ขาว — Page 4
"Sunday," she said again, more quietly, the way you confirm a thing to yourself by saying it twice.
「星期天,」她再次说道,声音更轻了,就像人们通过说两遍来向自己确认一件事那样。
She picked up the bags and went inside.
她拎起袋子,走进了屋里。
Khao stayed at the gate a while longer, as he always did, until the particular hour had fully passed and the evening was beginning.
考像往常一样,在门口又多待了一会儿,直到那个特定的时刻完全过去,夜晚开始降临。
Then he rose — unhurried, deliberate — and came up the porch steps and through the door that Malee had left open for him, without realizing she had done it.
然后他站起身来——不慌不忙,从容沉稳——走上门廊台阶,穿过玛丽无意间为他留开的那扇门。
Inside, the kitchen light was on, and the smell of rice and something warming on the stove moved through the house the way it always had, the way it had since before Nipa was born, since before Malee herself had come to this house as a young woman and learned its boards and its windows and its particular quality of late-day light.
屋内,厨房的灯亮着,米饭的香气和炉上某样温热食物的气味弥漫在整个房间里,一如既往,就像尼帕出生之前那样,就像玛丽自己还是个年轻女人、初来这栋房子、一点点熟悉它的地板、它的窗户、它那特有的傍晚光线之前那样。
Khao settled near the kitchen doorway.
考在厨房门口附近安顿下来。
The house held them both.
这栋房子容纳着他们两个。
Outside, the gate stood in the dusk, waiting too, in its own way — painted faded green, latch ready, the lane beyond it quiet and still.
屋外,大门伫立在暮色中,也在等待,以它自己的方式——漆色斑驳的绿,门闩静候着,门外的小巷寂静而安宁。
Vocabulary
- 星期天
- xīngqītiān — Sunday; the first or last day of the week.
- 她
- tā — She; third-person singular feminine pronoun.
- 再次
- zàicì — Once again; for another time.
- 说道
- shuōdào — Said; uttered words, often in narrative context.
- 声音
- shēngyīn — Sound; voice; an audible noise or tone.
- 更
- gèng — Even more; to a greater degree or extent.
- 轻
- qīng — Light; soft; quiet; not heavy or loud.
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or change of state.
- 就像
- jiù xiàng — Just like; exactly as; similar to something.
- 人们
- rénmen — People; folks; human beings in general.
- 通过
- tōngguò — Through; by means of; to pass through something.
- 说
- shuō — To say; to speak; to tell someone something.
- 两遍
- liǎng biàn — Two times; twice; doing something two rounds.
- 来
- lái — To come; directional complement toward the speaker.
- 向
- xiàng — Toward; in the direction of; facing something.
- 自己
- zìjǐ — Oneself; one's own self; reflexive pronoun.
- 确认
- quèrèn — To confirm; to verify; to make certain of something.
- 一件
- yī jiàn — One item; one piece; a single matter or thing.
- 事
- shì — Matter; affair; thing; an event or task.
- 那样
- nàyàng — That way; like that; in such a manner.
- 拎起
- līn qǐ — To pick up; to lift something by a handle.
- 袋子
- dàizi — Bag; sack; a container made of flexible material.
- 走进
- zǒu jìn — To walk into; to enter a place on foot.
- 屋里
- wū lǐ — Inside the room; within the house or building.
- 像
- xiàng — To resemble; like; similar to something or someone.
- 往常
- wǎngcháng — As usual; as in the past; customary routine.
- 一样
- yīyàng — The same; alike; identical in manner or appearance.
- 在
- zài — At; in; on; indicates location or ongoing action.
- 门口
- ménkǒu — Doorway; entrance; the area just outside a door.
- 又
- yòu — Again; also; additionally; once more.
- 多
- duō — More; many; a greater quantity or degree.
- 待
- dāi — To stay; to remain; to linger in a place.
- 一会儿
- yīhuìr — A little while; a short period of time.
- 直到
- zhídào — Until; up to the point when something happens.
- 那个
- nàge — That; that one; referring to a specific thing.
- 特定
- tèdìng — Specific; particular; designated for a certain purpose.
- 的
- de — Structural particle linking modifier to noun.
- 时刻
- shíkè — Moment; instant; a particular point in time.
- 完全
- wánquán — Completely; entirely; fully; without any remainder.
- 过去
- guòqù — To pass; to go by; the past has elapsed.
- 夜晚
- yèwǎn — Night; evening; the dark hours after sunset.
- 开始
- kāishǐ — To begin; to start; the commencement of something.
- 降临
- jiànglín — To descend; to arrive; nightfall or blessing coming down.
- 然后
- ránhòu — Then; afterward; following that in sequence.
- 他
- tā — He; him; third-person singular masculine pronoun.
- 站起
- zhàn qǐ — To stand up; to rise from a seated position.
- 身来
- shēn lái — To rise to one's full height; complementary phrase for standing.
- 不慌不忙
- bù huāng bù máng — Unhurried; calm and composed; taking one's time.
- 从容
- cóngróng — Composed; calm; at ease without rush or anxiety.
- 沉稳
- chénwěn — Steady; composed; calm and reliable in demeanor.
- 走上
- zǒu shàng — To walk up to; to step onto a surface.
- 门廊
- ménláng — Porch; veranda; covered entrance area of a building.
- 台阶
- táijiē — Steps; stairs; a flight of steps at an entrance.
- 穿过
- chuānguò — To pass through; to go across a space or opening.
- 无意间
- wúyì jiān — Unintentionally; accidentally; without deliberate purpose.
- 为
- wèi — For; on behalf of; indicating purpose or benefit.
- 留
- liú — To leave; to keep open; to retain something.
- 开
- kāi — Open; ajar; to open or keep something open.
- 那扇
- nà shàn — That (door/window); measure word for hinged panels.
- 门
- mén — Door; gate; entrance to a room or building.
- 屋内
- wū nèi — Inside the house; within the interior of a room.
- 厨房
- chúfáng — Kitchen; the room where food is prepared.
- 灯
- dēng — Light; lamp; a device that produces illumination.
- 亮着
- liàng zhe — (Light) is on; glowing; illuminated and burning.
- 米饭
- mǐfàn — Cooked rice; steamed white rice as a staple food.
- 香气
- xiāngqì — Fragrance; aroma; a pleasant and appealing smell.
- 和
- hé — And; together with; connecting two nouns or clauses.
- 炉上
- lú shàng — On the stove; atop the cooking range or furnace.
- 某样
- mǒu yàng — Some kind of; a certain type of unspecified thing.
- 温热
- wēnrè — Warm; pleasantly heated; neither hot nor cold.
- 食物
- shíwù — Food; edible substances consumed for nourishment.
- 气味
- qìwèi — Smell; odor; the scent given off by something.
- 弥漫
- mímàn — To fill; to permeate; to spread throughout a space.
- 整个
- zhěnggè — Entire; whole; the complete scope of something.
- 房间
- fángjiān — Room; an enclosed space within a building.
- 里
- lǐ — Inside; within; the interior of a space.
- 一如既往
- yī rú jì wǎng — Just as always; as it has always been; unchanged.
- 出生
- chūshēng — To be born; birth; the moment of coming into existence.
- 之前
- zhīqián — Before; prior to; earlier than a reference point.
- 还是
- háishi — Still; or; was still at that time.
- 个
- gè — General measure word for people and many objects.
- 年轻
- niánqīng — Young; youthful; not yet old or aged.
- 女人
- nǚrén — Woman; an adult female person.
- 初来
- chū lái — First arriving; newly come to a place.
- 这栋
- zhè dòng — This (building); measure word for buildings or structures.
- 房子
- fángzi — House; building; a structure used as a dwelling.
- 一点点
- yīdiǎndiǎn — Little by little; bit by bit; very gradually.
- 熟悉
- shúxī — To be familiar with; to know well through experience.
- 它
- tā — It; third-person pronoun for objects or animals.
- 地板
- dìbǎn — Floor; the flat surface one walks on indoors.
- 窗户
- chuānghu — Window; an opening in a wall that admits light.
- 那
- nà — That; referring to something previously mentioned.
- 特有
- tèyǒu — Unique to; characteristic of; exclusively belonging to something.
- 傍晚
- bàngwǎn — Dusk; early evening; the time around sunset.
- 光线
- guāngxiàn — Light; rays of light; illumination in an environment.
- 附近
- fùjìn — Nearby; in the vicinity; close to a location.
- 安顿
- āndùn — To settle; to get settled; to make comfortable arrangements.
- 下来
- xià lái — To come down; directional complement indicating settling.
- 容纳
- róngnà — To accommodate; to hold; to have capacity for something.
- 着
- zhe — Particle indicating ongoing state or continuous action.
- 他们
- tāmen — They; them; third-person plural pronoun.
- 两个
- liǎng gè — Two; a pair; two people or objects.
- 屋外
- wū wài — Outside the house; the exterior of a building.
- 大门
- dàmén — Main gate; front door; large entrance of a compound.
- 伫立
- zhùlì — To stand still; to linger standing in one place.
- 暮色
- mùsè — Twilight; the dim light of dusk after sunset.
- 中
- zhōng — In; within; amid; in the middle of something.
- 也
- yě — Also; too; as well; likewise.
- 等待
- děngdài — To wait; to await; to expect something to come.
- 以
- yǐ — With; by means of; using a certain method.
- 方式
- fāngshì — Way; manner; method of doing something.
- 漆色
- qīsè — Paint color; the hue of a lacquered or painted surface.
- 斑驳
- bānbó — Mottled; peeling; showing patches of worn-off color.
- 绿
- lǜ — Green; the color of grass or leaves.
- 门闩
- ménshuān — Door bolt; latch; a sliding bar securing a door.
- 静候
- jìnghòu — To wait quietly; to await patiently in stillness.
- 门外
- mén wài — Outside the door; beyond the entrance of a building.
- 小巷
- xiǎoxiàng — Alley; narrow lane; a small street between buildings.
- 寂静
- jìjìng — Silent; still; completely quiet and undisturbed.
- 而
- ér — And; yet; but; a conjunction linking contrasting ideas.
- 安宁
- ānníng — Peaceful; tranquil; free from disturbance or anxiety.
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