. —
很多时候，俄罗斯的快乐突然转变成残忍的悲剧。 —

A man will be dancing as if hewere breaking the shackles which bound him. —
一个人会像摆脱束缚一样狂舞。 —

Suddenly a ferocious wildbeast is let loose in him, and with the unreasoning anguish of a wild beast hewill throw himself upon all who come in his way, tear them in pieces, bitethem, destroy them.
突然间，一只凶猛的野兽放纵在他身上，他像野兽一样，带着无法理智的痛苦，扑向一切挡道的人，撕裂他们，咬他们，毁灭他们。

This intense joy aroused by exterior forces irritated me, and stirred toself-oblivion, I began to compose and act suddenly created fantasies — for Iwanted so much to arouse a real, free, and unrestrained joy in these people. —
外界力量引发的强烈喜悦刺激了我，激起了我的自我忘我，我开始编织并表演突然想象出来的幻想 — 因为我非常想唤起这些人的真实、自由和无拘无束的喜悦。 —

Isucceeded in some measure. They praised me, they were amazed at me, butthe sadness which I had almost succeeded in shaking off, stole back again,gradually growing denser and stronger, harassing them.
在某种程度上我成功了。他们称赞我，他们对我感到惊讶，但我几乎摆脱的悲伤又悄然回来，逐渐变得更加浓重和强烈，困扰着他们。

　　Gray Larionovich said kindly:
格雷·拉里奥诺维奇和蔼地说道：

　　“Well, you are an amusing fellow, God bless you!”
“嗯，你真是个有趣的家伙，愿上帝保佑你！”

“He is a boon to us,” Jikharev seconded him. —
“他对我们来说是一种恩赐，”吉哈列夫附和道。 —

“You know, Maxim, youought to go into a circus, or a theater; —
“你知道，麦克西姆，你应该加入马戏团或剧院； —

you would make a good clown.”
你会成为一个出色的小丑。”

Out of the whole workshop only two went to the theaters, on Christmasor carnival weeks, Kapendiukhin and Sitanov, and the older workmenseriously counseled them to wash themselves from this sin in the baptismalwaters of the Jordan. —
整个作坊里只有两个人在圣诞节或狂欢周去剧院，卡彭迪尤金和西塔诺夫，经验丰富的工匠们常常严肃地劝告他们去约旦河洗去这种罪孽。 —

Sitanov particularly would often urge me :
西塔诺夫特别经常劝我：

　　“Throw up everything and be an actor!”
“抛弃一切做个演员吧！”

　　And much moved, he would tell me the “sad” story of the life of the actor,Yakolev.
他会感动地告诉我演员亚科列夫的“悲惨”故事。

　　“There, that will show you what may happen!”
“看，这会告诉你可能会发生的事情！”

　　He loved to tell stories about Marie Stuart, whom he called “the rogue,”
他喜欢讲述被他称为“流氓”的玛丽皇后的故事，

　　and his peculiar delight was the “Spanish nobleman.”
他特别喜欢的是“西班牙贵族”的故事。

　　“Don Csesar de Bazan was a real nobleman. Maximich! Wonderful!”
唐·捷萨尔·德·巴赞是一个真正的贵族。麦克西奇！太棒了！

　　There was something of the “Spanish nobleman” about himself.
他自己身上有着“西班牙贵族”的特质。

One day in the market-place, in front of the fire-station, three firemenwere amusing themselves by beating a peasant. —
有一天，在市场上，在消防站前，三名消防员正在娱乐地殴打一个农民。 —

A crowd of people,numbering about forty persons, looked on and cheered the soldiers. —
大约四十人的人群围观，并为士兵加油助威。 —

Sitanovthrew himself into the brawl. With swinging blows of his long arms he struckthe firemen, lifted the peasant, and carried him into the crowd, crying:
希塔诺夫投身于斗殴之中。他挥舞着长臂的重拳击打着消防员，抬起了那名农民，带他走入人群中，喊道：

　　“Take him away!”
“把他带走！”

But he remained behind himself, one against three. —
但他自己仍留在现场，一对三。 —

The yard of the fire-station was only about ten steps away; —
消防站的院子只有十步远； —

they might easily have called others totheir aid and Sitanov would have been killed. —
他们本可以轻易呼叫其他人帮助，希塔诺夫会被打死。 —

But by good luck the firemenwere frightened and ran away into the yard.
但好运使得消防员们害怕了，并逃入院子里。

　　“Dogs!” he cried after them.
“畜生！”他在他们后面喊道。

On Sunday the young people used to attend boxing-matches held in theTyessni yard behind the Petro — pavlovski churchyard, where sledge-driversand peasants from the adjacent villages assembled to fight with theworkmen. —
周日，年轻人们常常参加在彼得罗·帕夫洛夫斯基教堂后面的姐斯尼院举办的拳击比赛，那里载马车的人和来自附近村庄的农民齐聚一堂与工人们搏斗。 —

The wagoners put up against the town an eminent boxer, aMordovan giant with a small head, and large eyes always full of tears. —
车夫们派出了一位著名拳击手对阵该市，一个莫多瓦大汉，头小眼大，总是眼泪汪汪。 —

Wipingaway the tears with the dirty sleeve of his short caftan, he stood before hisbackers with his legs planted widely apart, and challenged good-naturedly:
用脏袍袖擦去眼泪，他双腿分开站在支持者面前，友好地挑战道：

　　“Come on, then; what is the matter with you? Are you cold?’
“过来啊，怎么了？你冷吗？”

Kapendiukhin was set up against him on our side, and the Mordovanalways beat him. —
卡彭迪乌欣在我们这边被布尔塞诺夫击败得很惨。 —

But the bleeding, panting Cossack said :
但是，流血喘息的哥萨克说：

　　“I’ll lick that Mordovan if I die for it!”
“我会击败那个莫多瓦尼，即使为此而死！”

In the end, that became the one aim of his life. —
最终，这成为他生命中唯一的目标。 —

He even went to thelength of giving up vodka, rubbed his body with snow before he went tosleep, ate a lot of meat, and to develop his muscles, crossed himself manytimes every evening with two pound weights. —
他甚至戒酒，睡觉前用雪擦身体，多吃肉，并通过每天晚上举两磅重的哑铃来锻炼肌肉。 —

But this did not avail him at all.
但这对他毫无帮助。

　　Then he sewed a piece of lead inside his gloves, and boasted to Sitanov :
于是他在手套里缝了一块铅，并向斯坦诺夫吹嘘：

　　“Now we will finish the Mordovan!”
“现在我们将打败那个莫多瓦尼！”

　　Sitanov sternly warned him :
斯坦诺夫严厉警告他：

　　“You had better throw it away, or I will give you away before the fight.”
“你最好丢掉它，否则我会在比赛前将你告发。”

　　Kapendiukhin did not believe him, but when the time for the fightarrived, Sitanov said abruptly to the Mordovan :
卡彭迪乌欣不相信他，但在比赛时，斯坦诺夫突然对莫多瓦尼说：

　　“Step aside, Vassili Ivanich; I have something to Bay to Kapendiukhinfirst!”
“拜托，瓦西里·伊万诺维奇，我先有话要对卡彭迪乌欣说！”

　　The Cossack turned purple and roared :
哥萨克涨红了脸，咆哮道：

　　“I have nothing to do with you ; go away!”
“和你有什么关系；走开！”

　　“Yes, you have!” said Sitanov, and approaching him, he looked into theCossack’s face with a compelling glance.
“是的，你有！”斯坦诺夫说着，并走近他，用一种强硬的目光看着哥萨克的脸。

　　Kapendiukhin stamped on the ground, tore the gloves from his hands,thrust them in his breast, and went quickly away from the scene of his fight.
卡彭迪乌欣在地上跺脚，从手中扯下手套，塞进怀里，迅速离开了他的搏击场。

　　Both our side and the other were unpleasantly surprised, and a certainimportant personage said angrily to Sitanov :
我们一方和对手都感到不快，一位重要人物愤怒地对斯坦诺夫说：

　　“That is quite against the rules, brother, — to bring private affairs to besettled in the world of the prize ring!”
“这违反了规则，兄弟，把私人事务带到擂台上解决！”

They fell upon Sitanov from all sides, and abused him. —
他们从各个方面指责斯坦诺夫。 —

He kept silencefor a long time, but at length he said to the important personage :
他保持沉默很久，但最终他对那位重要人物说：

　　“Am I to stand by and see murder done?”
“难道我要袖手旁观看到谋杀吗？”

　　The important personage at once guessed the truth, and actually takingoff his cap said :
那位重要人物立刻猜到了真相，甚至脱下帽子说：

　　“Then our gratitude is due to you!”
“那我们要感谢你！”

　　“Only don’t go and spread it abroad, uncle!”
“千万不要到处宣扬，叔叔！”

“Why should I? Kapendiukhin is hardly ever the victor, and ill-successembitters a man. —
“为什么？卡彭迪乌欣几乎从来不是胜者，而且失败让人痛苦。 —

We understand! But in future we will have his gloves ex —amined before the contest.”
我们明白了！但今后我们会在比赛前检查他的手套。”

　　“That is your affair!”
“那是你们的事情！”

　　When the important personage had gone away, our side began to abuseKapendiukhin:
当重要人物离开后，我们的一方开始指责卡彭迪乌欣：

“You have made a nice mess of it. —
“你把事情搞砸了。 —

He would have killed his man, ourCossack would, and now we have to stay on the losing side!”
我们的哥萨克本来会杀死他的对手，现在我们必须留在败方！”

　　They abused him at length, captiously, to their hearts’ content.
他们尽情地、吹毛求疵地对他进行了长时间的侮辱。

　　Sitanov sighed and said:
斯坦诺夫叹了口气说：

　　“Oh, you guttersnipes!”
“哦，你们这些流氓！”

And to the surprise of everyone he challenged the Mordovan to a singlecontest. —
令所有人意外的是，他向莫尔多万人发起了一场单挑比赛。 —

The latter squared up and flourishing his fists said jokingly:
后者挺直身子，挥舞着拳头开玩笑地说：

　　“We will kill each other.”
“我们会杀死彼此。”

　　A good number of persons, taking hands, formed a wide, spacious circle.
许多人手拉手，形成了一个宽阔而宽敞的圆圈。

The boxers, looking at each other keenly, changed over, the right hand heldout, the left on their breasts. —
拳击手凝视着对方，右手伸出，左手放在胸前。 —

The experienced people noticed at once thatSitanov’s arms were longer than those of the Mordovan. —
有经验的人立刻注意到斯坦诺夫的臂膀比莫尔多万人的要长。 —

It was very quiet;the snow crunched under the feet of the boxers. —
四下里一片寂静，雪在拳击手脚下嘎吱作响。 —

Some one, unable to restrainhis impatience, muttered complain — ingly and eagerly:
有人控制不住焦急，抱怨并急切地嘀咕道：

　　“They ought to have begun by now.”
“他们现在应该开始了。”

Sitanov flourished his right hand, the Mordovan raised his left fordefense, and received a straight blow under the right arm from Sitanov’s lefthand. —
斯坦诺夫挥舞右手，莫尔多万人举起左手防守，却被斯坦诺夫左手直击右臂下。 —

He gasped, retired, and exclaimed in a tone of satisfaction:
他喘气退后，满意地说道：

　　“He is young, but he Is no fool!”
“他虽然年轻，但并不蠢！”

They began to leap upon one another, striking each other’s breasts withblows from their mighty fists. —
他们开始相互跳跃，用强有力的拳头互相击打胸部。 —

In a few minutes not only our own people, butstrangers began to cry excitedly :
几分钟后，不仅我们自己的人，还有陌生人开始兴奋地喊道：

　　“Get your blows in quicker, image-painter! Fix him up, embosser.”
“快点发制人啊，画像师！干掉他，浮雕工。”

The Mordovan was a little stronger than Sitanov, but as he wasconsiderably the heavier, he could not deal such swift blows, and receivedtwo or three to every one he gave. —
莫尔多瓦人比斯坦诺夫稍强壮一些，但由于体重明显更重，他无法出手如此迅速，每给出一击就会受到两三次还击。 —

But his seasoned body apparently did notsuffer much, and he was laughing and exclaiming all the time, when,suddenly, with a heavy upward blow he put Sitanov’s right arm out of jointfrom the shoulder.
但他那经过磨炼的身体似乎并没有遭受太大的伤害，他一直笑着喊着，突然，一次沉重的上升击打使斯坦诺夫的右臂脱臼。

　　“Part them; it is a draw!” cried several voices, and, breaking the circle,the crowd gathered round the pugilists.
“分开他们；算平局！”几个声音喊道，人群冲破了圈子，围在那两个拳击手周围。

“He is not very strong but he is skilful, the image-painter,” said theMordovan good-naturedly. —
“他虽然不太强壮，但很有技巧，这位画像师。”莫尔多瓦人友好地说道。 —

“He will make a good boxer, and that I say beforethe whole world!”
“他会成为一个好的拳击手，这我在全世界面前说过了！”

The elder persons began a general wrestling match, and I took Sitanov tothe Feldsher bone-setter. —
年长者们开始了一场总的摔跤比赛，我带着斯坦诺夫去找军医骨折师。 —

His deed had raised him still higher in my esteem,had increased my sympathy with him, and his importance in my eyes.
他的行为在我心目中进一步提升了他的地位，增加了我对他的同情，也增强了我眼中他的重要性。

　　He was, in the main, very upright and honorable, and he felt that he hadonly done his duty, but the graceless Kapendiukhin made fun of him lightly.
主要上来说，他很正直和诚实，他觉得只是在尽自己的职责，但无礼的卡佩涅杜金轻蔑地取笑他。

“Ekh, Genya, you live for show! You have polished up your soul like asamovar before a holiday, and you go about boasting, ‘look how brightly itshines! —
“嘿，基尼亚，你就为了炫耀而活着！你把自己的灵魂磨光，就像节日前的茶炊，然后四处吹嘘，‘看看它是多么闪亮！ —

’ But your soul is really brass, and a very dull affair, too.”
’ 但你的灵魂实际上是黄铜，而且也非常乏味。”

Sitanov remained calmly silent, either working hard or copyingLermontov’s verses into his note-book. —
斯坦诺夫保持着平静的沉默，要么努力工作，要么抄写列蒙托夫的诗到笔记本里。 —

He spent all his spare time in thiscopying, and when I suggested to him:
他把所有的闲暇时间都花在这个抄写上，当我建议他：

　　“Why, when you have plenty of money, don’t you buy the book?” heanswered:
他回答道：“你有很多钱，为什么不买这本书呢？”

　　“No, it is better in my own handwriting.”
“不，我还是自己手写比较好。”

　　Having written a page in his pretty, small hand-writing, he would readsoftly while he was waiting for the ink to dry:
他用自己漂亮而小巧的手写写上一页纸，然后在等墨水干的时候轻轻地阅读起来：

　　“Without regret, as a being apart, You will look down upon this earth,Where there is neither real happiness Nor lasting beauty.”
“无怨无悔，像一个超然的存在，你将俯视这个大地，在那里既没有真正的幸福，也没有永恒的美。”

　　And he said, half-closing his eyes :
他半闭着眼睛说：

　　“That is true. Ekh! and well he knows the truth, too!”
“这是真的。额呵！他也深深懂得这个事实！”

The behavior (5f Sitanov to Kapendiukhin always amazed me. —
西坦诺夫对卡彭迪于辛的行为总是让我感到惊讶。 —

When hehad been drinking, the Cossack always tried to pick a quarrel with hiscomrade, and Sitanov would go on for a long time bearing it, and sayingpersuasively :
酒后，这位哥萨克总是试图和他的伙伴争吵，而西坦诺夫总是忍耐着相当长时间，劝说着说：

　　“That will do, let me alone!”
“够了，别打扰我！”

　　And then he would start to beat the drunken man so cruelly that theworkmen, who regarded internal dissensions amongst themselves merely asa spectacle, in terfered between the friends, and separated them.
然后他开始残忍地殴打那个醉鬼，工人们把他们之间的内部纷争只当作一出戏，干预这两位朋友，并将他们隔开。

　　“If we didn’t stop Evgen in time, he would beat any one to death, and hewould never forgive himself,” they said.
“我们要是不及时阻止叶夫根，他可能会把人打死，而他自己会永远不原谅自己。”他们说。

When he was sober Kapendiukhin ceaselessly jeered at Sitanov, makingfun of his passion for poetry and his unhappy romance, obscenely, butunsuccessfully trying to arouse jealousy. —
清醒时，卡彭迪于辛不停地讥讽西坦诺夫，嘲笑他对诗歌的热爱和他不幸的罗曼史，试图通过下流的方式引起嫉妒，但一直没有成功。 —

Sitanov listened to the Cossack’staunts in silence, without taking offense, and he sometimes even laughedwith Kapendiukhin at himself.
西坦诺夫默默地听着哥萨克的讥讽，不生气，甚至有时还和卡彭迪于辛一起嘲笑自己。

They slept side by side, and at night they would feold long, whisperedconversations about something. —
他们并肩休息，夜里他们会进行长时间的低语对话。 —

These conversations gave me no peace, for Iwas anxious to know what these two people who were so un like each otherfound to talk about in such a friendly manner. —
这些对话让我无法安宁，我渴望知道这两个如此不同的人在友好的氛围中谈论了什么。 —

But when I went near them,the Cossack veiled :
但当我走近他们时，哥萨克人掩饰道：

　　“What do you want?”
“你想要什么？”

　　But Sitanov did not seem to see me.
但斯坦诺夫似乎没有看见我。

　　However, one day they called me, and the Cossack asked :
然而，有一天他们叫我过去，哥萨克人问道：

　　“Maximich, if you were rich, what would you do?”
“马克西米奇，如果你富有了，你会做什么？”

　　“I would buy books.”
“我会买书。”

　　“And what else?”
“还有呢？”

　　“I don’t know.”
“我不知道。”

　　“Ekh!” said Kapendiukhin, turning away from me in disgust, but Sitanovsaid calmly:
“噢！” 卡彭迪犁厌恶地转身离开我，但斯坦诺夫平静地说道：

“You see; no one knows that, whether they be old or young. —
“你看；无论老少，都没有人知道那个，它们是否富有。” —

I tell you thatriches in themselves are worth nothing, unless they are applied to somespecial purpose.”
我告诉你，财富本身并不值得一提，除非它们被用于某个特定目的。”

　　I asked them, “What are you talking about?”
我问他们，“你们在谈论什么？”

　　“We don’t feel inclined to sleep, and so we are talking,” answered theCossack.
“我们没想睡觉，所以我们在谈话，” 哥萨克人回答道。

　　Later, listening to them, I found that they were discussing by night thosethings which other people dis cussed by day — God, truth, happiness, thestupidity and cunning of women, the greediness of the rich, and the fact thatlife is complicated and incomprehensible.
后来，听他们的谈话，我发现他们在夜里讨论那些其他人白天讨论的事情——上帝、真理、幸福、女人的愚蠢和狡猾、富人的贪婪，以及生活是复杂和难以理解的事实。

I always listened to their conversations eagerly; they excited me. —
我总是热切地倾听他们的谈话；它们激起了我的兴趣。 —

I waspleased to think that almost every one had arrived at the same conclusion; —
我很高兴几乎每个人都得出了相同的结论； —

namely, that life is evil, and that we ought to have a better form of existence!
即，生活是邪恶的，我们应该拥有更好的存在形式！

But at the same time I saw that the desire to live under better conditionswould have no effect, would change nothing in the lives of the work-people,in their relations one with another. —
但与此同时，我看到渴望生活在更好条件下的愿望不会产生任何效果，不会改变工人们的生活，他们之间的关系。 —

All these talks, throwing a light upon mylife as it lay before me, revealed at the same time, beyond it, a sort ofmelancholy emptiness; —
所有这些谈话，照亮了我面前的生活，同时揭示了一个一种忧郁的空虚； —

and in this emptiness, like specks of dust in a pondruffled by the wind, floated people, absurdly and exasperatingly, amongthem those very people who had said that such a crowd was devoid of sense.
在这种空虚中，像水池被风吹袭乱的灰尘，人们漂浮其中，荒谬地和激怒地，在其中包括那些说这样的人群缺乏意义的人。

　　Always ready to give their opinion, they were always passing judgment onothers, repeating, bragging, and starting bitter quarrels about mere trifles.
总是乐意发表自己的看法，他们总是对别人做出判断，重复，吹嘘，并因琐事开始激烈争执。

They were always seriously offending one another. —
他们总是严重地冒犯彼此。 —

They tried to guess whatwould happen to them after death ; —
他们试图猜测死后会发生什么； —

while on the threshold of the workshopwhere the washstand stood, the floor-boards had rotted away. —
而在放置洗脸盆的车间门口，地板已经腐烂。 —

From thatdamp, fetid hole rose the cold, damp smell of sour earth, and it was this thatmade one’s feet freeze. —
从那个潮湿、恶臭的洞里升起了冰冷、潮湿的酸土气味，正是这让人的脚冻僵。 —

Pavl and I stopped up this hole with straw and cloths.
帕夫尔和我用稻草和布堵上了这个洞。

We often said that the boards should be renewed, but the hole grew largerand larger, and in bad weather fumes rose from it as from a pipe. —
我们经常说应该更换地板，但洞口却越来越大，在恶劣的天气里，从中升起烟雾，就像从烟管里升起一样。 —

Every onecaught cold, and coughed. The tin ventilator in the fortochka squeaked, andwhen some one had oiled it, though they had all been grumbling at it,Jikharev said:
每个人都感冒，咳嗽。前厅的锡通风口发出吱吱声，当有人给它上了油后，尽管所有人都在抱怨，吉赫雷夫说：

　　“It is dull, now that the fortochka has stopped squeaking.”
“现在前厅不再叫声了，真无聊。”

To come straight from the bath and lie down on a dirty, dusty bed, in themidst of dirt and bad smells, did not revolt any one of them. —
直接从浴室出来躺在脏乱的床上，在肮脏和难闻的气味中，并没有让他们中的任何人感到反感。 —

There weremany insignificant trifles which made our lives unbearable. —
有许多微不足道的琐事使我们的生活难以忍受。 —

which mighteasily have been remedied, but no one took the trouble to do anything.
这些问题本可以很容易解决，但没有人愿意费心去做。

　　They often said:
他们经常说：

　　“No one has any mercy upon human creatures, — neither God nor weourselves.”
“无论上帝还是我们自己，谁都没有怜悯人类。”

But when Pavl and I washed dying Davidov, who was eaten up with dirtand insects, a laugh was raised against us. —
但当我和 Pavel 为奄奄一息的 Davidov 洗澡时，他浑身污垢和虫子，他们取笑我们。 —

They took off their shirts andinvited us to search them, called us blockheads, and jeered at us as if we haddone something shameful and very ludicrous.
他们脱下衬衫，邀请我们搜索他们，称我们为傻瓜，并嘲笑我们好像我们做了什么可耻又很滑稽的事情。

From Christmas till the beginning of Lent drew near, Davidov lay in theloft, coughing protractedly, spitting blood, which, if it did not fall into thewash-hand basin, splashed on the floor. —
从圣诞节到大斋期开始前，Davidov 躺在阁楼上，持续咳嗽，吐血，如果不吐在洗手盆里，就会溅到地板上。 —

At night he woke the others with hisdelirious shrieks.
晚上他的神志不清的尖叫声惊醒其他人。

　　Almost every day they said :
几乎每天他们都会说：

　　“We must take him to the hospital!”
“我们必须把他送去医院！”

　　But it turned out that Davidov’s passport had expired. Then he seemedbetter, and they said :
但后来发现 Davidov 的护照已经过期。然后他看起来好一些，他们说：

　　“It is of no consequence after all; he will soon be dead!”
“反正也没关系；他很快会死的！”

　　And he would say to himself:
他自言自语：

　　“I shall soon be gone!”
“我很快就会离开这里！”

　　He was a quiet humorist and also tried to relieve the dullness of theworkshop by jokes, hanging down his dark bony face, and saying in a wheezyvoice :
他是一个安静的幽默者，试图通过笑话来缓解车间的沉闷，他低着黑黝黝的骨瘦如柴的脸，用喘息的声音说：

　　“Listen, people, to the voice of one who ascended to the loft.
“听啊，人们，听那位升上阁楼的声音。

　　“In the loft I live,Early do I wake;Asleep or awakeCockroaches devour me.”
“我住在阁楼，早早地醒来；无论是睡着还是清醒，蟑螂都在吞食我。”

　　“He is not downhearted!” exclaimed his audience.
“他并不气馁！”观众们惊叹道。

　　Sometimes Pavl and I went to him, and he joked with difficulty.
有时，帕夫尔和我去看他，他勉强开玩笑。

“With what shall I regale you, my dear guests? —
“我亲爱的客人，我要用什么款待你们呢？ —

A fresh little spider —would you like that?”
一只新鲜的小蜘蛛 — 你们想要吗？”

　　He died slowly, and he grew very weary of it. He said with unfeignedvexation:
他慢慢地死去，变得非常疲倦。他生气地说道：

　　“It seems that I can’t die, somehow; it is really a calamity!”
“看起来我似乎无法死去，真是个灾难！”

His fearlessness in the face of death frightened Pavl very much. —
他对面对死亡的无畏使帕夫尔非常害怕。 —

Heawoke me in the night and whispered:
他在夜晚把我吵醒，低声说道：

“Maximich, he seems to be dying. Suppose he dies in the night, when weare lying beneath him — Oh, Lord! —
“马克西姆，他好像快死了。如果他在夜晚去世，我们正躺在他下面 — 噢，主啊！ —

I am frightened of dead people.”
我害怕死去的人。”

　　Or he would say :
或者他会说：

　　“Why was he born? Not twenty-two years have passed over his head andhe is dying.”
“他为什么出生？还不到二十二岁，他就快死了。”

　　Once, on a moonlight night he awoke, and gazing with wide-open,terrified eyes said:
有一次，在月光照耀下的夜晚，他醒来，睁大眼睛恐惧地说道：

　　“Listen!”
“听！”

　　Davidov was croaking in the loft, saying quickly and clearly :
Davidov在阁楼里嘶啦地说着，快速而清晰：

　　“Give it to me — give — ”
“给我——给——”

　　Then he began to hiccup.
然后他开始打嗝。

　　“He is dying, by God he is; you see!” said Pavl agitatedly.
“他快死了，天呐，你看！”帕夫尔焦急地说道。

　　I had been carrying snow from the yard into the fields all day, and I wasvery sleepy, but Pavl begged me:
整天我一直在院子里往田地里扛雪，困得要命，但帕夫尔请求我：

　　“Don’t go to sleep, please; for Christ’s sake don’t go to sleep!”
“请别睡着，拜托，求你千万别睡着！”

　　And suddenly getting on to his knees, he cried f renziedly :
他突然跪起来，疯狂地哭道：

　　“Get up! Davidov is dead!”
“快醒来！Davidov死了！”

Some of them awoke; several figures rose from the beds; —
有些人醒来了；几个人从床上起身； —

angry voiceswere raised, asking questions.
愤怒的声音响起，问着问题。

　　Kapendiukhin climbed up into the loft and said in a tone of amzement:
卡彭迪赫进入阁楼，惊奇地说道：

　　“It is a fact; he is dead, although he is still warm.”
“事实就是事实；他死了，尽管他还暖和着。”

　　It was quiet now. Jikharev crossed himself, and wrapping himself roundin his blanket, said :
现在很安静了。基哈列夫十字架着自己，裹紧毯子说道：

　　“Well, he is in the Kingdom of Heaven now!”
“噢，他现在在天国里了！”

　　Some one suggested:
有人建议：

　　“Let us carry him into the vestibule.”
“让我们把他抬到门厅里。”

　　Kapendiukhin climbed down from the loft and glanced through thewindow.
卡彭迪约金从阁楼上爬了下来，透过窗户扫视了一眼。

　　“Let him lie where he is till the morning; he never hurt any one while hewas alive.”
“让他留在原地，等到早上再说吧；他在活着的时候从未伤害过任何人。”

　　Pavl, hiding his head under the pillow, sobbed.
帕夫尔将头藏在枕头下的地方抽泣起来。

　　But Sitanov did not even wake!
但斯坦诺夫甚至没有醒来！