Last Day

最后一天

Charlotte and Wilbur were alone. Wilbur lay resting after the excitement and strain of the ceremony. His medal still hung from his neck; by looking out of the corner of his eye he could see it.

夏洛和威爾伯單獨待著。經過頒獎典禮上一番興奮和緊張后，威爾伯躺下來休息。他的獎章仍然掛在脖子上，通過眼角的余光就能看到它。

"Charlotte," said Wilbur after a while, "why are you so quiet?"

“夏洛，”過了一會兒威爾伯說，“你為什么這么安靜?”

"I like to sit still," she said."I've always been rather quiet."

“我喜歡靜靜地坐著，”她說。“我一直都十分安靜？”

"Yes, but you seem specially so today. Do you feel all right?"

“是的，但今天你似乎出奇地安靜。你感覺還好嗎?”

"A little tired, perhaps. But I feel peaceful. Your success in the ring this morning was to a small degree, my success.Your future is assured. You will live, secure and safe, Wilbur. Nothing can harm you now. These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur--this lovely world, these precious days...”

也許有點兒累吧。但我覺得很平靜。今天早上你在圍欄里的成功，在小小的程度上也是我的成功。你的未來有保證了。你將生活得十分安全，威爾伯。現在沒有什么能傷害你。秋天的白晝會縮短，天氣會變冷。葉子將從樹上松動落下。圣誕節即將來臨，之后是冬天的飄雪。你將活著享受冰天雪地的美景，因為對于朱克曼先生來說，你意義重大，他不會傷害你的，永遠不會。冬天會過去，白晝會延長，牧場池塘上的冰將融化。籬雀將飛回來歌唱，青蛙要蘇醒，溫暖的風會再次吹起。所有這些景象、聲音和香氣都將供你享受，威爾伯—這個美好的世界，這些珍貴的日子……”

Charlotte stopped. A moment later a tear came to Wilbur's eye. "Oh, Charlotte," he said. "To think that when I first met you I thought you were cruel and bloodthirsty!"

夏洛停了下來。不一會兒，眼淚涌入了威爾伯的眼眶。“哦，夏洛，”他說，“想當初第一次見到你，我還以為你很殘忍，嗜血成性呢!”

When he recovered from his emotion, he spoke again.

等他從情緒中恢復過來，他又說話了。

"Why did you do all this for me?" he asked. "I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you."

“你為什么要為我做這一切？”他問，“我不值得。我從來沒有為你做過任何事情。”

"You have been my friend," replied Charlotte.

“你一直是我的朋友，”夏洛答道。

"That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you.After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies.By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyones life can stand a little of that."

“這本身就是一件了不起的事。我為你結網，因為我喜歡你。畢竟，生命到底是什么啊?我們出生，活一陣子，之后死去。蜘蛛的生命無非就是一團糟，全忙著捕食和吃蒼蠅。但是，通過幫助你，或許我可以提升一點我生活的價值。毫無疑問，人活著該做一點有意義的事情。”

"Well," said Wilbur. "I'm no good at making speeches. I haven't got your gift for words. But you have saved me, Charlotte, and I would gladly give my life for you-I really would."

“嗯，”威爾伯說。“我不善于演講。我沒有你能說會道的天賦。但你救了我，夏洛，我很樂意為你獻出我的生命—我真的愿意。”

"I'm sure you would. And I thank you for your generous sentiments."

“我相信你會的。我感謝你的慷慨情懷。”

 "Charlotte," said Wilbur. "We're all going home today. The Fair is almost over. Won't it be wonderful to be back home in the barn cellar again with the sheep and the geese?Aren't you anxious to get home?"

“夏洛，”威爾伯說。“我們今天都要回家了。集市差不多結束了。重新回到谷倉，與那些羊和鵝團聚不是很美嗎?你不急著回家嗎?”

For a moment Charlotte said nothing. Then she spoke in a voice so low Wilbur could hardly hear the words.

有一陣子夏洛什么話也沒說。之后，她用一個威爾伯幾乎無法聽到的很低的聲音說:

"I will not be going back to the barn," she said. Wilhur leapt to his feet. "Not going back?" he cried. "Charlotte, what are you talking about?"

“我不會回到谷倉了，”她說。威爾伯跳了起來。“不回去?”他哭著.“夏洛，你在說什么？”

"I'm done for ," she replied. "In a day or two I'll be dead. I haven't even strength enough to climb down into the crate. I doubt if I have enough silk in my spinnerets to lower me to the ground."

“我的生命要終止了，”她答道。“一兩天后我就會死去。我甚至沒有足夠的力氣爬到下面板條箱里。我懷疑我的吐絲器里是否有足夠的絲把我吊到地面。”

Hearing this, Wilbur threw himself down in an agony of pain and sorrow.Great sobs racked his body. "Charlotte," he moaned. "Charlotte! My true friend!"

聽到這話，威爾伯癱坐下來，極度痛苦和悲傷。他大聲抽泣，渾身哆嗦。“夏洛，”他呻吟著。“夏洛!我真正的明友!”

"Come now, let's not make a scene," said the spider. "Be quiet, Wilbur. Stop thrashing about!"

“別這樣，我們不要婆婆媽媽了”蜘蛛說。“安靜點，威爾伯。不要折騰自已了！”

But I can't stand it," shouted Wilbur. "I won't leave you here alone to die. If you're going to stay here I shall stay, too."

“但我控制不住，”威爾伯喊道。“我不會留下你獨自等死。如果你要留在這里，我也要留下。”

"Don't be ridiculous," said Charlotte. "You can't stay here.”

“別傻丁，”夏洛說。“你不能留在這里。”

Wilbur was in a panic. He raced round and round the pen. Suddenly he had an idea he thought of the egg sac and the five hundred and fourteen little spiders that would hatch in the spring. If Charlotte herself was unable to go home to the barn, at least he must take her children along.

威爾伯驚慌不已。他在豬圈里飛奔了一圈又一圈。突然他有了一個想法——他想起了那個卵袋和五百十四只將在春季孵化的小蜘蛛。萬一夏洛自已無法回到吞倉，至少他必須把她的孩子們帶走。

課堂筆記：
1."to some degree"是使用頻率極高的固定短語.由此引申的詞組有:"to a degree/to some degree/to a certain degree"(在一定程度上);"to a little degree/to a small degree"(在很小的程度上);"to a large degree / to a big degree"(在很大的程度上)。
2."tremendous”一詞足以說明夏洛對友誼的珍視.為了幫助威爾伯逃過被宰殺的危險，夏洛悄悄地在網上分別織下了“some pig"(王牌豬)，"terrific"(了不起)，"radiant"(光彩照人)和“humble"(謙遜)四個詞，使威爾伯逐漸從一只被主人嫌棄的小豬仔變成讓主人引以為傲的名牌豬，同時幫助威爾伯獲得了新生.
3.夏洛認為蜘蛛的生活就是亂槽糟一團，全忙著捕食蒼蠅.“can't help doing sth.”表示“忍不住做某事，無法停止做某事”，言語之間透出夏洛對這種生活的不滿，顯示出她的與眾不同.“with”引導的介詞短語用作補語，補充說明“something of a mess"(亂糟糟的生活).
4."heaven knows”在口語中表示"確定，無疑”，用以加強語氣.句型結構“...can/ could stand sth.”表示“應該做某事(因為這是一件好事)”.
5."be done for"為非正式用語，有“破損不堪;壞了:沒命;精疲力竭”等含義，此處指夏洛認為自己疲憊不堪，生命即將結束.
6.分詞短語"hearing this”用作伴隨狀語，詞組"throw oneself down"(癱軟在地)非常形象地描繪了威爾伯極為痛苦悲傷的心情.
7."make / cause a scene”表示“(在公眾場合)吵鬧，爭執，發脾氣”.
 

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