2 School

Chapter 2 School A week later, Aunt Reed summoned me to her room, where a strange man glared at me. "This, Mr. Brocklehurst, is Jane Eyre. Her mother was my dead husband's sister. She has no claim on me."

一个星期后，里德舅妈把我叫到她的房间，一个陌生人怒视着我。 “布罗克赫斯特先生，这就是简·爱。 她母亲是我亡夫的妹妹。 她对我没有权利。”

What enormous teeth he had! And a huge nose and mouth. "You are bad, I hear," he trumpeted. "Deceitful. How can you avoid hell, where naughty children burn forever?" "I must keep well and not die." "Bad indeed! A good child would say, 'I will behave well.' Yes, Mrs. Reed, she may go to my school. She will learn humility." He departed, leaving me with Aunt Reed. "Go upstairs," she said, not even looking at me. But I had to speak out. "I am not deceitful," I began. "You think I have no feelings, that I can do without one bit of love or kindness, but I can't live like that. You have no pity in your heart. People think you are a good, kind woman, but I'll tell everyone at this school that it is you who is bad and deceitful..." It was my first victory. Aunt Reed left the room without a word.

他的牙齿好大啊！还有一个巨大的鼻子和嘴巴。 “我听说你很坏，”他咆哮道。 “诡诈。你怎么能避开地狱呢？淘气的孩子要永远被烧死。”“我必须保持健康，不能死。” “确实不好!一个好孩子会说：“我会好好表现的。”是的，里德太太，她可以去我的学校。 她将学会谦卑。”他走了，把我留在里德舅妈那里。 “上楼去，”她说，连看都不看我一眼。 但我必须说出来。“我不骗人，”我开始说。 “你认为我没有感情，认为我没有一点爱和善良也可以，但我不能那样生活。 你心里没有怜悯。 人们认为你是一个善良的好女人，但我要告诉学校里的每个人，你是坏人，是骗子……” 这是我的第一次胜利。里德姨妈一言不发地离开了房间。

I journeyed to school alone, the horse and cart whirling me fifty miles away. On arrival, I was taken to a dark, icy room lit by two candles. Seated on benches were rows of girls wearing thin brown cotton frocks, light pinafores, their hair pulled back tightly. Supper was served: nasty- tasting water and broken, thin oatcakes. Too tired to eat, I was sent to a cold dormitory with long lines of beds. Too weary to fear the strangeness, I slept.

我独自前往学校，马车载着我旋转了五十英里。 抵达后，我被带到一间黑暗、冰冷、点着两支蜡烛的房间。 长凳上坐着一排女孩，她们穿着轻薄的棕色棉衣和围裙，头发紧紧地向后梳着。 晚饭端上来了：难吃的水和破碎的薄燕麦饼。 我累得吃不下饭，被送到了一间冷冷的宿舍，宿舍里排着长长的床铺。 我太累了，不敢害怕这种陌生，便睡着了。

A clanging bell woke us. Shivering, we rose to wash, but the basin in the middle of the room was filled with ice. An hour and a half of prayers followed, then... how welcome: breakfast. Ravenous, I gulped my first mouthful- and put down my spoon, revolted. Burned porridge! I saw each girl try and fail to swallow her food. Breakfast was over, and none had eaten. After my first three lessons of History, Arithmetic and Geography, I was shivering with cold and hunger, like everyone else. One girl was picked on constantly by Miss Scatcherd, the teacher. "Helen Burns, hold up your head. Helen Burns, your nails are dirty. Have you not washed?" "Why doesn't Helen explain?" I thought. "She couldn't because there was no water." "Fetch the rod, you filthy child." Miss Scatcherd beat her neck with quick, hard strokes. Not a tear rose in Helen's eyes.

一阵叮当的铃声把我们吵醒了。我们颤抖着站起来洗衣服，但房间中央的盆里装满了冰。 接着是一个半小时的祈祷，然后…… 欢迎光临：早餐。我饥肠辘辘，吞下了第一口——然后放下勺子，感到厌恶。 烧粥!我看到每个女孩都试着咽下食物，但都失败了。 早餐结束了，谁也没有吃。 上完历史、算术和地理三节课后，我和其他人一样，又冷又饿，浑身发抖。 有一个女孩经常被老师斯卡查德小姐欺负。 “海伦·彭斯，抬起头来。 海伦·伯恩斯，你的指甲很脏。 你没有洗吗？”“为什么海伦不解释？”我想。 “她做不到，因为没有水。” “把棍子拿来，你这个肮脏的孩子。” 斯卡查德小姐又快又狠地打她的脖子。 海伦的眼里没有一滴眼泪。

"How could you bear to be beaten?" I asked her at playtime. "I couldn't." "Yes, you could. It's weak to say you can't bear what you have to." "But it was unfair." "N-no," said Helen. "I have faults. I'm untidy. I read when I should learn my lessons. I know I annoy Miss Scatcherd." "Don't you hate her?" I said. "I hate anyone who dislikes me." "That's just wrong. Read the Bible." "Why? What does it say?" Helen smiled. "Love your enemies." "Huh," I snorted. "That means I should love Aunt Reed and John," and I told Helen about them. "Don't you think they're cruel?" I asked impatiently. "You'd be happier if you tried to forget them," said Helen. "Life's too short to hold a grudge about past wrongs." Never had I met anyone so gentle, so good. And her smile! I remember it still,

“你怎么能忍受挨打呢？”我在玩的时候问她。 “我不能。”“是的，你可以。 说你不能忍受你必须忍受的东西是软弱的。” “但这是不公平的。”“不，不，”海伦说。 “我有缺点。我不整洁了。 当我应该学习功课的时候，我却读书。 我知道我惹斯卡查德小姐生气了。” “你不恨她吗？”我说。 “我讨厌任何不喜欢我的人。” “这是不对的。读圣经。” “为什么?上面写了什么？”海伦笑了。 “爱你的敌人。”“嗯，”我哼了一声。 “那就是说我应该爱里德姨妈和约翰。”我把他们的事告诉了海伦。 “你不觉得他们很残忍吗？”我不耐烦地问。 “如果你试着忘记它们，你会更快乐，”海伦说。 “人生苦短，何必对过去的错误耿耿于怀。” 我从没见过这么温柔，这么善良的人。 还有她的微笑！我仍然记得，

how it lit up her thin face, like the reflection of an angel. She coughed, put her arm around me, and we went inside.

它照亮了她瘦削的脸庞，就像天使的倒影。 她咳嗽了一下，用胳膊搂着我，我们走了进去。