雅思课外读物--The Use of Force（英汉对照）

[9] As I moved my chair a little nearer suddenly with one catlike movement both her hands clawed instinctively13 for my eyes and she almost reached them too. In fact she knocked my glasses flying and they fell, though unbroken, several feet away from me on the kitchen floor.

Both the mother and father almost turned themselves inside out14 in embarrassment and apology. You bad girl, said the mother, taking her and shaking her by one arm. Look what you’ve done. The nice man . .

For heaven’s sake, I broke in. Don’t call me a nice man to her. I’m here to look at her throat on the chance15 that she might have diphtheria and possibly die of it. But that’s nothing to her. Look here, I said to the child, we’re going to look at your throat. You’re old enough to understand what I’m saying. Will you open it now by yourself or shall we have to open it for you?

我把座椅搬过去靠近她一点，突然，她的双手像猫一样本能地抓向我的眼睛，差点被她抓到。结果，她打飞了我的眼镜，落在厨房地板上离我几英尺远的地方，幸而没有摔碎。

父母两个顿时无比尴尬，满脸歉意。你这坏孩子，母亲一边说，一边抓住她的手臂使劲摇。瞧你都干了些什么，他是多好的人啦……

看在上帝份上!我打断了她，别在她面前叫我好人。我来这儿是看她嗓子的，她有可能得了白喉，还可能因此丢小命!但她丝毫不为所动。瞧，我对孩子说，我们必须看看你嗓子。你不小了，应该明白我的意思。现在，你是愿意自己张开嘴，还是让我们来帮你张开?

[10] Not a move. Even her expression hadn’t changed. Her breaths however were coming faster and faster. Then the battle began. I had to do it. I had to have a throat culture16 for her own protection. But first I told the parents that it was entirely up to them. I explained the danger but said that I would not insist on a throat examination so long as they would take the responsibility.

她还是一动不动，连表情也没任何变化，只是呼吸越来越急促。于是战斗开始了。我迫不得已。为了保护她，我必须给她做喉咙检查。但首先我告诉她父母，完全由他们来拿主意。我把危险解释给他们听，但是，只要他们愿意承担责任，我不会坚持做喉咙检查。

[11] If you don’t do what the doctor says you’ll have to go to the hospital, the mother admonished17 her severely.

Oh yeah? I had to smile to myself. After all, I had already fallen in love with the savage brat, the parents were contemptible18 to me. In the ensuing19 struggle they grew more and more abject20, crushed, exhausted while she surely rose to magnificent heights of insane fury of effort bred of her terror of me.

你要是不听医生的话，你就得上医院!母亲语气严厉地训斥道。

噢，是吗?我不由暗笑。两个父母虽然可恶，我却已经喜欢上了这个小兔崽子。在接下来的搏斗中，两个父母变得越来越卑鄙讨厌，体力不支，精疲力竭，而她由于对我心怀恐惧，仍在用尽全身力气拼命地挣扎。

[12] The father tried his best, and he was a big man but the fact that she was his daughter, his shame at her behavior and his dread of hurting her made him release her just at the critical times when I had almost achieved success, till I wanted to kill him. But his dread also that she might have diphtheria made him tell me to go on, go on though he himself was almost fainting, while the mother moved back and forth behind us raising and lowering her hands in an agony of apprehension21.

父亲尽了最大努力。他块头很大，但毕竟是自己的女儿，他既为她的行为羞愧，又怕伤到她，于是，每每在我快要成功的关键时刻，他就撒了手，最后我都恨不得杀了他。但是，他也担心她可能得了白喉，所以又叫我继续，继续，虽然他自己差不多都晕倒了，母亲则在我们后面走来走去，焦急万分地一会儿抬起手，一会儿又放下。

[13] Put her in front of you on your lap, I ordered, and hold both her wrists.

But as soon as he did the child let out a scream. Don’t, you’re hurting me. Let go of my hands. Let them go I tell you. Then she shrieked terrifyingly, hysterically22. Stop it! Stop it! You’re killing me!

Do you think she can stand it, doctor! said the mother.

You get out, said the husband to his wife. Do you want her to die of diphtheria?

Come on now, hold her, I said.

把她抱到膝盖上，我命令道，抓住她两只手腕!

他刚动手，孩子就发出一声尖叫。不要，你弄痛我了!放开我的手，我叫你放手!她接着歇斯底里地大叫，叫声令人恐怖。住手!住手!痛死我了!

您看她受得了吗?医生!母亲说道。

你滚出去!丈夫对妻子说。你想她得白喉死吗?

得了吧，抓牢她!我说。

[14] Then I grasped the child’s head with my left hand and tried to get the wooden tongue depressor between her teeth. She fought, with clenched teeth, desperately! But now I also had grown furious--at a child. I tried to hold myself down but I couldn’t. I know how to expose a throat for inspection. And I did my best. When finally I got the wooden spatula23 behind the last teeth and just the point of it into the mouth cavity, she opened up for an instant but before I could see anything she came down again and gripping the wooden blade between her molars she reduced it to splinters24 before I could get it out again.

我左手紧紧扳住孩子的头，试图把木制压舌板塞到她牙齿之间。她咬紧牙关，殊死搏斗!而这时我也变得怒不可遏了——对一个孩子。我努力控制住自己的情绪，但做不到。我知道怎样把人喉咙张开检查!我竭尽全力。终于，我将木制压舌板伸到她最后一排牙齿后面，木板的顶部进入牙腔，她的嘴张开了，不过只有那么一瞬间，我还没来得及看到任何东西，嘴又合上了，没等我取出压舌板，她臼齿紧紧咬住板缘，将它咬成了碎片。

[15] Aren’t you ashamed, the mother yelled at her. Aren’t you ashamed to act like that in front of the doctor?

Get me a smooth-handled spoon of some sort, I told the mother. We’re going through with this. The child’s mouth was already bleeding. Her tongue was cut and she was screaming in wild hysterical shrieks. Perhaps I should have desisted25 and come back in an hour or more. No doubt it would have been better. But I have seen at least two children lying dead in bed of neglect in such cases, and feeling that I must get a diagnosis now or never. I went at it again. But the worst of it was that I too had got beyond reason. I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to attack her. My face was burning with it.

你不害臊吗?母亲冲她大喊大叫起来。在医生面前这样你不觉得害臊吗?

给我拿把平柄勺过来，我对母亲说。我们得把这事干完才行。孩子的嘴已经开始流血。她的舌头破了，可还在歇斯底里地尖叫。也许我该住手，过一两小时后再来，这样无疑会更好。但是，我已经见过至少两个情况相同的孩子疏于治疗而死在床上，我感觉我必须现在给她诊断，否则就永无机会了。我又开始干起来。但最糟糕的是，此时我也失去了理智。盛怒之下，我恨不得把那孩子撕开了享用。向她发起进攻让我感受到快感，我的脸也因此变得火辣辣的。

[16] The damned little brat must be protected against her own idiocy26, one says to one’s self at such times. Others must be protected against her. It is a social necessity. And all these things are true. But a blind fury, a feeling of adult shame, bred of a longing for muscular release are the operatives27. One goes on to the end.

这种情况下，人人都会对自己说，这可恨的小兔崽子虽然无知，但我们必须保护她，保护她也就是保护其他人，这是社会的需要。这些话固然都不错，但释放身体力量的欲望往往让人产生盲目的愤怒和成人的屈辱感，这些才是关键所在。它让我们一意孤行。

[17] In a final unreasoning assault I overpowered the child’s neck and jaws. I forced the heavy silver spoon back of her teeth and down her throat till she gagged. And there it was--both tonsils covered with membrane28. She had fought valiantly29 to keep me from knowing her secret. She had been hiding that sore throat for three days at least and lying to her parents in order to escape just such an outcome as this.

Now truly she was furious. She had been on the defensive before but now she attacked. Tried to get off her father’s lap and fly at me while tears of defeat blinded her eyes.

在最后一次疯狂的攻击中，我控制住了孩子的脖子和下巴。我将重重的银勺强行从她的牙齿后面伸入喉咙，直到她作起呕来。果然，她两个扁桃体都覆盖着膜状物。她一直奋勇搏斗，就是为了不让我获知这个秘密。喉咙痛这个秘密她至少隐藏了三天，她向父母撒谎，就是为了逃避这样一个结局。

现在她真的愤怒了。之前她一直在防守，现在她开始进攻了。她挣扎着要离开她父亲的膝头向我扑来，眼眶里盈满了失败的泪水。

eat somebody up: (非正式)击败某人

coax: 哄骗

grind: 碾，磨

turn somebody inside out: 使某人彻底地翻转过去，此处强调父母尴尬的程度。

admonish: 训诫，训导

contemptible: 可鄙的，卑鄙的

desist: 停止

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