lesson8-10

　　人生的一課

　　快一年了，大部分時間我都泡在家里、店鋪、學校和教堂里，就像一塊舊餅干，又臟又難以下咽。

　　For nearly a year， I sopped around the house， the Store， the school and the church， like an old biscuit， dirty and inedible.

　　這時我遇到或者說認識了拋給我第一根救生索的那位夫人。

　　Then I met， or rather got to know， the lady who threw me first lifeline.

　　波薩？弗勞爾斯夫人是斯坦普司黑人區中的出類拔萃的人物。

　　Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps.

　　她動作優雅，即使在最冷的天氣里也不縮手縮腳，而在阿肯色州的夏日里，她似乎又有屬于自己的微風環繞在她的身旁，給她帶來涼爽。

　　She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather， and one the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around， cooling her.

　　她的皮膚深黑迷人，如果被掛住就會像李子皮一樣剝落，但沒有人敢離她近點，碰皺她的衣服，更不要說掛住她的皮膚了。

　　Her skin was a rich black that would have peeled like a plum if snagged， but then no one would have thought of getting close enough to Mrs. Flowers to ruffle her dress， let alone snag her skin.

　　她不太喜歡親近，另外她還帶著手套。

　　She didn't encourage familiarity. She wore gloves too.

　　她是我所知道的為數不多的有氣質的女士之一，并且是我做人的楷模，影響了我一生。

　　She was one of the few gentlewomen I have ever known， and has remained throughout my life the measure of what a human being can be.

　　我被她深深地吸引，因為她像是我從沒有親身遇到過的那些人。

　　She appealed to me because she was like people I had never met personally.

　　她就像英國小說中的女人，走在沼澤地里（不管是什么地方），一群忠實的狗奔跑在她們的身旁，并與她們保持一定的距離以示尊敬。

　　Like women in English novels who walked the moors （whatever they were） with their loyal dogs racing at a respectful distance.

　　她就像坐在爐火熊熊的壁爐前的女人，不時從裝滿蛋糕和松脆餅的銀盤中取東西喝。

　　Like the women who sat in front of roaring fireplaces， drinking tea incessantly from silver trays full of scones and crumpets.

　　她就像走在“石南叢生的荒野”中，讀著用摩洛哥山羊皮裝訂的書的那些女人，而且有用連字符隔開的兩個姓。

　　Women who walked over the “heath” and read morocco-bound books and had two last names spani