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

Unit 8 Romantic StoriesA 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 betweendream 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。