美国语文第三册 第90期:守住堡垒

 　　While Genie 1 was walking slowly down street one day, she heard an odd rapping on the pavement behind her. 有一天，吉妮在街上慢慢走着，忽然听到后面人行道上传来奇怪的敲击声。

　　Looking round, she saw Rob Grey hobbling on crutches 2. 回头一看，原来是罗伯.格雷拄着拐杖一瘸一拐地走过来。
　　"Why, what is the matter?" cried Genie. "I haven't seen you for a week, and now you are walking in that way." “怎么了？发生了什么事？”吉妮不禁失声喊道。“一个星期没见你，你走路怎么这个样子？”
　　I shall have to walk in this way as much as a week longer, Genie. 接下来至少一个星期我都得这样走路，吉妮。
　　I sprained 3 my ankle by stopping too quick—no, not too quick, either, for there was something in my way.  我太快停下来，所以摔坏了膝盖。不，也不是因为停得太快，是因为有东西挡了我的路。
　　"What was it?" asked Genie. “是什么？”吉妮问。
　　"One of the Commandments," replied Rob. "You remember how that lecturer talked to us about 'holding the fort'?" “就是其中一条戒律，”罗伯继续说，“你记得老师跟我们讲过的‘守住堡垒’那条戒律吗？
　　Well, I thought I should like to do it; but it's a pretty long war, you know—all a lifetime, and no vacations—furloughs, I think they call them." 啊，我那时想我应该这么做；可是你知道，这是一场持久战——整整一生，没有假期——暂时的休息都不行，我想他们是这么说的。
　　"If there was nothing to fight, we should not need to be soldiers," said Genie. “如果没有什么需要我们为之战斗，那么我们就不需要成为战士了。”吉妮说。
　　Well, I thought I would try; but the first day, when we came out of the schoolhouse, Jack 4 Lee snatched my books out of my hand, and threw them into the mud. 嗯，我想我会试着去做；但是我们离开校舍的第一天，杰克.李忽然把我手里的书抢了过去，丢在烂泥地里。
　　I started after him as fast as I could run. 我马上跑去追他，
　　I meant to throw him where he had thrown the books, 满脑子想着要抓到他，把他推到扔我书的那块烂泥地里。
　　when, all of a sudden, I thought of the Commandment about returning good for evil. 可是忽然间，我想起了‘以德报怨’那条戒律。
　　I stopped short—so short, that, somehow, my foot twisted under me. 我突然停住脚步——那么突然，不知道为什么就把脚给扭了。
　　So, you see, it was one of the commandments. 所以，你看，就是一条戒律把我绊倒的。
　　"If one must stumble at them, it is a good thing to fall on the right side," said Genie, with a wise nod of her head. “如果一个人必须被戒律绊倒，那么倒向正确的一边也是一件好事。”吉妮一边说，一边睿智地点头。
　　"The whole thing puzzles me, and makes me feel—well, like giving it up," said Rob. “这件事情让我困惑，使我想要，嗯，想要放弃，”罗伯说，
　　It might have served me right when I was chasing Jack; but when I thought of the Commandment, I really tried to do the right thing. 如果是在我追杰克的时候摔倒，我能想得通，可是当我想起戒律的时候，我是真想做正确的事情啊。
　　"You did do it, Rob," said Genie. "You 'held the fort' that time." “罗伯，你确实做了正确的事情，”吉妮说，“那一刻你守住了堡垒。”
　　Why, don't you see—you are only a wounded soldier. 怎么，你还不明白吗——只不过你是一名负伤的战士。
　　"I never thought of that," said Rob. "If I believe that way…" “我从来没这么想过，”罗伯说，“要是我这么想的话……”
　　He began to whistle, and limped off to school without finishing the sentence. 他吹起了口哨，抬起脚一瘸一拐地往学校走去，话也没说完。
　　But Genie knew, by the way he behaved that day, that he had made up his mind to hold the fort. 但是吉妮明白，从罗伯那天的举动就知道，他已经下定决心，要“守住城堡”。