🔊 It was not till long after Strickland's death that I heard the story of his last days. I had left Tahiti and was back in Europe, and it was by chance that I met Captain Nichols in Marseilles. He had known Strickland in the South Seas, and he told me what he knew.

直到斯特里克兰去世很久以后,我才听说他最后日子的故事。那时我已离开塔希提,回到了欧洲,一次偶然的机会,在马赛遇到了尼科尔斯船长。他曾在南太平洋诸岛结识斯特里克兰,并向我讲述了那段往事。

🔊 Strickland had settled in a remote part of Tahiti, in a valley that was almost inaccessible. He lived with a native woman, Ata, who took care of him. He had built a hut and spent his time painting. He was happy there, for he had found the peace he had always sought.

斯特里克兰在塔希提一个偏远的山谷安顿下来,那里几乎人迹罕至。他与一位名叫阿塔的土著女子同居,由她照料生活。他搭建了一间小屋,整日作画。在那里他寻得了毕生渴求的安宁,过得十分快乐。

🔊

inaccessible /ˌɪnəkˈsesəbəl/

adj. 难以到达的,不可接近的➕

🔊 But after a time he fell ill. At first it was a slight fever, but it grew worse, and he became weak. Ata nursed him as best she could, but there was no doctor near, and Strickland refused to go to the hospital. He knew what was the matter with him. He had leprosy.

但过了一段时间,他病倒了。起初只是低烧,后来病情加重,身体日渐虚弱。阿塔竭尽全力照顾他,但附近没有医生,斯特里克兰又不肯去医院。他清楚自己得了什么病--他患上了麻风病。

🔊

leprosy /ˈleprəsi/

n. 麻风病➕

🔊 He did not tell Ata, but she guessed. She was terrified, but she did not leave him. She stayed with him and looked after him. Strickland continued to paint. He covered the walls of his hut with paintings, strange and wonderful works that were the fruit of his imagination. He painted as though possessed, and in his last days he produced the masterpiece that he had always dreamed of.

他没有告诉阿塔,但她猜到了。她虽然恐惧,却没有离开。她留在他身边,悉心照料。斯特里克兰继续作画。他用画作覆盖了小屋的墙壁,那些奇异而美妙的作品是他想象的果实。他画得如痴如狂,在生命的最后时光里,终于创作出他梦寐以求的杰作。

🔊

imagination /ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃən/

n. 想象力,想象➕

🔊

possessed /pəˈzest/

adj. 着魔的,被控制的➕

🔊

masterpiece /ˈmæstərpiːs/

n. 杰作,代表作➕

🔊 When he became too weak to hold a brush, he lay on his bed and looked at the paintings. He was blind by then, but he knew what was there. He died peacefully, and Ata buried him under the mango tree behind the hut.

当他虚弱得连画笔都拿不动时,便躺在床榻上凝视那些画作。那时他已双目失明,却清楚墙上画了什么。他安详地离世,阿塔将他埋葬在小屋后的芒果树下。

🔊

brush /brʌʃ/

n. 画笔➕

🔊

paintings /ˈpeɪntɪŋz/

n. 绘画作品➕

🔊

blind /blaɪnd/

adj. 失明的➕

🔊

peacefully /ˈpiːsfəli/

adv. 平静地➕

🔊

buried /ˈberid/

v. 埋葬➕

🔊

hut /hʌt/

n. 小屋➕

🔊 After his death, Ata went to Papeete and told the story to the authorities. They sent someone to destroy the hut, for fear of infection, and the paintings were lost. But Captain Nichols had seen them before they were destroyed, and he described them to me.

斯特里克兰死后,阿塔前往帕皮提,向当局报告了此事。他们因担心传染,派人烧毁了小屋,画作也随之湮灭。但尼科尔斯船长在销毁前见过那些画,并向我描述了它们的样子。

🔊

authorities /ɔːˈθɒrətiz/

n. 当局,官方➕

🔊

infection /ɪnˈfekʃən/

n. 感染,传染➕

🔊 'They were like nothing I had ever seen,' he said. 'They were terrible and beautiful. I think he was a great man.'

他说:“那是我从未见过的景象,既骇人又绝美。我想,他是个伟人。”

🔊 I agreed with him. Strickland had achieved what he set out to achieve. He had sacrificed everything for his art, and in the end he had found the truth he sought.

我赞同他的看法。斯特里克兰实现了他的夙愿。他为艺术牺牲了一切,最终寻得了所追求的真理。

🔊

achieved /əˈtʃiːvd/

v. 实现,达到➕

🔊

sacrificed /ˈsækrɪfaɪst/

v. 牺牲,献出➕

Chapter forty-five (第四十五章)

🔒 使用该功能需要授权码