名著精讀:《小婦人》第三章:勞倫斯家的男孩 第12節

"Well, I have a bad trick of standing before the fire, and so I burn my frocks, and I scorched this one, and though it's nicely mended, it shows, and Meg told me to keep still so no one would see it. You may laugh, if you want to. It is funny, I know."

“是這樣，我有個壞習慣，喜歡站在爐火前烘衣服，一次便把這件衣服燒壞了，雖經精心縫補，還是可以看出來。梅格要我別亂動，這樣就不會讓人看到。你要笑就儘管笑吧。我知道這很好笑。”

But Laurie didn't laugh. He only looked down a minute, and the expression of his face puzzled Jo when he said very gently, "Never mind that. I'll tell you how we can manage. There's a long hall out there, and we can dance grandly, and no one will see us. Please come."

但勞裏沒有笑，他低頭沉思了一會，帶着令喬詫異的神情輕聲說：“不要緊，我告訴你一個辦法：那邊有一個長長的走廊，我們可以盡興起舞，沒有人會看見我們。請來吧。”

Jo thanked him and gladly went, wishing she had two neat gloves when she saw the nice, pearl-colored ones her partner wore. The hall was empty, and they had a grand polka, for Laurie danced well, and taught her the German step, which delighted Jo, being full of swing and spring. When the music stopped, they sat down on the stairs to get their breath, and Laurie was in the midst of an account of a students' festival at Heidelberg when Meg appeared in search of her sister. She beckoned, and Jo reluctantly followed her into a side room, where she found her on a sofa, holding her foot, and looking pale.

喬謝過他，高興地走過去。看到舞伴戴着精緻的乳白色手套，她恨不得自己也有兩隻乾淨手套。走廊空無一人，他們在那裏盡興地跳了一曲波爾卡舞。勞裏跳得很好，他教喬跳德國舞步，這種舞步活潑輕快，喬十分喜歡。音樂停下後，他們坐在樓梯上喘口氣，勞裏跟喬談着海德堡的學生慶祝會，梅格過來找妹妹。她招招手，喬不大情願地跟着她走進一個側間，卻看到她坐在沙發上，手託着腳，臉色蒼白。

"I've sprained my ankle. That stupid high heel turned and gave me a sad wrench. It aches so, I can hardly stand, and I don't know how I'm ever going to get home," she said, rocking to and fro in pain.

“我扭傷了腳踝。那隻討厭的高跟鞋一歪，把我狠狠地扭了一下。真痛呵，我幾乎都站不穩了，真不知道該怎麼走回家，”她一邊說一邊痛得直搖晃。

"I knew you'd hurt your feet with those silly shoes. I'm sorry. But I don't see what you can do, except get a carriage, or stay here all night," answered Jo, softly rubbing the poor ankle as she spoke.
　　
“我早就知道那雙笨鞋會弄傷你的腳。我很難過。但我想不出什麼法子，除非去叫一輛馬車，或者在這裏過夜，”喬答道，邊說邊輕輕擦着梅格那受傷的腳踝。

k n. 罩袍，僧衣，女上裝 vt. 穿罩衫，授以神職

Her frock came from Paris, but she wears them with a strong English accent.
她的罩袍來自巴黎，可是她簡直把它們穿成了英國式(的樣子)。

ch v. （使）燒焦，變焦，（使）枯萎 n. 燒焦

The long drought scorched the grass.
久旱使青草枯萎。

on v. 召喚，(以點頭或打手勢）向 ... 示意，吩咐，引誘，吸引

He beckoned to me from across the street.
他在馬路對面向我招手致意。

in[sprein] n. 扭傷 vt. 扭傷

My sprained ankle has been acting up badly all week.
我的腳扭傷了，整整難受了一個星期。

ch n. 扳鉗，猛扭，痛苦 vt. 猛扭，扭傷 vi. 猛扭，扭傷，曲解

He closed the door so hard that he wrenched the handle off.
他關門用力過猛，連門把手都擰了下來。

and fro 往復，來來回回

The cat made little rushes to and fro after the ball.
貓追着球跑過來跑過去。