儒琴英语文学词汇咀嚼《绿山墙的安妮》(Anne of Green Gables)一书的用词。 《绿山墙的安妮》是加拿大作家露西·莫德·蒙哥马利（L. M. Montgomery）1908年的一部小说。这本书适用于所有年龄段，自20世纪中期以来一直被认为是经典的儿童小说。
Chapter 1 — Mrs. Rachel Lynde is Surprised
第一章 林德夫人的疑惑
段落 22-24
“What on earth put such a notion into your head?” she demanded disapprovingly.
This had been done without her advice being asked, and must perforce be disapproved.
“Well, we’ve been thinking about it for some time — all winter in fact,” returned Marilla. “Mrs. Alexander Spencer was up here one day before Christmas and she said she was going to get a little girl from the asylum over in Hopeton in the spring. Her cousin lives there and Mrs. Spencer has visited here and knows all about it. So Matthew and I have talked it over off and on ever since. We thought we’d get a boy. Matthew is getting up in years, you know — he’s sixty — and he isn’t so spry as he once was. His heart troubles him a good deal. And you know how desperate hard it’s got to be to get hired help. There’s never anybody to be had but those stupid, half-grown little French boys; and as soon as you do get one broke into your ways and taught something he’s up and off to the lobster canneries or the States. At first Matthew suggested getting a Home boy. But I said ‘no’ flat to that. ‘They may be all right — I’m not saying they’re not — but no London street Arabs for me,’ I said. ‘Give me a native born at least. There’ll be a risk, no matter who we get. But I’ll feel easier in my mind and sleep sounder at nights if we get a born Canadian.’ So in the end we decided to ask Mrs. Spencer to pick us out one when she went over to get her little girl. We heard last week she was going, so we sent her word by Richard Spencer’s folks at Carmody to bring us a smart, likely boy of about ten or eleven. We decided that would be the best age — old enough to be of some use in doing chores right off and young enough to be trained up proper. We mean to give him a good home and schooling. We had a telegram from Mrs. Alexander Spencer today — the mail-man brought it from the station — saying they were coming on the five-thirty train tonight. So Matthew went to Bright River to meet him. Mrs. Spencer will drop him off there. Of course she goes on to White Sands station herself.”
“究竟是什么使你们产生了这样的怪念头？”她不太赞同地问道。
这么重要的决定居然事先没有征询雷切尔的意见，她当然不会表示支持。
“我们考虑这件事有很长一段时间了——其实整个冬天都在盘算这件事。”玛瑞拉答道，“圣诞节的前几天，亚历山大·斯潘塞太太到我们这儿来做客。她说她打算春天的时候从霍普顿的孤儿院里领养一个小姑娘。她的亲戚住在霍普顿，她也去过那儿，所以对那里的情况比较了解。自她走后，我和马修就一直在商量这事，我们想要一个男孩。你知道，马修上了年纪——他已经六十岁了，以前的精神头早没有了，走路、干活都不如以前那么轻捷了，他的心脏也不好。你知道，在这里，如今想雇个人帮忙有多么不容易。能雇到的尽是些毛手毛脚的、未成年的法国男孩。他们在你这儿干段时间，掌握些技术后就溜走了，要么去了食品加工厂，要么干脆去了美国。所以我们想，等斯潘塞太太去那儿领她的女孩时也帮我们选个男孩。上周我们听说她就要动身去霍普顿了，就托住在卡莫迪的理查德·斯潘塞的家人捎了口信给她，请她帮我们选一个聪明伶俐、讨人喜欢的男孩，十或十一岁。我们觉得这样的年纪最好，来了以后马上就可以帮我们干些农庄的杂活，而且这么大的孩子也正是受教育、教育、长技能的时候。我们打算好好培养他，送他上学接受教育。今天，我们收到了邮差从车站带来的斯潘塞太太的电报，说他们乘晚上五点半的火车来，所以马修去接他了。她会在布莱特车站留下那个男孩，而她自己还得接着赶去白沙镇站。” （ 崇文书局. Kindle Edition）
重点用词：
perforce： adverb， /pɚˈfɔːrs/ because it is necessary 必须，只得；必定；当然
spry：adjective /spraɪ/(especially of older people) active and able to move quickly and energetically
(尤指上年纪的人）充满活力的，敏捷的
break into something: to begin being successful in a particular type of work or activity 在某一特定类型的工作或活动中开始取得成功
cannery: noun [ C ]/ˈkæn.ɚ.i/ A factory where fish, vegetables, or other foods are canned.把鱼、蔬菜或其他食品制成罐头的工厂
homeboy: a boy or man from your own neighborhood or hometown 本地男孩
street arab： a homeless vagabond in the streets of a city and especially an outcast boy or girl 在城市街道上无家可归的流浪汉，尤指被遗弃的男孩或女孩:
At first Matthew suggested getting a Home boy. But I said ‘no’ flat to that. ‘They may be all right — I’m not saying they’re not — but no London street Arabs for me,’ I said. ‘Give me a native born at least. There’ll be a risk, no matter who we get. But I’ll feel easier in my mind and sleep sounder at nights if we get a born Canadian.’ （该段崇文书局似乎没有翻译）
试译：起初，马修建议找一个本地的男孩。但我断然拒绝了。“他们也许还好——我不是说他们不好——但对我来说，我不要那些如同伦敦街道上无家可归的流浪汉，”我说。“至少给我一个在加拿大出生的孩子吧。不管我们找谁，都有风险得。但如果我们有一个出生在加拿大的孩子，我心里会更轻松，晚上会睡得更香。”
段落 25 – 28
Mrs. Rachel prided herself on always speaking her mind; she proceeded to speak it now, having adjusted her mental attitude to this amazing piece of news.
“Well, Marilla, I’ll just tell you plain that I think you’re doing a mighty foolish thing — a risky thing, that’s what. You don’t know what you’re getting. You’re bringing a strange child into your house and home and you don’t know a single thing about him nor what his disposition is like nor what sort of parents he had nor how he’s likely to turn out. Why, it was only last week I read in the paper how a man and his wife up west of the Island took a boy out of an orphan asylum and he set fire to the house at night — set it ON PURPOSE, Marilla — and nearly burnt them to a crisp in their beds. And I know another case where an adopted boy used to suck the eggs — they couldn’t break him of it. If you had asked my advice in the matter — which you didn’t do, Marilla — I’d have said for mercy’s sake not to think of such a thing, that’s what.”
This Job’s comforting seemed neither to offend nor to alarm Marilla. She knitted steadily on.
“I don’t deny there’s something in what you say, Rachel. I’ve had some qualms myself. But Matthew was terrible set on it. I could see that, so I gave in. It’s so seldom Matthew sets his mind on anything that when he does I always feel it’s my duty to give in. And as for the risk, there’s risks in pretty near everything a body does in this world. There’s risks in people’s having children of their own if it comes to that — they don’t always turn out well. And then Nova Scotia is right close to the Island. It isn’t as if we were getting him from England or the States. He can’t be much different from ourselves.”
雷切尔太太平时总以发表自己的意见而感到自豪，这会儿她已渐渐适应了这条惊人消息所带来的巨大震撼，于是接着便开始侃侃而谈：
“玛瑞拉，老实说，我认为你正在做一件非常愚蠢的事——一件非常冒风险的事。你根本不知道会领到一个什么样的孩子，你们要把一个陌生的孩子领进家来，而对他却一无所知。无论是他的性格，他的家庭，还是他将来会变成什么样的人，你们什么都不知道。上周的报上还登了一条消息，本岛西部的一对夫妻从孤儿院领养的一个男孩居然在夜里放火烧了他们的房子——而且是故意的，他俩差点被烧死在床上。我还知道另外一件事，有个孤儿过去常常吃生鸡蛋，被领养后，任凭领养人怎么教育，也改不了他吃生鸡蛋的坏习惯。如果你之前征求我关于这件事的意见的话，我一定会说，看在上帝的份上，这种事想都别想。就是这样。”
听了这番话，玛瑞拉一点都不生气，更没有惊慌，她仍然坐在那儿平静地织着毛线。
“我承认你说的话有道理，雷切尔。我也曾经有些疑虑，但是马修对这件事的态度特别坚决，所以我就让步了。马修平时很少打定主意做什么事，而每当他下定决心要做的时候，我总觉得我应该做出退让。至于说到风险，其实世间有什么事不冒风险呢？自己亲生的孩子也会有风险！孩子教育不好长大了也会出问题。而且新斯科舍省就靠着爱德华岛，我们又不是从英格兰或美国领养孩子，他不会和我们有太多差别的。” （崇文书局. Kindle Edition）
重点用词：
burn to a crisp： To burn someone severely 严重烧伤
qualm： noun [ C usually plural ]/kwɑːm/ an uncomfortable feeling when you doubt if you are doing the right thing
疑虑；内疚；不安
段落 29 – 33
“Well, I hope it will turn out all right,” said Mrs. Rachel in a tone that plainly indicated her painful doubts. “Only don’t say I didn’t warn you if he burns Green Gables down or puts strychnine in the well — I heard of a case over in New Brunswick where an orphan asylum child did that and the whole family died in fearful agonies. Only, it was a girl in that instance.”
“Well, we’re not getting a girl,” said Marilla, as if poisoning wells were a purely feminine accomplishment and not to be dreaded in the case of a boy. “I’d never dream of taking a girl to bring up. I wonder at Mrs. Alexander Spencer for doing it. But there, SHE wouldn’t shrink from adopting a whole orphan asylum if she took it into her head.”
Mrs. Rachel would have liked to stay until Matthew came home with his imported orphan. But reflecting that it would be a good two hours at least before his arrival she concluded to go up the road to Robert Bell’s and tell the news. It would certainly make a sensation second to none, and Mrs. Rachel dearly loved to make a sensation. So she took herself away, somewhat to Marilla’s relief, for the latter felt her doubts and fears reviving under the influence of Mrs. Rachel’s pessimism.
“Well, of all things that ever were or will be!” ejaculated Mrs. Rachel when she was safely out in the lane. “It does really seem as if I must be dreaming. Well, I’m sorry for that poor young one and no mistake. Matthew and Marilla don’t know anything about children and they’ll expect him to be wiser and steadier than his own grandfather, if so be’s he ever had a grandfather, which is doubtful. It seems uncanny to think of a child at Green Gables somehow; there’s never been one there, for Matthew and Marilla were grown up when the new house was built — if they ever WERE children, which is hard to believe when one looks at them. I wouldn’t be in that orphan’s shoes for anything. My, but I pity him, that’s what.”
So said Mrs. Rachel to the wild rose bushes out of the fulness of her heart; but if she could have seen the child who was waiting patiently at the Bright River station at that very moment her pity would have been still deeper and more profound.
“好吧，我倒希望真能如此。”雷切尔太太说话时的语气带着明显的怀疑。“将来哪一天，他要是放火烧了绿山墙，或是在井里投下毒药，到时可别说我事先没警告过你——我可是听说过新布伦瑞克省的一个孤儿在井里投下毒药毒死了领养她的一家人。不过那是个女孩。”
“我们可不打算要女孩。”玛瑞拉说话时的口气就好像只有女孩才会干出往井里投毒这类事。“我从来没想过要领养一个女孩，也实在搞不懂斯潘塞太太为什么要领养个女孩。不过，她那个人一旦心血来潮，只要她决定了，就算收养整个孤儿院也不会改变主意的。”
雷切尔太太很想等着马修带着那个孩子回来，但是看上去他们至少还要两个小时才能到，所以她决定先去罗伯特·贝尔家，将这条新闻告诉他们。这实在是一条爆炸新闻，而雷切尔太太向来热衷于传播此类消息。雷切尔太太起身走了，玛瑞拉稍稍舒了一口气，因为她感到自己原先的怀疑和担心在雷切尔悲观情绪的影响下似乎正在渐渐复苏。
“天哪，居然会有这种事！”雷切尔太太在小路上路上叫道，“看上去我真像是在做梦！哎，我真为那可怜的男孩感到惋惜。马修和玛瑞拉对教育孩子一无所知，他们还指望这小孩将来变得又聪明又稳重呢。不管怎么说，想到绿山墙会有孩子就觉得不可思议。那里可从没住过孩子，新房子盖好的时候，马修和玛瑞拉都已经长大了——就算他们曾经是孩子的话，也难以相信会有人把他们当做孩子看待。虽然我不能帮那个孩子做什么事情。不过，我还真替这孩子担心。”
雷切尔太太边走边自言自语着，路边的野玫瑰仿佛也能感觉得到她激动的心情。然而，如果这会儿她见到正在车站耐心等待马修的那个孩子，恐怕她会更失望的！（崇文书局. Kindle Edition）
重点用词：
strychnine： /ˈstrɪk.niːn/ 士的宁，马钱子碱（一种有毒物质，常用来制作鼠药。）
take it into your head to do sth: to suddenly decide to do something, often something silly or surprising 忽发奇想，心血来潮
second to none: the best, worst, fastest ;better than all others of the same kind; 最好的，最差的，最快的
a good : more than 多于，超过
no mistake: to stress the truth or accuracy of a statement 强调陈述的真实性或准确性
if so be’s : 表示虚拟语气（已经过时的用法）. “If so be’s”, 即：If so be as； if so be’s he ever had a grandfather 即： if he had ever had a grandfather.”
试译： Matthew and Marilla don’t know anything about children and they’ll expect him to be wiser and steadier than his own grandfather, if so be’s he ever had a grandfather, which is doubtful. 马修和玛丽拉对教育孩子一无所知，他们希望小孩比他们自己的祖父更聪明、更稳定。但是他们是否曾经有过祖父是值得怀疑的。
uncanny： adjective /ʌnˈkæn.i/ strange or mysterious; difficult or impossible to explain 奇怪的；神秘的；难以（或无法）解释的
in someone’s shoes: acting for another person or experiencing something as another person might; in another’s position or situation. 设身处地; 站在别人的立场上;代替某人;经历另一个人可能经历的事情; 处于他人的位置或处境
