牛津書蟲(chóng)系列 遠(yuǎn)離塵囂7 農(nóng)場(chǎng)主伯德伍德求婚

Chapter 7 Farmer Boldwood proposes marriage
第七章 農(nóng)場(chǎng)主伯德伍德求婚
On Saturday at Casterbridge market Boldwood saw the woman who was disturbing his dreams.
星期六，在卡斯特橋的集市上，伯德伍德看到了那個(gè)攪亂了他的夢(mèng)的女人。
For the first time he turned his head and looked at her.
第一次他扭過(guò)頭來(lái)看她。
It was in fact the first time in his life that he had looked at any woman.
實(shí)際上，這是他有生以來(lái)頭一次盯著看女人。
Up to now he had considered women to be distant，almost foreign creatures who had nothing to do with him.
到目前為止，他一直都把女人當(dāng)作是遙遠(yuǎn)的，甚至是陌生的、與他無(wú)關(guān)的生物。
Now he saw Bathsheba's hair，and every detail of her face.
現(xiàn)在，他看到了芭絲謝芭的頭發(fā)，看到了她臉上的每一處。
He noticed her figure，her dress，and even her feet.
他注意到了她的身材、她的穿著，甚至她的腳。
She seemed very beautiful to him，and his heart began to move within him.
在他看來(lái)她似乎是很美的，他的心開(kāi)始跳動(dòng)。
'And this woman，this lovely young woman，has asked me to marry her!'he thought.
"這個(gè)女人，這個(gè)漂亮、年輕的女人要我和他結(jié)婚!"他心想。
As he was watching Bathsheba selling wheat to another farmer，he was filled with jealousy.
當(dāng)他看到芭絲謝芭把麥子賣給另一個(gè)農(nóng)場(chǎng)主時(shí)，內(nèi)心充滿嫉妒。
All this time Bathsheba was aware of his eyes on her. At last she had made him look at her!
芭絲謝芭知道伯德伍德的眼睛一直在盯著自己。她終于使他開(kāi)始看她了!
But she would have preferred him to admire her from the beginning，without the encouragement of her valentine.
不過(guò)，她更希望他從一開(kāi)始就喜歡她，而不是由于情人卡的作用。
She felt sorry she had disturbed the usual calmness of a man she respected，
她打擾了一個(gè)為她所尊敬的人的一慣的安寧，她為此感到內(nèi)疚，
but considered she could not apologize to him without either offending or encouraging him.
可又覺(jué)得不能向他道歉，否則，要么會(huì)惹惱他，要么便會(huì)使他得到鼓勵(lì)。
Mr Boldwood did not try to speak to her，and returned home to his farm.
伯德伍德先生沒(méi)有和她說(shuō)話，他回到了農(nóng)場(chǎng)的家里。
He was a man of strong feelings，which normally lay hidden deep inside him.
他是一個(gè)感情強(qiáng)烈的人，他的情感通常都深深地埋在心底。
Because he was serious，and did not joke with his neighbours，
他嚴(yán)肅，不和鄰居們開(kāi)玩笑，
people thought he was cold.
所以人們都覺(jué)得他很冷漠。
But when he loved or hated，it was with his whole heart.
可他愛(ài)誰(shuí)或是恨誰(shuí)時(shí)，卻是全心全意的。
If Bathsheba had known how strong the feelings of this dark and silent figure were，
如果芭絲謝芭知道這個(gè)黝黑、沉靜的人的感情是多么強(qiáng)烈的話，
she would have blamed herself terribly for her thoughtlessness.
她一定會(huì)為自己的不慎重而自責(zé)不已。
But nobody guessed what lay behind his calm appearance.
不過(guò)，誰(shuí)也不知道在他沉靜的外表后面藏著什么。

A few days later Mr Boldwood was looking at Bathsheba's fields，which were next to his own，
幾天后，伯德伍德先生望著與他的地挨著的芭絲謝芭的田地，
when he saw her helping Gabriel Oak with the sheep.
他看見(jiàn)她在幫著蓋伯瑞爾·奧克照料羊群。
To Boldwood，Bathsheba shone like the moon on a dark night.
伯德伍德覺(jué)得芭絲謝芭象黑夜的月亮發(fā)著光。
His heart，which had never been touched before，was filled completely with his love for her.
他的那顆從不為什么所動(dòng)的心充滿了對(duì)她的愛(ài)意。
He decided to go and speak to her.
他決定去對(duì)她表明心聲。
As he stopped at the gate of the field，Bathsheba looked up and noticed him.
他在田地的大門口停住了腳，這時(shí)芭絲謝芭抬起頭來(lái)，注意到了她。
Gabriel was watching her face and saw her blush.
蓋伯瑞爾看著她，發(fā)現(xiàn)她紅了臉。
He immediately thought of the envelope，with the valentine，that Boldwood had shown him，
他立刻想到伯德伍德給他看的那個(gè)裝著情人卡的信封，
and suspected Bathsheba of encouraging the farmer to fall in love with her.
估計(jì)是芭絲謝芭引得這位農(nóng)場(chǎng)主愛(ài)上了她。
Boldwood realized they had noticed him，and suddenly felt unsure of himself.
伯德伍德意識(shí)到他們?cè)谧⒁庾约?，他突然感到?jīng)]有信心。
He did not know enough about women to discover from Bathsheba's manner whether she wanted to see him or not.
他不很了解女人，所以無(wú)法從芭絲謝芭的態(tài)度上弄清她是否愿意見(jiàn)他。
And so he did not enter the field，but walked on， past the gate.
所以他沒(méi)有進(jìn)地里去，而是一直走過(guò)了大門。
Bathsheba，however，knew that he had come to see her， and felt extremely guilty.
芭絲謝芭知道他是來(lái)看她的，心里感到很不安。
She promised herself never again to disturb the peace of this man's life.
她向自己保證決不再打擾這個(gè)人平靜的生活了。
Unfortunately her promise was made too late，as such promises often are.
不幸的是，她的保證太晚了，這種保證常常會(huì)這樣。
It was not until the end of May that Boldwood was brave enough to declare his love.
直到五月底，伯德伍德才鼓起勇氣宣布了他的愛(ài)情。
He went to Bathsheba's house，where the maids told him their mistress was watching the sheep-washing.
他來(lái)到芭絲謝芭的家，女仆告訴他女主人去看給羊洗澡了。
Every spring the sheep were washed in a special pool，to keep their wool clean and to get rid of insects on their skin.
每年春天都在一個(gè)特別的池子里給羊洗澡，這樣可以清潔羊毛，也可去除羊身上的寄生蟲(chóng)。
Boldwood walked across the fields to the pool， where he found the farm workers busily washing the sheep.
伯德伍德穿過(guò)田地走向池塘，他發(fā)現(xiàn)農(nóng)場(chǎng)工人們都在那里忙著給羊洗澡。
Bathsheba was standing near them，and saw Boldwood coming towards her.
芭絲謝芭站在他們跟前，她看到伯德伍德向她走來(lái)。
She moved away，walking beside the river，
她走開(kāi)了，沿著河邊走去，
but she could hear footsteps behind her in the grass，and felt love all around her，like perfume in the air.
她能聽(tīng)到身后草里的腳步聲。她感到她的四周彌漫著愛(ài)意，像空氣中的香味。
Boldwood caught up with her.
伯德伍德追上了她。
'Miss Everdene!'he said quietly.
"伊芙丁小姐!"他輕聲叫道。
She trembled，turned，and said，'Good morning. '
她顫抖了，轉(zhuǎn)身說(shuō)，"早晨好。"
She had guessed the truth from the way he spoke those two words.
她從他說(shuō)話的聲音已猜出了他的來(lái)意。

'I feel-almost too much to think， 'he said simply.
"我想得太多了，都想不清了，"他直截了當(dāng)?shù)卣f(shuō)，
'My life does not belong to me any more，Miss Everdene，but to you.
"伊芙丁小姐，我的生活不再屬于我，而是屬于你。
I've come to propose marriage to you. '
我是來(lái)向你求婚的。"
Bathsheba tried not to show any expression on her face.
芭絲謝芭努力地不使感情在臉上表現(xiàn)出來(lái)。
'I'm now forty-one，'he continued.
"我41歲，"他接著說(shuō)。
'I've never married，or thought I ever would marry.
"從未結(jié)過(guò)婚，甚至從未想過(guò)會(huì)結(jié)婚。
But we all change，and I changed when I saw you.
但人都是變化的，我見(jiàn)到你時(shí)，我變了。
More than anything else，I want you as my wife. '
我現(xiàn)在最迫切需要的就是要你做我的妻子。"
'I think，Mr Boldwood，that although I respect you very much，
"伯德伍德先生，我覺(jué)得盡管我非常尊敬您，
I don't feel-enough for you-to accept your proposal. '
但這并不足以讓我接受你的求婚。"
'But my life is worthless without you!'he cried，calm no longer.
"沒(méi)有你我的生活將毫無(wú)意義!"他嚷道，有些沉不住氣了。
'I want you-to let me say I love you，again and again!'
"希望你允許我一遍遍地說(shuō)我愛(ài)你!"
Bathsheba remained silent.
芭絲謝芭沉默不語(yǔ)。
'I think and hope you care enough for me to listen to what I have to say!'he added.
"我希望你能把我當(dāng)回事，聽(tīng)我說(shuō)說(shuō)我的心里話。"他又說(shuō)道。
Bathsheba was about to ask why he should think that，when she remembered the valentine.
芭絲謝芭正準(zhǔn)備問(wèn)他怎么會(huì)這樣想時(shí)，突然記起了那張情人卡。
After all，it was quite natural for him to think she admired him.
這樣，伯德伍德認(rèn)為芭絲謝芭喜歡他是很自然的。
'I wish I could court you with beautiful words，'the farmer went on，
"我希望我能用漂亮的言詞追求你，"農(nóng)場(chǎng)主繼續(xù)說(shuō)，
'but I can only say I love you madly and want you for my wife.
"但我只能說(shuō)我發(fā)瘋地愛(ài)著你，而且想要你做我的妻子。
I wouldn't have proposed if you hadn't allowed me to hope. '
要不是你燃起了我的希望，我是不會(huì)求婚的。"
'Mr Boldwood，this is difficult for me!
"伯德伍德先生，這對(duì)我太難了!
I'm afraid I can't marry you. I'm not in love with you!
恐怕我不能和你結(jié)婚。我并不愛(ài)你!
I should never have sent that valentine-forgive me-it was a thoughtless thing to do. '
我不該寄那張情人卡--請(qǐng)?jiān)?-那樣做是欠考慮的。"
'No，no，don't say it was thoughtless!
"不，不，別說(shuō)那件事是欠考慮的!

Say it was the beginning of a feeling that you would like me.
說(shuō)它是你喜歡我的開(kāi)始。
Just consider whether you can accept me as a husband.
考慮一下你是否愿意我做你的丈夫。
I know I'm too old for you，but believe me， I'll take more care of you than a younger man would.
我明白對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)我有點(diǎn)太老了，可是相信我，我會(huì)比年輕的人照顧得你更好。
You'll have nothing to worry about.
你沒(méi)有需要操心的事。
You'll have everything you want.
你會(huì)擁有你需要的一切!
God only knows how much you mean to me!'
只有天知道你對(duì)我意味著什么!"
Bathsheba's young heart was full of pity for this sensitive man who had spoken so simply and honestly.
芭絲謝芭那顆年輕的心對(duì)這個(gè)敏感的人充滿了憐憫，他講得如此的直率和誠(chéng)懇。
'Don't say it，don't!You feel so much，and I feel nothing，'she replied.
"別這么說(shuō)，別這么說(shuō)!你的感情如此強(qiáng)烈，而我卻什么都不覺(jué)得，"她回答說(shuō)。
'Don't discuss it any more. I can't think!Oh，I've given you such pain!'
"別再說(shuō)這個(gè)了，我無(wú)法考慮!唉，我使你這么痛苦!"
'Tell me that you don't refuse completely.
"告訴我你并沒(méi)有完全拒絕我。
Give me some hope!
給我一線希望!
May I ask you again?
我可以再求婚嗎?
May I think of you?'
我可以想你嗎?"
'Yes，I suppose so. '
"可以，我想可以。"
'May I hope you will accept my proposal next time?'
"我可以希望你下次會(huì)接受我的求婚嗎?"
'No，don't hope!I must go now. Give me time to think. '
"不，別抱希望!我現(xiàn)在得走了。給我時(shí)間讓我想想。"
'Yes，I'll give you time，'he answered gratefully. 'Thank you，I'm happier now. '
"行，我給你時(shí)間，"他感激地說(shuō)。"謝謝你，現(xiàn)在我高興了。"
'No，please，don't be happier，Mr Boldwood，if happiness only comes from my agreeing!
"請(qǐng)別這樣，伯德伍德先生，要是僅僅因?yàn)槲彝?，你就覺(jué)得那么高興，那你就先別高興!
I must think. '
我必須考慮考慮。"
I'll wait，'he agreed. They turned away from each other， and returned to their separate houses.
"我可以等，"他同意了。他們分手，各自回到自己的家里。