加载中…绳子 (三)
(2012-06-20 10:16:22)
标签：
文化 |
Rope
by Katherine
Anne Porter (1890-1980)
绳子 (三)
Conscience or no conscience, he didn't see why the
mattresses couldn't very well wait until tomorrow. And anyhow, for
God's sake, were they living in the house, or were they going to
let the house ride them to death? (役物或
役于物) She
paled (变得苍白) at this, her face grew livid
(
盛怒的；暴怒的) about the mouth, she looked quite dangerous, and reminded
him that housekeeping was no more her work than it was his: she had
other work to do as well, and when did he think she was going to
find time to do it at this rate (这样地话，这样地)?
Was she going to start on that again? She knew as well as
he did that his work brought in the regular money, hers was only
occasional, if they depended on what she made -- and she might as
well get straight on (说清楚了)this question once for all!
That was
positively not the point. The question was, when both of them were
working on their own time, was there going to be a division of the
housework, or wasn't there? She merely wanted to know, she had to
make her plans. Why, he thought that was all arranged. It was
understood that he was to help. Hadn't he always, in
summers?
Hadn't he,
though? Oh, just hadn't he? And when, and where, and doing what?
Lord, what an uproarious (吵闹的； 喧嚣的； 引人捧腹大笑的； 非常可笑的) joke!
(家里的事，如果大家争着做，就没这问题了。)
It was such a very uproarious joke that her face turned
slightly purple, and she screamed with laughter. She laughed so
hard she had to sit down, and finally a rush of tears spurted from
her eyes and poured down into the lifted corners of her mouth. He
dashed(
飞奔;猛冲) towards her and dragged her
up(提起)to her feet and tried to pour water on her head. The
dipper(瓢)
hung by a string on a nail and he broke it loose. Then he tried to
pump water with one hand while she struggled in the other. So he
gave it up and shook her instead.
She wrenched away, (扭身摆脱)
crying out for him to take his rope and go to hell, she had simply
given him up: and ran. He heard her high-heeled bedroom slippers
clattering and stumbling(绊倒) on the stairs.
He went out around the house and into the
lane; he suddenly realized he had a blister
(水疱) on his heel and his shirt felt as if it were on fire.
Things broke so suddenly you didn't know where you were. She could
work herself into a fury(暴怒) about simply nothing. She was terrible, damn it: not an
ounce of reason. You might as well talk to a
sieve(不能保守秘密的人，嘴不严的人) as that woman when she got going.
Damned if he'd spend his life humoring her! Well, what to do now?
He would take back the rope and exchange it for something else.
Things accumulated, things were mountainous, you couldn't move them
or sort (
When he came back she was leaning against the post box beside the road waiting. It was pretty late, the smell of broiled steak floated nose high in the cooling air. Her face was young and smooth and fresh-looking. Her unmanageable funny black hair was all on end. She waved to him from a distance, and he speeded up. She called out that supper was ready and waiting, was he starved? (暴风雨来的快，去的也快。情绪不稳的人难搞，敬而远之，为妙!!)
You bet he was starved. Here was the coffee. He waved it at her. She looked at his other hand. What was that he had there?
Well, it was the rope again. He stopped short. He had meant to exchange it but forgot. She wanted to know why he should exchange it, if it was something he really wanted. Wasn't the air sweet now, and wasn't it fine to be here?
She walked beside him with one hand hooked into his leather belt. She pulled and jostled (挤，推)him a little as he walked, and leaned against him. He put his arm clear around her and patted her stomach. They exchanged wary (谨慎的，小心翼翼的) smiles. Coffee, coffee for the Ootsum-Wootsums (Laughing Devil)! He felt as if he were bringing her a beautiful present.
He was a love, she firmly believed, and if she had had her coffee in the morning, she wouldn't have behaved so funny . . . There was a whippoorwill (北美夜鹰 ) still coming back, imagine, clear out of season, sitting in the crab-apple (沙果树) tree calling all by himself. Maybe his girl stood him up. Maybe she did. She hoped to hear him once more, she loved whippoorwills . . . He knew how she was, didn't he?
Sure, he knew how she was.
(1930)
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