美国语文第六册 第55期:我的演说经历(4)

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　　I took the field in person, being in my nineteenth year, well proportioned, 我当时年仅十九岁，好在野外玩耍，倒也与年龄颇为相称，

　　and already beginning to have a sincere relish¹ for poetry, if not for declamation². 已经开始对诗歌怀有真诚的喜好，如果不是对慷慨激昂的演说真心喜欢的话。

　　I had always been a great reader; 我始终是一位贪婪的读者，

　　and in the course of my foraging³ depredations⁴ I had met with "The Mariner's Dream" and "The Lake of the Dismal⁵ Swamp," 在寻找破坏的对象期间，我与《水手的梦》和《凄凉的沼泽湖》不期而遇，

　　both of which I had committed to memory before I knew it. 这两首诗在我拜读之前就已经在我的记忆里留下了烙印。

　　And one day, happening to be alone with my sister, and newly rigged out in a student's gown, 有一天，碰巧就我和姐姐两个人在家，我穿了一件簇新的学生礼服，

　　such as the lads at Brunswick sported when they came to show off among their old companions, 就像布伦兹维克特意向别人炫耀的男孩子，他们在向自己的伙伴显摆时就是这个样子。

　　I proposed to astonish her by rehearsing these two poems in appropriate costume. 我本来打算穿适合的衣服朗诵这两首诗，让她大吃一惊。

　　Being very proud of her brother, and very obliging, 她会为她的弟弟感到非常骄傲，非常满足，

　　she consented at once,—upon condition that our dear mother, who had never seen anything of the sort, should be invited to make one of the audience. 她马上表示同意——我亲爱的妈妈从来没有见过这个，也会邀请她来做观众的。

　　On the whole, I rather think that I succeeded in astonishing both. 总的来说，我宁愿相信自己让她们两人都大吃了一惊。

　　I well remember their looks of amazement—for they had never seen anything better or worse in all their lives, 我记得她们惊愕的样子——因为在她们的生活中从未见过这个，

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