【经典名著阅读】《爱丽丝梦游仙境》第四章

英语自学网

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        It was the White Rabbit, trotting slowly back again, and looking anxiously about as it went, as if it had lost something; and she heard it muttering to itself ‘The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my dear paws! Oh my fur and whiskers! She'll get me executed, as sure as ferrets are ferrets! Where CAN I have dropped them, I wonder?’Alice guessed in a moment that it was looking for the fan and the pair of white kid gloves, and she very good-naturedly began hunting about for them, but they were nowhere to be seen--everything seemed to have changed since her swim in the pool, and the great hall, with the glass table and the little door, had vanished completely.原来是那只小白兔，又慢慢地走回来了，它在刚才走过的路上焦急地到处审视，好像在寻找什么东西，爱丽丝还听到它低产咕噜：“公爵夫人呵！公爵夫人，唉！我亲爱的小爪子呀！我的小胡子呀！她一定会把我的头砍掉的，一定的！就像雪貂是雪貂那样千真万确！我是在哪儿丢掉的呢？”爱丽丝马上猜到它在找那把扇子和那双羊皮手套，于是，她也好心地到处寻找，可是找不见，自从她在池塘里游荡以来，好像所有东西都变了，就是那个有着玻璃桌子和小门的大厅也都不见了。
        Very soon the Rabbit noticed Alice, as she went hunting about, and called out to her in an angry tone, ‘Why, Mary Ann, what ARE you doing out here? Run home this moment, and fetch me a pair of gloves and a fan! Quick, now!’ And Alice was so muchfrightened that she ran off at once in the direction it pointed to, without trying to explain the mistake it had made. 不一会，当爱丽丝还在到处找的时候，兔子看见了她，并且生气地向她喊道：“玛丽．安，你在外面干什么？马上回家给我拿一双手套和一把扇子来。赶快去！”爱丽丝吓得要命，顾不得去解释它的误会，赶快按它指的方向跑去了。
        ‘He took me for his housemaid,’ she said to herself as she ran. ‘How surprised he'll be when he finds out who I am! But I'd better take him his fan and gloves--that is, if I can find them.’ As she said this, she came upon a neat little house, on the door of which was a bright brass plate with the name ‘W. RABBIT’ engraved upon it. She went in without knocking, and hurried upstairs, in great fear lest she should meet the real Mary Ann, and be turned out of the house before she had found the fan and gloves.“它把我当成它的女仆了，”她边跑边对自己说，“它以后发现我是谁，会多么惊奇啊！可是我最好还是帮它把手套和扇子拿去——要是我能找到的话。”她说着到了一幢整洁的小房子前，门上挂着一块明亮的黄铜小牌子，刻着“白兔先生”。她没有敲门就进去了，急忙往楼上跑，生怕碰上真的玛丽．安，如果那样的话，她在找到手套和扇子之前就会从这个小屋里被赶出来的。
        ‘How queer it seems,’Alice said to herself, ‘to be going messages for a rabbit! I suppose Dinah'll be sending me on messages next!’And she began fancying the sort of thing that would happen: ‘"Miss Alice! Come here directly, and get ready for your walk!" "Coming in a minute, nurse! But I've got to see that the mouse doesn't get out." Only I don't think,’ Alice went on, ‘that they'd let Dinah stop in the house if it began ordering people about like that!’“这真奇怪！”爱丽丝对自己说，“给一只兔子跑腿，我看下一步就该轮到黛娜使唤我了。”于是她就想象那种情景：“‘爱丽丝小姐，快来我这儿，准备去散步，’‘我马上就来，保姆！可是在黛娜回来之前，我还得看着老鼠洞，不许老鼠出来，’不过，假如黛娜像这样使唤人的话，他们不会让它继续呆在家里了。”
        By this time she had found her way into a tidy little room with a table in the window, and on it (as she had hoped) a fan and two or three pairs of tiny white kid gloves: she took up the fan and a pair of the gloves, and was just going to leave the room, when her eye fell upon a little bottle that stood near the looking-glass. There was no label this time with the words ‘DRINK ME,’ but nevertheless she uncorked it and put it to her lips. ‘I know SOMETHING interesting is sure to happen,’ she said to herself, ‘whenever I eat or drink anything; so I'll just see what this bottle does. I do hope it'll make me grow large again, for really I'm quite tired of being such a tiny little thing!’这时，她已经走进了一间整洁的小房间，靠窗子有张桌子，桌子上正像她希望的那样，有一把扇子和两、三双很小的白羊羔皮手套，她拿起扇子和一双手套。正当她要离开房间的时候，眼光落在镜子旁边的一个小瓶上。这一次，瓶上没有“喝我”的标记。但她却拔开瓶塞就往嘴里倒。她想，“我每次吃或喝一点东西，总会发生一些有趣的事。所以我要看看这一瓶能把我怎么样。我真希望它会让我长大。说真的，做我现在这样一点儿的小东西，真厌烦极了。”
        It did so indeed, and much sooner than she had expected: before she had drunk half the bottle, she found her head pressing against the ceiling, and had to stoop to save her neck from being broken. She hastily put down the bottle, saying to herself ‘That's quite enough--I hope I shan't grow any more--As it is, I can't get out at the door--I do wish I hadn't drunk quite so much!’小瓶真的照办了，而且比她期望的还快，她还没有喝到一半，头已经碰到了天花板，因此，必须立即停止，不能再喝了！否则脖子要给折断了。爱丽丝赶紧扔掉瓶子，对自己说：“现在已经够了，不要再长了，可是就是现在这样，我也已经出不去了。嗨！我别喝这么多就好啦！”
        Alas! it was too late to wish that! She went on growing, and growing, and very soon had to kneel down on the floor: in another minute there was not even room for this, and she tried the effect of lying down with one elbow against the door, and the other arm curled round her head. Still she went on growing, and, as a last resource, she put one arm out of the window, and one foot up the chimney, and said to herself ‘Now I can do no more, whatever happens. What WILL become of me?’唉！现在已经太迟了！她继续长啊，长啊！再待一会儿就得跪在地板上了，一分钟后，她必须躺下了，一只胳膊撑在地上，一只胳膊抱着头、可是还在长，这时只得把一只手臂伸出窗子，一只脚伸进烟囱，然后自语说：“还长的话怎么办呢？我会变成什么样子呢？”

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        Luckily for Alice, the little magic bottle had now had its full effect, and she grew no larger: still it was very uncomfortable, and, as there seemed to be no sort of chance of her ever getting out of the room again, no wonder she felt unhappy.幸运的是这只小魔术瓶的作用已经发挥完了，她不再长了，可是心里很不舒服，看来没有可能从这个房子里出去了。
        ‘It was much pleasanter at home,’ thought poor Alice, ‘when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down that rabbit hole--and yet--and yet--it's rather curious, you know, this sort of life! I do wonder what CAN have happened to me! When I used to read fairy tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one! There ought to be a book written about me, that there ought! And when I grow up, I'll write one--but I'm grown up now,' she added in a sorrowful tone; ‘at least there's no room to grow up any more HERE.’“在家里多舒服，”可怜的爱丽丝想，“在家里不会一会儿变大，一会儿变小，而且不会被老鼠和兔子使唤。我希望不曾钻进这个兔子洞，可是……可是这种生活是那么离奇，我还会变成什么呢？读童话时我总认为那种事情永远不会发生的，可现在自己却来到这童话世界了，应该写一本关于我的书，应该这样，当我长大了要写—本——可我现在已经长大了啊。”她又伤心地加了一句：“至少这儿已经没有让我再长的余地了。”
        ‘But then,’ thought Alice, ‘shall I NEVER get any older than I am now? That'll be a comfort, one way--never to be an old woman-- but then--always to have lessons to learn! Oh, I shouldn't like THAT!’“可是，”爱丽丝想，“我不会比现在年龄更大了！这倒是一个安慰，我永远不会成为老太婆了。但是这样就得老是上学了。唉，这我可不情愿！”
        ‘Oh, you foolish Alice!’ she answered herself. ‘How can you learn lessons in here? Why, there's hardly room for YOU, and no room at all for any lesson-books!’“啊，你这个傻爱丽丝！”她又回答自己，“你在这儿怎么上学呢？哎唷，这间房子差点儿装不下你，哪里还有放书的地方呢？”
        And so she went on, taking first one side and then the other, and making quite a conversation of it altogether; but after a few minutes she heard a voice outside, and stopped to listen.她就这样继续说着，先装这个人，然后又装另一个人，就这样说了一大堆话。几分钟后，她听到门外有声音，才停止唠叨去听那个声音。
        ‘Mary Ann! Mary Ann!’ said the voice. ‘Fetch me my gloves this moment!’ Then came a little pattering of feet on the stairs. Alice knew it was the Rabbit coming to look for her, and she trembled till she shook the house, quite forgetting that she was now about a thousand times as large as the Rabbit, and had no reason to be afraid of it.“玛丽·安，玛丽·安！”那个声音喊道，“赶快给我拿手套，”然后一连串小脚步声步上楼梯了。爱丽丝知道这是兔子来找她了，但是她忘了自己现在已经比兔子大了一千倍，因此还是吓得发抖，哆嗦得屋子都摇动了。
        Presently the Rabbit came up to the door, and tried to open it; but, as the door opened inwards, and Alice's elbow was pressed hard against it, that attempt proved a failure. Alice heard it say to itself, ‘Then I'll go round and get in at the window.’免子到了门外，想推开门，但是门是朝里开的，爱丽丝的胳膊肘正好顶着门，兔子推也推不动，爱丽丝听到它自语说，“我绕过去，从窗子爬进去。”
        ‘THAT you won't' thought Alice, and, after waiting till she fancied she heard the Rabbit just under the window, she suddenly spread out her hand, and made a snatch in the air. She did not get hold of anything, but she heard a little shriek and a fall, and a crash of broken glass, from which she concluded that it was just possible it had fallen into a cucumber-frame, or something of the sort.“这你休想，”爱丽丝想，她等了一会，直到听见兔子走到窗下，她突然伸出了手，在空中抓了一把，虽然没有抓住任何东西，但是听到了摔倒了的尖叫声，和打碎玻璃的哗啦啦的响声，根据这些声音，她断定兔子掉进玻璃温室之类的东西里面了。
        Next came an angry voice--the Rabbit's--‘Pat! Pat! Where are you?’ And then a voice she had never heard before, ‘Sure then I'm here! Digging for apples, yer honour!’ 接着是兔子的气恼声：“帕特！帕特！你在哪里？”然后，是一个陌生的声音，“是，我在这儿挖苹果树呢？老爷！”