If you say ‘war’ just once more, I’ll go in the house and shut the door. I’ve never gotten so tired of any one word in my life as ‘war,’ unless it’s ‘ secession .’ Pa talks war morning, noon and night, and all the gentlemen who come to see him shout about Fort Sumter and States’ Rights and Abe Lincoln till I get so bored I could scream! And that’s all the boys talk about, too, that and their old Troop. There hasn’t been any fun at any party this spring because the boys can’t talk about anything else. I’m mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it seceded or it would have ruined the Christmas parties, too. If you say ‘war’ again, I’ll go in the house.”
“只要你再說一聲‘戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)’，我就進(jìn)屋去，把門關(guān)上，我這輩子還從來沒有像對(duì)‘戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)’這個(gè)詞感到討厭，除非那個(gè)詞意味著'脫離聯(lián)邦'。爸爸總是從早到晚談?wù)搼?zhàn)爭(zhēng)，戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，所有來看他的紳士們也叫嚷著什么薩姆特要塞、州權(quán)、亞伯·林肯，簡(jiǎn)直煩得我要大喊大叫！而且所有的男孩子也都在談這些，還有他們的軍隊(duì)。今年春天，任何晚會(huì)上也沒有聽到這什么快樂的事情，因?yàn)槟泻⒆釉俨徽剟e的了。我最高興的是佐治亞要等到過了圣誕節(jié)以后才宣布脫離聯(lián)邦，要不然會(huì)把圣誕晚會(huì)也糟蹋了。要是你再談‘戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)’我就馬上進(jìn)屋去了。”
She meant what she said, for she could never long endure any conversation of which she was not the chief subject. But she smiled when she spoke, consciously deepening her dimple and fluttering her bristly black lashes as swiftly as butterflies’ wings. The boys were enchanted, as she had intended them to be, and they hastened to apologize for boring her. They thought none the less of her for her lack of interest. Indeed, they thought more. War was men’s business, not ladies’, and they took her attitude as evidence of her femininity .
她說到做到，因?yàn)樗龔膩砭腿淌懿涣瞬灰运秊橹黝}的談話。不過她說話時(shí)總是面帶微笑，刻意加深臉的酒窩，同時(shí)把像蝴蝶翅膀似的兩圈又硬又黑的睫毛迅速地扇動(dòng)起來。小伙子們給迷住了，這正中她的心意，于是他們向她道歉，他們并不因?yàn)樗龑?duì)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)不感興趣而絲毫輕視她。相反，他們更敬重她了。戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)原來是男人的事，與女人無關(guān)，因此他們便把她的態(tài)度當(dāng)成是女人味十足的特征。
Having maneuvered them away from the boring subject of war, she went back with interest to their immediate situation.
把他們從討厭戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的話題支使開以后，她便饒有興趣地回到他們當(dāng)前的環(huán)境上來。
“What did your mother say about you two being expelled again?”
“對(duì)于你倆再一次開除的事你母親說了些什么呀？”
The boys looked uncomfortable, recalling their mother’s conduct three months ago when they had come home, by request, from the University of Virginia.
小伙子顯得有點(diǎn)不自在，想起三個(gè)月前他們從弗吉尼亞大學(xué)被請(qǐng)回家時(shí)母親的那番表現(xiàn)。
“Well,” said Stuart, “she hasn’t had a chance to say anything yet. Tom and us left home early this morning before she got up, and Tom’s laying out over at the Fontaines’ while we came over here.”
“唔，她還沒有機(jī)會(huì)說呢，”斯圖爾特答道。"今天一清早她還沒起床，湯姆和我倆便出門了。湯姆半路上去方丹家了，我們便徑直到這兒來了。”
“Didn’t she say anything when you got home last night?”
“昨天晚上你們到家時(shí)難道她什么話也沒說嗎？”
