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How much I wished to reply fully to this question!
我多么希望能原原本本回答这个问题！
How difficult it was to frame any answer!
要作出回答又何其困难！
Children can feel, but they cannot analyse their feelings.
孩子们能够感觉，但无法分析自己的情感。
And if the analysis is partially effected in thought, they know not how to express the result of the process in words.
即使部分分折能够意会，分析的过程也难以言传。
Fearful, however, of losing this first and only opportunity of relieving my grief by imparting it,
但是我又担心失去这第一次也是唯一一次吐苦水的机会。
I, after a disturbed pause, contrived to frame a meagre, though, as far as it went, true response.
所以局促不安地停了一停之后，便琢磨出一个虽不详尽却相当真实的回答。
"For one thing, I have no father or mother, brothers or sisters."
"一方面是因为我没有父母，没有兄弟姐妹的缘故。"
"You have a kind aunt and cousins."
"可是你有一位和蔼可亲的舅母，还有表兄妹们。"
Again I paused. Then bunglingly enounced: "But John Reed knocked me down, and my aunt shut me up in the red-room."
我又顿了顿，随后便笨嘴笨舌地说："可是约翰·里德把我打倒了，而舅妈又把我关在红房子里。"
Mr. Lloyd a second time produced his snuff-box.
劳埃德先生再次掏出了鼻烟盒。
"Don't you think Gateshead Hall a very beautiful house?" asked he.
"你不觉得盖茨黑德府是座漂亮的房子吗？"他问。
"Are you not very thankful to have such a fine place to live at?"
"让你住那么好一个地方，你难道不感激？"
"It is not my house, sir, and Abbot says I have less right to be here than a servant."
"这又不是我的房子，先生。艾博特还说我比这儿的佣人还不如呢。"
"Pooh! You can't be silly enough to wish to leave such a splendid place?"
"去！你总不至于傻得想离开这个好地方吧。"
"If I had anywhere else to go, I should be glad to leave it, but I can never get away from Gateshead till I am a woman."
"要是我有地方去，我是乐意走的。可是不等到长大成人我休想摆脱盖茨黑德。"
"Perhaps you may. Who knows? Have you any relations besides Mrs. Reed?"
"也许可以——谁知道？除了里德太太，你还有别的亲戚吗？"
"I think not, sir."
"我想没有了，先生。"
"None belonging to your father?"
"你父亲那头也没有了吗？"
"I don't know. I asked Aunt Reed once, and she said possibly I might have some poor, low relations called Eyre, but she knew nothing about them."
"我不知道，有一回我问过舅妈，她说可能有些姓爱的亲戚，人又穷，地位又低，她对他们的情况一无所知。"
"If you had such, would you like to go to them?"
"要是有这样的亲戚，你愿意去吗？"
I reflected. Poverty looks grim to grown people; still more so to children.
我陷入了沉思，在成年人看来贫困显得冷酷无情，孩子则尤其如此。
They have not much idea of industrious, working, respectable poverty.
至于勤劳刻苦、令人钦敬的贫困，孩子们不甚了了。
They think of the word only as connected with ragged clothes, scanty food, fireless grates, rude manners, and debasing vices.
在他们心目中，这个字眼始终与衣衫槛褴褛、食品匿乏、壁炉无火、行为粗鲁以及低贱的恶习联系在一起。
Poverty for me was synonymous with degradation.
对我来说，贫困就是堕落的别名。
"No. I should not like to belong to poor people," was my reply.
"不，我不愿与穷人为伍，"这就是我的回答。
"Not even if they were kind to you?"
"即使他们待你很好也不愿意？"
