★以下是英文寫作翻譯頻道為大家整理的《海倫.凱勒經典英文名著閱讀《我的生活》：Chapter 2》，供大家參考。更多內容請看本站寫作翻譯頻道。
Chapter II 第二章 I cannot recall what happened during the first months after my illness. I only know that I sat in my mother's lap or clung to her dress as she went about her household duties. My hands felt every object and observed every motion, and in this way I learned to know many things. Soon I felt the need of some communication with others and began to make crude signs. A shake of the head meant "No" and a nod, "Yes," a pull meant "Come" and a push, "Go." Was it bread that I wanted? Then I would imitate the acts of cutting the slices and buttering them. If I wanted my mother to make ice-cream for dinner I made the sign for working the freezer and shivered, indicating cold. My mother, moreover, succeeded in making me understand a good deal. I always knew when she wished me to bring her something, and I would run upstairs or anywhere else she indicated. Indeed, I owe to her loving wisdom all that was bright and good in my long night. 在我生病之后的頭一個月里發(fā)生了什么，我已經記不得了。我只知道我曾坐在母親的腿上，或者在她做家務的時候緊緊地依附在她的衣服上。我的雙手可以感知每一種物體的形狀，也可以“觀察”每一個移動的物體，正是通過這種方式，我了解了許多事情。后來，我覺得我需要同他人進行交流，于是我開始做出一些簡單的舉動。比如用搖頭表示“不”，用點頭表示“行”；往回拉的動作表示“回來”，向外推則表示“去”。如果我想吃面包怎么辦？我會模仿切面包片，然后往上涂抹黃油的動作。假如我想讓母親在晚餐時做點冰激凌吃，我就會做出攪動和渾身顫抖的動作，這表示“冰涼”。此外，我的母親也成功地讓我領會了很多事情。當她想讓我為她拿東西的時候，我馬上就能理解，我會跑到樓上或者她告訴我的其他任何地方。事實上，在夤夜漫漫的生活中，我要感謝母親用她富于智慧的無私之愛驅除掉我身邊的黑暗，讓我體會到生命的美好。 I understood a good deal of what was going on about me. At five I learned to fold and put away the clean clothes when they were brought in from the laundry, and I distinguished my own from the rest. I knew by the way my mother and aunt dressed when they were going out, and I invariably begged to go with them. I was always sent for when there was company, and when the guests took their leave, I waved my hand to them, I think with a vague remembrance of the meaning of the gesture. One day some gentlemen called on my mother, and I felt the shutting of the front door and other sounds that indicated their arrival. On a sudden thought I ran upstairs before any one could stop me, to put on my idea of a company dress. Standing before the mirror, as I had seen others do, I anointed mine head with oil and covered my face thickly with powder. Then I pinned a veil over my head so that it covered my face and fell in folds down to my shoulders, and tied an enormous bustle round my small waist, so that it dangled behind, almost meeting the hem of my skirt. Thus attired I went down to help entertain the company. 我明白我的未來所面臨的巨大考驗。在我五歲的時候，我學會了把干凈的衣服疊好并且收起來，而且，在洗衣房送來的衣物中，我會辨別出哪些是自己的衣服。通過這種方式，我也順便知道了母親和姨媽會在什么時候外出。我總是央求她們帶我一起去。家里有客人來的時候，我會主動打招呼；當他們走的時候，我會朝他們揮手道別。當然，關于那些手勢的記憶是含混不清的。有一天，一些紳士邀請我母親外出，我感覺到了大門關閉的震動和他們離去的聲音。一個突如其來的念頭令我跑上了樓，我穿上了外出的禮服，站在鏡子前。就像其他人做的那樣，我往自己的頭上抹油，還往自己的臉上涂滿厚厚的香粉。隨后，我在頭上別了一塊面紗，于是我的臉和肩膀全都埋進了面紗的褶皺里。我還在腰間系了一個碩大的繩結，繩結懸垂在身后，幾乎碰到了裙角。帶著這身打扮，我會下樓逗眾人開心。 I do not remember when I first realized that I was different from other people; but I knew it before my teacher came to me. I had noticed that my mother and my friends did not use signs as I did when they wanted anything done, but talked with their mouths. Sometimes I stood between two persons who were conversing and touched their lips. I could not understand, and was vexed. I moved my lips and gesticulated frantically without result. This made me so angry at times that I kicked and screamed until I was exhausted. 至于我第意識到自己同別人不同時的感受，我已經不記得了；但是在我的老師到來之前，我就知道自己與眾不同。我注意到我的母親和我的朋友們都不像我這樣，她們在做事時不會使用手勢，而是用嘴交談就行了。有時候，我會站在兩個談話的大人之間，用手去摸他們的嘴唇。我無法理解，而且懊惱異常。于是，我試著移動自己的嘴唇，并且瘋狂而徒勞地進行模仿。無奈的舉動令我如此憤怒，我又踢又叫，直至筋疲力荊 I think I knew when I was naughty, for I knew that it hurt Ella, my nurse, to kick her, and when my fit of temper was over I had a feeling akin to regret. But I cannot remember any instance in which this feeling prevented me from repeating the naughtiness when I failed to get what I wanted. 我想，那時候我知道自己的乖戾頑皮，因為我記得我傷害過我的保姆埃拉，我曾踢過她。狂暴過后，我就會生出幾分懊悔，但是我不記得這種歉疚感有沒有令我的胡鬧收斂一些。 In those days a little coloured girl, Martha Washington, the child of our cook, and Belle, an old setter and a great hunter in her day, were my constant companions. Martha Washington understood my signs, and I seldom had any difficulty in making her do just as I wished. It pleased me to domineer over her, and she generally submitted to my tyranny rather than risk a hand-to-hand encounter. I was strong, active, indifferent to consequences. I knew my own mind well enough and always had my own way, even if I had to fight tooth and nail for it. We spent a great deal of time in the kitchen, kneading dough balls, helping make ice-cream, grinding coffee, quarreling over the cake-bowl, and feeding the hens and turkeys that swarmed about the kitchen steps. Many of them were so tame that they would eat from my hand and let me feel them. One big gobbler snatched a tomato from me one day and ran away with it. Inspired, perhaps, by Master Gobbler's success, we carried off to the woodpile a cake which the cook had just frosted, and ate every bit of it. I was quite ill afterward, and I wonder if retribution also overtook the turkey. 在早年的歲月，我有兩個忠實的伙伴，那個打扮得花枝招展的小姑娘叫瑪莎·華盛頓，她是我家廚師的孩子；還有貝拉，她是一只非常出色的老獵犬。瑪莎·華盛頓明白我的手勢，所以同她交流我很少遇到困難，她總是能夠聽命于我。在她面前發(fā)號施令讓我感到高興。在通常情況下，她總是遷就于我的蠻橫和專制，而且不會冒險同我作正面沖突。我感受著自己的強大，進取，而并不在意后果如何。我十分清楚自己的念頭，但總是一意孤行，我甚至會用牙齒和指甲相脅，以此來滿足自己的要求。我們花了大量的時間在廚房里幫工，揉面團兒，做冰激凌，研磨咖啡豆，為烤制蛋糕爭吵不休，給聚集在廚房臺階上的母雞和火雞喂食。這些家禽都很溫順，它們會從我手里取食，從而讓我感受到它們的存在。有一天，一只碩大的雄火雞從我手里叼走了一個番茄，然后迅速跑掉了。當時，或許是受到了“高博勒先生”成功經驗的鼓舞，我們贏得了一個蛋糕，廚子剛剛在上面撒了一層糖霜，蛋糕被我們一點一點地吃掉了。后來我生了一場大病，我不知道這是不是因為追趕火雞而遭受的報應。 The guinea-fowl likes to hide her nest in out-of-the-way places, and it was one of my greatest delights to hunt for the eggs in the long grass. I could not tell Martha Washington when I wanted to go egg-hunting, but I would double my hands and put them on the ground, which meant something round in the grass, and Martha always understood. When we were fortunate enough to find a nest I never allowed her to carry the eggs home, making her understand by emphatic signs that she might fall and break them. 珍珠雞喜歡把巢藏匿在偏僻角落里，我大的快樂之一就是搜尋草窩里的雞蛋。我找雞蛋的時候無法直接對瑪莎·華盛頓說，我會攥起拳頭，再把它們放在草地上，這表示有什么東西在草地上滾動，而瑪莎總能領會我的意圖。運氣好的話，我們就會找到一個雞窩，可是我從來不會讓瑪莎把雞蛋帶回家，我會做出強烈的手勢讓她明白，她應該把雞蛋扔在地上打碎。 The sheds where the corn was stored, the stable where the horses were kept, and the yard where the cows were milked morning and evening were unfailing sources of interest to Martha and me. The milkers would let me keep my hands on the cows while they milked, and I often got well switched by the cow for my curiosity. 像谷倉，馬廄，還有每天早晚給奶牛擠奶的庭院都是我和瑪莎感興趣的地方。擠奶工給牛擠奶的時候會讓我把兩手放在牛身上。為了滿足自己的好奇心，我經常對牛又擰又掐。 The making ready for Christmas was always a delight to me. Of course I did not know what it was all about, but I enjoyed the pleasant odours that filled the house and the tidbits that were given to Martha Washington and me to keep us quiet. We were sadly in the way, but that did not interfere with our pleasure in the least. They allowed us to grind the spices, pick over the raisins and lick the stirring spoons. I hung my stocking because the others did; I cannot remember, however, that the ceremony interested me especially, nor did my curiosity cause me to wake before daylight to look for my gifts. 為圣誕節(jié)做準備總會令我歡欣鼓舞。當然，我并不知道這是一個什么樣的節(jié)日，但是彌漫在房子里的香味令我陶醉其中，而花樣繁多的美食也會讓我和瑪莎·華盛頓安靜下來。我們倆也會有不順心的時候，但是這絲毫也不妨礙我們享受節(jié)日的快樂。大人們會允許我們倆幫他們研磨香料，挑揀葡萄干，或者用勺子攪拌餡料。我也像其他人那樣把自己的長襪掛起來，雖然不知道為什么這么做，可是這種儀式令我興味盎然。這倒不是為了好奇，而是因為一覺醒來，我就可以在襪子里找到禮物。 Martha Washington had as great a love of mischief as I. Two little children were seated on the veranda steps one hot July afternoon. One was black as ebony, with little bunches of fuzzy hair tied with shoestrings sticking out all over her head like corkscrews. The other was white, with long golden curls. One child was six years old, the other two or three years older. The younger child was blind--that was I--and the other was Martha Washington. We were busy cutting out paper dolls; but we soon wearied of this amusement, and after cutting up our shoestrings and clipping all the leaves off the honeysuckle that were within reach, I turned my attention to Martha's corkscrews. She objected at first, but finally submitted. Thinking that turn and turn about is fair play, she seized the scissors and cut off one of my curls, and would have cut them all off but for my mother's timely interference. 瑪莎·華盛頓同我一樣喜歡搞惡作劇。記得那年7月一個炎熱的午后，有兩個小孩兒坐在走廊的臺階上，一個是黑人小姑娘，梳著一束束俏皮的像螺絲錐一樣的頭發(fā)；另一個是白人小姑娘，有著一頭長長的金色鬈發(fā)。其中一個孩子六歲，另一個只有兩歲或三歲大。那個年幼的小孩是個盲童——這個孩子就是我——另一個孩子是瑪莎·華盛頓。當時我們倆正埋頭剪紙娃娃玩兒，可是沒多久我們就厭倦了這個游戲，于是，我們倆又開始剪樹葉，我們把能夠到的金銀花葉子都剪了下來。接著，我開始把注意力轉到瑪莎那像螺絲錐的頭發(fā)上，起初她反對我打她頭發(fā)的主意，但終還是屈服了。就這樣，我們倆輪流玩起了公平的游戲，她抓過剪刀剪掉我的一束鬈發(fā)。我想，要不是媽媽及時制止，她一定會把我的頭發(fā)都剪光的。 Belle, our dog, my other companion, was old and lazy and liked to sleep by the open fire rather than to romp with me. I tried hard to teach her my sign language, but she was dull and inattentive. She sometimes started and quivered with excitement, then she became perfectly rigid, as dogs do when they point a bird. I did not then know why Belle acted in this way; but I knew she was not doing as I wished. This vexed me and the lesson always ended in a one-sided boxing match. Belle would get up, stretch herself lazily, give one or two contemptuous sniffs, go to the opposite side of the hearth and lie down again, and I, wearied and disappointed, went off in search of Martha. 貝拉是我們家的狗，也是我的另一個伙伴，她又老又懶，喜歡在壁爐旁睡覺，而不太愿意同我玩耍。于是我努力教她我的“手勢語言”，但是她總是反應遲鈍，心不在焉。有時候，她會興奮得渾身顫抖，變得躍躍欲試，就像狗兒們將目標鎖定在一只鳥時所做的那樣。我并不知道貝拉為什么會有如此表現(xiàn)，但是我知道她肯定沒有按照我的要求去做。這令我十分懊惱，所以，我的訓練課總是以對貝拉一通亂捶作為結束。而貝拉則會爬起來伸伸懶腰，然后輕蔑地打一兩個響鼻兒，再跑到壁爐的另一邊就地一躺。為此，我感到既無奈又失望，后我只有丟下貝拉去找瑪莎玩。 Many incidents of those early years are fixed in my memory, isolated, but clear and distinct, making the sense of that silent, aimless, dayless life all the more intense. 早年的很多事情都被我牢牢地記在心里，雖然互不相干，但是它們是如此清晰，宛如歷歷在目，它們加劇了我對沉寂、無助而迷惘的生活的思考。 One day I happened to spill water on my apron, and I spread it out to dry before the fire which was flickering on the sitting-room hearth. The apron did not dry quickly enough to suit me, so I drew nearer and threw it right over the hot ashes. The fire leaped into life; the flames encircled me so that in a moment my clothes were blazing. I made a terrified noise that brought Viny, my old nurse, to the rescue. Throwing a blanket over me, she almost suffocated me, but she put out the fire. Except for my hands and hair I was not badly burned. 記得有一天，我不小心把圍裙弄濕了，于是，我把圍裙鋪在客廳的壁爐邊烘烤。濕圍裙不會那么快就被烤干的，所以我就讓它離火源更近一些，結果正好碰到了余燼。圍裙一下子燒著了，火苗圍繞在我身邊，甚至連我的衣服都被引燃了。我驚慌失措的吵鬧驚動了我的老保姆維妮，她急忙跑過來救我。維妮把一條毯子蓋在我身上，我給憋得幾近窒息，不過她還是把火給撲滅了。所以除了雙手和頭發(fā)被燒了一下外，我并無大礙。 About this time I found out the use of a key. One morning I locked my mother up in the pantry, where she was obliged to remain three hours, as the servants were in a detached part of the house. She kept pounding on the door, while I sat outside on the porch steps and laughed with glee as I felt the jar of the pounding. This most naughty prank of mine convinced my parents that I must be taught as soon as possible. After my teacher, Miss Sullivan, came to me, I sought an early opportunity to lock her in her room. I went upstairs with something which my mother made me understand I was to give to Miss Sullivan; but no sooner had I given it to her than I slammed the door to, locked it, and hid the key under the wardrobe in the hall. I could not be induced to tell where the key was. My father was obliged to get a ladder and take Miss Sullivan out through the window--much to my delight. Months after I produced the key. 就是在那個時候，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己會使用鑰匙了。一天早晨，我把母親鎖在了儲藏室里，她被迫在里面待了三個小時，因為那時仆人們都出去干活了。母親不停地敲打房門，我能感覺到敲擊房門的震動聲，可我卻坐在走廊的臺階上咯咯地笑。這類令人頭疼的惡作劇使我的父母意識到，我必須盡快接受教育。記得在我的老師蘇立文小姐到來后，我還找了一個機會把她鎖在了自己房間里。當時母親領我上樓去見蘇立文小姐，她想讓我明白她要把我交給老師?？墒菦]多久我就砰地一下把門關上，而且還上了鎖。然后，我又把鑰匙藏在了走廊里的衣櫥里。家人并沒有哄我交出鑰匙。結果，我的父親只得搬了一把梯子，把蘇立文小姐從窗口接了出來。這出小把戲讓我高興了好一陣兒。幾個月之后我才交出了鑰匙。 When I was about five years old we moved from the little vine-covered house to a large new one. The family consisted of my father and mother, two older half-brothers, and, afterward, a little sister, Mildred. My earliest distinct recollection of my father is making my way through great drifts of newspapers to his side and finding him alone, holding a sheet of paper before his face. I was greatly puzzled to know what he was doing. I imitated this action, even wearing his spectacles, thinking they might help solve the mystery. But I did not find out the secret for several years. Then I learned what those papers were, and that my father edited one of them. 在我五歲大的時候，我們從藤蘿覆蓋的小房子搬到了一個新建的大房子里。這個家庭由我的父母，兩個同父異母的哥哥，還有后來出生的小妹妹米爾德萊德組成。我早而且印象深的有關父親的記憶，就是我搖搖晃晃地穿過一堆堆的報紙來到他身邊，這時我就會發(fā)現(xiàn)他總是獨自拿著一沓報紙擺在面前。我會感到極其迷惑，很想知道他在做什么。我也會模仿他的動作，甚至戴上了他的眼鏡，因為我想眼鏡或許能幫我解開未知的秘密。但是若干年過去了，我沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)什么秘密。后來我才了解到那些報紙的來歷——我的父親是在對文章進行編輯校對。 My father was most loving and indulgent, devoted to his home, seldom leaving us, except in the hunting season. He was a great hunter, I have been told, and a celebrated shot. Next to his family he loved his dogs and gun. His hospitality was great, almost to a fault, and he seldom came home without bringing a guest. His special pride was the big garden where, it was said, he raised the finest watermelons and strawberries in the county; and to me he brought the first ripe grapes and the choicest berries. I remember his caressing touch as he led me from tree to tree, from vine to vine, and his eager delight in whatever pleased me. 我的父親是那種極其眷顧家庭的人，除了狩獵季節(jié)，他很少離開我們。他是一個出色的獵人，有著一手好槍法。在家庭之外，他愛他的狗和獵槍。另外，他還是一個極其好客的人，這幾乎成了他的一個性格弱點，他很少有不帶客人回家的時候。他引以為豪的地方就是我們家的大花園，據(jù)說，他培育的西瓜和草莓是全縣好的，我還記得他把先成熟的葡萄和精選的漿果摘給我吃。他充滿慈愛地領著我在果樹和藤蘿之間穿行，他積極樂觀的情緒時刻感染著我。 He was a famous story-teller; after I had acquired language he used to spell clumsily into my hand his cleverest anecdotes, and nothing pleased him more than to have me repeat them at an opportune moment. 父親是一個很會講故事的人，在我掌握了語言以后，他常常會笨拙地在我手上拼寫字詞，并以此來講述他的那些奇聞逸事。在“講完”故事后，他會讓我馬上“復述”出來，再也沒有什么比重復故事更令他高興的事了。 I was in the North, enjoying the last beautiful days of the summer of 1896, when I heard the news of my father's death. He had had a short illness, there had been a brief time of acute suffering, then all was over. This was my first great sorrow--my first personal experience with death. 1896年，當時我住在北方，正愜意地享受著夏日后的時光，就是在那個時候，我聽到了父親的死訊。他死于突發(fā)疾病，經歷了短暫的痛苦后，人就這么離去了。父親的死亡是我人生中第感受到的巨大悲慟——也使我第對死亡有了自己的認識。 How shall I write of my mother? She is so near to me that it almost seems indelicate to speak of her. 我又如何描述我的母親呢？她離我是那么近，對我而言，用語言來描述她是近乎失禮的舉動。 For a long time I regarded my little sister as an intruder. I knew that I had ceased to be my mother's only darling, and the thought filled me with jealousy. She sat in my mother's lap constantly, where I used to sit, and seemed to take up all her care and time. One day something happened which seemed to me to be adding insult to injury. 有很長一段時間，我都把我的小妹妹視做一個入侵者。當時，我知道我已經不再是母親的寶貝，我的心里充滿了嫉妒。妹妹總是坐在母親的膝蓋上，那里本是我坐的位置，而現(xiàn)在卻被她完全占領了，她受到了所有的呵護與關愛。有一天，發(fā)生了一件不愉快的事情，那件事使我覺得受到了莫大的侮辱。 At that time I had a much-petted, much-abused doll, which I afterward named Nancy. She was, alas, the helpless victim of my outbursts of temper and of affection, so that she became much the worse for wear. I had dolls which talked, and cried, and opened and shut their eyes; yet I never loved one of them as I loved poor Nancy. She had a cradle, and I often spent an hour or more rocking her. I guarded both doll and cradle with the most jealous care; but once I discovered my little sister sleeping peacefully in the cradle. At this presumption on the part of one to whom as yet no tie of love bound me I grew angry. I rushed upon the cradle and over-turned it, and the baby might have been killed had my mother not caught her as she fell. Thus it is that when we walk in the valley of twofold solitude we know little of the tender affections that grow out of endearing words and actions and companionship. But afterward, when I was restored to my human heritage, Mildred and I grew into each other's hearts, so that we were content to go hand-in-hand wherever caprice led us, although she could not understand my finger language, nor I her childish prattle. 那時我有一個成天抱在手里，既寵又恨的洋娃娃，后來我給她起名叫南希。唉，實際上，這個娃娃只是供我發(fā)脾氣的犧牲品，所以，她總是一副破衣爛衫的樣子。我有會說話的洋娃娃，也有會哭和會眨眼睛的洋娃娃，但是我從來都不會像愛我的破南希那樣愛她們。南希有一個搖籃，我經?；ㄒ粋€小時甚至更多的時間把她放在搖籃里搖動。我無比關切地守護著娃娃和她的搖籃。但是有，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的小妹妹安靜地躺在搖籃里熟睡?，F(xiàn)在只能做出這樣的推測，那時根本就沒有愛和親情的紐帶能束縛住我的憤怒。于是，我沖過去把搖籃翻了個個兒，要不是母親上前抓住了她，妹妹也許會被我殺死。所以說，當我們行走在備感孤獨的幽谷之中，我們才會逐漸了解到充滿關愛的言行以及友情所帶給我們的感動。后來，當我重新恢復了人類友愛的本性后，我和米爾德萊德已經成長為彼此交心的姊妹。無論世事如何變化，我們倆都愿意手拉手地面對眼前的一切，雖然她不懂我的手語，而我也不明白她那些孩子氣的語言。
Chapter II 第二章 I cannot recall what happened during the first months after my illness. I only know that I sat in my mother's lap or clung to her dress as she went about her household duties. My hands felt every object and observed every motion, and in this way I learned to know many things. Soon I felt the need of some communication with others and began to make crude signs. A shake of the head meant "No" and a nod, "Yes," a pull meant "Come" and a push, "Go." Was it bread that I wanted? Then I would imitate the acts of cutting the slices and buttering them. If I wanted my mother to make ice-cream for dinner I made the sign for working the freezer and shivered, indicating cold. My mother, moreover, succeeded in making me understand a good deal. I always knew when she wished me to bring her something, and I would run upstairs or anywhere else she indicated. Indeed, I owe to her loving wisdom all that was bright and good in my long night. 在我生病之后的頭一個月里發(fā)生了什么，我已經記不得了。我只知道我曾坐在母親的腿上，或者在她做家務的時候緊緊地依附在她的衣服上。我的雙手可以感知每一種物體的形狀，也可以“觀察”每一個移動的物體，正是通過這種方式，我了解了許多事情。后來，我覺得我需要同他人進行交流，于是我開始做出一些簡單的舉動。比如用搖頭表示“不”，用點頭表示“行”；往回拉的動作表示“回來”，向外推則表示“去”。如果我想吃面包怎么辦？我會模仿切面包片，然后往上涂抹黃油的動作。假如我想讓母親在晚餐時做點冰激凌吃，我就會做出攪動和渾身顫抖的動作，這表示“冰涼”。此外，我的母親也成功地讓我領會了很多事情。當她想讓我為她拿東西的時候，我馬上就能理解，我會跑到樓上或者她告訴我的其他任何地方。事實上，在夤夜漫漫的生活中，我要感謝母親用她富于智慧的無私之愛驅除掉我身邊的黑暗，讓我體會到生命的美好。 I understood a good deal of what was going on about me. At five I learned to fold and put away the clean clothes when they were brought in from the laundry, and I distinguished my own from the rest. I knew by the way my mother and aunt dressed when they were going out, and I invariably begged to go with them. I was always sent for when there was company, and when the guests took their leave, I waved my hand to them, I think with a vague remembrance of the meaning of the gesture. One day some gentlemen called on my mother, and I felt the shutting of the front door and other sounds that indicated their arrival. On a sudden thought I ran upstairs before any one could stop me, to put on my idea of a company dress. Standing before the mirror, as I had seen others do, I anointed mine head with oil and covered my face thickly with powder. Then I pinned a veil over my head so that it covered my face and fell in folds down to my shoulders, and tied an enormous bustle round my small waist, so that it dangled behind, almost meeting the hem of my skirt. Thus attired I went down to help entertain the company. 我明白我的未來所面臨的巨大考驗。在我五歲的時候，我學會了把干凈的衣服疊好并且收起來，而且，在洗衣房送來的衣物中，我會辨別出哪些是自己的衣服。通過這種方式，我也順便知道了母親和姨媽會在什么時候外出。我總是央求她們帶我一起去。家里有客人來的時候，我會主動打招呼；當他們走的時候，我會朝他們揮手道別。當然，關于那些手勢的記憶是含混不清的。有一天，一些紳士邀請我母親外出，我感覺到了大門關閉的震動和他們離去的聲音。一個突如其來的念頭令我跑上了樓，我穿上了外出的禮服，站在鏡子前。就像其他人做的那樣，我往自己的頭上抹油，還往自己的臉上涂滿厚厚的香粉。隨后，我在頭上別了一塊面紗，于是我的臉和肩膀全都埋進了面紗的褶皺里。我還在腰間系了一個碩大的繩結，繩結懸垂在身后，幾乎碰到了裙角。帶著這身打扮，我會下樓逗眾人開心。 I do not remember when I first realized that I was different from other people; but I knew it before my teacher came to me. I had noticed that my mother and my friends did not use signs as I did when they wanted anything done, but talked with their mouths. Sometimes I stood between two persons who were conversing and touched their lips. I could not understand, and was vexed. I moved my lips and gesticulated frantically without result. This made me so angry at times that I kicked and screamed until I was exhausted. 至于我第意識到自己同別人不同時的感受，我已經不記得了；但是在我的老師到來之前，我就知道自己與眾不同。我注意到我的母親和我的朋友們都不像我這樣，她們在做事時不會使用手勢，而是用嘴交談就行了。有時候，我會站在兩個談話的大人之間，用手去摸他們的嘴唇。我無法理解，而且懊惱異常。于是，我試著移動自己的嘴唇，并且瘋狂而徒勞地進行模仿。無奈的舉動令我如此憤怒，我又踢又叫，直至筋疲力荊 I think I knew when I was naughty, for I knew that it hurt Ella, my nurse, to kick her, and when my fit of temper was over I had a feeling akin to regret. But I cannot remember any instance in which this feeling prevented me from repeating the naughtiness when I failed to get what I wanted. 我想，那時候我知道自己的乖戾頑皮，因為我記得我傷害過我的保姆埃拉，我曾踢過她。狂暴過后，我就會生出幾分懊悔，但是我不記得這種歉疚感有沒有令我的胡鬧收斂一些。 In those days a little coloured girl, Martha Washington, the child of our cook, and Belle, an old setter and a great hunter in her day, were my constant companions. Martha Washington understood my signs, and I seldom had any difficulty in making her do just as I wished. It pleased me to domineer over her, and she generally submitted to my tyranny rather than risk a hand-to-hand encounter. I was strong, active, indifferent to consequences. I knew my own mind well enough and always had my own way, even if I had to fight tooth and nail for it. We spent a great deal of time in the kitchen, kneading dough balls, helping make ice-cream, grinding coffee, quarreling over the cake-bowl, and feeding the hens and turkeys that swarmed about the kitchen steps. Many of them were so tame that they would eat from my hand and let me feel them. One big gobbler snatched a tomato from me one day and ran away with it. Inspired, perhaps, by Master Gobbler's success, we carried off to the woodpile a cake which the cook had just frosted, and ate every bit of it. I was quite ill afterward, and I wonder if retribution also overtook the turkey. 在早年的歲月，我有兩個忠實的伙伴，那個打扮得花枝招展的小姑娘叫瑪莎·華盛頓，她是我家廚師的孩子；還有貝拉，她是一只非常出色的老獵犬。瑪莎·華盛頓明白我的手勢，所以同她交流我很少遇到困難，她總是能夠聽命于我。在她面前發(fā)號施令讓我感到高興。在通常情況下，她總是遷就于我的蠻橫和專制，而且不會冒險同我作正面沖突。我感受著自己的強大，進取，而并不在意后果如何。我十分清楚自己的念頭，但總是一意孤行，我甚至會用牙齒和指甲相脅，以此來滿足自己的要求。我們花了大量的時間在廚房里幫工，揉面團兒，做冰激凌，研磨咖啡豆，為烤制蛋糕爭吵不休，給聚集在廚房臺階上的母雞和火雞喂食。這些家禽都很溫順，它們會從我手里取食，從而讓我感受到它們的存在。有一天，一只碩大的雄火雞從我手里叼走了一個番茄，然后迅速跑掉了。當時，或許是受到了“高博勒先生”成功經驗的鼓舞，我們贏得了一個蛋糕，廚子剛剛在上面撒了一層糖霜，蛋糕被我們一點一點地吃掉了。后來我生了一場大病，我不知道這是不是因為追趕火雞而遭受的報應。 The guinea-fowl likes to hide her nest in out-of-the-way places, and it was one of my greatest delights to hunt for the eggs in the long grass. I could not tell Martha Washington when I wanted to go egg-hunting, but I would double my hands and put them on the ground, which meant something round in the grass, and Martha always understood. When we were fortunate enough to find a nest I never allowed her to carry the eggs home, making her understand by emphatic signs that she might fall and break them. 珍珠雞喜歡把巢藏匿在偏僻角落里，我大的快樂之一就是搜尋草窩里的雞蛋。我找雞蛋的時候無法直接對瑪莎·華盛頓說，我會攥起拳頭，再把它們放在草地上，這表示有什么東西在草地上滾動，而瑪莎總能領會我的意圖。運氣好的話，我們就會找到一個雞窩，可是我從來不會讓瑪莎把雞蛋帶回家，我會做出強烈的手勢讓她明白，她應該把雞蛋扔在地上打碎。 The sheds where the corn was stored, the stable where the horses were kept, and the yard where the cows were milked morning and evening were unfailing sources of interest to Martha and me. The milkers would let me keep my hands on the cows while they milked, and I often got well switched by the cow for my curiosity. 像谷倉，馬廄，還有每天早晚給奶牛擠奶的庭院都是我和瑪莎感興趣的地方。擠奶工給牛擠奶的時候會讓我把兩手放在牛身上。為了滿足自己的好奇心，我經常對牛又擰又掐。 The making ready for Christmas was always a delight to me. Of course I did not know what it was all about, but I enjoyed the pleasant odours that filled the house and the tidbits that were given to Martha Washington and me to keep us quiet. We were sadly in the way, but that did not interfere with our pleasure in the least. They allowed us to grind the spices, pick over the raisins and lick the stirring spoons. I hung my stocking because the others did; I cannot remember, however, that the ceremony interested me especially, nor did my curiosity cause me to wake before daylight to look for my gifts. 為圣誕節(jié)做準備總會令我歡欣鼓舞。當然，我并不知道這是一個什么樣的節(jié)日，但是彌漫在房子里的香味令我陶醉其中，而花樣繁多的美食也會讓我和瑪莎·華盛頓安靜下來。我們倆也會有不順心的時候，但是這絲毫也不妨礙我們享受節(jié)日的快樂。大人們會允許我們倆幫他們研磨香料，挑揀葡萄干，或者用勺子攪拌餡料。我也像其他人那樣把自己的長襪掛起來，雖然不知道為什么這么做，可是這種儀式令我興味盎然。這倒不是為了好奇，而是因為一覺醒來，我就可以在襪子里找到禮物。 Martha Washington had as great a love of mischief as I. Two little children were seated on the veranda steps one hot July afternoon. One was black as ebony, with little bunches of fuzzy hair tied with shoestrings sticking out all over her head like corkscrews. The other was white, with long golden curls. One child was six years old, the other two or three years older. The younger child was blind--that was I--and the other was Martha Washington. We were busy cutting out paper dolls; but we soon wearied of this amusement, and after cutting up our shoestrings and clipping all the leaves off the honeysuckle that were within reach, I turned my attention to Martha's corkscrews. She objected at first, but finally submitted. Thinking that turn and turn about is fair play, she seized the scissors and cut off one of my curls, and would have cut them all off but for my mother's timely interference. 瑪莎·華盛頓同我一樣喜歡搞惡作劇。記得那年7月一個炎熱的午后，有兩個小孩兒坐在走廊的臺階上，一個是黑人小姑娘，梳著一束束俏皮的像螺絲錐一樣的頭發(fā)；另一個是白人小姑娘，有著一頭長長的金色鬈發(fā)。其中一個孩子六歲，另一個只有兩歲或三歲大。那個年幼的小孩是個盲童——這個孩子就是我——另一個孩子是瑪莎·華盛頓。當時我們倆正埋頭剪紙娃娃玩兒，可是沒多久我們就厭倦了這個游戲，于是，我們倆又開始剪樹葉，我們把能夠到的金銀花葉子都剪了下來。接著，我開始把注意力轉到瑪莎那像螺絲錐的頭發(fā)上，起初她反對我打她頭發(fā)的主意，但終還是屈服了。就這樣，我們倆輪流玩起了公平的游戲，她抓過剪刀剪掉我的一束鬈發(fā)。我想，要不是媽媽及時制止，她一定會把我的頭發(fā)都剪光的。 Belle, our dog, my other companion, was old and lazy and liked to sleep by the open fire rather than to romp with me. I tried hard to teach her my sign language, but she was dull and inattentive. She sometimes started and quivered with excitement, then she became perfectly rigid, as dogs do when they point a bird. I did not then know why Belle acted in this way; but I knew she was not doing as I wished. This vexed me and the lesson always ended in a one-sided boxing match. Belle would get up, stretch herself lazily, give one or two contemptuous sniffs, go to the opposite side of the hearth and lie down again, and I, wearied and disappointed, went off in search of Martha. 貝拉是我們家的狗，也是我的另一個伙伴，她又老又懶，喜歡在壁爐旁睡覺，而不太愿意同我玩耍。于是我努力教她我的“手勢語言”，但是她總是反應遲鈍，心不在焉。有時候，她會興奮得渾身顫抖，變得躍躍欲試，就像狗兒們將目標鎖定在一只鳥時所做的那樣。我并不知道貝拉為什么會有如此表現(xiàn)，但是我知道她肯定沒有按照我的要求去做。這令我十分懊惱，所以，我的訓練課總是以對貝拉一通亂捶作為結束。而貝拉則會爬起來伸伸懶腰，然后輕蔑地打一兩個響鼻兒，再跑到壁爐的另一邊就地一躺。為此，我感到既無奈又失望，后我只有丟下貝拉去找瑪莎玩。 Many incidents of those early years are fixed in my memory, isolated, but clear and distinct, making the sense of that silent, aimless, dayless life all the more intense. 早年的很多事情都被我牢牢地記在心里，雖然互不相干，但是它們是如此清晰，宛如歷歷在目，它們加劇了我對沉寂、無助而迷惘的生活的思考。 One day I happened to spill water on my apron, and I spread it out to dry before the fire which was flickering on the sitting-room hearth. The apron did not dry quickly enough to suit me, so I drew nearer and threw it right over the hot ashes. The fire leaped into life; the flames encircled me so that in a moment my clothes were blazing. I made a terrified noise that brought Viny, my old nurse, to the rescue. Throwing a blanket over me, she almost suffocated me, but she put out the fire. Except for my hands and hair I was not badly burned. 記得有一天，我不小心把圍裙弄濕了，于是，我把圍裙鋪在客廳的壁爐邊烘烤。濕圍裙不會那么快就被烤干的，所以我就讓它離火源更近一些，結果正好碰到了余燼。圍裙一下子燒著了，火苗圍繞在我身邊，甚至連我的衣服都被引燃了。我驚慌失措的吵鬧驚動了我的老保姆維妮，她急忙跑過來救我。維妮把一條毯子蓋在我身上，我給憋得幾近窒息，不過她還是把火給撲滅了。所以除了雙手和頭發(fā)被燒了一下外，我并無大礙。 About this time I found out the use of a key. One morning I locked my mother up in the pantry, where she was obliged to remain three hours, as the servants were in a detached part of the house. She kept pounding on the door, while I sat outside on the porch steps and laughed with glee as I felt the jar of the pounding. This most naughty prank of mine convinced my parents that I must be taught as soon as possible. After my teacher, Miss Sullivan, came to me, I sought an early opportunity to lock her in her room. I went upstairs with something which my mother made me understand I was to give to Miss Sullivan; but no sooner had I given it to her than I slammed the door to, locked it, and hid the key under the wardrobe in the hall. I could not be induced to tell where the key was. My father was obliged to get a ladder and take Miss Sullivan out through the window--much to my delight. Months after I produced the key. 就是在那個時候，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己會使用鑰匙了。一天早晨，我把母親鎖在了儲藏室里，她被迫在里面待了三個小時，因為那時仆人們都出去干活了。母親不停地敲打房門，我能感覺到敲擊房門的震動聲，可我卻坐在走廊的臺階上咯咯地笑。這類令人頭疼的惡作劇使我的父母意識到，我必須盡快接受教育。記得在我的老師蘇立文小姐到來后，我還找了一個機會把她鎖在了自己房間里。當時母親領我上樓去見蘇立文小姐，她想讓我明白她要把我交給老師?？墒菦]多久我就砰地一下把門關上，而且還上了鎖。然后，我又把鑰匙藏在了走廊里的衣櫥里。家人并沒有哄我交出鑰匙。結果，我的父親只得搬了一把梯子，把蘇立文小姐從窗口接了出來。這出小把戲讓我高興了好一陣兒。幾個月之后我才交出了鑰匙。 When I was about five years old we moved from the little vine-covered house to a large new one. The family consisted of my father and mother, two older half-brothers, and, afterward, a little sister, Mildred. My earliest distinct recollection of my father is making my way through great drifts of newspapers to his side and finding him alone, holding a sheet of paper before his face. I was greatly puzzled to know what he was doing. I imitated this action, even wearing his spectacles, thinking they might help solve the mystery. But I did not find out the secret for several years. Then I learned what those papers were, and that my father edited one of them. 在我五歲大的時候，我們從藤蘿覆蓋的小房子搬到了一個新建的大房子里。這個家庭由我的父母，兩個同父異母的哥哥，還有后來出生的小妹妹米爾德萊德組成。我早而且印象深的有關父親的記憶，就是我搖搖晃晃地穿過一堆堆的報紙來到他身邊，這時我就會發(fā)現(xiàn)他總是獨自拿著一沓報紙擺在面前。我會感到極其迷惑，很想知道他在做什么。我也會模仿他的動作，甚至戴上了他的眼鏡，因為我想眼鏡或許能幫我解開未知的秘密。但是若干年過去了，我沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)什么秘密。后來我才了解到那些報紙的來歷——我的父親是在對文章進行編輯校對。 My father was most loving and indulgent, devoted to his home, seldom leaving us, except in the hunting season. He was a great hunter, I have been told, and a celebrated shot. Next to his family he loved his dogs and gun. His hospitality was great, almost to a fault, and he seldom came home without bringing a guest. His special pride was the big garden where, it was said, he raised the finest watermelons and strawberries in the county; and to me he brought the first ripe grapes and the choicest berries. I remember his caressing touch as he led me from tree to tree, from vine to vine, and his eager delight in whatever pleased me. 我的父親是那種極其眷顧家庭的人，除了狩獵季節(jié)，他很少離開我們。他是一個出色的獵人，有著一手好槍法。在家庭之外，他愛他的狗和獵槍。另外，他還是一個極其好客的人，這幾乎成了他的一個性格弱點，他很少有不帶客人回家的時候。他引以為豪的地方就是我們家的大花園，據(jù)說，他培育的西瓜和草莓是全縣好的，我還記得他把先成熟的葡萄和精選的漿果摘給我吃。他充滿慈愛地領著我在果樹和藤蘿之間穿行，他積極樂觀的情緒時刻感染著我。 He was a famous story-teller; after I had acquired language he used to spell clumsily into my hand his cleverest anecdotes, and nothing pleased him more than to have me repeat them at an opportune moment. 父親是一個很會講故事的人，在我掌握了語言以后，他常常會笨拙地在我手上拼寫字詞，并以此來講述他的那些奇聞逸事。在“講完”故事后，他會讓我馬上“復述”出來，再也沒有什么比重復故事更令他高興的事了。 I was in the North, enjoying the last beautiful days of the summer of 1896, when I heard the news of my father's death. He had had a short illness, there had been a brief time of acute suffering, then all was over. This was my first great sorrow--my first personal experience with death. 1896年，當時我住在北方，正愜意地享受著夏日后的時光，就是在那個時候，我聽到了父親的死訊。他死于突發(fā)疾病，經歷了短暫的痛苦后，人就這么離去了。父親的死亡是我人生中第感受到的巨大悲慟——也使我第對死亡有了自己的認識。 How shall I write of my mother? She is so near to me that it almost seems indelicate to speak of her. 我又如何描述我的母親呢？她離我是那么近，對我而言，用語言來描述她是近乎失禮的舉動。 For a long time I regarded my little sister as an intruder. I knew that I had ceased to be my mother's only darling, and the thought filled me with jealousy. She sat in my mother's lap constantly, where I used to sit, and seemed to take up all her care and time. One day something happened which seemed to me to be adding insult to injury. 有很長一段時間，我都把我的小妹妹視做一個入侵者。當時，我知道我已經不再是母親的寶貝，我的心里充滿了嫉妒。妹妹總是坐在母親的膝蓋上，那里本是我坐的位置，而現(xiàn)在卻被她完全占領了，她受到了所有的呵護與關愛。有一天，發(fā)生了一件不愉快的事情，那件事使我覺得受到了莫大的侮辱。 At that time I had a much-petted, much-abused doll, which I afterward named Nancy. She was, alas, the helpless victim of my outbursts of temper and of affection, so that she became much the worse for wear. I had dolls which talked, and cried, and opened and shut their eyes; yet I never loved one of them as I loved poor Nancy. She had a cradle, and I often spent an hour or more rocking her. I guarded both doll and cradle with the most jealous care; but once I discovered my little sister sleeping peacefully in the cradle. At this presumption on the part of one to whom as yet no tie of love bound me I grew angry. I rushed upon the cradle and over-turned it, and the baby might have been killed had my mother not caught her as she fell. Thus it is that when we walk in the valley of twofold solitude we know little of the tender affections that grow out of endearing words and actions and companionship. But afterward, when I was restored to my human heritage, Mildred and I grew into each other's hearts, so that we were content to go hand-in-hand wherever caprice led us, although she could not understand my finger language, nor I her childish prattle. 那時我有一個成天抱在手里，既寵又恨的洋娃娃，后來我給她起名叫南希。唉，實際上，這個娃娃只是供我發(fā)脾氣的犧牲品，所以，她總是一副破衣爛衫的樣子。我有會說話的洋娃娃，也有會哭和會眨眼睛的洋娃娃，但是我從來都不會像愛我的破南希那樣愛她們。南希有一個搖籃，我經?；ㄒ粋€小時甚至更多的時間把她放在搖籃里搖動。我無比關切地守護著娃娃和她的搖籃。但是有，我發(fā)現(xiàn)我的小妹妹安靜地躺在搖籃里熟睡?，F(xiàn)在只能做出這樣的推測，那時根本就沒有愛和親情的紐帶能束縛住我的憤怒。于是，我沖過去把搖籃翻了個個兒，要不是母親上前抓住了她，妹妹也許會被我殺死。所以說，當我們行走在備感孤獨的幽谷之中，我們才會逐漸了解到充滿關愛的言行以及友情所帶給我們的感動。后來，當我重新恢復了人類友愛的本性后，我和米爾德萊德已經成長為彼此交心的姊妹。無論世事如何變化，我們倆都愿意手拉手地面對眼前的一切，雖然她不懂我的手語，而我也不明白她那些孩子氣的語言。