書蟲四級《不平靜的墳?zāi)埂罚豪鲜?/h1>

所屬教程:書蟲4級 不平靜的墳?zāi)?/a>

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2019年10月31日

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掃描二維碼方便學(xué)習(xí)和分享

Rats
老鼠

And if you walked through the bedrooms now, you'd see the dirty grey bedsheets rising and falling like the waves of the sea.'

“假如你現(xiàn)在走過臥室，就會看到那臟兮兮的灰床單像海浪一樣起伏著。”

Rising and falling with what?'

“隨著什么起伏？”

Why, with the rats crawling underneath them.'

“噢，隨著下面爬行的老鼠。”

But was it rats? I ask, because in another story it was not. I cannot put a date to the story, but I was young when I heard it, and the teller was old.

是老鼠嗎？我問道，因為在另一個故事中并不是老鼠。我也說不出這故事講的是什么時候的事，只是聽這個故事時我還年輕，講故事的人已經(jīng)老了。

It happened in Suffolk, at a place where the coast road climbs a little hill as it travels northwards. At the top of the hill, on the left, stands a tall narrow house built about 1770. Behind it are the gardens and other buildings, and in front lies open heath with a view of the distant sea. The house was once a well-known inn, though I believe few people stay there now.

故事發(fā)生在薩?？丝ぃ粭l沿海岸向北延伸的路翻過一座小山的地方。山頂上左側(cè)矗立著一幢大約建于1770年的高高的窄房子。房子后面是些花園和其他建筑物，前面是一片能夠看到遠(yuǎn)處大海的開闊荒地。這房子曾是一家很有名的旅店，盡管我知道現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)很少有人住了。

To this inn came Mr Thomson, a young man from the University of Cambridge, in search of peace and pleasant surroundings in which to study. He found both; the innkeeper and his wife kept a comfortable house, and Mr Thomson was the only guest.

湯姆森先生，一位劍橋大學(xué)的年輕人來到這家旅店，想尋找一份寧靜和一種讀書的愉悅環(huán)境。兩者他都找到了。旅店老板和妻子把房子收拾得很舒適，而湯姆森先生又是唯一的客人。

It was fine spring weather and Mr Thomson's days passed very happily. His plan was to stay a month: studying all morning, walking on the heath in the afternoon, and talking with the local people in the bar in the evening.

當(dāng)時正值天氣晴好的春天，湯姆森先生過得很愉快。他計劃待一個月：整個上午讀書，下午去荒地里散散步，晚上和酒吧里的當(dāng)?shù)厝肆牧奶臁?/p>

On one of his walks over the heath he came upon a large white stone with a square hole in the top. No doubt it had once held a post of some kind. He looked around him at the wide, open heath and beyond that, the sea shining in the bright sunlight and decided that the stone had probably once held a sign to guide the local sailors back to their homes.

一次他在荒地里散步，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一塊頂部有個方形洞的白色大石頭。這肯定曾安插過什么標(biāo)桿。他看看四周寬敞而開闊的荒地和遠(yuǎn)處明亮的陽光下閃著波光的大海，判定這塊石頭可能曾安插用于指引當(dāng)?shù)睾T回家的標(biāo)志。

In the bar that evening he spoke of the stone and his idea that it had, perhaps, once held a sign to guide sailors.

晚上在酒吧里，他談到那塊石頭和他覺得那石頭可能曾安插用于指引海員的標(biāo)志的想法。

Yes,' said Mr Betts, the innkeeper, 'I've heard they could see it from out at sea, but whatever was there fell down long before our time.'

“是的，”旅店老板貝茨說，“我聽說他們在海上就能看到它，可插在那里的東西很久以前就倒了。”

A good thing it did, too,' said one of the villagers. 'It wasn't a lucky sign—that's what the old men used to say. Not lucky for the fishing, I mean.'

“那倒是件好事，”其中一位村民說，“那不是什么吉祥的標(biāo)志，老人們過去經(jīng)常這么說。我是說對捕魚來說不吉祥。”

Why ever not?' said Thomson.

“為什么呢？”湯姆森問道。

Well, I never saw it myself,' answered the other. 'But those old fishermen had some strange ideas, and I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled it down themselves.'

“噢，我從來沒有親眼見過那東西，”那村民回答，“可那些老漁夫們的想法很怪，如果是他們親手毀掉了它，我也不會感到奇怪。”

It was impossible to get anything clearer than this, and people soon began to talk about something else.

不可能找到比這更明確的答案了，人們很快就開始談起別的事兒了。

One day Mr Thomson decided not to have a walk in the afternoon, but to continue studying. He returned to his room after an early lunch and read on until about three o'clock. Then he put down his book, rose and went out into the passage, thinking that he would have a rest for five minutes. The house was completely silent. He remembered that it was market day and everyone had gone into the local town.

一天，湯姆森先生決定下午接著看書，不去散步。他早早吃完午飯回到房間里，繼續(xù)看書看到大約3點。然后他放下書站起身，走出房間進(jìn)了走廊，想休息5分鐘。整座房子安靜至極。他想起今天是趕集的日子，人們都到鎮(zhèn)上去了。

As he stood there, the idea came to him to look at the four other rooms along the passage. He was sure that the Bettses would not mind. The room opposite his was big but had no view of the sea. The next two were both smaller than his with only one window each—his had two. He walked down the passage to the door at the end and found that it was locked. Thomson decided that he must see inside that room; perhaps the key of his room would unlock the door. It did not, so he fetched the keys from the other three rooms and tried them. One of them fitted the lock and he opened the door.

他站在那里，突然想到要看看走廊兩邊的其他4個房間。他覺得貝茨夫婦肯定不會介意。他對面的那間屋子很大，但是看不到海。相鄰的兩間都比他的房間小，而且都只有一個窗戶——他的房間有兩個窗戶。他走到走廊盡頭的那個房門前，發(fā)現(xiàn)門鎖著。他決意一定要看看這間屋子里面是什么樣的；也許自己房間的鑰匙能打開這個門。試了試打不開。于是他又從另外3個房間拿來鑰匙試，其中一把打開了鎖，他開了門。

The room had two windows looking south and west, and hot bright sunshine filled the room. Here there was no carpet, only wooden floorboards; no pictures, no furniture, except a bed in the farther corner—a metal bed covered with a bluish-grey blanket. You could not imagine a more ordinary room, but there was something that made Thomson close the door very quickly and very quietly behind him, and then lean against the wall in the passage, trembling all over.

這房間有兩面窗戶分別朝南朝西，明亮而炙熱的陽光灑滿了房間。屋里沒有地毯，只有木頭地板；沒有畫，沒有家具，只在遠(yuǎn)處墻角有一張床，一張上面蓋著條帶點兒藍(lán)色的灰毯子的金屬床。這間屋子再平常不過了，卻有某種情況使湯姆森非常迅速而又輕輕地關(guān)上門，然后倚在走廊的墻上渾身發(fā)起抖來。

Under the blanket someone lay, and not only lay, but moved. It was certainly some one and not some thing, because the shape of the head and body was clear under the blanket. However, it was all covered, and no one lies with covered head except a dead person; and this was not dead, not truly dead, because it was moving and shaking.

原來毯子下面躺著個人，不僅是躺著，而且還在動。肯定是人而不是東西，因為毯子下面頭部和身體的輪廓很清晰。然而卻從頭到腳都蓋著，除非死人才蓋著頭躺著，而這人沒有死，沒有真死，因為它還在動并且在發(fā)抖。

Thomson tried to tell himself that he was imagining things, but on this bright sunny day that was impossible. What should he do? First, lock the door again. With a trembling hand he turned the key in the lock, but as he did so, it made a little noise, and at once soft footsteps were heard coming towards the door. Thomson ran to his room and locked himself in, although he knew it was useless. How could doors and locks stop what he suspected? He stood listening for several minutes, but no sound came from the passage.

湯姆森試圖告訴自己他在胡思亂想，可在這光天化日之下這又是不可能的。他該怎么辦呢？首先再鎖上門。他的手顫抖著用鑰匙在鎖眼里轉(zhuǎn)動著，這時出了點兒聲音，他馬上便聽到有輕輕朝門口走來的腳步聲。雖然他知道這么做無濟于事，湯姆森還是跑回自己的房間把自己鎖在了里面。關(guān)上門上了鎖又怎么能擋住他懷疑的東西呢？他站在那里聽了幾分鐘，走廊里沒有任何聲音。

Now he could not think what to do. He wanted to pack his bags and leave the inn at once, but only that morning he had told Mr and Mrs Betts that he would stay for another week. If he left suddenly, they would surely guess the reason. Then he thought, either the Bettses knew about the creature in that room but still stayed in the house, or they knew nothing about it. Perhaps they knew just enough to make them keep the room locked, but not enough to make them leave the house. In any case, they did not seem to be afraid of whatever was in that room, so why should he be afraid of it? He decided to stay another week as he had arranged.

他現(xiàn)在想不出來該怎么做。他想收拾起東西馬上離開這家旅店，可就在那天早上他才告訴貝茨夫婦他要再待上一周。如果他突然走了，他們肯定會猜測其中的原因。這時他想或許貝茨夫婦知道那房間里的東西卻仍住在這套房子里，或許他們對此一無所知。可能他們知道的情況僅使他們將那間屋子鎖起來，卻不至于使他們離開這座房子。無論如何，不管那屋子里有什么東西，他們似乎并不害怕，他為什么要怕呢？于是他決定按原來自己的安排再待上一周。

As the days passed, Thomson listened hard for sounds from the room at the end of the passage, but he heard nothing. Of course he could not ask Mr or Mrs Betts about it, and he did not think he could ask anyone else. However, he wanted very much to find some kind of explanation, so he decided that he would try to see inside the locked room once again before he left the inn.

時間一天天過去，湯姆森仔細(xì)聽著走廊盡頭那間屋子有什么聲音，可什么也沒聽到。他當(dāng)然不能去問貝茨先生或夫人，而且覺得這事也不能去問別人?？墒撬麉s極想弄清此事，于是便決定離開這家旅館前再找機會去看看那鎖著的屋子里面的情況。

He made a simple plan. He would arrange to leave by an afternoon train and would have his luggage put on the cart for the station. Then, just before leaving, he would go back upstairs to make sure that he had not left anything behind. But, instead of going to his own room, he would go to the other. He put oil on the key to make it easier to open the door quietly.

他簡單地計劃了一下：他安排坐下午的火車走并且把行李放在送站的馬車上，然后就在臨走前再回樓上看看是不是忘了什么東西，這時他不回自己的房間而是到那間屋子里去。他在鑰匙上抹了點兒油，這樣開起門來聲音會小一點兒。

His last day arrived. After lunch his luggage was taken downstairs and put on the cart for the station. Mr and Mrs Betts came to the front door to say goodbye. Thomson thanked them for making him so comfortable and they thanked him for staying with them. Then, as he had planned, Thomson said:

最后一天到了。吃完午飯，他的行李被拿下樓放在了送站的馬車上。貝茨夫婦來到前門和他道別。湯姆森感謝他們讓他住得很舒服，夫婦倆也對他住在他們這兒表示感謝。接著，湯姆森照計劃說：

I'll just check that I haven't left a book or anything in my room. No, please don't worry, I can do it myself.'

“我再去看看有沒有把書或什么東西忘在房間里。不過沒事，我自己去看看就行了。”

He hurried up the stairs to the locked room, turned the key quietly and opened the door. He almost laughed aloud. Leaning, or perhaps sitting, on the edge of the bed was—nothing more than an ordinary scarecrow! A scarecrow out of the garden, of course, just put away in the empty room...

他快步上樓來到那間鎖著的屋門前，輕輕轉(zhuǎn)動鑰匙打開了門。他幾乎要大聲笑出來。斜靠在或者說坐在床邊的——只不過是個普普通通的稻草人！一個從花園里搬出來的稻草人，只不過被放在了這間空屋子里……

Yes; but suddenly amusement stopped. Do scarecrows have bony feet? Do their heads roll from side to side on their shoulders? Have they got heavy metal chains around their necks? Can they get up and move across the floor, with rolling head and arms close at their sides... and shake with the cold?

可突然他不再覺得這事情好玩了。稻草人有瘦骨嶙峋的雙腳嗎？頭能在肩膀上晃動嗎？脖子上會有沉重的金屬鏈子嗎？能從床上起來，搖晃著頭、胳膊緊貼著身體兩側(cè)在地上走動……而且凍得發(fā)抖嗎？

Thomson shut the door with a bang, jumped down the stairs and fell in a faint at the door of the inn. When he became conscious again, Mr Betts was standing over him with a glass of whisky and a serious face.

湯姆森砰地一聲關(guān)上門，從樓梯上跳下來，隨即昏倒在旅店門口。他醒過來時，貝茨先生正端著杯威士忌嚴(yán)肅地站在他身邊。

You shouldn't do it, sir,' said Betts. 'You shouldn't go looking into people's secrets, especially when they've done their best to make you comfortable.'

“先生，你可不該這么做，”貝茨說，“你不應(yīng)該窺探別人的秘密，尤其是盡力使你舒服的人家。”

Thomson said that he was very sorry but the innkeeper and his wife found it hard to accept his apologies.

湯姆森說他很抱歉，可旅店老板和妻子覺得難以接受他的道歉。

Who knows what damage it will do to the good name of the inn?' said Mr Betts, and his wife agreed.

“誰知道這件事會對我們旅店的聲譽造成什么損害呢？”貝茨先生說，他妻子也在附和著。

At last Thomson managed to make Mr and Mrs Betts believe that he would not say anything about what he had seen. By that time he had missed his train but he decided to go into town and spend the night at the Station Hotel.

最后湯姆森還是讓貝茨夫婦相信了他不會把自己見到的一切說出去。這時他已經(jīng)錯過了那趟火車，可他決定去鎮(zhèn)上，在火車站旅館過夜。

Before he went, Mr Betts told him what little he knew.

他臨走前，貝茨先生給他講了自己知道的一點兒情況。

They say he used to be the innkeeper here many years ago, and he worked with the thieves who robbed and murdered travellers on the heath. That's why he was hanged—in chains, they say, up at the gallows on that white stone you saw. Yes, the fishermen pulled the gallows down, I believe, because they saw it out at sea, and they said it kept the fish away. We heard all this from the people who sold us the inn. "You keep that room shut up," they said, "but don't move the bed out, and you'll find there won't be any trouble." And we haven't had any trouble. He hasn't once come out into the house, though who knows what he might do now? I've never seen him myself, and I don't want to. But I do hope you'll keep it a secret, sir. If word gets out, people won't want to come and stay here, will they?'

“人們說多年前他是這家旅店的老板，和那些在荒原上搶奪和謀殺旅行者的小偷們同謀一起干壞事，所以被人——據(jù)說用鏈子——吊死在你看見的那塊白石頭上的絞架上。是啊，我想后來那些漁夫們把絞架拆了下來，因為他們在海上就能看見，他們說魚一見到它就跑。這些都是從賣給我們旅店的人們那里聽來的。‘你們把那間屋子的門窗關(guān)好，’他們說，‘別把床搬出來，就不會有什么麻煩。’我們確實也沒遇到什么麻煩。雖然誰也不知道現(xiàn)在他會干什么，但是此前他從來沒出來過。我從來沒看見過他，而且也不想看見。不過，先生，我確實希望你能保守這個秘密。如果傳出去，人們就不會想到這兒來住了，對吧？”

The promise of silence was kept for many years. I heard the story when Mr Thomson, now an old man, came to stay with my father. I was told to take him up to his room, but when we got there, Mr Thomson stepped forward and threw the door open himself. He stood there in the doorway for some moments, looking carefully into every corner of the room.

多年來湯姆森先生一直信守諾言，沒有將此事說出來。如今他已經(jīng)年邁，來看望我的父親我才聽到了這個故事。我奉命帶他上樓到他的房間去。一到那兒，他便走上前去自己用力推開了門。他在門口站了會兒，仔細(xì)看了看房間的每一個角落。

Then he turned to me. 'I beg your pardon,' he said. 'A strange way to behave, I know. But there is a very good reason for it.'

接著他轉(zhuǎn)向我。“對不起，”他說，“這么做很怪，卻是很有理由的。”

A few days later I heard what the reason was, and you have heard it now.

幾天后我聽說了其中的理由，您現(xiàn)在也聽說了。