[短文閱讀] 罪行 part 3

網路摘錄文章:

THE CRIME 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

Has a profound knowledge of human character, and an essentially sane outlook' said one of the critics quoted at the end of the book that I had chosen. The wind and the rain in the chimney had not abated, but the fire was bearing up bravely. So would I. I would read cheerfully and without prejudice. I poked the fire and, pushing my chair slightly back, lest the heat should warp the book's covers, began Chapter I. A woman sat writing in a summer-house at the end of a small garden that overlooked a great valley in Surrey. The description of her was calculated to make her very admirable — a thorough woman, not strictly beautiful, but likely to be thought beautiful by those who knew her well; not dressed as though she gave much heed to her clothes, but dressed in a fashion that exactly harmonised with her special type. Her pen 'travelled' rapidly across the foolscap, and while it did so she was described in more and more detail.

「具有對人物角色的深刻知識，且有本質上神智清醒的外貎」在該書末所載的其中一則評語如是說。由煙囪而下的風兩不曾稍歇，不過爐火尚能勇於承受。我亦然。一個女人坐在Surrey一個小花園盡頭的夏日小屋裡寫作，屋後面是一座大山谷。經過計算安排的描寫使她非常可愛討喜－一絲不苟的女人，不全然的美麗，但對她認識久的人可能都會覺得她美麗；穿著不似花很多心思在衣服上，但風格恰恰與其特有形態相配。她的筆在foolscap紙上快速遊走，而她的更多細節一一被描寫呈現。

But at length she came to a ' knotty point' in what she was writing. She paused, she pushed back the hair from her temples, she looked forth at the valley; and now the landscape was described, but not at all exhaustively, it, for the writer soon overcame her difficulty, and her pen travelled faster than ever, till suddenly there was a cry of 'Mammy!' and in rushed a seven-year-old child, in conjunction with whom she was more than ever admirable; after which the narrative skipped back across eight years, and the woman became a girl, giving as yet no token of future eminence in literature but — I had an impulse which I obeyed almost before I was, conscious of it.

時間一久，她在寫作上遇到「困難點」。她停筆，將頭髮由兩旁太陽穴向後推，凝望山谷；此時描寫景色卻不急於徹底寫盡。作家很快地克服難關，下筆敏捷更勝從前，直到忽然一聲「媽媽！」一個七歲小孩跑進來喊著，與此連結，她顯得更加討人喜歡。之後，故事跳回八年前，當女人還是個小女生，在文學上，還沒有任何徵兆能獲得未來的盛名，不過－我遵循著一股衝動甚至在我察覺之前。

profound [記憶法] [prə`faʊnd; prə'faund] 思考深刻的
essentially [記憶法] [ə`sɛnʃəlɪ; i'sɛnʃəli] 本質上
abate [記憶法] [ə`bɛt; ə'bɛit] 減輕
bear [記憶法] [bɛr; bɛə] 耐得住
cheerfully [`tʃɪrfəli] ad. 高高興興地
prejudice [記憶法] [`prɛdʒədɪs; 'prɛdʒudis] 偏見,歧視,成見
warp [記憶法] [wɔrp; wɔ:p] 使…彎曲
overlook [記憶法] [ˌovɚ`lʊk; ˌouvə'luk] 俯瞰,環視
calculated [記憶法] 有計畫的
admirable [記憶法] [`ædmərəbl; 'ædmərəbl] 令人驚歎的
thorough [記憶法] [`θɝo; 'θʌrə] 一絲不苟的
strictly [記憶法] [`strɪktlɪ; 'striktli] 完全,全然,斷然
heed [記憶法] [hid; hi:d] 注意,留心,留意
harmonize [記憶法] [`hɑrməˌnaɪz; 'hɑ:mənaiz] 融洽, 相配
foolscap [記憶法] [`fulˌskæp; 'fu:lskæp] 大頁書寫紙(大約 43 公分*34 公分)
knotty [記憶法] [`nɑtɪ; 'nɔti] <問題等>紛亂的,困難的
temple [記憶法] [`tɛmpl; 'tɛmpl] 太陽穴
landscape [記憶法] [`lænskɛp, `lænd-; 'lændskɛip] (田園風景等可以一眼眺望的) 景色,風景
exhaustive [記憶法] [ɪg'zɔ:stɪv]徹底的，無遺漏的
conjunction [記憶法] [kən`dʒʌŋkʃən; kən'dʒʌŋkʃn] 與…結合在一起
narrative [記憶法] [`nærətɪv; 'nærətiv] 敘述手法, 故事
token [記憶法] [`tokən; 'toukən] 表徵,象徵,記號, 證據
eminence [記憶法] [`ɛmənəns; 'ɛminəns] 卓越; 聞名; 著名
literature [記憶法] [`lɪtərətʃɚ; 'litərətʃə] 文學
impulse [記憶法] [`ɪmpʌls; 'impʌls] 衝動
conscious [記憶法] [`kɑnʃəs; 'kɔnʃəs] 意識到<…>的