🔊 Gregor’s serious wound, from which he suffered for over a month (since no one ventured to remove the apple, it remained in his flesh as a visible reminder), seemed by itself to have reminded the father that, in spite of his present unhappy and hateful appearance, Gregor was a member of the family, something one should not treat as an enemy, and that it was, on the contrary, a requirement of family duty to suppress one’s aversion and to endure--nothing else, just endure.

格里高尔的伤口很严重,他因此受苦了一个多月（没人敢把那只苹果取出来,它就这样留在他肉里,成为一个醒目的提醒）,这伤口本身似乎已经提醒了父亲:尽管格里高尔现在外表可悲又令人憎恶,但他仍是家庭的一员,不应该被当作敌人对待；相反,压抑自己的厌恶并忍受--仅仅忍受,别无其他--是家庭责任的要求。

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ventured /ˈventʃərd/

v. 冒险；敢于➕

🔊

aversion /əˈvɜːrʒən/

n. 厌恶；反感➕

🔊 And if through his wound Gregor had now apparently lost for good his ability to move and for the time being needed many many minutes to crawl across this room, like an aged invalid (so far as creeping up high was concerned, that was unimaginable), nevertheless for this worsening of his condition, in his opinion, he did get completely satisfactory compensation, because every day towards evening the door to the living room, which he was in the habit of keeping a sharp eye on even one or two hours beforehand, was opened, so that he, lying down in the darkness of his room, invisible from the living room, could see the entire family at the illuminated table and listen to their conversation, to a certain extent with their common permission, a situation quite different from what happened before.

而且,虽然因为伤口,格里高尔显然已经永远失去了活动能力,暂时需要花很多很多分钟才能爬过这个房间,就像一个年迈的残废（至于爬到高处,那简直不可想象）,但在他看来,这种状况的恶化却得到了完全令人满意的补偿,因为每天傍晚,他习惯提前一两个小时就密切注视的那扇通往客厅的门都会被打开,这样他就可以躺在自己房间的黑暗里,从客厅看不见他,而他则能看到整个家庭坐在明亮的餐桌旁,倾听他们的交谈--在一定程度上是得到了他们的共同许可--这与以前的情况大不相同。

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apparently /əˈpærəntli/

adv. 显然；似乎➕

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compensation /ˌkɒmpənˈseɪʃən/

n. 补偿；赔偿➕

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illuminated /ɪˈluːmɪneɪtɪd/

adj. 被照亮的➕

🔊 Of course, it was no longer the animated social interaction of former times, about which Gregor in small hotel rooms had always thought about with a certain longing, when, tired out, he had to throw himself in the damp bedclothes. For the most part what went on now was very quiet. After the evening meal the father fell asleep quickly in his arm chair; the mother and sister talked guardedly to each other in the stillness. Bent far over, the mother sewed fine undergarments for a fashion shop. The sister, who had taken on a job as a salesgirl, in the evening studied stenography and French, so as perhaps later to obtain a better position. Sometimes the father woke up and, as if he was quite ignorant that he had been asleep, said to the mother “How long you have been sewing today!” and went right back to sleep, while the mother and the sister smiled tiredly to each other.

当然,这不再是过去那种生动的社交活动,以前格里高尔在小旅馆房间里,疲惫不堪地倒在潮湿的被褥上时,总是怀着某种渴望想起那种活动。现在多数时候非常安静。晚饭后,父亲很快就在扶手椅里睡着了；母亲和妹妹在寂静中小心翼翼地交谈。母亲弯着腰,为一家时装店缝制精致的内衣。妹妹找了一份售货员的工作,晚上学习速记和法语,以便将来可能谋得一个更好的职位。有时父亲醒来,好像完全不知道自己睡着了似的,对母亲说:“你今天缝了多久啦！”然后又立刻睡去,而母亲和妹妹则疲惫地相视而笑。

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animated /ˈænɪmeɪtɪd/

adj. 活跃的；生动的➕

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interaction /ˌɪntərˈækʃən/

n. 互动；交流➕

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stenography /stəˈnɒɡrəfi/

n. 速记法➕

🔊 With a sort of stubbornness the father refused to take off his servant’s uniform even at home, and while his sleeping gown hung unused on the coat hook, the father dozed completely dressed in his place, as if he was always ready for his responsibility and even here was waiting for the voice of his superior. As a result, in spite of all the care of the mother and sister, his uniform, which even at the start was not new, grew dirty, and Gregor looked, often for the entire evening, at this clothing, with stains all over it and with its gold buttons always polished, in which the old man, although very uncomfortable, slept peacefully nonetheless.

父亲带着一种固执,即使在家里也拒绝脱掉他的仆人制服；而他的睡袍则挂在衣钩上闲置不用,父亲就这样穿戴整齐地打盹,仿佛随时准备履行他的职责,即使在这里也在等待上级的呼唤。结果,尽管母亲和妹妹悉心照料,他的制服--一开始就不新--变得越来越脏,而格里高尔常常整晚看着这件衣服,上面满是污渍,金色的纽扣却总是擦得锃亮,老人穿着它虽然很不舒服,却依然睡得很安稳。

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stubbornness /ˈstʌbərnnəs/

n. 固执；倔强➕

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polished /ˈpɒlɪʃt/

adj. 擦亮的；优雅的➕

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nonetheless /ˌnʌnðəˈles/

adv. 尽管如此➕

🔊 As soon as the clock struck ten, the mother tried encouraging the father gently to wake up and then persuading him to go to bed, on the ground that he couldn’t get a proper sleep here and the father, who had to report for service at six o’clock, really needed a good sleep. But in his stubbornness, which had gripped him since he had become a servant, he insisted always on staying even longer by the table, although he regularly fell asleep and then could only be prevailed upon with the greatest difficulty to trade his chair for the bed. No matter how much the mother and sister might at that point work on him with small admonitions, for a quarter of an hour he would remain shaking his head slowly, his eyes closed, without standing up. The mother would pull him by the sleeve and speak flattering words into his ear; the sister would leave her work to help her mother, but that would not have the desired effect on the father. He would settle himself even more deeply in his arm chair. Only when the two women grabbed him under the armpits would he throw his eyes open, look back and forth at the mother and sister, and habitually say “This is a life. This is the peace and quiet of my old age.” And propped up by both women, he would heave himself up, elaborately, as if for him it was the greatest travail, allow himself to be led to the door by the women, wave them away there, and proceed on his own from there, while the mother quickly threw down her sewing implements and the sister her pen in order to run after the father and help him some more.

时钟一敲十点,母亲就试图温和地唤醒父亲,然后说服他上床睡觉,理由是他在椅子上睡不好,而父亲六点就要上班,确实需要好好睡一觉。但自从他当了仆人后,他就陷入了一种固执,总是坚持要在桌边多待一会儿,尽管他通常都会睡着,然后要费很大的劲才能说服他从椅子挪到床上。无论母亲和妹妹当时怎样用小劝告来说服他,他都会闭着眼睛慢慢地摇头,持续一刻钟之久,也不站起来。母亲会拉着他的袖子,在他耳边说些奉承的话；妹妹会放下手头的活来帮母亲,但这对父亲不起作用。他会把自己更深地埋进扶手椅里。只有当两个女人抓住他的腋下时,他才会睁开眼睛,来回看看母亲和妹妹,习惯性地说:“这就是生活。这就是我晚年的安宁。”然后由两个女人扶着,他费力地站起来,好像这是对他来说最艰苦的劳作,让女人们把他领到门口,在那里挥手让她们走开,然后自己走进去,而母亲则迅速丢下针线活,妹妹丢下笔,跑去追父亲,再帮他一把。

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prevailed /prɪˈveɪld/

v. 获胜；说服➕

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admonitions /ˌædməˈnɪʃənz/

n. 警告；忠告➕

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heave /hiːv/

v. 用力举起；喘息➕

🔊 In this overworked and exhausted family who had time to worry any longer about Gregor more than was absolutely necessary? The household was constantly getting smaller. The servant girl was now let go. A huge bony cleaning woman with white hair flapping all over her head came in the morning and the evening to do the heaviest work. The mother took care of everything else in addition to her considerable sewing work. It even happened that various pieces of family jewelry, which previously the mother and sister had been overjoyed to wear on social and festive occasions, were sold, as Gregor found out in the evening from the general discussion of the prices they had fetched. But the greatest complaint was always that they could not leave this apartment, which was too big for their present means, since it was impossible to imagine how Gregor might be moved. But Gregor fully recognized that it was not just consideration for him which was preventing a move (for he could have been transported easily in a suitable box with a few air holes); the main thing holding the family back from a change in living quarters was far more their complete hopelessness and the idea that they had been struck by a misfortune like no one else in their entire circle of relatives and acquaintances.

在这个过度劳累、精疲力竭的家庭里,谁还有时间操心格里高尔超出绝对必要的事情呢？家务活越来越少。女仆被辞退了。一个高大瘦削的清洁女工,满头蓬松的白发,每天早晚来做最重的活。母亲除了大量的缝纫工作外,还要负责所有其他事情。甚至发生了这样的事:家里的一些首饰,以前母亲和妹妹在社交和节日场合戴得兴高采烈,现在被卖掉了--这是格里高尔晚上从他们讨论卖价的谈话中得知的。但最大的抱怨总是他们不能搬离这套公寓,这套公寓对于他们目前的收入来说太大了,因为无法想象怎么移动格里高尔。但格里高尔完全认识到,阻止搬家的不仅仅是考虑他（因为他很容易被装进一个带几个气孔的合适箱子里运走）；阻碍家人换住处的主要原因,更是他们彻底的绝望,以及那种认为他们遭受了亲戚和熟人圈子里无人能及的不幸的想法。

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overworked /ˌəʊvəˈwɜːrkt/

adj. 工作过度的➕

🔊

complaint /kəmˈpleɪnt/

n. 抱怨；投诉➕

🔊

hopelessness /ˈhəʊpləsnəs/

n. 绝望；无望➕

🔊 What the world demands of poor people they now carried out to an extreme degree. The father brought breakfast to the petty officials at the bank, the mother sacrificed herself for the undergarments of strangers, the sister behind her desk was at the beck and call of customers, but the family’s energies did not extend any further. And the wound in his back began to pain Gregor all over again, when now mother and sister, after they had escorted the father to bed, came back, let their work lie, moved close together, and sat cheek to cheek and when his mother would now say, pointing to Gregor’s room, “Close the door, Grete,” and when Gregor was again in the darkness, while close by the women mingled their tears or, quite dry eyed, stared at the table.

世界对穷人的要求,他们现在都做到了极致。父亲为银行的低级官员送早餐,母亲为陌生人的内衣牺牲自己,妹妹在柜台后听候顾客的差遣,但家人的精力也就到此为止了。而当母亲和妹妹把父亲安顿到床上后,又走回来,放下手头的活,靠在一起,脸贴着脸,这时母亲指着格里高尔的房间说:“把门关上,格雷特,”然后格里高尔再次陷入黑暗,而近旁的女人们交织着泪水,或者干瞪着眼睛盯着桌子--这时他背上的伤口又开始作痛了。

🔊

extreme /ɪkˈstriːm/

adj. 极端的；极度的➕

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petty /ˈpeti/

adj. 琐碎的；小气的➕

🔊

mingled /ˈmɪŋɡəld/

v. 混合；交织➕

🔊 Gregor spent his nights and days with hardly any sleep. Sometimes he thought that the next time the door opened he would take over the family arrangements just as he had earlier. In his imagination appeared again, after a long time, his employer and supervisor and the apprentices, the excessively gormless custodian, two or three friends from other businesses, a chambermaid from a hotel in the provinces, a loving fleeting memory, a female cashier from a hat shop, whom he had seriously, but too slowly courted--they all appeared mixed in with strangers or people he had already forgotten, but instead of helping him and his family, they were all unapproachable, and he was happy to see them disappear.

格里高尔几乎夜不能寐。有时他想,下一次门打开时,他会像以前一样接管家庭事务。他的想象中再次出现了雇主、主管和学徒、那个过于愚蠢的看门人、其他商行的两三个朋友、一个外省旅馆的女招待、一段短暂而甜蜜的回忆、一个帽子店的女出纳员--他曾认真地追求过她,但太慢了--他们全都混杂着陌生人或他已经忘记的人出现,但他们非但没有帮助他和他家人,反而都难以接近,而他很高兴看到他们消失。

🔊

supervisor /ˈsuːpərvaɪzər/

n. 监督者；主管➕

🔊

custodian /kʌˈstəʊdiən/

n. 管理员；看守人➕

🔊

chambermaid /ˈtʃeɪmbərmeɪd/

n. 女服务员；(旅馆)客房女侍➕

🔊 But then he was in no mood to worry about his family. He was filled with sheer anger over the wretched care he was getting, even though he couldn’t imagine anything for which he might have an appetite. Still, he made plans about how he could take from the larder what he at all account deserved, even if he wasn’t hungry. Without thinking any more about how one might be able to give Gregor special pleasure, the sister now kicked some food or other very quickly into his room in the morning and at noon, before she ran off to her shop, and in the evening, quite indifferent about whether the food had perhaps only been tasted or, what happened most frequently, remained entirely undisturbed, she whisked it out with one sweep of her broom. The task of cleaning his room, which she now always carried out in the evening, could not be done any more quickly. Streaks of dirt ran along the walls; here and there lay tangles of dust and garbage. At first, when his sister arrived, Gregor positioned himself in a particularly filthy corner in order with this posture to make something of a protest. But he could have well stayed there for weeks without his sister’s changing her ways. Indeed, she perceived the dirt as much as he did, but she had decided just to let it stay.

但那时他也没心情为家人操心。他对受到的糟糕照管充满了纯粹的气愤,尽管他想象不出有什么东西能让他有胃口。不过,他还是计划着如何从食品储藏室里拿走他无论如何都该得到的东西,即使他不饿。妹妹现在不再思考怎样才能给格里高尔特别的快乐,她在早上和中午飞快地把某种食物踢进他的房间,然后跑回她的商店；晚上则毫不在意那食物是否只是尝过一口,或者--最常见的情况--完全没动过,就用扫帚一下子扫出去。打扫他房间的任务--她现在总是在晚上做--不可能再快了。墙上布满了污迹；到处是一团团灰尘和垃圾。起初,妹妹来的时候,格里高尔会特意呆在一个特别脏的角落,用这种姿势表示抗议。但他就算在那儿待上几个星期,妹妹也不会改变她的做法。事实上,她和他一样注意到了脏乱,但她已经决定就让它那么放着。

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sheer /ʃɪr/

adj. 纯粹的；完全的➕

🔊

wretched /ˈretʃɪd/

adj. 可怜的；糟糕的➕

🔊

indifferent /ɪnˈdɪfərənt/

adj. 漠不关心的；冷淡的➕

🔊 In this business, with a touchiness which was quite new to her and which had generally taken over the entire family, she kept watch to see that the cleaning of Gregor’s room remained reserved for her. Once his mother had undertaken a major cleaning of Gregor’s room, which she had only completed successfully after using a few buckets of water. But the extensive dampness made Gregor sick and he lay supine, embittered and immobile on the couch. However, the mother’s punishment was not delayed for long. For in the evening the sister had hardly observed the change in Gregor’s room before she ran into the living room mightily offended and, in spite of her mother’s hand lifted high in entreaty, broke out in a fit of crying. Her parents (the father had, of course, woken up with a start in his arm chair) at first looked at her astonished and helpless; until they started to get agitated. Turning to his right, the father heaped reproaches on the mother that she was not to take over the cleaning of Gregor’s room from the sister and, turning to his left, he shouted at the sister that she would no longer be allowed to clean Gregor’s room ever again, while the mother tried to pull the father, beside himself in his excitement, into the bed room; the sister, shaken by her crying fit, pounded on the table with her tiny fists, and Gregor hissed at all this, angry that no one thought about shutting the door and sparing him the sight of this commotion.

在这件事上,她表现出一种对她来说相当陌生的、而且已经弥漫整个家庭的易怒,她坚持打扫格里高尔的房间只能由她来负责。有一次,母亲对格里高尔的房间进行了一次大扫除,她用了几桶水才成功完成。但大面积的潮湿让格里高尔生病了,他仰面躺着,充满怨恨,一动不动地躺在沙发上。然而,母亲的惩罚并没有拖延多久。晚上,妹妹刚注意到格里高尔房间的变化,就跑到客厅,大为光火,尽管母亲高高举起手恳求,她还是爆发出一阵哭泣。她的父母（父亲当然在扶手椅里猛地惊醒了）起初惊讶而无助地看着她；直到他们也开始激动起来。父亲转向右边,指责母亲不该抢了妹妹打扫格里高尔房间的活；转向左边,又对妹妹喊叫,说她再也不准打扫格里高尔的房间了；而母亲则试图把激动得忘乎所以的父亲拉进卧室；妹妹被哭泣弄得浑身颤抖,用她的小拳头捶打着桌子；格里高尔对这些嗤之以鼻,生气地发现没人想到关上门,让他免受这场骚乱的视觉冲击。

🔊

touchiness /ˈtʌtʃɪnəs/

n. 易怒；过分敏感➕

🔊

supine /ˈsuːpaɪn/

adj. 仰卧的；懒得动的➕

🔊

immobile /ɪˈməʊbaɪl/

adj. 固定的；不动的➕

🔊 But even when the sister, exhausted from her daily work, had grown tired of caring for Gregor as she had before, even then the mother did not have to come at all on her behalf. And Gregor did not have to be neglected. For now the cleaning woman was there. This old widow, who in her long life must have managed to survive the worst with the help of her bony frame, had no real horror of Gregor. Without being in the least curious, she had once by chance opened Gregor’s door. At the sight of Gregor, who, totally surprised, began to scamper here and there, although no one was chasing him, she remained standing with her hands folded across her stomach staring at him. Since then she did not fail to open the door furtively a little every morning and evening to look in on Gregor. At first, she also called him to her with words which she presumably thought were friendly, like “Come here for a bit, old dung beetle!” or “Hey, look at the old dung beetle!” Addressed in such a manner, Gregor answered nothing, but remained motionless in his place, as if the door had not been opened at all. If only, instead of allowing this cleaning woman to disturb him uselessly whenever she felt like it, they had instead given her orders to clean up his room every day! One day in the early morning (a hard downpour, perhaps already a sign of the coming spring, struck the window panes) when the cleaning woman started up once again with her usual conversation, Gregor was so bitter that he turned towards her, as if for an attack, although slowly and weakly. But instead of being afraid of him, the cleaning woman merely lifted up a chair standing close by the door and, as she stood there with her mouth wide open, her intention was clear: she would close her mouth only when the chair in her hand had been thrown down on Gregor’s back. “This goes no further, all right?” she asked, as Gregor turned himself around again, and she placed the chair calmly back in the corner.

但是,即使妹妹被日常工作累得精疲力竭,厌倦了像以前那样照顾格里高尔,即使那样,母亲也根本不必替妹妹出面。格里高尔也不必被忽视。因为现在有清洁女工在。这个老寡妇,在她漫长的一生中,想必已经靠她瘦骨嶙峋的身躯熬过了最坏的境况,她对格里高尔并没有真正的恐惧。她一点也不好奇,有一次偶然打开了格里高尔的房门。看到格里高尔--他大吃一惊,开始四处乱窜,尽管没人追他--她站着没动,双手交叉放在肚子上,盯着他。从那以后,她每天早上和晚上都不忘偷偷地打开一点门,往里看看格里高尔。起初,她还用她认为友好的话语叫他过来,比如“过来一下,老屎壳郎！”或是“嘿,看看这老屎壳郎！”被这样称呼,格里高尔什么也不回答,而是待在原地一动不动,好像门根本没开过似的。与其让这个清洁女工随时随意地来打扰他,倒不如命令她每天打扫他的房间！一天清晨（一场暴雨,或许已是春天来临的征兆,敲打着窗玻璃）,当清洁女工又开始她惯常的对话时,格里高尔非常气愤,他转向她,仿佛要发起攻击,尽管动作缓慢而无力。但清洁女工非但不怕他,反而只是举起门边的一把椅子,张大嘴巴站在那里,意思很明确:只有当她手中的椅子砸在格里高尔背上时,她才会闭上嘴。“这下不行了吧,嗯？”格里高尔又转过身去时,她问道,然后平静地把椅子放回角落。

🔊

widow /ˈwɪdoʊ/

n. 寡妇➕

🔊

scamper /ˈskæmpər/

v. 奔跑；疾跑➕

🔊

furtively /ˈfɜːrtɪvli/

adv. 偷偷地；鬼鬼祟祟地➕

🔊 Gregor ate hardly anything any more. Only when he chanced to move past the food which had been prepared did he, as a game, take a bit into his mouth, hold it there for hours, and generally spit it out again. At first he thought it might be his sadness over the condition of his room which kept him from eating, but he very soon became reconciled to the alterations in his room. People had grown accustomed to put into storage in his room things which they couldn’t put anywhere else, and at this point there were many such things, now that they had rented one room of the apartment to three lodgers. These solemn gentlemen (all three had full beards, as Gregor once found out through a crack in the door) were meticulously intent on tidiness, not only in their own room but (since they had now rented a room here) in the entire household, and particularly in the kitchen. They simply did not tolerate any useless or shoddy stuff. Moreover, for the most part they had brought with them their own pieces of furniture. Thus, many items had become superfluous, and these were not really things one could sell or things people wanted to throw out. All these items ended up in Gregor’s room, even the box of ashes and the garbage pail from the kitchen. The cleaning woman, always in a hurry, simply flung anything that was momentarily useless into Gregor’s room. Fortunately Gregor generally saw only the relevant object and the hand which held it. The cleaning woman perhaps was intending, when time and opportunity allowed, to take the stuff out again or to throw everything out all at once, but in fact the things remained lying there, wherever they had ended up at the first throw, unless Gregor squirmed his way through the accumulation of junk and moved it. At first he was forced to do this because otherwise there was no room for him to creep around, but later he did it with a growing pleasure, although after such movements, tired to death and feeling wretched, he didn’t budge for hours.

格里高尔几乎什么也不吃了。只有当他不经意地经过准备好的食物时,他会像游戏一样取一点放进嘴里,含上几个小时,然后又通常吐出来。起初他以为是自己的房间状况让他悲伤,所以吃不下东西,但他很快就接受了房间的变化。人们已经习惯于把那些没地方放的东西存放在他的房间里,而目前这样的东西很多,因为他们已经把公寓的一个房间租给了三个房客。这些严肃的先生（三人都是满脸胡须,这是格里高尔有一次透过门缝发现的）非常讲究整洁,不仅在自己的房间里,而且（因为他们现在租了这里的房间）在整个住宅里,尤其是在厨房里。他们根本不能容忍任何无用或破烂的东西。而且,他们大多还自带家具。这样一来,许多东西就变得多余了,而这些东西既不是可以卖掉的东西,也不是人们想扔掉的东西。所有这些物品都进了格里高尔的房间,甚至厨房的灰箱和垃圾桶也进来了。清洁女工总是匆匆忙忙,只要是一时没用的东西,就随手扔进格里高尔的房间。幸运的是,格里高尔通常只看到那个物件和拿着它的手。清洁女工也许本打算等时间或机会合适时再把这些东西拿出去,或者一次性全部扔掉,但实际上这些东西就留在它们第一次被扔到的地方,除非格里高尔扭动着身子穿过堆积的杂物,把它们移开。起初他不得不这样做,否则就没有他爬行的空间了,但后来他这样做越来越有乐趣,尽管这样移动之后,他会累得要死,感觉糟糕,一连几个小时动弹不得。

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chanced /tʃænst/

v. 偶然发生；冒险➕

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reconciled /ˈrekənsaɪld/

adj. 顺从的；接受了的➕

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meticulously /məˈtɪkjələsli/

adv. 一丝不苟地；非常仔细地➕

🔊 Because the lodgers sometimes also took their evening meal at home in the common living room, the door to the living room stayed shut on many evenings. But Gregor had no trouble at all going without the open door. Already on many evenings when it was open he had not availed himself of it, but, without the family noticing, was stretched out in the darkest corner of his room. However, once the cleaning woman had left the door to the living room slightly ajar, and it remained open even when the lodgers came in in the evening and the lights were put on. They sat down at the head of the table, where in earlier days the mother, the father, and Gregor had eaten, unfolded their serviettes, and picked up their knives and forks. The mother immediately appeared in the door with a dish of meat and right behind her the sister with a dish piled high with potatoes. The food gave off a lot of steam. The gentlemen lodgers bent over the plate set before them, as if they wanted to check it before eating, and in fact the one who sat in the middle (for the other two he seemed to serve as the authority) cut off a piece of meat still on the plate obviously to establish whether it was sufficiently tender and whether or not something should be shipped back to the kitchen. He was satisfied, and mother and sister, who had looked on in suspense, began to breathe easily and to smile.

因为房客有时也在家里的公共客厅吃晚饭,所以客厅的门很多个晚上都关着。但格里高尔没有开着的门也完全没问题。已经有很多个晚上,即使门开着,他也没有利用它,而是躺在自己房间最黑暗的角落,家人没有注意到。然而有一次,清洁女工把客厅的门留了一条缝,当房客晚上进来、灯打开时,门依然半开着。他们在餐桌前坐下--以前母亲、父亲和格里高尔就是在这里吃饭--展开餐巾,拿起刀叉。母亲立刻出现在门口,端着一盘肉,她身后跟着妹妹,盘子里高高堆着土豆。食物冒着热气。三位先生弯下腰,看着面前盘子里的食物,好像想在吃之前检查一下；事实上,坐在中间的那位（他似乎就是另外两人的权威）从还在盘子里的肉上切下一块,显然是想确定肉够不够嫩,是否需要送回厨房。他很满意,而母亲和妹妹紧张地看着,这时才松了口气,露出了微笑。

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availed /əˈveɪld/

v. 利用；有用➕

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ajar /əˈdʒɑːr/

adj. (门)半开的；微开的➕

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suspense /səˈspens/

n. 悬念；焦虑➕

🔊 The family itself ate in the kitchen. In spite of that, before the father went into the kitchen, he came into the room and with a single bow, cap in hand, made a tour of the table. The lodgers rose up collectively and murmured something in their beards. Then, when they were alone, they ate almost in complete silence. It seemed odd to Gregor that out of all the many different sorts of sounds of eating, what was always audible was their chewing teeth, as if by that Gregor should be shown that people needed their teeth to eat and that nothing could be done even with the most handsome toothless jawbone. “I really do have an appetite,” Gregor said to himself sorrowfully, “but not for these things. How these lodgers stuff themselves, and I am dying.”

家人自己则在厨房吃饭。尽管如此,父亲在进厨房之前,先走进房间,拿着帽子,鞠了一躬,绕桌子走了一圈。房客们一起站起来,在胡须里咕哝了几句。然后,他们独自就坐,几乎完全沉默地吃着。让格里高尔感到奇怪的是,在这么多不同的进食声音中,总是能听到他们咀嚼牙齿的声音,好像是要让格里高尔明白,人要用牙齿才能吃饭,即使有最漂亮的没有牙齿的下颌骨也毫无用处。“我确实有胃口,”格里高尔悲伤地对自己说,“但不是对这些东西。这些房客塞得满满的,而我却要饿死了。”

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collectively /kəˈlektɪvli/

adv. 集体地；共同地➕

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murmured /ˈmɜːrmərd/

v. 低声说；咕哝➕

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audible /ˈɔːdəbəl/

adj. 听得见的➕

🔊 On this very evening (Gregor didn’t remember hearing the violin all through this period) it sounded from the kitchen. The lodgers had already ended their night meal, the middle one had pulled out a newspaper and had given each of the other two a page, and they were now leaning back, reading and smoking. When the violin started playing, they became attentive, got up, and went on tiptoe to the hall door, at which they remained standing pressed up against one another. They must have been audible from the kitchen, because the father called out “Perhaps the gentlemen don’t like the playing? It can be stopped at once.” “On the contrary,” stated the lodger in the middle, “might the young woman not come into us and play in the room here where it is really much more comfortable and cheerful?” “Oh, thank you,” cried out the father, as if he were the one playing the violin. The men stepped back into the room and waited. Soon the father came with the music stand, the mother with the sheet music, and the sister with the violin. The sister calmly prepared everything for the recital. The parents, who had never previously rented a room and therefore exaggerated their politeness to the lodgers, dared not sit on their own chairs. The father leaned against the door, his right hand stuck between two buttons of his buttoned up uniform. The mother, however, accepted a chair offered by one lodger. Since she left the chair sit where the gentleman had chanced to put it, she sat to one side in a corner.

就在这个晚上（格里高尔不记得在这段时间里听过小提琴声）,厨房里传来了小提琴声。房客们已经结束了晚餐,中间那位拿出一张报纸,给另外两人各分了一页,他们正靠在椅背上,读着报纸抽着烟。小提琴声响起时,他们变得专注起来,站起身,踮着脚尖走到过道门口,挤在一起站在那里。他们肯定被厨房里的人听见了,因为父亲喊道:“也许先生们不喜欢这演奏？可以马上停下来。”“不,”中间那位房客说,“难道这位年轻女士不能到我们这边来,在这个房间里演奏吗？这里舒服得多,也快乐得多。”“哦,谢谢,”父亲喊道,好像是小提琴手似的。男人们退回到房间等待。很快父亲带着乐谱架来了,母亲带着乐谱,妹妹带着小提琴。妹妹平静地为演奏做好一切准备。父母以前从未出租过房间,因此对房客过分客气,不敢坐到自己的椅子上。父亲靠在门上,右手插在扣好的制服的两个纽扣之间。母亲则接受了一位房客递过来的椅子。她让椅子放在那位先生碰巧放下的地方,自己则坐在角落的一边。

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attentive /əˈtentɪv/

adj. 注意的；专心的➕

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tiptoe /ˈtɪptoʊ/

n. 脚尖；以脚尖走路➕

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recital /rɪˈsaɪtəl/

n. 独奏会；朗诵➕

🔊 The sister began to play. The father and mother followed the movements of her hands attentively, one on each side. Attracted by the playing, Gregor had ventured to advance a little further forward and his head was already in the living room. He scarcely wondered about the fact that recently he had had so little consideration for the others; earlier this consideration had been something he was proud of. And for that very reason he would’ve had at this moment more reason to hide away, because as a result of the dust which lay all over his room and flew around with the slightest movement, he was totally covered in dirt. On his back and his sides he carted around with him dust, threads, hair, and remnants of food. His indifference to everything was much too great for him to lie on his back and scour himself on the carpet, as he often had done earlier during the day. In spite of his condition he had no timidity about inching forward a bit on the spotless floor of the living room.

妹妹开始演奏。父亲和母亲各在一侧,专注地跟着她手的动作。被演奏所吸引,格里高尔大胆地又向前爬了一点,他的头已经伸进了客厅。他几乎不觉得最近自己对他人如此缺乏考虑这件事有多奇怪；以前,这种体贴是他引以为傲的。而正因为如此,此刻他更有理由躲起来,因为他房间里的灰尘到处都是,轻微一动就飞扬起来,他浑身都沾满了脏东西。他的背上和两侧拖着灰尘、线头、头发和食物残渣。他对一切都太漠不关心了,以至于不会像以前白天经常做的那样,仰面躺在地毯上来回擦洗。尽管他的状况如此,他却没有丝毫胆怯,开始在客厅一尘不染的地板上慢慢向前爬。

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attentively /əˈtɛntɪvli/

adv. 专注地,注意地➕

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scarcely /ˈskeərsli/

adv. 几乎不,简直没有➕

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consideration /kənˌsɪdəˈreɪʃən/

n. 体谅,考虑➕

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remnants /ˈrɛmnənts/

n. 残余,残渣➕

🔊 In any case, no one paid him any attention. The family was all caught up in the violin playing. The lodgers, by contrast, who for the moment had placed themselves, their hands in their trouser pockets, behind the music stand much too close to the sister, so that they could all see the sheet music, something that must certainly bother the sister, soon drew back to the window conversing in low voices with bowed heads, where they then remained, worriedly observed by the father. It now seemed really clear that, having assumed they were to hear a beautiful or entertaining violin recital, they were disappointed, and were allowing their peace and quiet to be disturbed only out of politeness. The way in which they all blew the smoke from their cigars out of their noses and mouths in particular led one to conclude that they were very irritated. And yet his sister was playing so beautifully. Her face was turned to the side, her gaze followed the score intently and sadly. Gregor crept forward still a little further and kept his head close against the floor in order to be able to catch her gaze if possible. Was he an animal that music so seized him? For him it was as if the way to the unknown nourishment he craved was revealing itself to him. He was determined to press forward right to his sister, to tug at her dress and to indicate to her in this way that she might still come with her violin into his room, because here no one valued the recital as he wanted to value it. He did not wish to let her go from his room any more, at least not as long as he lived. His frightening appearance would for the first time become useful for him. He wanted to be at all the doors of his room simultaneously and snarl back at the attackers. However, his sister should not be compelled but would remain with him voluntarily; she would sit next to him on the sofa, bend down her ear to him, and he would then confide in her that he firmly intended to send her to the conservatory and that, if his misfortune had not arrived in the interim, he would have declared all this last Christmas (had Christmas really already come and gone?), and would have brooked no argument. After this explanation his sister would break out in tears of emotion, and Gregor would lift himself up to her armpit and kiss her throat, which she, from the time she started going to work, had left exposed without a band or a collar.

无论如何,没人注意到他。全家人都沉浸在提琴声中。相反,房客们此刻把手插在裤兜里,站在乐谱架后面,离妹妹太近了,以至于他们都能看到乐谱,这一定打扰了妹妹；他们很快退到窗边,低着头低声交谈,然后留在那里,被父亲担忧地注视着。现在情况很明显,他们原本期望听到一场优美或娱乐的小提琴演奏,结果却失望了,他们只是出于礼貌才容忍这种打扰。他们从鼻子和嘴里喷出雪茄烟的方式,尤其让人看出他们非常烦躁。然而,他的妹妹演奏得那么优美。她的脸侧向一边,目光专注而忧伤地跟着乐谱。格里高尔又向前爬了一点,把头贴近地板,以便尽可能捕捉到她的目光。他是动物吗,音乐这样打动了他？对他来说,仿佛通往他渴望的未知营养的道路正在向他显现。他决心一直爬到妹妹面前,拉拉她的裙子,以此向她表示,她还可以带着小提琴到他的房间里来,因为这里没有人像他那样珍视这场演奏。他不想让她再离开他的房间,至少在他活着的时候不想。他可怕的外表第一次会对他有用。他想到同时守住他房间的所有门,对攻击者咆哮。但妹妹不应该被迫留下,而是要自愿留在他身边；她应该坐在他旁边的沙发上,低下头靠近他,然后他向她坦白,他坚决打算送她去<<<音乐学院>>,如果他的不幸没有中途降临,他本来会在去年圣诞节（圣诞节真的已经过去了吗？）宣布这一切,并且不容反驳。听完这番解释,妹妹会感动得流泪,而格里高尔会抬起身够到她的腋窝,亲吻她的喉咙--自从她开始上班以来,她就一直把那里露在外面,没有围巾或领子。

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lodgers /ˈlɒdʒərz/

n. 房客,租客➕

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irritated /ˈɪrɪteɪtɪd/

adj. 恼怒的,不耐烦的➕

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crept /krɛpt/

v. 爬行,匍匐（creep的过去式）➕

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confide /kənˈfaɪd/

v. 吐露（秘密）➕

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simultaneously /ˌsɪməlˈteɪniəsli/

adv. 同时地➕

🔊 “Mr. Samsa,” called out the middle lodger to the father, and pointed his index finger, without uttering a further word, at Gregor as he was moving slowly forward. The violin fell silent. The middle lodger smiled, first shaking his head once at his friends, and then looked down at Gregor once more. Rather than driving Gregor back again, the father seemed to consider it of prime importance to calm down the lodgers, although they were not at all upset and Gregor seemed to entertain them more than the violin recital. The father hurried over to them and with outstretched arms tried to push them into their own room and simultaneously to block their view of Gregor with his own body. At this point they became really somewhat irritated, although one no longer knew whether that was because of the father’s behaviour or because of knowledge they had just acquired that they had had, without knowing it, a neighbour like Gregor. They demanded explanations from his father, raised their arms to make their points, tugged agitatedly at their beards, and moved back towards their room quite slowly. In the meantime, the isolation which had suddenly fallen upon his sister after the sudden breaking off of the recital had overwhelmed her. She had held onto the violin and bow in her limp hands for a little while and had continued to look at the sheet music as if she was still playing. All at once she pulled herself together, placed the instrument in her mother’s lap (the mother was still sitting in her chair having trouble breathing and with her lungs labouring) and had run into the next room, which the lodgers, pressured by the father, were already approaching more rapidly. One could observe how under the sister’s practiced hands the sheets and pillows on the beds were thrown on high and arranged. Even before the lodgers had reached the room, she was finished fixing the beds and was slipping out. The father seemed so gripped once again with his stubbornness that he forgot about the respect which he always owed to his renters. He pressed on and on, until at the door of the room the middle gentleman stamped loudly with his foot and thus brought the father to a standstill. “I hereby declare,” the middle lodger said, raising his hand and casting his glance both on the mother and the sister, “that considering the disgraceful conditions prevailing in this apartment and family,” with this he spat decisively on the floor, “I immediately cancel my room. I will, of course, pay nothing at all for the days which I have lived here; on the contrary I shall think about whether or not I will initiate some sort of action against you, something which--believe me-- will be very easy to establish.” He fell silent and looked directly in front of him, as if he was waiting for something.

“萨姆沙先生。”中间那位房客朝父亲喊道,食指指着格里高尔,没有再说一个字。小提琴声停了。中间那位房客笑了笑,先向他的朋友们摇了摇头,然后又低头看了看格里高尔。父亲似乎认为首要任务是先安抚房客,而不是把格里高尔赶回去,尽管他们一点也不慌张,而格里高尔似乎比小提琴演奏更能让他们开心。父亲匆匆走到他们面前,伸开双臂,想把他们推进他们自己的房间,同时用自己的身体挡住他们的视线,不让他们看到格里高尔。这时他们才真的有点生气了,不过人们不再知道这是因为父亲的行为,还是因为他们刚刚得知自己不知情地有了一个像格里高尔这样的邻居。他们向父亲要求解释,挥舞着胳膊以强调观点,激动地捻着胡须,非常缓慢地退向自己的房间。与此同时,演奏突然中断后,妹妹立刻陷入了一种孤独,这压倒了她。她用无力的手握着提琴和弓子停了一会儿,继续看着乐谱,仿佛还在演奏。突然她振作起来,把乐器放在母亲腿上（母亲仍然坐在椅子上,呼吸困难,肺部费力地工作着）,然后跑进了隔壁房间--房客在父亲的催促下,正更快地朝那个房间走去。可以观察到,在妹妹熟练的手下,床上的床单和枕头被高高抛起并整理好。甚至在房客到达房间之前,她就铺好了床,溜了出来。父亲似乎又被他那种固执所控制,以至于忘记了他对房客应有的尊重。他推了又推,直到在房间门口,中间那位先生重重地跺了一下脚,才让父亲停下来。“我在此宣布,”中间那位房客说,举起手,目光扫过母亲和妹妹,“鉴于这套公寓和这个家庭中可耻的状况,”他果断地朝地上吐了一口唾沫,“我立即取消租房。当然,我在这里住的这些天一分钱也不会付；相反,我会考虑是否对你们提起诉讼--这件事--相信我--会很容易证实。”他沉默下来,直视前方,仿佛在等待什么。

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uttering /ˈʌtərɪŋ/

v. 说出,发出声音➕

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outstretched /ˌaʊtˈstrɛtʃt/

adj. 伸出的,张开的➕

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agitatedly /ˈædʒɪteɪtɪdli/

adv. 激动地,焦虑地➕

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disgraceful /dɪsˈɡreɪsfəl/

adj. 可耻的,丢脸的➕

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initiate /ɪˈnɪʃieɪt/

v. 开始,发起➕

🔊 In fact, his two friends immediately joined in with their opinions, “We also give immediate notice.” At that he seized the door handle, banged the door shut, and locked it.

事实上,他的两个朋友立刻附和道:“我们也立即退租。”随即他抓住门把手,砰地关上门,锁上了。

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seized /siːzd/

v. 抓住,夺取➕

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banged /bæŋd/

v. 砰地关上,猛击➕

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locked /lɒkt/

v. 锁上➕

🔊 The father groped his way tottering to his chair and let himself fall in it. It looked as if he was stretching out for his usual evening snooze, but the heavy nodding of his head (which looked as if it was without support) showed that he was not sleeping at all. Gregor had lain motionless the entire time in the spot where the lodgers had caught him. Disappointment with the collapse of his plan and perhaps also his weakness brought on his severe hunger made it impossible for him to move. He was certainly afraid that a general disaster would break over him at any moment, and he waited. He was not even startled when the violin fell from the mother’s lap, out from under her trembling fingers, and gave off a reverberating tone.

父亲踉踉跄跄地摸索着走向他的椅子,一屁股跌坐下去。看起来他似乎要像往常一样打个晚盹,但他头部的沉重晃动（看上去仿佛没有支撑）表明他根本没有睡着。格里高尔始终一动不动地躺在房客发现他的地方。计划落空的失望,也许还有因严重饥饿而产生的虚弱,使他动弹不得。他肯定害怕随时会有大祸临头,于是他等着。甚至当小提琴从母亲膝盖上滑落,从她颤抖的手指下掉出,发出一声回响时,他都没有吓一跳。

🔊

groped /ɡroʊpt/

v. 摸索,探寻➕

🔊

tottering /ˈtɒtərɪŋ/

adj. 蹒跚的,摇摇欲坠的➕

🔊

motionless /ˈmoʊʃənləs/

adj. 不动的,静止的➕

🔊

collapse /kəˈlæps/

n. 崩溃,倒塌➕

🔊

reverberating /rɪˈvɜːrbəreɪtɪŋ/

adj. 回响的,回荡的➕

🔊 “My dear parents,” said the sister banging her hand on the table by way of an introduction, “things cannot go on any longer in this way. Maybe if you don’t understand that, well, I do. I will not utter my brother’s name in front of this monster, and thus I say only that we must try to get rid of it. We have tried what is humanly possible to take care of it and to be patient. I believe that no one can criticize us in the slightest.” “She is right in a thousand ways,” said the father to himself. The mother, who was still incapable of breathing properly, began to cough numbly with her hand held up over her mouth and a manic expression in her eyes.

“我亲爱的父母亲,”妹妹说着用手在桌上拍了一下,作为开场白,“这样下去可不行。也许你们不明白,可我明白。在这只怪物面前,我不愿说出我哥哥的名字,所以我只说:我们必须设法摆脱它。我们已经尽了人力所能及的一切来照顾它,容忍它。我相信没有人能对我们有丝毫责备。”“她说得千真万确。”父亲自言自语。母亲仍然无法正常呼吸,开始麻木地咳嗽,一只手捂住嘴,眼中露出疯狂的表情。

🔊

banging /ˈbæŋɪŋ/

v. 猛击,砰地敲打➕

🔊

monster /ˈmɒnstər/

n. 怪物,恶魔➕

🔊

criticize /ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz/

v. 批评,指责➕

🔊

manic /ˈmænɪk/

adj. 狂躁的,疯狂的➕

🔊 The sister hurried over to her mother and held her forehead. The sister’s words seemed to have led the father to certain reflections. He sat upright, played with his uniform hat among the plates, which still lay on the table from the lodgers’ evening meal, and looked now and then at the motionless Gregor.

妹妹赶紧走到母亲身边,扶着她的额头。妹妹的话似乎引发了父亲某些思考。他坐直身子,摆弄着制服帽子,在房客晚餐后仍然留在桌上的盘子间玩着,不时看看一动不动的格里高尔。

🔊

reflections /rɪˈflɛkʃənz/

n. 思考,反思➕

🔊

upright /ˈʌpraɪt/

adv. 笔直地,直立地➕

🔊 “We must try to get rid of it,” the sister now said decisively to the father, for the mother, in her coughing fit, wasn’t listening to anything, “it is killing you both. I see it coming. When people have to work as hard as we all do, they cannot also tolerate this endless torment at home. I just can’t go on any more.” And she broke out into such a crying fit that her tears flowed out down onto her mother’s face. She wiped them off her mother with mechanical motions of her hands.

“我们必须设法摆脱它。”妹妹现在果断地对父亲说,因为母亲咳得正厉害,什么也听不见,“它正在杀害你们俩。我看到了。当人们必须像我们这样辛苦工作时,就不能再在家里忍受这种无休止的折磨。我再也受不了了。”然后她爆发出一阵大哭,泪水顺着脸颊流下,滴到了母亲脸上。她用机械的手势擦去母亲脸上的泪水。

🔊

tolerate /ˈtɒləreɪt/

v. 容忍,忍受➕

🔊

endless /ˈɛndləs/

adj. 无尽的,无穷的➕

🔊

torment /ˈtɔːrmɛnt/

n. 折磨,痛苦➕

🔊

mechanical /mɪˈkænɪkəl/

adj. 机械的,呆板的➕

🔊 “Child,” said the father sympathetically and with obvious appreciation, “then what should we do?”

“孩子,”父亲同情地说,明显带着赞许,“那我们该怎么办呢？”

🔊

sympathetically /ˌsɪmpəˈθɛtɪkli/

adv. 同情地,怜悯地➕

🔊

appreciation /əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃən/

n. 感激,欣赏➕

🔊 The sister only shrugged her shoulders as a sign of the perplexity which, in contrast to her previous confidence, had come over her while she was crying.

妹妹只是耸耸肩,表示困惑--与之前的自信相比,她在哭泣中陷入了这种困惑。

🔊

shrugged /ʃrʌɡd/

v. 耸肩（表示不在乎或不知道）➕

🔊

perplexity /pərˈplɛksɪti/

n. 困惑,迷茫➕

🔊 “If only he understood us,” said the father in a semi-questioning tone. The sister, in the midst of her sobbing, shook her hand energetically as a sign that there was no point thinking of that. “If he only understood us,” repeated the father and by shutting his eyes he absorbed the sister’s conviction of the impossibility of this point, “then perhaps some compromise would be possible with him. But as it is...

“要是它能懂我们的话就好了。”父亲半带疑问地说。妹妹在哭泣中用力地摆摆手,表示想这个没用。“要是它懂我们的话就好了。”父亲重复道,闭上眼睛,吸收了妹妹认为这点不可能的确信,“那么也许可以和它达成某种妥协。但事实是……

🔊

semi-questioning /ˈsɛmi ˈkwɛstʃənɪŋ/

adj. 半疑问的,略带疑问的➕

🔊

energetically /ˌɛnərˈdʒɛtɪkli/

adv. 精力充沛地,用力地➕

🔊

conviction /kənˈvɪkʃən/

n. 信念,坚信➕

🔊

compromise /ˈkɑːmprəmaɪz/

n. 妥协,折中➕

🔊 “It must be gotten rid of,” cried the sister; “That is the only way, father. You must try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we have believed for so long, that is truly our real misfortune. But how can it be Gregor? If it were Gregor, he would have long ago realized that a communal life among human beings is not possible with such an animal and would have gone away voluntarily. Then we would not have a brother, but we could go on living and honour his memory. But this animal plagues us. It drives away the lodgers, will obviously take over the entire apartment, and leave us to spend the night in the alley. Just look, father,” she suddenly cried out, “he’s already starting up again.” With a fright which was totally incomprehensible to Gregor, the sister even left the mother, pushed herself away from her chair, as if she would sooner sacrifice her mother than remain in Gregor’s vicinity, and rushed behind her father who, excited merely by her behaviour, also stood up and half raised his arms in front of the sister as though to protect her.

“必须摆脱它。”妹妹喊道,“这是唯一的办法,父亲。你必须去掉这个念头:这是格里高尔。我们相信了这么久,这才是我们真正的不幸。但这怎么会是格里高尔呢？如果它是格里高尔,它早就该认识到,和这样的动物是不可能共同生活的,它就会自愿离开。那样我们就没有了哥哥,但我们还能继续生活,纪念他。可这只动物折磨我们。它赶走房客,显然要占据整个公寓,让我们到巷子里过夜。看啊,父亲,”她突然喊道,“它又开始了。”带着一种格里高尔完全无法理解的恐惧,妹妹甚至离开了母亲,从椅子上跳开,仿佛她宁愿牺牲母亲也不愿待在格里高尔附近,然后冲到父亲身后,父亲仅仅因为她的举止就激动起来,也站了起来,半举起胳膊挡在妹妹面前,好像要保护她。

🔊

communal /kəˈmjuːnəl/

adj. 公共的,集体的➕

🔊

plagues /pleɪɡz/

v. 折磨,困扰➕

🔊

alley /ˈæli/

n. 小巷,胡同➕

🔊

incomprehensible /ˌɪnkɑːmprɪˈhɛnsəbəl/

adj. 不可理解的,费解的➕

🔊

sacrifice /ˈsækrɪfaɪs/

v. 牺牲,献出➕

🔊

vicinity /vɪˈsɪnɪti/

n. 附近,邻近地区➕

🔊 But Gregor did not have any notion of wishing to create problems for anyone and certainly not for his sister. He had just started to turn himself around in order to creep back into his room, quite a startling sight, since, as a result of his suffering condition, he had to guide himself through the difficulty of turning around with his head, in this process lifting and banging it against the floor several times. He paused and looked around. His good intentions seem to have been recognized. The fright had only lasted for a moment. Now they looked at him in silence and sorrow. His mother lay in her chair, with her legs stretched out and pressed together; her eyes were almost shut from weariness. The father and sister sat next to one another. The sister had set her hands around the father’s neck.

但格里高尔丝毫没有给别人制造麻烦的念头,更不想给妹妹添麻烦。他刚刚开始转身,想爬回自己的房间--这是个相当惊悚的景象,因为由于他痛苦的状况,他得用头来引导自己完成转身这个困难的动作,过程中多次把头抬起又撞在地板上。他停下来,环顾四周。他的善意似乎被认可了。恐惧只持续了一会儿。现在他们沉默而悲伤地看着他。母亲坐在椅子上,双腿伸开并拢,因为疲惫而几乎闭着眼睛。父亲和妹妹并排坐着。妹妹把手围在父亲脖子上。

🔊

notion /ˈnoʊʃən/

n. 概念,想法➕

🔊

startling /ˈstɑːrtlɪŋ/

adj. 令人吃惊的,惊人的➕

🔊

sorrow /ˈsɒroʊ/

n. 悲伤,哀痛➕

🔊

weariness /ˈwɪrinəs/

n. 疲倦,疲劳➕

🔊 “Now perhaps I can actually turn myself around,” thought Gregor and began the task again. He couldn’t stop puffing at the effort and had to rest now and then.

“现在我也许真的能转身了。”格里高尔想,又开始了这个任务。他累得不停地喘气,不得不时不时地休息。

🔊

puffing /ˈpʌfɪŋ/

v. 喘气,气喘吁吁➕

🔊 Besides no one was urging him on. It was all left to him on his own. When he had completed turning around, he immediately began to wander straight back. He was astonished at the great distance which separated him from his room and did not understand in the least how in his weakness he had covered the same distance a short time before, almost without noticing it. Constantly intent only on creeping along quickly, he hardly paid any attention to the fact that no word or cry from his family interrupted him.

此外,也没有人催促他。一切都由他自己决定。当他完成转身后,立刻开始径直往回爬。他惊讶于自己与房间之间的距离如此之大,完全不明白以他虚弱的身体,刚才几乎没注意到就爬完了同样的距离。他只顾快速爬行,几乎没有注意到家人没有用任何话语或喊声打扰他。

🔊

urging /ˈɜːrdʒɪŋ/

v. 催促,敦促➕

🔊

astonished /əˈstɒnɪʃt/

adj. 惊讶的,惊愕的➕

🔊

constantly /ˈkɒnstəntli/

adv. 持续地,不断地➕

🔊

creeping /ˈkriːpɪŋ/

v. 爬行,缓慢移动➕

🔊 Only when he was already in the door did he turn his head, not completely, because he felt his neck growing stiff. At any rate he still saw that behind him nothing had changed. Only the sister was standing up. His last glimpse brushed over the mother who was now completely asleep. Hardly was he inside his room when the door was pushed shut very quickly, bolted fast, and barred. Gregor was startled by the sudden commotion behind him, so much so that his little limbs bent double under him. It was his sister who had been in such a hurry. She had stood up right away, had waited, and had then sprung forward nimbly. Gregor had not heard anything of her approach. She cried out “Finally!” to her parents, as she turned the key in the lock.

直到他已经到了门口,他才转过头--没有完全转,因为他觉得脖子变僵硬了。至少他还能看见身后没有任何变化。只有妹妹站了起来。他最后的目光掠过母亲,她现在已经完全睡着了。他刚进房间,门就被很快推上,闩好,锁上。格里高尔被身后突如其来的动静吓了一跳,以至于他的小腿都弯曲了。是他的妹妹,她刚才那么匆忙。她早就站了起来,等着,然后敏捷地跳上前来。格里高尔没有听到她靠近的声音。她转动钥匙锁门时,对父母喊道:“终于！”

🔊

stiff /stɪf/

adj. 僵硬的,不易弯曲的➕

🔊

glimpse /ɡlɪmps/

n. 一瞥,短暂的看见➕

🔊

bolted /ˈboʊltɪd/

v. 闩上,用螺栓固定➕

🔊

barred /bɑːrd/

v. 用栅栏或障碍物阻挡➕

🔊

startled /ˈstɑːrtld/

adj. 受惊的,吃惊的➕

🔊

commotion /kəˈmoʊʃən/

n. 骚动,混乱➕

🔊

limbs /lɪmz/

n. 四肢（手臂和腿）➕

🔊

nimbly /ˈnɪmbli/

adv. 敏捷地,灵巧地➕

🔊

approach /əˈproʊtʃ/

n. 接近,靠近；方法➕

🔊 “What now?” Gregor asked himself and looked around him in the darkness. He soon made the discovery that he could no longer move at all. He was not surprised at that. On the contrary, it struck him as unnatural that he had really been able up to this point to move around with these thin little legs. Besides he felt relatively content. True, he had pains throughout his entire body, but it seemed to him that they were gradually becoming weaker and weaker and would finally go away completely. The rotten apple in his back and the inflamed surrounding area, entirely covered with white dust, he hardly noticed. He remembered his family with deep feeling and love. In this business, his own thought that he had to disappear was, if possible, even more decisive than his sister’s. He remained in this state of empty and peaceful reflection until the tower clock struck three o’clock in the morning. From the window he witnessed the beginning of the general dawning outside. Then without willing it, his head sank all the way down, and from his nostrils flowed out weakly out his last breath.

“现在怎么办？”格里高尔自问,在黑暗中环顾四周。他很快发现,自己再也无法动弹了。他对此并不惊讶。相反,他觉得之前自己能靠这些细腿移动,才是反常的。此外,他感到相对满足。确实,他全身都痛,但在他看来,这些疼痛正在逐渐减弱,最终会完全消失。背上的烂苹果和周围发炎的区域,完全被白色灰尘覆盖,他几乎感觉不到。他怀着深情和爱意回忆他的家人。在这件事上,他自己必须消失的想法,如果可能的话,甚至比妹妹的还要坚决。他处于这种空虚而平静的沉思状态,直到凌晨三点钟塔楼上的钟敲响。透过窗户,他看到了外面天开始破晓。然后,他的头不由自主地完全垂了下去,鼻孔里微弱地呼出了他最后的气息。

🔊

discovery /dɪˈskʌvəri/

n. 发现,发觉➕

🔊

contrary /ˈkɑːntreri/

n. 相反,对立面➕

🔊

unnatural /ʌnˈnætʃərəl/

adj. 不自然的,反常的➕

🔊

relatively /ˈrelətɪvli/

adv. 相对地,相当程度上➕

🔊

content /kənˈtent/

adj. 满意的,满足的➕

🔊

throughout /θruːˈaʊt/

prep. 贯穿,遍及……各处➕

🔊

entire /ɪnˈtaɪər/

adj. 整个的,完全的➕

🔊

gradually /ˈɡrædʒuəli/

adv. 逐渐地,逐步地➕

🔊

rotten /ˈrɑːtən/

adj. 腐烂的,腐朽的➕

🔊

inflamed /ɪnˈfleɪmd/

adj. 发炎的,红肿的➕

🔊

surrounding /səˈraʊndɪŋ/

adj. 周围的,附近的➕

🔊

entirely /ɪnˈtaɪərli/

adv. 完全地,彻底地➕

🔊

disappear /ˌdɪsəˈpɪr/

v. 消失,不见➕

🔊

decisive /dɪˈsaɪsɪv/

adj. 决定性的,果断的➕

🔊

remained /rɪˈmeɪnd/

v. 保持不变,留在原处➕

🔊

peaceful /ˈpiːsfəl/

adj. 和平的,安宁的➕

🔊

reflection /rɪˈflekʃən/

n. 反射,映象；沉思,反映➕

🔊

witnessed /ˈwɪtnɪst/

v. 目睹,见证➕

🔊

dawning /ˈdɔːnɪŋ/

n. 黎明,破晓；开始出现➕

🔊

nostrils /ˈnɑːstrəlz/

n. 鼻孔➕

🔊

weakly /ˈwiːkli/

adv. 虚弱地,无力地➕

🔊 Early in the morning the cleaning woman came. In her sheer energy and haste she banged all the doors (in precisely the way people had already asked her to avoid), so much so that once she arrived a quiet sleep was no longer possible anywhere in the entire apartment. In her customarily brief visit to Gregor she at first found nothing special. She thought he lay so immobile there intending to play the offended party. She gave him credit for as complete an understanding as possible. Because she happened to hold the long broom in her hand, she tried to tickle Gregor with it from the door. When that was quite unsuccessful, she became irritated and poked Gregor a little, and only when she had shoved him from his place without any resistance did she become attentive. When she quickly realized the true state of affairs, her eyes grew large, she whistled to herself, but didn’t restrain herself for long. She pulled open the door of the bedroom and yelled in a loud voice into the darkness, “Come and look. It’s kicked the bucket. It’s lying there, totally snuffed!”

清晨,清洁女工来了。她凭着满腔的精力和匆忙,砰砰地关着所有的门（人们已经请她避免这样做）,以至于她一到,整个公寓里就再也不可能安睡了。她像往常一样短暂地来看格里高尔,起初并没有发现什么异常。她以为他那么一动不动地躺着,是想扮演一个受气包的角色。她认为他完全理解。她碰巧手里拿着长扫帚,就试着从门边用扫帚去挠格里高尔。没有反应,她生气了,捅了格里高尔一下,直到她毫无阻力地把他从原地推开时,她才警觉起来。她很快意识到真实情况,睁大了眼睛,吹了一声口哨,但没有克制多久。她拉开卧室的门,大声朝黑暗里喊道:“快来看。它翘辫子了。它躺在那儿,彻底完蛋了！”

🔊

haste /heɪst/

n. 匆忙,急忙➕

🔊

precisely /prɪˈsaɪsli/

adv. 精确地,准确地➕

🔊

customarily /ˌkʌstəˈmerəli/

adv. 通常,习惯上➕

🔊

brief /briːf/

adj. 简短的,短暂的➕

🔊

intending /ɪnˈtendɪŋ/

v. 打算,计划（intend的现在分词）➕

🔊

offended /əˈfendɪd/

adj. 被冒犯的,生气的➕

🔊

credit /ˈkredɪt/

n. 信任,赞扬；信用➕

🔊

broom /bruːm/

n. 扫帚➕

🔊

tickle /ˈtɪkəl/

v. 胳肢,挠痒；使发痒➕

🔊

poked /poʊkt/

v. 戳,捅➕

🔊

shoved /ʃʌvd/

v. 推,猛推➕

🔊

resistance /rɪˈzɪstəns/

n. 抵抗,阻力➕

🔊

affairs /əˈfɛrz/

n. 事务,事情（复数）➕

🔊

whistled /ˈwɪsəld/

v. 吹口哨（动词过去式）➕

🔊

restrain /rɪˈstreɪn/

v. 克制,抑制➕

🔊

yelled /jɛld/

v. 喊叫,大叫➕

🔊

totally /ˈtoʊtəli/

adv. 完全地,彻底地➕

🔊

snuffed /snʌft/

v. 掐灭（蜡烛）；断气,死去（俚语）➕

🔊 The Samsa married couple sat upright in their marriage bed and had to get over their fright at the cleaning woman before they managed to grasp her message. But then Mr. and Mrs. Samsa climbed very quickly out of bed, one on either side. Mr. Samsa threw the bedspread over his shoulders, Mrs. Samsa came out only in her night-shirt, and like this they stepped into Gregor’s room. Meanwhile the door of the living room (in which Grete had slept since the lodgers had arrived on the scene) had also opened. She was fully clothed, as if she had not slept at all; her white face also seemed to indicate that. “Dead?” said Mrs. Samsa and looked questioningly at the cleaning woman, although she could check everything on her own and even understand without a check. “I should say so,” said the cleaning woman and, by way of proof, poked Gregor’s body with the broom a considerable distance more to the side. Mrs. Samsa made a movement as if she wished to restrain the broom, but didn’t do it. “Well,” said Mr. Samsa, “now we can give thanks to God.” He crossed himself, and the three women followed his example.

萨姆沙夫妇坐在婚床上,必须先克服对清洁女工的惊吓,然后才能明白她的意思。但接着,萨姆沙先生和萨姆沙太太很快从床上爬了起来,一边一个。萨姆沙先生把床罩披在肩上,萨姆沙太太只穿着睡衣出来了,就这样他们走进了格里高尔的房间。与此同时,客厅的门（自从房客来了之后,格雷特就睡在那里）也开了。她穿着整齐,好像根本没睡过觉；她苍白的脸似乎也表明了这一点。“死了？”萨姆沙太太问道,疑惑地看着清洁女工,尽管她自己可以检查一切,甚至不用检查也能明白。“我看是的。”清洁女工说,为了证明,她用扫帚把格里高尔的尸体又往旁边推了一段距离。萨姆沙太太做了一个想要拦住扫帚的动作,但没有做。“好了,”萨姆沙先生说,“现在我们可以感谢上帝了。”他在胸前画了个十字,三个女人也跟着做了。

🔊

fright /fraɪt/

n. 惊吓,恐惧➕

🔊

grasp /ɡræsp/

v. 抓住；理解➕

🔊

bedspread /ˈbedspred/

n. 床罩,床单➕

🔊

fully /ˈfʊli/

adv. 完全地,充分地➕

🔊

clothed /kloʊðd/

adj. 穿着衣服的➕

🔊

indicate /ˈɪndɪkeɪt/

v. 表明,指示➕

🔊

questioningly /ˈkwestʃənɪŋli/

adv. 质疑地,询问地➕

🔊

proof /pruːf/

n. 证据,证明➕

🔊

considerable /kənˈsɪdərəbəl/

adj. 相当大的,重要的➕

🔊 Grete, who did not take her eyes off the corpse, said, “Look how thin he was. He had eaten nothing for such a long time. The meals which came in here came out again exactly the same.” In fact, Gregor’s body was completely flat and dry. That was apparent really for the first time, now that he was no longer raised on his small limbs and, moreover, now that nothing else distracted one’s gaze.

格雷特眼睛一直没离开尸体,说:“看,他有多瘦。他已经很久没吃东西了。拿进来的食物又原样拿了出去。”事实上,格里高尔的尸体完全是干瘪的。这一点现在才真正明显,因为他不再被小脚撑着,而且也没有别的东西分散视线。

🔊

corpse /kɔːrps/

n. 尸体➕

🔊

apparent /əˈpærənt/

adj. 明显的,显而易见的➕

🔊

moreover /mɔːrˈoʊvər/

adv. 此外,而且➕

🔊

distracted /dɪˈstræktɪd/

v. 分散注意力（过去式）➕

🔊

gaze /ɡeɪz/

n. 凝视,注视➕

🔊 “Grete, come into us for a moment,” said Mrs. Samsa with a melancholy smile, and Grete went, not without looking back at the corpse, behind her parents into the bed room. The cleaning woman shut the door and opened the window wide. In spite of the early morning, the fresh air was partly tinged with warmth. It was already the end of March.

“格雷特,进来一会儿。”萨姆沙太太带着忧郁的微笑说,格雷特跟着父母进了卧室,但仍不忘回头看一眼尸体。清洁女工关上门,把窗户大大打开。尽管是清晨,新鲜空气中已经带有几分暖意。已经是三月底了。

🔊

melancholy /ˈmelənkɑːli/

adj. 忧郁的,伤感的➕

🔊

spite /spaɪt/

n. 恶意,怨恨；in spite of 尽管➕

🔊

partly /ˈpɑːrtli/

adv. 部分地,在一定程度上➕

🔊

tinged /tɪndʒd/

v. 带有（少量颜色或气味）；轻微影响➕

🔊

warmth /wɔːrmθ/

n. 温暖,热情➕

🔊 The three lodgers stepped out of their room and looked around for their breakfast, astonished that they had been forgotten. “Where is the breakfast?” asked the middle one of the gentlemen grumpily to the cleaning woman. However, she laid her finger to her lips and then quickly and silently indicated to the lodgers that they could come into Gregor’s room. So they came and stood around Gregor’s corpse, their hands in the pockets of their somewhat worn jackets, in the room, which was already quite bright.

三位房客走出自己的房间,四下寻找早餐,惊讶地发现没人管他们了。“早餐呢？”中间那位先生气哼哼地问清洁女工。但她把手指放在嘴唇上,然后迅速而无声地向房客示意,他们可以到格里高尔的房间里来。于是他们来了,站在格里高尔的尸体周围,手插在略显破旧的上衣口袋里,房间里已经很亮了。

🔊

grumpily /ˈɡrʌmpɪli/

adv. 暴躁地,生气地➕

🔊

silently /ˈsaɪləntli/

adv. 安静地,沉默地➕

🔊

somewhat /ˈsʌmwʌt/

adv. 有点,稍微➕

🔊

worn /wɔːrn/

adj. 磨损的,用旧的➕

🔊 Then the door of the bed room opened, and Mr. Samsa appeared in his uniform, with his wife on one arm and his daughter on the other. All were a little tear stained. Now and then Grete pressed her face onto her father’s arm.

接着卧室的门开了,萨姆沙先生穿着制服出现了,一只胳膊挽着妻子,另一只挽着女儿。他们都有些泪痕。格雷特不时把脸贴在父亲的胳膊上。

🔊

uniform /ˈjuːnɪfɔːrm/

n. 制服➕

🔊

tear stained /tɪr steɪnd/

adj. 沾满泪痕的➕

🔊 “Get out of my apartment immediately,” said Mr. Samsa and pulled open the door, without letting go of the women. “What do you mean?” said the middle lodger, somewhat dismayed and with a sugary smile. The two others kept their hands behind them and constantly rubbed them against each other, as if in joyful anticipation of a great squabble which must end up in their favour. “I mean exactly what I say,” replied Mr. Samsa and went directly with his two female companions up to the lodger. The latter at first stood there motionless and looked at the floor, as if matters were arranging themselves in a new way in his head. “All right, then we’ll go,” he said and looked up at Mr. Samsa as if, suddenly overcome by humility, he was asking fresh permission for this decision. Mr. Samsa merely nodded to him repeatedly with his eyes open wide.

“立刻从我公寓里滚出去。”萨姆沙先生说着,拉开门,没有松开女人们。“你这是什么意思？”中间那位房客有些沮丧,带着甜蜜的微笑说道。另外两人把手放在身后,互相搓着,好像在快乐地期待一场他们必将获胜的争吵。“我说话算话。”萨姆沙先生回答,直接带着两位女伴走向房客。后者起初一动不动地站着,看着地板,仿佛脑子里正在重新安排事情。“好吧,那我们就走了。”他说,抬头看着萨姆沙先生,仿佛突然被谦卑所压倒,在请求他批准这个决定。萨姆沙先生只是睁大眼睛对他连连点头。

🔊

apartment /əˈpɑːrtmənt/

n. 公寓,套房➕

🔊

dismayed /dɪsˈmeɪd/

adj. 沮丧的,失望的➕

🔊

sugary /ˈʃʊɡəri/

adj. 含糖的；甜腻的➕

🔊

joyful /ˈdʒɔɪfəl/

adj. 高兴的,令人喜悦的➕

🔊

anticipation /ænˌtɪsɪˈpeɪʃən/

n. 期待,预期➕

🔊

squabble /ˈskwɑːbəl/

n. 争吵,口角➕

🔊

favour /ˈfeɪvər/

n. 好意,帮助；支持（英式拼写）➕

🔊

female /ˈfiːmeɪl/

adj. 女性的,雌性的➕

🔊

companions /kəmˈpænjənz/

n. 同伴,伙伴（复数）➕

🔊

latter /ˈlætər/

n. 后者➕

🔊

overcome /ˌoʊvərˈkʌm/

v. 克服；战胜➕

🔊

humility /hjuːˈmɪləti/

n. 谦逊,谦卑➕

🔊

permission /pərˈmɪʃən/

n. 允许,许可➕

🔊

merely /ˈmɪrli/

adv. 仅仅,只不过➕

🔊

repeatedly /rɪˈpiːtɪdli/

adv. 反复地,一再地➕

🔊 Following that, the lodger actually went immediately with long strides into the hall. His two friends had already been listening for a while with their hands quite still, and now they hopped smartly after him, as if afraid that Mr. Samsa could step into the hall ahead of them and disturb their reunion with their leader. In the hall all three of them took their hats from the coat rack, pulled their canes from the cane holder, bowed silently, and left the apartment. In what turned out to be an entirely groundless mistrust, Mr. Samsa stepped with the two women out onto the landing, leaned against the railing, and looked down as the three lodgers slowly but steadily made their way down the long staircase, disappeared on each floor in a certain turn of the stairwell and in a few seconds came out again. The deeper they proceeded, the more the Samsa family lost interest in them, and when a butcher with a tray on his head came to meet them and then with a proud bearing ascended the stairs high above them, Mr. Samsa, together with the women, left the banister, and they all returned, as if relieved, back into their apartment.

随后,那位房客真的立刻大步走进了走廊。他的两个朋友已经听了一会儿,双手一动不动,现在也敏捷地跟在他后面跳了出去,好像担心萨姆沙先生会先一步走到走廊里,打扰他们与领袖的团聚。在走廊里,三个人从衣帽架上取下帽子,从伞架上抽出拐杖,默默地鞠了一躬,离开了公寓。出于一种完全不必要的猜疑,萨姆沙先生带着两个女人走到楼梯口,靠在栏杆上,看着三个房客慢慢但稳步地走下长长的楼梯,在每一层楼梯间的某个拐角处消失,几秒钟后又出现。他们越往下走,萨姆沙一家对他们就越不感兴趣；当一个头上顶着托盘的屠夫迎面碰到他们,然后带着傲慢的神态从他们上方登上楼梯时,萨姆沙先生便和女人们一起离开了栏杆,他们全都如释重负地回到了公寓。

🔊

strides /straɪdz/

n. 大步,进步➕

🔊

hall /hɔːl/

n. 大厅,走廊,门厅➕

🔊

hopped /hɑːpt/

v. 单脚跳；快速移动（过去式）➕

🔊

smartly /ˈsmɑːrtli/

adv. 敏捷地；精明地➕

🔊

disturb /dɪˈstɜːrb/

v. 打扰,干扰➕

🔊

reunion /riːˈjuːnjən/

n. 团聚,重聚➕

🔊

canes /keɪnz/

n. 手杖,藤条（复数）➕

🔊

coat rack /koʊt ræk/

n. 衣帽架➕

🔊

cane holder /keɪn ˈhoʊldər/

n. 手杖架➕

🔊

bowed /baʊd/

v. 鞠躬；弯腰（过去式）➕

🔊

groundless /ˈɡraʊndləs/

adj. 无根据的,毫无理由的➕

🔊

mistrust /mɪsˈtrʌst/

n. 不信任,怀疑➕

🔊

landing /ˈlændɪŋ/

n. 楼梯平台；着陆➕

🔊

leaned /liːnd/

v. 倚靠,倾斜（过去式）➕

🔊

railing /ˈreɪlɪŋ/

n. 栏杆,扶手➕

🔊

steadily /ˈstedəli/

adv. 稳定地,持续地➕

🔊

staircase /ˈsterkeɪs/

n. 楼梯（包括扶手和梯级）➕

🔊

stairwell /ˈsterwel/

n. 楼梯井（楼梯间的垂直空间）➕

🔊

proceeded /prəˈsiːdɪd/

v. 继续进行,前进（过去式）➕

🔊

butcher /ˈbʊtʃər/

n. 屠夫,肉贩➕

🔊

tray /treɪ/

n. 托盘,盘子➕

🔊

bearing /ˈberɪŋ/

n. 举止,姿态；方向➕

🔊

ascended /əˈsendɪd/

v. 上升,攀登（过去式）➕

🔊

relieved /rɪˈliːvd/

adj. 感到宽慰的,解除疑虑的➕

🔊 They decided to pass that day resting and going for a stroll. Not only had they earned this break from work, but there was no question that they really needed it. And so they sat down at the table and wrote three letters of apology: Mr. Samsa to his supervisor, Mrs. Samsa to her client, and Grete to her proprietor. During the writing the cleaning woman came in to say that she was going off, for her morning work was finished. The three people writing at first merely nodded, without glancing up. Only when the cleaning woman was still unwilling to depart, did they look up angrily. “Well?” asked Mr. Samsa. The cleaning woman stood smiling in the doorway, as if she had a great stroke of luck to report to the family but would only do it if she was asked directly. The almost upright small ostrich feather in her hat, which had irritated Mr. Samsa during her entire service, swayed lightly in all directions. “All right then, what do you really want?” asked Mrs. Samsa, whom the cleaning lady still usually respected. “Well,” answered the cleaning woman (smiling so happily she couldn’t go on speaking right away), “about how that rubbish from the next room should be thrown out, you mustn’t worry about it. It’s all taken care of.” Mrs. Samsa and Grete bent down to their letters, as though they wanted to go on writing; Mr. Samsa, who noticed that the cleaning woman wanted to start describing everything in detail, decisively prevented her with an outstretched hand. But since she was not allowed to explain, she remembered the great hurry she was in, and called out, clearly insulted, “Ta ta, everyone,” turned around furiously and left the apartment with a fearful slamming of the door.

他们决定那天休息一下,出去散散步。他们不仅理应得到这个工作间隙的休息,而且毫无疑问也确实需要。于是他们坐在桌旁,写了三封道歉信:萨姆沙先生给主管,萨姆沙太太给她的客户,格雷特给她的老板。写信期间,清洁女工进来说她要走了,因为她早上的活干完了。三个写信的人起初只是点点头,没有抬头。只有当清洁女工仍然不愿意走时,他们才生气地抬头看。“嗯？”萨姆沙先生问道。清洁女工站在门口微笑着,好像她有一件大喜事要向这家人报告,但她只有在被直接询问时才会说。她帽子上那根几乎竖直的小鸵鸟毛,在整段服务期间一直让萨姆沙先生恼火,此时正轻轻地向各个方向摆动。“好吧,你到底想干什么？”萨姆沙太太问道--清洁女工通常还对她保持尊敬。“嗯,”清洁女工回答（她笑得那么开心,一时说不出话来）,“隔壁房间那堆垃圾怎么扔出去,你们不用担心。已经处理好了。”萨姆沙太太和格雷特低头继续写信,好像想继续写下去；萨姆沙先生注意到清洁女工想开始详细描述一切,果断地伸手拦住她。但由于不许她解释,她想起了自己很忙,于是明显受了侮辱地喊道:“拜拜,诸位！”愤怒地转过身,砰地一声关上门,离开了公寓。

🔊

stroll /stroʊl/

n. 散步,闲逛➕

🔊

apology /əˈpɑːlədʒi/

n. 道歉,认错➕

🔊

client /ˈklaɪənt/

n. 客户,顾客➕

🔊

proprietor /prəˈpraɪətər/

n. 业主,所有者➕

🔊

glancing /ˈɡlænsɪŋ/

v. 瞥视,扫视（现在分词）➕

🔊

unwilling /ʌnˈwɪlɪŋ/

adj. 不情愿的,不愿意的➕

🔊

depart /dɪˈpɑːrt/

v. 离开,出发➕

🔊

angrily /ˈæŋɡrɪli/

adv. 愤怒地,生气地➕

🔊

doorway /ˈdɔːrweɪ/

n. 门口,门道➕

🔊

stroke /stroʊk/

n. 一次（运气）；中风；击打➕

🔊

ostrich /ˈɑːstrɪtʃ/

n. 鸵鸟➕

🔊

feather /ˈfeðər/

n. 羽毛➕

🔊

swayed /sweɪd/

v. 摇摆,晃动（过去式）➕

🔊

lightly /ˈlaɪtli/

adv. 轻轻地,轻微地➕

🔊

rubbish /ˈrʌbɪʃ/

n. 垃圾,废弃物➕

🔊

decisively /dɪˈsaɪsɪvli/

adv. 果断地,决定性地➕

🔊

prevented /prɪˈventɪd/

v. 阻止,防止（过去式）➕

🔊

insulted /ɪnˈsʌltɪd/

v. 侮辱,凌辱（过去式）➕

🔊

furiously /ˈfjʊriəsli/

adv. 愤怒地,猛烈地➕

🔊

fearful /ˈfɪrfl/

adj. 害怕的,担心的➕

🔊

slamming /ˈslæmɪŋ/

v. 猛关,用力放下（现在分词）➕

🔊 “This evening she’ll be let go,” said Mr. Samsa, but he got no answer from either his wife or from his daughter, because the cleaning woman seemed to have upset once again the tranquility they had just attained. They got up, went to the window and remained there, with their arms about each other. Mr. Samsa turned around in his chair in their direction and observed them quietly for a while. Then he called out, “All right, come here then. Let’s finally get rid of old things. And have a little consideration for me.” The women attended to him at once. They rushed to him, caressed him, and quickly ended their letters.

“今天晚上就解雇她。”萨姆沙先生说,但他从妻子或女儿那里都没有得到回答,因为清洁女工似乎再次打破了他们刚刚获得的平静。她们站起来,走到窗前,互相搂着站在那里。萨姆沙先生在椅子上转向她们,默默地观察了一会儿。然后他喊道:“好了,到这儿来。让我们最后摆脱旧东西吧。也考虑考虑我。”女人们立刻听从了他。她们跑到他身边,抚摸他,迅速写完了信。

🔊

upset /ʌpˈset/

v. 使心烦,打乱➕

🔊

tranquility /træŋˈkwɪləti/

n. 宁静,平静➕

🔊

attained /əˈteɪnd/

v. 获得,达到（过去式）➕

🔊

observed /əbˈzɜːrvd/

v. 观察,注意到（过去式）➕

🔊

attended /əˈtendɪd/

v. 参加；照顾（过去式）➕

🔊

rushed /rʌʃt/

v. 冲,匆忙行事（过去式）➕

🔊

caressed /kəˈrest/

v. 爱抚,抚摸（过去式）➕

🔊 Then all three left the apartment together, something they had not done for months now, and took the electric tram into the open air outside the city. The car in which they were sitting by themselves was totally engulfed by the warm sun. They talked to each other, leaning back comfortably in their seats, about future prospects, and they discovered that on closer observation these were not at all bad, for all three had employment, about which they had not really questioned each other at all, which was extremely favorable and with especially promising prospects. The greatest improvement in their situation at this moment, of course, had to come from a change of dwelling. Now they wanted to rent an apartment smaller and cheaper but better situated and generally more practical than the present one, which Gregor had found. While they amused themselves in this way, it struck Mr. and Mrs. Samsa almost at the same moment how their daughter, who was getting more animated all the time, had blossomed recently, in spite of all the troubles which had made her cheeks pale, into a beautiful and voluptuous young woman. Growing more silent and almost unconsciously understanding each other in their glances, they thought that the time was now at hand to seek out a good honest man for her. And it was something of a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions when at the end of their journey the daughter first lifted herself up and stretched her young body.

然后三个人一起离开了公寓--这是几个月来都没有做过的事--坐上电车,到城外的露天地方去。他们坐的那节车厢里只有他们自己,完全被温暖的阳光笼罩着。他们靠在座位上舒适地交谈,谈着未来的前景,结果发现仔细看来,前景一点也不坏,因为三个人都有工作,而且他们之前并没有互相问过这些工作的情况,这些工作非常有利,前景尤其光明。当然,他们目前处境的最大改善必须来自搬家。现在他们想租一栋更小更便宜、但位置更好、总体上比现在这栋由格里高尔找到的公寓更实用的住处。在他们这样自得其乐的时候,萨姆沙先生和萨姆沙太太几乎同时注意到,他们的女儿--她越来越活泼--尽管经历了那么多使她脸色苍白的烦恼,最近却出落成一个美丽丰满的年轻姑娘。他们变得更加沉默,几乎不自觉地用眼神交流,心想现在是时候为她找一个诚实的好男人了。而当旅程结束时,女儿首先站起来,伸展了一下她年轻的身体,这仿佛是对他们新梦想和良好意愿的一种确认。

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electric /ɪˈlektrɪk/

adj. 电的,用电的➕

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tram /træm/

n. 有轨电车➕

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engulfed /ɪnˈɡʌlft/

v. 吞没,淹没（过去式）➕

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comfortably /ˈkʌmfərtəbli/

adv. 舒服地,舒适地➕

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prospects /ˈprɑːspekts/

n. 前景,前途（复数）➕

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observation /ˌɑːbzərˈveɪʃən/

n. 观察,观测➕

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employment /ɪmˈplɔɪmənt/

n. 就业；雇用➕

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extremely /ɪkˈstriːmli/

adv. 极其,非常➕

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favorable /ˈfeɪvərəbəl/

adj. 有利的,赞成的（美式拼写）➕

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promising /ˈprɑːmɪsɪŋ/

adj. 有前途的,有希望的➕

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improvement /ɪmˈpruːvmənt/

n. 改进,提高➕

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dwelling /ˈdwelɪŋ/

n. 住所,住宅➕

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rent /rent/

v. 租用,出租➕

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situated /ˈsɪtʃueɪtɪd/

adj. 位于……的,坐落在➕

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practical /ˈpræktɪkəl/

adj. 实际的,实用的➕

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amused /əˈmjuːzd/

v. 逗乐,使发笑（过去式）➕

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blossomed /ˈblɑːsəmd/

v. 开花；发展成长（过去式）➕

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voluptuous /vəˈlʌptʃuəs/

adj. 丰满的,体态丰满的；性感的➕

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unconsciously /ʌnˈkɑːnʃəsli/

adv. 无意识地,不知不觉地➕

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confirmation /ˌkɑːnfərˈmeɪʃən/

n. 确认,证实➕

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intentions /ɪnˈtenʃənz/

n. 意图,目的（复数）➕

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stretched /stretʃt/

v. 伸展,拉伸（过去式）➕

Part III – Chapter three (第三章)