月亮和六便士 第四十七章(7)

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The Rue Bouterie is a narrow street of one-storeyed houses, each house consisting of but one room; 布特里路是一条狭窄的街道，两旁都是一间间的平房，每所房子只有一间小屋，

they are like the booths in a crowded fair or the cages of animals in a circus. 就象拥挤的集市棚子或者马戏团的兽笼。

At every door you see a woman. 每间屋子门口都可以看到一个女人。

Some lean lazily against the side-posts, humming to themselves or calling to the passer-by in a raucous² voice, and some listlessly read. 有的懒洋洋地靠着门框，或者哼着小曲，或者用沙哑的嗓子向过路人打招呼，也有的无精打采地看一本书。

They are French. Italian, Spanish, Japanese, coloured; 她们有的是法国人，有的是意大利人，有的是西班牙人，有的是日本人，也有的是黑人；

some are fat and some are thin; 有的胖，有的瘦；

and under the thick paint on their faces, the heavy smears³ on their eyebrows⁴, and the scarlet⁵ of their lips, you see the lines of age and the scars of dissipation. 在厚厚的脂粉、乌黑的眼眉和猩红的唇脂下面，你可以看到岁月在她们脸上刻下的痕迹和堕落放荡留下的伤疤。

Some wear black shifts and flesh-coloured stockings; some with curly hair, dyed yellow, are dressed like little girls in short muslin frocks. 她们有的人穿着黑色内衫和肉色长袜，有的头发卷曲、染成金黄颜色，穿着纱衣，打扮得象小女孩。

Through the open door you see a red-tiled floor, a large wooden bed, and on a deal table a ewer⁶ and a basin. 从敞开的门外边，可以看到屋子里的红砖地，一张大木床，牌桌上摆着一只大口水罐和一个面盆。

A motley crowd saunters along the streets—Lascars off a P. and O., blond Northmen from a Swedish barque, Japanese from a man-of-war, 街头上形形色色的人踱来踱去——邮轮上的印度水手，瑞典三桅帆船上的金发的北欧人，军舰上的日本兵，

English sailors, Spaniards, pleasant-looking fellows from a French cruiser, negroes off an American tramp. 英国水手，西班牙人，法国巡洋舰上英俊的水兵，美国货轮上的黑人。

By day it is merely sordid⁷, but at night, lit only by the lamps in the little huts, the street has a sinister⁸ beauty. 白天，这里污秽肮脏，但是到了夜里，在小屋子的灯光照耀下，这条街就有一种罪恶的魅力。

The hideous⁹ lust¹⁰ that pervades¹¹ the air is oppressive and horrible, and yet there is something mysterious in the sight which haunts and troubles you. 弥漫在空中的丑恶的淫欲使人感到窒息，简直是可怕的，但是在这一切缠绕着你、激动着你的景象里却有某种神秘的东西。

You feel I know not what primitive¹² force which repels¹³ and yet fascinates you. 你觉得有一种人们并不了解的原始力量又让你厌恶，又深深地把你迷住。

Here all the decencies of civilisation¹⁴ are swept away, and you feel that men are face to face with a sombre reality. 在这里，一切文明、体面都已荡然无存，人们面对的只是阴郁的现实，

There is an atmosphere that is at once intense and tragic¹⁵. 一种既热烈又悲哀的气氛笼罩着一切。

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