White nights, and other stories — Page 15
No kind-hearted woman, unless she were stupid or, still more, vexed about something at the moment, could bring herself to send you away without those two words which you ask for so timidly....
没有一个心地善良的女人，除非她愚蠢，或者，更有甚者，当时正为某件事烦恼，才会忍心不说那两个你如此胆怯地请求的字就把你打发走……
But what am I saying? Of course she would take you for a madman.
但我说的是什么？她当然会把你当成疯子。
I was judging by myself; I know a good deal about other people's lives."
我是以自己为标准来判断的；我对别人的生活了解颇多。"
"Oh, thank you," I cried; "you don't know what you have done for me now!"
"哦，谢谢你，"我喊道，"你不知道你现在为我做了什么！"
"I am glad! I am glad! But tell me how did you find out that I was the sort of woman with whom ... well, whom you think worthy ... of attention and friendship ... in fact, not a landlady as you say?
"我很高兴！我很高兴！但告诉我，你是怎么发现我是那种……嗯，你认为值得……关注和友谊的女人……事实上，不是你所说的女房东？
What made you decide to come up to me?"
是什么让你决定走过来找我？"
"What made me?... But you were alone; that gentleman was too insolent; it's night. You must admit that it was a duty...."
"是什么让我这么做？……但你是一个人；那位先生太无礼了；又是夜晚。你必须承认这是一种责任……"
"No, no; I mean before, on the other side--you know you meant to come up to me."
"不，不；我是说之前，在对面——你知道你本来就打算走过来找我的。"
"On the other side? Really I don't know how to answer; I am afraid to....
"在对面？我真的不知道该怎么回答；我不敢……
Do you know I have been happy to-day? I walked along singing; I went out into the country; I have never had such happy moments.
你知道吗，我今天很快乐？我边走边唱歌；我去了乡下；我从未有过这样快乐的时光。
You ... perhaps it was my fancy.... Forgive me for referring to it; I fancied you were crying, and I ... could not bear to hear it ... it made my heart ache.... Oh, my goodness!
你……也许是我的幻觉……原谅我提起这件事；我以为你在哭，而我……无法忍受听到这个……它让我心痛……哦，我的天哪！
Vocabulary
- 没有
- méiyǒu — To not have; there is no; without
- 一个
- yī gè — One; a single (general measure word)
- 心地
- xīndì — One's nature or disposition; inner character
- 善良
- shànliáng — Kind-hearted; benevolent; good-natured
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 女人
- nǚrén — Woman; female adult person
- 除非
- chúfēi — Unless; only if a condition is met
- 她
- tā — She; her (third-person feminine pronoun)
- 愚蠢
- yúchǔn — Stupid; foolish; lacking intelligence
- 或者
- huòzhě — Or; alternatively; either one option
- 更
- gèng — Even more; still more; to a greater degree
- 有
- yǒu — To have; there is/are; to exist
- 甚者
- shènzhě — What is more; even more extreme cases
- 当时
- dāngshí — At that time; back then; at that moment
- 正
- zhèng — Just; right; exactly; currently in the act
- 为
- wèi — For; because of; on behalf of
- 某件
- mǒu jiàn — A certain (matter or thing); some specific thing
- 事
- shì — Matter; affair; event; thing
- 烦恼
- fánnǎo — Troubled; worried; vexed by something
- 才会
- cái huì — Only then will; not until then would
- 忍心
- rěnxīn — To have the heart to do something cruel
- 不说
- bù shuō — Not say; refrain from speaking about something
- 那
- nà — That; those; referring to something previously mentioned
- 两个
- liǎng gè — Two (with general measure word); a pair
- 你
- nǐ — You (second-person singular pronoun)
- 如此
- rúcǐ — Like this; so; in such a manner
- 胆怯
- dǎnqiè — Timid; cowardly; lacking courage
- 地
- de — Adverbial structural particle (modifies verbs)
- 请求
- qǐngqiú — To request; to ask for; a plea
- 字
- zì — Character; word; written letter
- 就
- jiù — Then; right away; exactly; as early as
- 把
- bǎ — Disposal marker; to take and do something to
- 打发
- dǎfa — To send away; to dismiss; to get rid of
- 走
- zǒu — To walk; to leave; to go away
- 但
- dàn — But; however; yet; nevertheless
- 我
- wǒ — I; me (first-person singular pronoun)
- 说
- shuō — To say; to speak; to tell
- 是
- shì — To be; is; am; are; yes
- 什么
- shénme — What; whatever; anything
- 当然
- dāngrán — Of course; naturally; certainly
- 会
- huì — Will; can; to be able to; likely to
- 当成
- dàngchéng — To regard as; to treat as; to take for
- 疯子
- fēngzi — Crazy person; lunatic; madman
- 以
- yǐ — Using; by means of; with; according to
- 自己
- zìjǐ — Oneself; one's own; yourself; myself
- 标准
- biāozhǔn — Standard; criterion; benchmark; norm
- 来
- lái — To come; to arrive; used as directional complement
- 判断
- pànduàn — To judge; to assess; to make a judgment
- 对
- duì — Correct; toward; regarding; to face
- 别人
- biérén — Other people; others; someone else
- 生活
- shēnghuó — Life; daily living; lifestyle; to live
- 了解
- liǎojiě — To understand; to know; to be familiar with
- 颇多
- pō duō — Quite a lot; rather many; considerably much
- 哦
- ó / ò — Oh; expressing realization or mild surprise
- 谢谢
- xièxiè — Thank you; thanks
- 喊道
- hǎn dào — To shout out; to call out saying
- 不
- bù — No; not; negation particle
- 知道
- zhīdào — To know; to be aware of something
- 现在
- xiànzài — Now; at present; currently
- 做了
- zuò le — Have done; completed an action
- 很
- hěn — Very; quite; extremely (common intensifier)
- 高兴
- gāoxìng — Happy; glad; pleased; joyful
- 告诉
- gàosù — To tell; to inform; to let someone know
- 怎么
- zěnme — How; in what way; why
- 发现
- fāxiàn — To discover; to find out; to realize
- 那种
- nà zhǒng — That kind; that type; that sort of
- 嗯
- ń / ňg — Hmm; uh-huh; sound of acknowledgment or thought
- 认为
- rènwéi — To think; to believe; to consider; to deem
- 值得
- zhídé — Worth it; deserving; meriting attention or effort
- 关注
- guānzhù — To pay attention to; to follow; to be concerned about
- 和
- hé — And; with; together with; harmony
- 友谊
- yǒuyì — Friendship; friendly relations between people
- 事实上
- shìshí shàng — In fact; actually; as a matter of fact
- 不是
- bú shì — Is not; are not; negation of 'to be'
- 所说
- suǒ shuō — What is said; what one speaks of
- 女
- nǚ — Female; woman; daughter
- 房东
- fángdōng — Landlord; property owner who rents out rooms
- 让
- ràng — To let; to allow; to cause; to make
- 决定
- juédìng — To decide; to determine; a decision
- 过来
- guòlái — To come over; to come here; directional complement
- 找
- zhǎo — To look for; to seek; to find
- 这么
- zhème — Like this; so; in this way; this much
- 做
- zuò — To do; to make; to act; to perform
- 一个人
- yī gè rén — One person; alone; by oneself
- 那位
- nà wèi — That person (polite); that gentleman or lady
- 先生
- xiānsheng — Mister; sir; gentleman; husband
- 太
- tài — Too; excessively; extremely
- 无礼
- wúlǐ — Rude; impolite; lacking manners
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or new situation
- 又
- yòu — Again; also; moreover; once more
- 夜晚
- yèwǎn — Night; nighttime; the evening hours
- 必须
- bìxū — Must; have to; it is necessary to
- 承认
- chéngrèn — To admit; to acknowledge; to recognize as true
- 这
- zhè — This; these; referring to something nearby
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — A type of; a kind of; one sort
- 责任
- zérèn — Responsibility; duty; obligation; accountability
- 是说
- shì shuō — That is to say; meaning; in other words
- 之前
- zhīqián — Before; prior to; previously
- 在
- zài — At; in; on; to be present; located at
- 对面
- duìmiàn — Opposite side; across from; facing side
- 本来
- běnlái — Originally; at first; by nature; as it was
- 打算
- dǎsuàn — To plan; to intend; to have in mind
- 真的
- zhēn de — Really; truly; indeed; genuinely
- 该
- gāi — Should; ought to; one's turn; that very
- 回答
- huídá — To answer; to reply; a response
- 不敢
- bù gǎn — Dare not; not bold enough to do
- 吗
- ma — Question particle turning statement into yes/no question
- 今天
- jīntiān — Today; this day
- 快乐
- kuàilè — Happy; joyful; cheerful; pleasure
- 边走
- biān zǒu — While walking; walking at the same time
- 边
- biān — Side; edge; while (doing something simultaneously)
- 唱歌
- chànggē — To sing; to sing a song
- 去了
- qù le — Went; has gone; left for a place
- 乡下
- xiāngxia — Countryside; rural area; the country
- 从未
- cóng wèi — Never; not once; never before experienced
- 有过
- yǒu guo — Have had; have experienced before
- 这样
- zhèyàng — Like this; in this way; such
- 时光
- shíguāng — Time; period of time; days; moments in life
- 也许
- yěxǔ — Perhaps; maybe; possibly
- 幻觉
- huànjué — Illusion; hallucination; delusion
- 原谅
- yuánliàng — To forgive; to excuse; to pardon
- 提起
- tíqǐ — To bring up; to mention; to raise a topic
- 这件
- zhè jiàn — This (matter/item); this particular thing
- 以为
- yǐwéi — To think (mistakenly); to assume; to believe wrongly
- 哭
- kū — To cry; to weep; to sob
- 而
- ér — And yet; but; and; linking conjunction
- 无法
- wúfǎ — Unable to; cannot; no way to
- 忍受
- rěnshòu — To endure; to bear; to tolerate suffering
- 听到
- tīng dào — To hear; to catch a sound; to have heard
- 这个
- zhège — This; this one; this thing
- 它
- tā — It (third-person pronoun for objects/animals)
- 心痛
- xīntòng — Heartache; heartbroken; to feel deeply pained
- 天哪
- tiān na — Oh my goodness; good heavens; oh dear
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