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"As I was saying—what was I saying?” She broke off abruptly and laughed merrily at her predicament.
“就像我刚才说的——我刚才说什么来着？” 她突然不说话了，快活地嘲笑起自己的狼狈处境。
"You was saying that this man Swinburne failed bein 'a great poet because—an't hat was as far as you got, miss, " he prompted, while to himself he seemed suddenly hungry, and delicious little thrills crawled up and down his spine at the sound of her laughter. Like silver, he thought to himself, like tinkling silver bells; and on the instant, and for an instant, he was transported to a far land, where under pink cherry blossoms, he smoked a cigarette and listened to the bells of the peaked pagoda calling straw—sandalled devotees to worship.
“你刚才说这个斯温伯恩没能成为一个伟大的诗人是因为——就是说到这，小姐。” 他提示道，而他自己似乎突然感到很饥饿，听到她的笑声，一阵阵美味的小激动在他的脊梁上来回爬行。他心想，这就像个叮当作响的银色铃铛；转瞬间他被传送到了一个遥远的国度。他在那儿的粉色的樱花树下停留了片刻，抽着烟聆听那有层层飞檐的宝塔上传来的铃声，这铃声召唤脚穿草鞋的善男信女前去膜拜。
"Yes, thank you, " she said. "Swinburne fails, when all is said, because he is, well, indelicate. There are many of his poems that should never be read. Every line of the really great poets is filled with beautiful truth, and calls to all that is high and noble in the human. Not a line of the great poets can be spared without impoverishing the world by that much. "
“是的，谢谢你，” 她说， “归根到底，斯温伯恩失败是因为他不够文雅。他的很多诗，人们永远不应该去读。真正伟大的诗人的每一行诗句都充满了优美的真理，向人性中所有高尚的品行发出召唤。伟大诗人的诗句一行也删除不得，每删去一行都是世界的一大损失。”
"I thought it was great, " he said hesitatingly, "the little I read. I had no idea he was such a—a scoundrel. I guess that crops out in his other books.”
“我倒觉得他的诗很棒，” 他迟疑地说， “至少就我读到的那一小部分来说。我不知道他是这样一个——无赖。我猜那体现在他的其他书里吧。”
"There are many lines that could be spared from the book you were reading, " she said, her voice primly firm and dogmatic.
“你读的那本书里也有很多诗行是可以删去的。” 她说，口气一本正经而且武断。
"I must 'a' missed 'em, " he announced. What I read was the real goods. It was all lighted up an' shining, an 'it shun right into me an' lighted me up inside, like the sun or a searchlight. That's the way it landed on me, but I guess I ain't up much on poetry, miss. "
“我肯定错过那部分了，” 他声称， “我读到的都是真正的好东西。全都光辉、闪亮，像太阳或是探照灯一样一直照到我的心里，让里面也亮了起来。它给我的感觉就是这样，不过我想我不是很懂诗，小姐。”
He broke off lamely. He was confused, painfully conscious of his inarticulateness. He had felt the bigness and glow of life in what he had read, but his speech was inadequate. He could not express what he felt, and to himself he likened himself to a sailor, in a strange ship, on a dark night, groping about in the unfamiliar running rigging. Well, he decided, it was up to him to get acquainted in this new world. He had never seen anything that he couldn't get the hang of when he wanted to and it was about time for him to want to learn to talk the things that were inside of him so that she could understand. She was bulking large on his horizon.
他感到自己的话站不住脚便住了嘴。他感到局促不安，痛苦地意识到自己多么不会说话。他从读到的诗句中感受到了生命的宏大和辉煌，只是言不达意。他表达不了自己的感受，他将自己比作一个水手，在陌生的船上，在漆黑的夜里，在自己不熟悉的运转的索具之间摸索。好吧，他决定，熟悉这个新世界就靠他自己了。还从来没有一样东西的窍门是他想要找到却找不到的，也是时候试着谈谈自己知道的东西了，好让她能了解。在他的地平线上，她显得越来越高大。
"Now Longfellow—” she was saying.
“至于朗费罗——” 她说道。
"Yes, I've read 'm, " he broke in impulsively, spurred on to exhibit and make the most of his little store of book knowledge, desirous of showing her that he was not wholly a stupid clod. “' The Psalm of Life, '' Excelsior, 'an' …I guess that's all. "
“哦，我读过他的书。” 他冲动地插嘴道，急于展现和充分利用他那少得可怜的书本知识，急于让她知道自己并不完全是个蠢蛋。 “《人生颂》、《精益求精》，还有……估计就这些了。”
She nodded her head and smiled, and he felt, somehow, that her smile was tolerant, pitifully tolerant. He was a fool to attempt to make a pretence that way. That Longfellow chap most likely had written countless books of poetry.
她点了点头，笑了笑，不知怎么，他觉得她的笑透露出一种宽容，同情的宽容。他那样假装内行简直愚蠢极了。那个叫朗费罗的家伙很可能写了无数本诗集。
"Excuse me, miss, for buttin 'in that way. I guess the real facts is that I don't know nothin' much about such things. It ain't in my class. But I 'm goin't o make it in my class. "
“请原谅我，小姐，我不该那样插嘴。我想，事实上对这类东西我一点也不懂。对这东西我不在行。不过我会努力使自己在行的。”
It sounded like a threat. His voice was determined, his eyes were flashing, the lines of his face had grown harsh. And to her it seemed that the angle of his jaw had changed; its pitch had become unpleasantly aggressive. At the same time a wave of intense virility seemed to surge out from him and impinge upon her.
这听起来像是一种威胁。他的语气很坚定，双眼闪烁着光芒，脸部的线条变得僵硬。而在她看来，他下巴的角度变了，倾斜得有点咄咄逼人，使人不快。同时，一股强烈的男子气概冲出他的身体，向她扑来。
"I think you could make it in—in your class, " she finished with a laugh. "You are very strong. "
“我想你会使自己——在行的，” 她笑着结束了自己的话， “你非常强壮。”
Her gaze rested for a moment on the muscular neck, heavy corded, almost bull—like, bronzed by the sun, spilling over with rugged health and strength. And though he sat there, blushing and humble, again she felt drawn to him. She was surprised by a wanton thought that rushed into her mind. It seemed to her that if she could lay her two hands upon that neck that all its strength and vigor would flow out to her. She was shocked by this thought. It seemed to reveal to her an undreamed depravity in her nature. Besides, strength to her was a gross and brutish thing. Her ideal of masculine beauty had always been slender gracefulness. Yet the thought still persisted. It bewildered her that she should desire to place her hands on that sunburned neck. In truth, she was far from robust, and the need of her body and mind was for strength. But she did not know it. She knew only that no man had ever affected her before as this one had, who shocked her from moment to moment with his awful grammar.
她的目光在他肌肉发达的脖子上停留了一会儿，他那被太阳晒成古铜色的脖子青筋暴起，犹如公牛一般，洋溢着粗犷的健康与力量。尽管他只是坐在那里，红着脸还有点谦卑，但她再一次感到被他所吸引。一个放肆的念头冲进她的脑中，让她大吃一惊。似乎她觉得如果把自己的双手放在他的脖子上，那么他的力量和活力便会流进她的体内。她被这个念头吓坏了。这似乎向她揭露了一种她做梦也想不到的邪恶天性。何况在她看来，力量本是样庸俗粗鲁的东西。她理想中的男性美一向都是修长优雅的。然而刚才那个想法还是挥之不去。她竟然渴望将双手放在那被太阳晒黑的脖子上，这令她困惑。事实上，她自己一点也不强壮，而她的身体和心灵需要的正是力量。只是她自己并不知道。她只知道从没有一个男人能像眼前这人一样影响自己，反而一次又一次用他糟糕的语法令她震惊。
"Yes, I ain't no invalid, " he said. "When it comes down to hard—pan, I can digest scrap—iron. But just now I've got dyspepsia. Most of what you was sayin 'I can't digest. Never trained that way, you see. I like books and poetry, and what time I've had I've read' em, but I've never thought about 'em the way you have. That's why I can't talk about 'em. I' m like a navigator adrift on a strange sea without chart or compass. Now I want to get my bearin's. Mebbe you can put me right. How did you learn all this you've ben talkin '? "
“没错，我可没有缺胳膊少腿，” 他说， “日子不好过时候，我可是连碎铁片都能消化的。不过我刚才倒是有点消化不良。你说的大部分话我都消化不了。你知道，我从没受过那种训练。我喜欢书和诗，一有时间就读，但从没像你这样琢磨过它们。这就是为什么我没法谈论它们。我就像是个漂到了陌生海域的海员，手边却没有海图或是罗盘。我现在想找到自己的方向。或许你能帮我校准。你说的那些东西你都是怎么学来的？”
"By going to school, I fancy, and by studying, " she answered.
“我想是通过上学，通过学习。” 她回答道。
"I went to school when I was a kid, " he began to object.
“我小时候也上过学。” 他反驳道。
"Yes; but I mean high school, and lectures, and the university. "
“是的，但我是指中学、讲座，还有大学。”
"You've gone to the university? " he demanded in frank amazement. He felt that she had become remoter from him by at least a million miles.
“你上过大学？” 他问道，坦率地表达了自己的惊讶。他觉得她离自己更遥远了，至少有一百万英里。
"I 'm going there now. I' m taking special courses in English. "
“我马上就要去了。我要学的是英文的专门课程。”
He did not know what "English" meant, but he made a mental note of that item of ignorance and passed on.
他并不清楚 “英文” 是什么意思，但他在脑子里记下了自己的无知，然后继续说了下去。
"How long would I have to study before I could go to the university? " he asked.
“我想上大学的话得先学习多久？” 他问道。
She beamed encouragement upon his desire for knowledge, and said: "That depends upon how much studying you have already done. You have never attended high school? Of course not. But did you finish grammar school? "
她用微笑来鼓励他对知识的渴望，并说： “这取决于你已经学到了多少知识。你从没上过中学？当然没有。那你小学毕业了吗？”
"I had two years to run, when I left, " he answered. "But I was always honorably promoted at school. "
“我停学的时候还有两年要上，” 他回答道， “不过我在学校的时候总是以成绩优秀而升级的。”
The next moment, angry with himself for the boast, he had gripped the arms of the chair so savagely that every finger—end was stinging. At the same moment he became aware that a woman was entering the room. He saw the girl leave her chair and trip swiftly across the floor to the newcomer. They kissed each other, and, with arms around each other's waists, they advanced toward him. That must be her mother, he thought. She was a tall, blond woman, slender, and stately, and beautiful. Her gown was what he might expect in such a house. His eyes delighted in the graceful lines of it. She and her dress together reminded him of women on the stage. Then he remembered seeing similar grand ladies and gowns entering the London theatres while he stood and watched and the policemen shoved him back into the drizzle beyond the awning. Next his mind leaped to the Grand Hotel at Yokohama, where, too, from the sidewalk, he had seen grand ladies. Then the city and the harbor of Yokohama, in a thousand pictures, began flashing before his eyes. But he swiftly dismissed the kaleidoscope of memory, oppressed by the urgent need of the present. He knew that he must stand up to be introduced, and he struggled painfully to his feet, where he stood with trousers bagging at the knees, his arms loose—hanging and ludicrous, his face set hard for the impending ordeal.
他马上就为自己吹嘘而生起自己的气来，便死命地握住扶手，每个指尖都感到刺痛。同时她意识到有个女人进了房间。他看到那个女孩离开椅子，穿过房间，轻快地走向这个新来的人。她们互相亲吻了对方，然后揽着彼此的腰向他走去。那一定是她的母亲，他想。她是位高个子的金发妇女，苗条、端庄而且美丽。她所穿的长袍是他预料在这样一所房子里会见到的那种。那优雅的线条令他看了感到愉悦。她和她所穿的衣服让他想起舞台上的女人。然后他记起曾见过类似的贵妇人穿着类似的长袍进入伦敦的剧院，而自己站着看的时候被警察赶到了雨棚外的蒙蒙细雨中。接着他的思维跳跃到了横滨大酒店，在那里的人行道上，他同样也见过许多贵妇人。横滨市和横滨港的千姿百态在他眼前飞速闪过。但他立刻结束了这万花筒般的回忆，因眼前有更紧急的需求。他知道自己必须站起来接受介绍，便痛苦地挣扎着站起身来，裤子的膝盖部分鼓胀着，双臂滑稽地松垂着，脸孔板着，准备迎接即将到来的严酷考验。
