🔊 One day, Jean Valjean descended his staircase, took three steps in the street, seated himself on a post, on that same stone post where Gavroche had found him meditating on the night between the 5th and the 6th of June; he remained there a few moments, then went upstairs again. This was the last oscillation of the pendulum. On the following day he did not leave his apartment. On the day after that, he did not leave his bed.

有一天,冉阿让走下楼梯,在街上走了三步,在一根石桩上坐了下来--就是六月五日至六日夜间伽弗洛什发现他沉思时的那根石桩；他在那里待了片刻,随后又上楼去了。这是钟摆的最后一次摆动。第二天,他没有离开自己的房间。再往后一天,他卧床不起了。

🔊

meditating /ˈmɛdɪteɪtɪŋ/

v. 沉思,冥想➕

🔊

oscillation /ˌɒsɪˈleɪʃən/

n. 摆动,波动➕

🔊

pendulum /ˈpɛndjʊləm/

n. 钟摆,摆锤➕

🔊 His portress, who prepared his scanty repasts, a few cabbages or potatoes with bacon, glanced at the brown earthenware plate and exclaimed:

他的女门房为他准备简单的饭菜--几颗卷心菜或土豆加咸肉--她瞥了一眼那只褐色的陶盘,嚷道:

🔊

portress /ˈpɔːrtrɪs/

n. 女门房,女看门人➕

🔊

scanty /ˈskænti/

adj. 不足的,简陋的➕

🔊

repasts /rɪˈpɑːsts/

n. 餐食（复数形式）➕

🔊

earthenware /ˈɜːrθənˌweər/

n. 陶器,瓦器➕

🔊 "But you ate nothing yesterday, poor, dear man!"

“可您昨天什么也没吃呀,可怜的好先生！”

🔊 "Certainly I did," replied Jean Valjean.

“我当然吃了,”冉阿让答道。

🔊 "The plate is quite full."

“盘子可是满满的。”

🔊 "Look at the water jug. It is empty."

“看看水壶吧,都空了。”

🔊 "That proves that you have drunk; it does not prove that you have eaten."

“那只能证明您喝了水,不能证明您吃了东西。”

🔊 "Well," said Jean Valjean, "what if I felt hungry only for water?"

“好吧,”冉阿让说,“假如我只想吃水呢？”

🔊 "That is called thirst, and, when one does not eat at the same time, it is called fever."

“那叫口渴,要是同时不吃东西,那就叫发烧。”

🔊 "I will eat tomorrow."

“我明天会吃的。”

🔊 "Or at Trinity day. Why not today? Is it the thing to say: 'I will eat tomorrow'? The idea of leaving my platter without even touching it! My ladyfinger potatoes were so good!"

“或者等到三一节吧！干吗不今天吃？说什么‘明天再吃’--这像是人话吗？让我的菜盘原封不动！我的手指土豆可是好得不得了！”

🔊

platter /ˈplætə/

n. 大浅盘（通常用于盛放食物）➕

🔊 Jean Valjean took the old woman's hand:

冉阿让拉住老妇人的手:

🔊 "I promise you that I will eat them," he said, in his benevolent voice.

“我答应您我会吃的,”他用慈祥的声音说。

🔊

benevolent /bɪˈnɛvələnt/

adj. 仁慈的,慈善的➕

🔊 "I am not pleased with you," replied the portress.

“我对您很不满意,”女门房回答。

🔊 Jean Valjean saw no other human creature than this good woman. There are streets in Paris through which no one ever passes, and houses to which no one ever comes. He was in one of those streets and one of those houses.

冉阿让除了这个善良的女人之外,没有见过任何别的人。在巴黎有些街道从来无人经过,有些房子从来无人来访。他住的就是那样一条街,那样一幢房子。

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creature /ˈkriːtʃə/

n. 生物；动物；（具有某种特征的）人➕

🔊 While he still went out, he had purchased of a coppersmith, for a few sous, a little copper crucifix which he had hung up on a nail opposite his bed. That gibbet is always good to look at.

在他还出门的时候,他曾从一个铜匠那里花几个苏买了一个小铜十字架,挂在床对面的钉子上。那个十字架总是值得观望的。

🔊

purchased /ˈpɜːrtʃəst/

v. 购买➕

🔊

coppersmith /ˈkɒpərsmɪθ/

n. 铜匠➕

🔊

crucifix /ˈkruːsɪfɪks/

n. 十字架（特指耶稣受难像）➕

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gibbet /ˈdʒɪbɪt/

n. 绞刑架➕

🔊 A week passed, and Jean Valjean had not taken a step in his room. He still remained in bed. The portress said to her husband:--"The good man upstairs yonder does not get up, he no longer eats, he will not last long. That man has his sorrows, that he has. You won't get it out of my head that his daughter has made a bad marriage."

一个星期过去了,冉阿让没有在房间里走动一步。他仍然躺在床上。女门房对她的丈夫说:“楼上那位好老先生不起床了,不再吃东西,他活不长了。他满腹心事,肯定是。我敢打赌是他女儿结了一门坏亲事。”

🔊

yonder /ˈjɒndər/

adv. 在那边；远远地➕

🔊

sorrows /ˈsɒrəʊz/

n. 悲伤；痛苦（复数）➕

🔊 The porter replied, with the tone of marital sovereignty:

门房以丈夫的权威口吻回答:

🔊

marital /ˈmærɪtl/

adj. 婚姻的；夫妻的➕

🔊

sovereignty /ˈsɒvrənti/

n. 主权；统治权➕

🔊 "If he's rich, let him have a doctor. If he is not rich, let him go without. If he has no doctor he will die."

“要是他有钱,就让他请医生。要是没钱,就让他挺着。要是没有医生,他会死的。”

🔊 "And if he has one?"

“那要是请了医生呢？”

🔊 "He will die," said the porter.

“他也会死,”门房说。

🔊 The portress set to scraping away the grass from what she called her pavement, with an old knife, and, as she tore out the blades, she grumbled:

女门房用一把旧刀子开始刮她所谓的“人行道”上的杂草,一边拔草一边嘟囔:

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grumbled /ˈɡrʌmbəld/

v. 抱怨；发牢骚➕

🔊 "It's a shame. Such a neat old man! He's as white as a chicken."

“真可惜！多整洁的一位老先生！他白得像只小鸡。”

🔊 She caught sight of the doctor of the quarter as he passed the end of the street; she took it upon herself to request him to come upstairs.

她看见本区的医生从街角走过,便自作主张请他上楼来。

🔊

request /rɪˈkwest/

v. 请求；要求➕

🔊 "It's on the second floor," said she. "You have only to enter. As the good man no longer stirs from his bed, the door is always unlocked."

“在二楼,”她说,“您直接进去就行。那位老先生不下床了,门总是开着的。”

🔊

stirs /stɜːz/

v. 移动；搅动；激起➕

🔊

unlocked /ʌnˈlɒkt/

adj. 未锁的；开着的➕

🔊 The doctor saw Jean Valjean and spoke with him.

医生见到了冉阿让,并和他谈了话。

🔊 When he came down again the portress interrogated him:

下楼后,女门房向他探问:

🔊

interrogated /ɪnˈterəɡeɪtɪd/

v. 审问；质问➕

🔊 "Well, doctor?"

“怎么样,医生？”

🔊 "Your sick man is very ill indeed."

“您的病人病得很重。”

🔊 "What is the matter with him?"

“他得了什么病？”

🔊 "Everything and nothing. He is a man who, to all appearances, has lost some person who is dear to him. People die of that."

“什么病都有,又什么病都没有。他显然失去了一个他心爱的人。人会因此而死。”

🔊

appearances /əˈpɪərənsɪz/

n. 外貌；外观；出现➕

🔊 "What did he say to you?"

“他对您说什么了？”

🔊 "He told me that he was in good health."

“他告诉我他身体很好。”

🔊 "Shall you come again, doctor?"

“您还会再来吗,医生？”

🔊 "Yes," replied the doctor. "But someone else besides must come."

“会的,”医生说,“不过还得有别人来才行。”

Book IX. Supreme Shadow, Supreme Dawn – Chapter two: Last Flickerings of a Lamp Without Oil (第二章:无油灯的最后一缕微光)

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