040 结识新朋友

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France is a country where artists, intellectuals, and philosophers find inspiration

法国是一个艺术家、知识分子和哲学家能汲取灵感的国家。

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For romantics, it is a place where hopes and dreams might come true

对于浪漫的人来说，这是一个希望与梦想可以成真的地方。

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Many people fall under France's enchanting spell, and Amy March was one of them

许多人都为法国那迷人的魅力所倾倒，艾米·马奇就是其中之一。

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Amy found Fred to be everything she had ever hoped for in a suitor:

艾米发现弗雷德满足了她对追求者曾有过的所有期待：

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he was from a very wealthy family, and he was handsome, intelligent, charming, and well groomed

他出身极其富裕的家庭，而且英俊、聪慧、迷人、衣着考究。

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There was no question that he adored Amy, practically worshipping the ground she walked on

毫无疑问，他深爱着艾米，几乎到了拜倒在她脚下的地步。

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They went to parties together, walked in the gardens, visited museums, and attended the theater several times

他们一同参加聚会、在花园里散步、参观博物馆，还数次去看戏。

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While she was enjoying these activities and Fred's company, Amy tried to convince herself that he was a perfect match for marriage

在享受这些活动与弗雷德的陪伴时，艾米试图说服自己，他就是完美的婚姻对象

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( that is, if her parents allowed her to marry at 18, which would be in one year )

（也就是说，如果父母允许她十八岁结婚，那也就是一年后的事）。

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But something kept tugging at Amy's heart

但某样东西始终在触动着艾米的心。

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" Fred is perfect," Amy said to her reflection in the mirror as she got ready for a party that evening." So why do I feel this way?"

"弗雷德很完美，"艾米对着镜中的自己说，她正在为当晚的派对做准备。"那我为什么会有这种感觉？"

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Until then, Amy had regarded marriage as a way to secure her position in society

在此之前，艾米一直把婚姻视为确保社会地位的一种方式。

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She did not really believe that love had to be involved

她并不真的认为必须要有爱情。

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It was more important to her that she marry the right person rather than a poor artist

对她来说，嫁给一个合适的人比嫁给一个穷艺术家更重要。

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" Love will come later as I grow fond of my husband and respect him," she told herself over and over again

"爱情会在以后，随着我对丈夫的爱慕和尊重而到来，"她一遍又一遍地告诉自己。

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However, after meeting Fred, Amy could not put into practice what she thought she had strongly believed all these years

然而，遇见弗雷德之后，艾米无法实践她多年来以为自己坚信不疑的事。

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" Could I have been wrong?" she asked the confused image facing her in the mirror

她问镜子里那张困惑的脸："难道我错了吗？"

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For Jo, love was the last thing on her mind as she busied herself in her duties as a governess to the Kirke girls

对于乔来说，当她忙于给柯克家的女孩们当家庭教师时，爱情是她最不会去想的事。

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Jo taught them how to sew, bake bread, whistle, play soccer, and love reading

乔教她们缝纫、烤面包、吹口哨、踢足球，还培养了她们对阅读的热爱。

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Her days were so busy with the girls that she had no time to think about the problems at home, and she didn't mind that

她的日子被这些女孩占得满满的，根本没时间想家里的问题，她对此也不介意。

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Evenings were trickier since Jo's responsibilities ended officially at four o'clock, and she had the rest of the day and evening to do as she pleased

傍晚时分更难熬，因为乔的职责在四点正式结束，剩下的白天和夜晚她都可以自由支配。

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In order not to fret about Beth, about Laurie, about Amy off in Europe, and about Meg coping with married life

为了不去为贝思、劳里、远在欧洲的艾米，以及正在适应婚姻生活的梅格而烦恼，

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Jo would either work on her writing or shut herself in the library downstairs and escape into a world of fiction

乔要么埋头写作，要么把自己关在楼下的图书馆里，躲进小说的世界。

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On one such evening Jo had gotten settled in the library and was about to begin reading chapter four of Jacob's Mysterious Guest

这样一个傍晚，乔在图书馆里安顿下来，正要开始读《雅各的神秘访客》第四章，

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when she heard a man come through the front entrance

这时她听到一个男人从前门进来。

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She buried her face in the book, praying that whoever it was would take no notice of her, since she was not particularly in a sociable mood

她把脸埋在书里，暗自希望不管是谁都别注意到她，因为她此刻不太想和人打交道。

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As luck would have it, the man passed by the open library door without stopping to see who was inside

很幸运，那个男人经过敞开的图书馆门时没有停步看看谁在里面。

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Jo, pulling the book away from her face let out a sigh of relief, but that quickly changed into a scream

乔把书从脸上拿开，松了一口气，但这口气马上变成了一声尖叫。

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For there was the man she thought had already gone, standing in the doorway

因为那个她以为已经离开的男人，正站在门口。

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" Forgive me, miss," the man apologized profusely." I didn't mean to frighten you."

“请原谅，小姐，”那男人连连道歉，“我不是有意要吓您的。”

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Still shaking from the shock, Jo was unable to speak, but her eyes fell upon his stocking feet

乔仍然惊魂未定，说不出话来，但她的目光落在他穿着袜子的脚上，

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more specifically upon his left sock, which had a rather large hole in it

更确切地说，是落在他左脚那只破了一个大洞的袜子上。

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" You see, I thought you were one of the girls trying to hide so she wouldn't have to go to bed so early

“你看，我以为你是哪个女孩想躲起来，好不用那么早去睡觉。

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That's why I took off my shoes so I could scare you, no, not you, but..."

所以我才脱掉鞋子，想吓唬吓唬你，不，不是吓你，而是…”

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The man struggled for words in a very strong foreign accent." Anyway, I'm very sorry."

那男人带着浓重的外国口音，结结巴巴地解释道：“总之，非常抱歉。”

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Then he gave Jo the warmest and friendliest smile she had ever seen

然后，他给了乔一个她生平见过的最温暖、最友善的笑容。

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By now Jo had caught her breath and was doing her best not to stare at his bare toe, which was wiggling as he spoke

这时乔已经缓过气来，她尽量不去盯着他光着的脚趾看，他说话时，那脚趾还在动个不停。

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" I'm Friedrich Bauer," the man introduced himself

“我叫弗里德里希·鲍尔，”男人自我介绍道。

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" Oh, you're the Professor," said Jo, recognizing the name." I'm Jo March, the girls' new governess."

“哦，您就是那位教授啊，”乔认出了这个名字，说道，“我是乔·马奇，新来的家庭教师。”

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" What a pleasure it is to finally make your acquaintance," he said kindly

“终于认识您了，真是荣幸，”他和蔼地说道。

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The Professor, according to Mrs. Kirke, was originally from Germany but had come to America a few years ago along with his two orphaned nephews

据柯克太太说，教授原籍德国，几年前带着他两个父母双亡的外甥来到了美国。

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He used to teach at a famous university in Berlin, but now he made his living as a tutor while caring for his deceased sister's two boys

他曾在柏林一所著名大学任教，但现在靠当家庭教师谋生，同时照顾他已故姐姐的两个孩子。

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Mrs. Kirke said the Professor came from a wealthy and powerful family in Germany, but in his new country, he was almost penniless

柯克太太说，教授在德国时，出身一个有钱有势的家庭，但在这个新国家，他几乎身无分文。

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" Yes, the girls speak of you all the time," the Professor was saying

“是啊，女孩们总是提起你，”教授正说着。

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" They even showed me what you have taught them. For example..."

“她们甚至向我展示了你教给她们的东西。比方说……”

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Then to Jo's horror, the Professor began whistling a merry tune she had taught the girls

接着，令乔惊恐的是，教授开始吹起一首她教过女孩们的欢快曲子。

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Blushing with shame, Jo, who had warned the girls sternly not ever to whistle in public because it was not ladylike, stuttered

乔羞得满脸通红，她曾严厉告诫女孩们绝不要在公共场合吹口哨，因为那样不像个淑女。她结结巴巴地说：

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" Well, I... the girls... just having fun."

“呃，我…… 女孩们…… 就是闹着玩的。”

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With a twinkle in his eye, he continued," So I taught them a melody I am particularly fond of. It goes like this."

他眼中闪过一丝狡黠，继续说道：“所以我教了她们一首我特别喜欢的旋律。是这样吹的。”

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The Professor began whistling another cheery tune

教授开始吹起另一首欢快的曲子。

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This time, Jo could not help laughing as the Professor did a little dance to go with his song

这一次，乔忍不住笑了，因为教授一边唱歌一边跳了一小段舞。

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When his performance ended with a little bow, Jo clapped politely

他的表演以一个小小的鞠躬结束时，乔礼貌地鼓了鼓掌。

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" May I ask what you are reading?" he asked, peering at the book on her lap

“可以问一下你在读什么吗？”他问道，看着她膝上的书。

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Jo held it up and said," I know I should be reading something more educational, but I just love mysteries and adventures."

乔举起书，说：“我知道我应该读些更有教育意义的书，可我就是喜欢悬疑和冒险故事。”

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Shrugging, the Professor said," No, you should read what you enjoy

教授耸耸肩，说：“不，你应该读你喜欢的书。

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You are the director of your life, not someone else

你是自己人生的导演，而不是其他人。

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Live in a way that will bring you happiness, not in the way others expect you to live it."

用能给你带来快乐的方式去生活，而不是别人期望你生活的方式。”

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Appreciating his words, Jo asked the Professor to join her for a cup of tea

乔很欣赏他的话，便邀请教授一起喝杯茶。

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" Thank you very much," he said as he sat down in the chair next to Jo

“非常感谢，”他说着，在乔旁边的椅子上坐了下来。

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When he crossed his left leg and saw the hole in his sock, he quickly switched to the other leg

当他翘起左腿、看到袜子上的洞时，他迅速换成了另一条腿。

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Then he let out a loud, hearty laugh." Rest assured, Miss March," he said

然后他发出一阵响亮、爽朗的笑声。“请放心，马奇小姐，”他说。

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" It is not my habit to purposely show my toes to young ladies."

“我可没有故意把脚趾头给年轻女士看的习惯。”

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Laughing along with him, Jo took a moment to study the Professor

乔跟着他一起笑了起来，然后花了点时间仔细打量教授。

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He was older than she expected, perhaps in his mid-thirties, which, in comparison with her twenty years, was quite elderly

他比她预想的要年长，也许三十五岁左右，和她二十岁的年纪相比，算是相当老了。

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Yet he had a youthful energy. He also had an inviting warm smile and soft, expressive eyes

然而，他有着年轻人的活力，还有着亲切温暖的笑容和温柔、富有表现力的眼睛。

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He was not handsome, like Laurie, but his face was interesting, and Jo found herself staring at it longer than she should have

他不像劳里那样英俊，但他的脸很有趣，乔发现自己盯着看的时间超出了应有的程度。

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" Well, Miss March...," the Professor said in his strong German accent

“嗯，马奇小姐……”教授用浓重的德国口音说道。

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" Please, call me Jo," she interrupted." And by the way, if I may say so, your English is excellent, sir."

“请叫我乔就好，”她打断道。“顺便说一句，恕我直言，您的英语说得很棒，先生。”

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" Thank you kindly, Jo," he said, pronouncing her name like " Cho."

“非常感谢你，乔，”他说，把她的名字念得像“乔”。

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" Then you must call me Fritz, agreed? If you like, tomorrow I will prepare a special German hot chocolate drink

“那你得叫我弗里茨，同意吗？如果你愿意，明天我会准备一种特别的德国热巧克力饮料。

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Shall we meet here in the library at the same time?"

我们同一时间在这个图书馆见面好吗？”

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" I would love to, Fritz," Jo replied, not understanding why her heart suddenly began to beat faster

“我很乐意，弗里茨，”乔回答，不明白为什么自己的心突然开始加速跳动。