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我的生活海伦·凯勒自传
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

英文中文双语对照双语交替

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Chapter XVI	第十六章

Before October, 1893, I had studied various subjects by myself in a more or less desultory manner. I read the histories of Greece, Rome and the United States. I had a French grammar in raised print, and as I already knew some French, I often amused myself by composing in my head short exercises, using the new words as I came across them, and ignoring rules and other technicalities as much as possible. I even tried, without aid, to master the French pronunciation, as I found all the letters and sounds described in the book. Of course this was tasking slender powers for great ends; but it gave me something to do on a rainy day, and I acquired a sufficient knowledge of French to read with pleasure La Fontaine's "Fables," "Le Medecin Malgr?Lui" and passages from "Athalie."	到1893年10月之前，我已经断断续续地自学了多种类型的科目。我阅读了希腊、罗马和美国的历史。我有一本盲文法语语法书，而且已经学习了几句法语。为了自娱自乐，我经常默默地在脑海里做一些小练习。我用随意想到的新单词造句，而且不太理会语法规则和其他的技术性问题。在无人帮助的情况下，我甚至尝试掌握法语发音，因为我在这本书里发现了所有字母和音节的发音讲解。当然，对于宏大的目标而言，这种努力是远远不够的；但是不管怎么说，在淫雨霏霏的日子里，我总可以有事可干。就这样，我所掌握的法语知识足够使我阅读有趣的拉封丹的寓言，莫里哀的《屈打成医》，以及拉辛的《阿达莉》中的段落。
I also gave considerable time to the improvement of my speech. I read aloud to Miss Sullivan and recited passages from my favourite poets, which I had committed to memory; she corrected my pronunciation and helped me to phrase and inflect. It was not, however, until October, 1893, after I had recovered from the fatigue and excitement of my visit to the World's Fair, that I began to have lessons in special subjects at fixed hours.	我也用相当多的时间来提高我的说话能力。我大声地为苏立文小姐朗读课文，背诵我喜爱的诗歌章节；她则纠正我的发音并帮我断句和改变词形。总之，直到1893年10月，也就是在我从参观世界博览会的疲劳和兴奋状态中恢复平静之后，我才开始在固定时间内学习一些特殊的课程。
Miss Sullivan and I were at that time in Hulton, Pennsylvania, visiting the family of Mr. William Wade. Mr. Irons, a neighbour of theirs, was a good Latin scholar; it was arranged that I should study under him. I remember him as a man of rare, sweet nature and of wide experience. He taught me Latin grammar principally; but he often helped me in arithmetic, which I found as troublesome as it was uninteresting. Mr. Irons also read with me Tennyson's "In Memoriam." I had read many books before, but never from a critical point of view. I learned for the first time to know an author, to recognize his style as I recognize the clasp of a friend's hand.	那时，我和苏立文小姐正在宾夕法尼亚州的霍尔顿，当时我们客居在威廉·韦德先生家。艾恩先生是韦德先生家的邻居，他是一个优秀的拉丁语学者，所以跟他学习拉丁语也就成了顺理成章的事。在我的记忆中，艾恩先生是一个生性乐观、博学多闻的杰出人士。他主要教我拉丁语语法，但是他经常帮我解决算术难题——对我而言，那些数字运算实在令人挠头。艾恩先生还陪我一起读丁尼生的《悼念》。我以前也读过很多书，但是从来都不曾看到过任何批判性的观点，这是我第一次遇到具有思辨思想的作家，我认同他的文风，正如我认同一个朋友的牵手一样。
At first I was rather unwilling to study Latin grammar. It seemed absurd to waste time analyzing, every word I came across--noun, genitive, singular, feminine--when its meaning was quite plain. I thought I might just as well describe my pet in order to know it--order, vertebrate; division, quadruped; class, mammalia; genus, felinus; species, cat; individual, Tabby. But as I got deeper into the subject, I became more interested, and the beauty of the language delighted me. I often amused myself by reading Latin passages, picking up words I understood and trying to make sense. I have never ceased to enjoy this pastime.	起初，我是抱着很不情愿的态度学习拉丁语的。对你所遇到的每一个单词进行分析——名词属性，所有格，单数，阴性——似乎是一种浪费时间的愚蠢举动，尤其是当这些词的意思十分清楚明了的时候。为了能用这些拉丁词描述我的宠物，我还是学到了一些知识——目，脊椎动物；门，四足动物；纲，哺乳动物；属，猫科；个体，虎斑猫。随着学习的深入，我变得越来越有兴趣，语言之美实在难以言说。我常常读拉丁文文章自娱自乐，我会把学过的词挑选出来并体味其中的含义。在其后的生活中，我从来没有中止过这种消遣。
There is nothing more beautiful, I think, than the evanescent fleeting images and sentiments presented by a language one is just becoming familiar with--ideas that flit across the mental sky, shaped and tinted by capricious fancy. Miss Sullivan sat beside me at my lessons, spelling into my hand whatever Mr. Irons said, and looking up new words for me. I was just beginning to read Caesar's "Gallic War" when I went to my home in Alabama.	我想，没有任何事物比因一种语言而产生的倏忽即逝的影像和情感更具魅力。我只是刚开始熟悉这种语言，但是，我的思想已经穿越了精神的天空，它已经被瞬息万变的幻想重新塑造和着色。上课的时候，苏立文小姐就坐在我的身边，她会把艾恩先生说的话在我手上拼写出来，而且帮我查生词。在启程返回亚拉巴马老家时，我已经开始读恺撒写的《高卢战记》了。