名著精讀《飄》第三章 第2節

She had never seen her mother stirred from her austere placidity, nor her personal appointments anything but perfect, no matter what the hour of day or night. When Ellen was dressing for a ball or for guests or even to go to Jonesboro for Court Day, it frequently required two hours, two maids and Mammy to turn her out to her own satisfaction; but her swift toilets in times of emergency were amazing.

思嘉從未見過母親莊重安謙的神態被打擾的時候，她個人的衣着也總是那麼整整嬤嬤，無論白天黑夜都毫無二致。每當愛倫爲了參加舞會，接待客人或者到瓊斯博羅去旁聽法庭審判而梳妝時，那就得花上兩個鐘頭的時間，讓兩位女僕和嬤嬤幫着打扮，直到自己滿意爲止；不過到了緊急時刻，她的梳妝功夫便驚人地加快了。

　
Scarlett, whose room lay across the hall from her mother’s, knew from babyhood the soft sound of scurrying bare black feet on the hardwood floor in the hours of dawn, the urgent tappings on her mother’s door, and the muffled, frightened negro voices that whispered of sickness and birth and death in the long row of whitewashed cabins in the quarters. As a child, she often had crept to the door and, peeping through the tiniest crack, had seen Ellen emerge from the dark room, where Gerald’s snores were rhythmic and untroubled, into the flickering light of an upheld candle, her medicine case under her arm, her hair smoothed neatly place, and no button on her basque unlooped.
　　
思嘉的房間在她母親房間的對面，中間隔着個穿堂。她從小就熟悉了：在天亮前什麼時候一個光着腳的黑人急促腳步在硬木地板上輕輕走過，接着是母親房門上匆忙的叩擊聲，然後是黑人那低沉而帶驚慌的耳語，報告本地區那長排白棚屋裏有人生病了，死了，或者養了孩子。那時她還很小，常常爬到門口去，從狹窄的門縫裏窺望，看到愛倫從黑暗的房間裏出來，同時聽到裏面傑拉爾德平靜而有節奏的鼾聲；母親讓黑人手中的蠟燭照着，臂下挾着藥品箱，頭髮已梳得熨熨貼貼，緊身上衣的鈕釦也會扣好了。

　
It had always been so soothing to Scarlett to hear her mother whisper, firmly but compassionately, as she tiptoed down the hall: “Hush, not so loudly. You will wake Mr. O’Hara. They are not sick enough to die.”

思嘉聽到母親踮着腳尖輕輕走過廳堂，並堅定而憐憫地低聲說：“噓，別這麼大聲說話。會吵醒奧哈拉先生的。他們還不至於病得要死吧。"此時，她總有一種安慰的感覺。
　
Yes, it was good to creep back into bed and know that Ellen was abroad in the night and everything was right.

是的，她知道愛倫已經摸黑外出，一切正常，便爬回去重新躺到牀上睡了。

In the mornings, after all-night sessions at births and deaths, when old Dr. Fontaine and young Dr. Fontaine were both out on calls and could not be found to help her, Ellen presided at the breakfast table as usual, her dark eyes circled with weariness but her voice and manner revealing none of the strain. There was a steely quality under her stately gentleness that awed the whole household, Gerald as well as the girls, though he would have died rather than admit it.
　　
早晨，經過搶救產婦和嬰兒的通宵忙亂----那時老方丹大夫和年輕的方丹大夫都已外出應診，沒法來幫她的忙----然後，愛倫又像通常那樣作爲主婦在餐桌旁出現了，她那黝黑的眼圓略有倦色，可是聲音和神態都沒有流露絲毫的緊張感。她那莊重的溫柔下面有一種鋼鐵般的品性，它使包託傑拉爾德和姑娘們在內的全家無不感到敬畏，雖然傑拉爾德寧死也不願承認這一點。

n. 感動(激動，憤怒或震動), 攪拌，騷亂 vt. 激起，惹起，攪和 vi. 挪動，活動，離開，攪拌，激動

Old memories stirred as she looked at the photographs.
她看到這些照片，喚起了對往事的回憶。

ere adj. 嚴峻的，嚴格的，簡樸的，禁慾的，苦行的

The room was furnished in austere style.
這間屋子陳設得簡單樸素。

idity n. 平靜，安靜，溫和

[meid] n. 女僕，侍女，未婚女子

Her maid helped her to dress up for the party.
她的女僕幫助她穿上參加晚會的禮服。

et n. 廁所，盥洗室 n. 梳洗打扮，禮服，創口洗滌 v. 打扮，使用廁所

She spent an hour on her toilets.
她花了一小時梳妝打扮。

ry vi. 疾走 n. 快跑

The rain sent everyone scurrying for shelter.
這陣雨把大家澆得紛紛找地方躲避。

led adj. (指聲音)聽不清的，（聲音）被隔的 動詞muffle的過去式和過去分詞形式

A muffled sound resembling that of soft footsteps.
低沉聲音象柔柔的腳步聲的低沉的聲音

ewash n. 白色塗料，粉飾 vt. 用白色塗料粉刷，掩蓋或粉飾

I'll have my little house whitewashed tomorrow.
明天我找人用石灰水粉刷一下小屋。

e n. 鼾聲 v. 打鼾

Her husband snores loudly.
她丈夫睡覺時打鼾很響。

oubled adj. 未被擾亂的，平靜的，無憂慮的

kering adj. 閃爍的(搖曳的，忽隱忽現的，撲動的)

A faint smile flickered across her face.
她臉上閃過一絲微笑。

ld adj. 被支持的 動詞uphold的過去式和過去分詞形式

ue[bæsk] n. 緊身女上衣

n. 肅靜，安靜，沉默 vi. 安靜下來，掩飾 vt. 肅靜，安靜，緘默

She hushed the baby to sleep.
她使嬰兒安靜入睡。

iness n. 疲倦，厭倦，疲勞

He soon fell asleep with weariness.
他疲倦地很快就睡着了。

ely['steitli] adj. 莊嚴的，堂皇的，高貴的 adv. 莊嚴地; 堂皇地

She is stately in personage.
她儀容端莊。

had never seen her mother stirred from her austere placidity, nor her personal appointments anything but perfect, no matter what the hour of day or night.

【難句解析】anything but “根本不”，句子是雙重否定，表肯定；

【句子翻譯】思嘉從未見過母親莊重安謙的神態被打擾的時候，她個人的衣着也總是那麼整整嬤嬤，無論白天黑夜都毫無二致。

had always been so soothing to Scarlett to hear her mother whisper, firmly but compassionately, as she tiptoed down the hall: “Hush, not so loudly. You will wake Mr. O’Hara. They are not sick enough to die.”

【難句解析】smoothing形容詞，意思是“安慰人的”；tiptoe down “踮着腳尖走下...”; not…enough to…，在此結構裏，enough前可以是形容詞或副詞，to…是動詞不定式，注意與...的區別，後者中，too是副詞，修飾形容詞，to…是動詞不定式；

【句子翻譯】思嘉聽到母親踮着腳尖輕輕走過廳堂，並堅定而憐憫地低聲說：“噓，別這麼大聲說話。會吵醒奧哈拉先生的。他們還不至於病得要死吧。"此時，她總有一種安慰的感覺。