他很想扣好衣服，重新走起来，去打她一顿，抓住她底头发狠狠地打她一顿，泄泄他一肚皮的气。但不知怎样，似乎没有力量，连指也颤动，臂也酸软了，一边轻轻地叹息着说：“唉，一向实在太对她好了。结婚了三十年，没有打过她一掌，简直连指甲都没有弹到她底皮肤上过，所以今日，竟和娘娘一般地难惹了。”He wanted to go to his wife’s room, grab her by the hair and give her a good beating so as to work off his feelings. But, somehow or other, he felt powerless to do so; his fingers trembled and his arms ached with weariness. Sighing deeply, he said softly, “I’ve been too good to her. In thirty years of married life, I’ve never slapped her face or given her a scratch. That’s why she is so cocky.” 🎈大打某人一顿 give sb. a good beating（good表程度）🎈(通过消耗体力)宣泄(愤怒)，释放(精力)，排解(压力) work off…🎈连指甲都没有弹到她底皮肤上过→挠、抓，用scratch即可。绞尽脑汁在想“这句”该怎么字对字翻译的朋友们可以稍微放松下了~🎈和娘娘一般地难惹了→狂妄的不能再狂妄，现译作cocky。同时，他爬过到床底那端，她底身边，向她耳语说：“不要哭罢，不要哭罢，随她吠去好了！她是阉过的母鸡，看见别人的孵卵是难受的，假如你这一次真能养出一个男孩子来，我当送你两样宝贝——我有一只青玉的戒指，一只白玉的……”他没有说完，可是他忍不住听下门外的他底大妻底喋喋的讥笑的声音，Then, crawling across the bed, he whispered to the young woman beside him, “Now, stop crying, stop crying, let her cackle! A barren hen is always jealous! If you manage to have a baby boy this time, I’ll give you two precious gifts—a blue jade ring and a white jade…” leaving the last sentence unfinished, he turned to listen to his wife’s jeering voice outside the room.🎈「随她吠去好了」译为let her cackle，其中cackle本指母鸡下蛋后的咯咯声，现在的意思是「胡说八道」。此句如直译为let her bark也可，但因和文中母鸡的比喻连用，就不如前者合适。🎈「阉过的母鸡」实为「不产蛋的母鸡」，故译为a barren hen。不能把它译为a capon，因那是阉过的公鸡。🎈「看见别人的孵卵是难受的」中「难受」作「眼红，嫉妒」解，现译作jealous。他急忙地脱去了衣服，将头钻井被窝里去，凑向她底胸膛，一边说：“我有白玉的……”肚子一天天地膨胀的如斗那么大，老妇人终究也将产婆雇定了，而且在别人的面前，竟拿起花布来做婴儿用的衣服。 He hastily took off his clothes, and, covering his head with the quilt and nestling closer to the young woman, he said, “I’ve a white jade…” The young woman grew bigger and bigger around the waist. The scholar’s wife made arrangements with a midwife, and when other people were around, she would busy herself making baby’s clothes out of floral prints. 🎈忙于……busy oneself doing sth.🎈用…（材料）…做… make… out of…Q:“接生婆、产婆、助产士”为什么是midwife？🎈一般而言，前缀 mid-表示「中间的」，比如：mid-term examination：期中考试。但是 midwife 的前缀 mid 不是「中间」的意思，再来看牛津词典提供的词源解释：mid 表示with（和…在一起） 的含义；wife 这里也不直接表示「妻子」，而是取自一层古老的含义，即 woman。所以，用英语词源学来解释，midwife 的意思就是with woman（和女人在一起）。//古代女人临产时会在接生婆的帮助下诞下自己的孩子。到了现代，接生的方式更为科学，接生人员的称呼也变成了：助产士。现代助产学的理念是，助产师不仅帮助产妇成功生产，更要陪伴在产妇左右，给她以安慰和力量。「助产学」一词也是从 midwife 引申而来的，叫midwifery。顺便提一下，虽然大部分助产士都是女性，但也有男助产士，虽然他们性别是男的，但作为职业的固定说法，依然要叫他们 midwife。酷热的暑天到了尽头，旧历的六月，他们在希望的眼中过去了。秋开始，凉风也拂拂地在乡镇上吹送。于是有一天，这全家的人们都到了希望底最高潮，屋里底空气完全地骚动起来。The hot summer had ended and the cool autumn breeze was blowing over the village. The day finally came when the expectations of the whole household reached their climax and everybody was agog.🎈「酷热的暑天到了尽头，旧历的六月，他们在希望的眼中过去了」: 「酷热的暑天到了尽头」和「旧历的六月过去了」表意相同（此处六月即指夏季；如同上文三月指春天一般）。「在希望的眼中」重在「希望」一词，但本句后半部分有提到「希望底最高潮」，故前半部分的「希望」省译。本句译成简简单单的一句：The hot summer had ended。🎈到达高潮 reach the climax秀才底心更是异常地紧张，他在天井上不断地徘徊，手里捧着一本历书，好似要读它背诵那么地念去——“戊辰”，“甲戌”，“壬寅之年”，老是反复地轻轻地说着。His heart beating faster than ever, the scholar was pacing the courtyard, reading about horoscopes from an almanac in his hand as intently as if he wanted to commit the whole book to memory.🎈His heart beating faster than ever是独立主格结构。将「紧张」译作nervous也可以，但处理成beating faster than ever（心打鼓似的跳）更加生动。🎈「戊辰」「甲戌」「壬寅之年」直接合并译成了horoscopes（星象指某人诞生时各天体的位置，用以占卜命运）。🎈把……写下来/记住 commit sth. to paper/memory有时他底焦急的眼光向一间关了窗的房子望去——在这间房子内是产母底低声呻呤的声音；有时他向天上望一望被云笼罩着的太阳，于是又走向门口，向站在房门内的黄妈问：“此刻如何？”黄妈不住地点着头不做声响，一息，答：“快下来了，快下来了。”One moment he would look anxiously at the room with its windows closely shut whence came the muffled groans of the expectant mother. The next, he would look at the cloudy sky, and walk up to the kitchenmaid at the door to ask, “How is everything now?” Nodding, the maid would reply after a moment’s pause, “It won’t be long now, it won’t be long now.”🎈whence是副词，表示「从那里」。将其理解成地点状语，故句子倒装。🎈一会儿……一会儿…… One moment……The next,……🎈走近某人walk up to sb.于是他又捧了那本历书，在廊下徘徊起来。这样的情形，一直继续到黄昏底青烟在地面起来，灯火一盏盏的如春天的野花般在屋内开起，婴儿才落地了，是一个男的。He would resume pacing the courtyard and reading the almanac. The suspense lasted until sunset. Then, when wisps of kitchen smoke were curling up from the roofs and lamps were gleaming in the country houses like so many wild flowers in spring, a baby boy was born.🎈「这样的情形，一直继续到黄昏底青烟在地面起来」：「这样的情形」即「焦虑，焦急」，故译作suspense（指焦虑、焦急）。🎈《水墨画》中：冒出缕缕轻烟give off/ send out/emit wisps of smoke婴儿底声音是很重地在屋内叫，秀才却坐在屋角里，几乎快乐到流出眼泪来了。全家的人都没有心思吃晚饭。 The newborn baby cried at the top of his voice while the scholar sat in a corner of the house, with tears of joy in his eyes. The household was so excited that no one cared about supper. 🎈文中「（声音）很重」均指「声音很大」。🎈几乎快乐到流出眼泪来了→快乐的泪水在眼眶打转，现译作with tears of joy in his eyes。将「几乎快乐到流出眼泪来了。全家的人都没有心思吃晚饭。」合并译出，并指出逻辑关系「so…that…」
帕布莉卡