Unit 8 Romantic Stories新编大学英语第二版第一册课文翻译

Unit 8 Romantic Stories
A True Love Story
[1] Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were both English poets. The story of how they met, fell in love, and married is one of the most famous love stories in history. This love story is famous for its purity, its poetry, and its passion. But most of all, it is famous because their romance took place primarily by mail. For the two years before they married, they wrote to each other almost every day.
[2] Elizabeth Barrett lived a quiet life in the house of her father. She rarely left the house because she was very weak and sick with a lung disease. From childhood she spent her time reading, studying Greek, and writing poetry. Her poems were published and became popular both in England and in America. Eli zabeth’s father, Mr. Barrett, supported his daughter’s writing. However, he was very strict and also eccentric--- he refused to let any of his three daughters marry. He wanted them all to stay with him. When Elizabeth was thirty-seven, she still lived with her father and her two unmarried sisters. She had never married or even been in love. She lived in a dream world. She knew Robert Browning only by name. However, she read his poetry and admired it greatly. She even put his name in a poem that she wrote.
[3] Robert Browning’s childhood was similar to Elizabeth’s. He studied Greek, read a great deal, and wrote poetry at a very young age. As a young adult, he continued to read and write, and struggled to publish his work. By the age of thirty, he was not yet married.
[4] One day, Robert was reading some of Elizabeth’s poems. He admired her poetry very much. Suddenly, he saw his name in one of her poems. He was so surprised and pleased that he decided to write her a letter. The year was 1844.
[5] With this letter, Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning began a secret correspondence. They wrote to each other almost every day. At first, their letters were formal and impersonal. They discussed poetry and literature. Slowly, the letters became more personal. A friendship developed as they discovered their common interests and ideas. They read and criticized each other’s poetry and began to discuss their friendship. They seemed to be perfectly compatible, both intellectually and spiritually. After one year, Robert wrote to Elizabeth that he loved her. They still had never met each other.
[6] Finally, Elizabeth and Robert arranged to meet while Elizabeth’s father was not in the house. They were nervous, and even shocked, to see each other face to face at last. They continued meeting and talking secretly once or twice a week for the next year. They also continued to write each other letters every day. Elizabeth wrote: “…You cannot guess what you are to me---you cannot---it is not possible… it is something to me between
dream and miracle.” Robert answered that he had never kept a journal before, but he had started one now. In it he wrote the date of every visit with her and how long it lasted. He even wrote the number of minutes they had been together and said that they added up to two full days in length.
[7] Then, in September, 1846, in a secret marriage ceremony, Elizabeth Barrett became Elizabeth Barrett Browning. A week later, without telling Elizabeth’s father, the happy couple eloped to Italy. The shock was terrible for Mr. Barrett, but his anger could not diminish their happiness. In 1849, they succeeded in having a son. They lived in Italy, extremely happy, for fifteen years, until Elizabeth’s death in 1861.
一个真实的爱情故事
1 伊丽莎白·巴雷特·勃郎宁和罗伯特·勃郎宁都是英国诗人。

有关他们如何相遇、相爱、结婚的故事是历史上最有名的爱情故事之一。

这个爱情故事之所以闻名，是由于它的纯洁、富有诗意和激情。

但这个故事的出名，最重要的原因还在于，他们的恋曲基本上是通过鸿雁传书的方式来谱写的。

在结婚前的两年里，他们几乎每天都给对方写信。

2 伊丽莎白·巴雷特在她父亲家里过着平静的生活。

她患有肺病，身子非常虚弱，因此她几乎很少出门。

从童年起，她的时间都用来读书，学习希腊文和写诗。

她的诗在英国和美国发表并且深受欢迎。

伊丽莎白的父亲，巴雷特先生，支持女儿写作。

然而他却是一个非常严厉而又古怪的人-他不许
3 个女儿中的任何一个结婚。

他要她们都留在他的身边。

伊丽莎白37 岁时，还和父亲及两个没有结婚的妹妹生活在一起。

她没有结婚，甚至还没谈过恋爱，生活在一个梦想的世界里。

对于罗伯特·勃郎宁她只知其名，但他读过他的诗并且赞赏不已。

她甚至把他的名字写进她的一首诗里。

3 罗伯特·勃郎宁的童年和伊丽莎白很相似。

他也学过希腊文，看了大量的书，并且很小的时候就开始写诗。

成年后，他继续阅读和写作，并为作品的发表而奋斗。

直到30 岁，他还没有结婚。

4 一天，罗伯特正在阅读伊丽莎白的一些诗稿。

他非常赞赏她的诗。

突然在她的一首诗里看到了自己的名字，他欣喜万分，决定给她写一封信。

那是1844 年。

5 从这封信开始，伊丽莎白·巴雷特和罗伯特·勃郎宁开始了他们的秘密信件往来。

他们几乎每天都给对方写信。

最初，他们的信件是礼节性的，不涉及个人。

他们讨论诗歌和文学。

慢慢地，信件越来越涉及到个人的事了。

他们不断发现彼此共有的兴趣和观点，于是他们的友谊也随之不断发展。

他们阅读并评论对方写的诗，同时也开始谈论他们之间的友谊。

他们才情并茂，精神融洽。

一年后，罗伯特写信给伊丽莎白表达了他的爱意。

这时他们依然没有见过对方。

6 最后，伊丽莎白和罗伯特商定在伊丽莎白的父亲外出时见面。

终于可以面对面的见到对方了，为此他们都感到紧张甚至非常焦虑不安。

在以后的一年里他们继续秘密约会谈
心，每周一两次。

他们仍然坚持每天给对方写信。

伊丽莎白写道：……..你无法猜测你对我意味着什么-你猜不到的-那是不“……..可能猜到的……..对我而言，你我之间的爱如梦如幻，像奇迹一般。

罗伯特回信说他以前从不记” 日记，但现在开始记了。

在日记里，他记下与她的每一次约会以及见面持续的时间。

他甚至记下了他们（每次）在一起的分钟数，而且说这些时间加在一起有两整天长了。

7 1846 年9 月，（她们）举行了婚礼，仪式是秘密进行的，伊丽莎白·巴雷特变成了伊丽莎白·巴雷特·勃郎宁。

一周后，这对快乐的夫妻在没有告诉伊丽莎白父亲的情况下，私奔到了意大利。

这对巴雷特先生来说是一个沉重的打击，但他的愤怒并不能影响他们的快乐。

1849 年，他们成功地生育了一个儿子。

他们在意大利非常幸福地生活了15 年，直到伊丽莎白于1861 年去世。

Detour to Romance
by Gilbert Wright
[1] Located in the checkroom in Union Station as I am, I see everybody that comes up the stairs. I think that if you wait long enough in a big railroad station like Union Station you’ll see everybody that travels. I’ve told my theory to lots of people but nobody ever did anything about it except Harry. He came in a little over three years ago and waited at the head of the stairs for the passengers from the 9:05 train.
[2] I remember seeing Harry that first evening. He was dressed up and I knew he was meeting his girlfriend and they would be married twenty minutes after she arrived. I didn’t look toward the stairs again until nearly time for the 9:18 and I was very surprised to see that the young fellow was still there, and when the passengers from the 10:02 had all arrived and left, Harry was looking desperate. Soon he came close to my window so I called out and asked him what she looked like.
[3] “She’s small and dark,” he said, “and nineteen years old and she walks nicely. Sh e has a face that has lots of spirit. And her eyebrows come to a little point in the middle.”
[4] I couldn’t remember seeing anybody like that.
[5] He showed me the telegram he’d received: ARRIVE THURSDAY. MEET ME SATAION. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. ---- MAY.
[6] “Well,” I finally said, “why don’t you phone your home? She’s probably called there if she got in ahead of you.”
[7] He gave me a sick look, “I’ve only been in town two days. We were going to meet and then drive down South where I’ve got a job promis ed me. She ---she hasn’t any address for me.” He touched the telegram. “I got this general delivery.” With that, he walked off to the head of the stairs to look over the people from the 11:22.
[8] Well, Harry met every train for the next three or four days. Of course the railroad lines checked and the police looked into the case. But nobody was any real help. I could see that they all thought that May had simply played a trick on him. But I never believed that.
[9] One day, after about two weeks, I told H arry about my theory. “If you’ll just wait long enough,” I said, “you’ll see her coming up those stairs someday.”
[10] Next day when I came to work Harry was behind the counter of the magazine stand next to my checkroom. He looked at me sheepishly and sai d, “I had to get a job somewhere, didn’t I?”
[11] We never spoke of May any more and neither of us ever mentioned my theory. But I noticed that Harry always saw every person who came up the stairs.
[12] Then came yesterday. I heard a cry from Harry. He ran across and grabbed a girl not ten feet from my window. She was small and dark and her eyebrows came to a little point in the middle.
[13] For a while they just stood there laughing and crying and saying things without meaning. What had happened three years before was that May had come by bus, not by train, and in her telegram she meant “bus station”, not “railroad station”. She waited at the bus station for days and had spent all her money trying to find Harry. Finally she got
a jo
b typing.
[14] “What?” said Harry. “Have you been working in town? All the time?”
[15] She nodded.
[16] “Well, didn’t you ever come down here to the station?” he pointed across to his magazine stand. “I’ve been there all the time. I’ve watched everybody that came up the stairs---
[17] She began to look a little pale. Pretty soon she looked over at the stairs and said in a weak voice,” I---I never came up the stairs before. For three years, I’ve been right there---working right in this very station, typing, in the office of t he stationmaster.”
迂回的罗曼史
1 处身于联合车站的行李寄存处，我可以看到所有走上楼梯的人。

我认为如果在类似于联合车站这类大火车站呆上作够的时间，你可以看到所有的旅行者。

我曾将我的理论告诉了许许多多的人，但除了哈里之外，从未有人在这方面有所作为。

大约三年之前他来到这里，在楼梯口上等待从9 点零5 分的火车上下来的客人。

2 我记得那天晚上第一次见到哈里的情景。

他穿着礼服，我还知道他在接他的女友。

在她到达20 分钟后，他们就要举行婚礼。

直到大约9 点18 分，我又朝楼梯上看了看，
惊奇的发现那个年轻人还在那里。

当10 点零 2 分的那班火车上的乘客到达后又走了，哈里看上去绝望了。

不一会儿，他走近我的窗口，我就叫住了他，问他女友长的什么样。

3 “她身材娇小，皮肤较黑，”他说，“她19 岁，走路姿态优美，脸上充满活力，还有她的两簇眉毛在眉心处稍稍相连。

”
4 我不记得见过这么个人。

5 他给我看他收的电报：“周四到达。

到车站接我。

爱你，爱你，爱你，爱你。

——梅”
6 “那么，”我最后说，“为什么不往家里打个电话呢？如果她比你早到，可能已经往那儿打过电话了呢。

”
7 他懊丧地看了我一眼，“我来到镇上才两天。

我们本来打算在这里汇合，然后开车到南方去，那里人家答应给我一份工作。

她，她没有我的任何地址。

”他摸了摸电报说：这是我从邮局的邮件存局侯领处拿到的。

”说完，他走到楼梯口看下面那些乘11 点22 分的火车到站的人们。

8 于是，接下来的三四天，哈里每天都来接所有的火车。

当然铁道公司查询过了，警方也调查过了这件事，但没人能真正帮上忙。

我看得出，他们都认为梅只是捉弄了哈里一次。

但我从不这么想。

9 大约两个星期后的一天，我同哈里说起我的理论。

我说，“如果你等足够长的时间，总有一天你会看到她走上这个楼梯的。

”
10 第二天当我来上班的时候，我发现在我的行李存放处隔壁的杂志销售处，哈里在站柜台。

他不好意思地看着我说：“我得有个地方工作，不是吗？”
11 我们从此谁都没有再提起梅，也都再没有提到过我的理论。

但我注意到哈里总是在看每个走上楼梯的人。

12 然后就在昨天。

我听到哈里大喊一声。

他冲了过去，拽住了一个站在离我的窗口不到十英尺远的女孩。

她身材娇小，皮肤较黑，两簇眉毛在眉心处稍稍相连。

13 好一会儿，他们就站在那里，又是哭又是笑，说些毫无意义的话，三年前发生的事是这样的：梅是乘汽车来的，而不是火车，在电报中她指的是“汽车站”而非“火车站” 。

她在汽车站等了好几天，为找哈里花光了所有的钱，最后找到了份打字的工作。

14 “什么？”哈里说。

“你就在这个镇上工作？一直就在这儿？”
15 她点点头。

16 “那么，你就从来没有到这个火车站来过？”他指向他的杂志销售处。

“我一直就在那儿。

我一直就在看每个走上楼梯的人。

”
17 她开始变得有些苍白。

她很快朝楼梯看去，用很微弱的声音说：“我，以前从来没有上来过。

三年来，我一直在下面——就在这个车站里干活，在站长办公室打字。

”
Appointment with Love
by S.I.Kishor
[1] Six minutes to six. The tall young Army Lieutenant lifted his face, and noted the exact time. [N] His heart was pounding because he could not control it. In six minutes, he would see the woman who had filled a special place in his life for the past 13 months. He had never seen her, yet her written words had been with him and supported him.
[2] Four minutes to six. People were walking fast. A girl passed close to him, and he stared. She was wearing a red flower on her suit, but it was not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was too young, about 18, whereas Hollis Meynell had frankly told him she was 30. He was 29.
[3] His mind went back to that book—the book God Himself must have put into his hands out of the hundreds of Army library books, sent to the Florida Training Camp. Of Human Bondage, it was [N]; and throughout the book were notes in a woman's writing [N]. He had never believed that a woman could see into a man's heart so tenderly, so understandingly. Her name was on the bookplate: Hollis Meynell. He looked in a New York City telephone book and found her address. He had written; she had answered. The next day he had been sent overseas, but they had gone on writing.
[4] For 13 months, she had faithfully replied. Even when his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, and now he believed he loved her, and she loved him.
[5] But she had refused to send him her photograph. She had explained: "If your feeling for me has any honest basis, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I'm beautiful. I'd always wonder if you were interested only in my beauty, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I'm plain [N]. Then I'd always fear that you were going on writing to me only because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don't ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you will see me and then you can make your decision. Remember, both of us are free to stop or to go on after that."
[6] One minute to six.
[7] Then Lieutenant Blandford's heart jumped higher than his plane had ever flown.
[8] A young woman was coming toward him. Her figure was long and slim; her blond hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears. Her eyes were blue as flowers, her lips and chin had a gentle firmness. In her pale green suit, she was like springtime.
[9] He started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was wearing no rose. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.
[10] She was standing almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair under a worn hat. She was short and fat. But she wore a red rose on her brown coat.
[11] The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.
[12] Blandford felt as though he were being split in two. He wanted to follow the girl, yet longed for the woman whose spirit had been his companion and support. There she stood. Her pale, fat face was gentle and sensible. Her gray eyes had a warm, kindly twinkle.
[13] Lieutenant Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small, worn, blue leather copy of Of Human Bondage, which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even more rare than love—a friendship for which he would always be grateful.
[14] He saluted and held the book out toward the woman.
[15] "I'm Lieutenant John Blandford, and you, Miss Meynell. I'm so glad you could meet me. May... may I take you to dinner?"
[16] The woman smiled. "I don't know what this is all about [N]," she answered, "but that young lady in the green suit—the one who just went by—begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you that she's waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was a test."
爱情之约
1 六点差六分。

高大年轻的陆军中尉抬起头，看了一下确切的时间。

他无法控制自己，心砰砰直跳。

六分钟之后，他就要见到过去13 个月以来一直在他生命中占据着特殊地位的那个女人。

他从未见过她，但她写的那些文字一直伴随着他，支持着他。

2 六点差四分。

人们步履匆匆。

一个姑娘从他身边走过，他盯着看。

她穿着套装，衣服上佩着一朵红花，但不是他们约好的红玫瑰。

还有，这姑娘太年轻了，只有18 岁光景，而霍利斯。

梅内尔曾坦率地跟他说过她30 岁。

而他自己29 岁。

3 他的思绪又回到了眼前的书上——这本书一定是上帝亲手选出来后放在他手中的，上帝从送给佛罗里达训练营的部队图书馆的众多书籍中挑选出来。

这本书叫《人性枷锁》，书中从头到尾都是一个女人所写的评注。

他从未想到一个女人会如此通情达理、体贴入微的洞察男人的内心世界。

她的名字就在藏书者标签上：霍利斯。

梅内尔。

他从纽约市电话号码簿上查到了她的地址。

他给她写信，她回了信。

但收到回信的第二天他就被派往海外，此后他们一直互相通信。

4 13 个月以来，她一直如期回复他的来信。

即使他的信还没有到，她也仍然给他写信。

如今，他相信自己爱上了她，而且她也爱上了自己。

5 然而，她拒绝给他寄照片。

她解释说：“如果你对我的情感是基于真情的话，那么我的外貌则无关紧要。

假如我很漂亮，那么我会总是怀疑你感兴趣的仅仅是我的容貌而已，我对那种爱情会很反感。

假如我的相貌平平，那么我会总是担心，仅仅是因为你孤独，无
人倾诉才一直写信给我。

不要这样，不要问我要照片。

你来纽约就会见到我，然后你可以再做决定。

记住，见面后我们两人都有权决定是到此为止还是继续发展。

”
6 6 点差1 分。

7 布兰福特中尉的心悬得比他开的飞机还要高。

8 一位年轻女子朝他走来。

她的身材高挑修长，金黄的卷发沿着小巧的耳朵垂下。

她的眼睛湛蓝，如花朵一般，嘴唇和下巴的线条既温柔又坚强。

她身着浅绿色套装，如同春天。

9 他对她目不转睛，完全没有注意到她没有佩带玫瑰花。

接着，他看到了霍利斯·梅内尔。

10 她站在那姑娘的身后，几乎紧挨着她。

那是一位有四十好几的妇女，一顶旧帽子遮住了她的灰发。

她又矮又胖，但她的棕色外套上戴着一朵红玫瑰。

11 穿绿色套装的姑娘很快走掉了。

12 布兰福特感觉到自己似乎快被撕成两半。

他想跟着那个姑娘，却又渴望与那个在精神上曾是他伴侣和支柱的妇人在一起。

他就站在那里。

她苍白发胖的脸庞温柔而充满睿智，灰色的眼睛闪烁着温柔和善意的目光。

13 布兰福特中尉没有犹豫。

他的手指紧紧抓着那本破旧的，包着蓝色书皮的小书——《人性枷锁》。

这本书是他的身份记号。

这可能不是爱情，但肯定是一种非常珍贵，甚至比爱情还要稀有的东西——他将感激终生的友情。

14 他敬了个礼，然后将书递给妇人。

15 “我是约翰。

布兰福特中尉，您就是梅内尔小姐。

很高兴您能来见我。

请……请允许我请您吃饭好吗？”
16 那个妇人笑了。

“我不明白这是怎么回事，”她说，“但那位穿绿衣服的姑娘——就是刚才走过去的那位——恳请我把这朵玫瑰别在外套上。

她说如果你邀请我和你一起出去，那么我就告诉你她在马路对面的那家大饭店里等着你。

她说这是个考验。

”。