Tante Sanna would bring in dishes of sweet, sweet, sticky candy, or a great bowl of grapes or peaches, and Great-aunt Stephina would converse gravely about happenings on the farm ,and, more rarely, of the outer world. 桑娜阿姨每次都要端出幾碟粘乎乎的南非糖果和一缽葡萄或桃子給我們吃。斯蒂菲娜老姑總是一本正經(jīng)他說些農(nóng)場里的事，偶爾也談些外邊世界發(fā)生的事。

When we had finished our sweetmeats or fruit she would accompany us to the stoep, bidding us thank our mother for her gift and sending quaint, old-fashioned messages to her and the Father. Then she would turn and enter the house, closing the door behind, so that it became once more a place of mystery.

待我們吃完糖果或水果，她總要將我們送到屋前的門廊，叮囑我們要多謝母親給她送食品，要我們對父母親轉(zhuǎn)達一些稀奇古怪的老式祝愿，然后就轉(zhuǎn)身回到屋里，隨手關(guān)上門，使那里再次成為神秘世界。

As I grew older I found, rather to my surprise, that I had become genuinely fond of my aloof old great-aunt. But to this day I do not know what strange impulse made me take George to see her and to tell her, before I had confided in another living soul, of our engagement. To my astonishment, she was delighted.

讓我感到吃驚的是，隨著我逐漸長大，我發(fā)現(xiàn)打心眼里喜歡起我那位孤伶伶的老姑姑來。至今我仍不知道那是一種什么樣的奇異動力，使我在還沒有透露給別人之前就把喬治領(lǐng)去看望姑姑，告訴她我們已經(jīng)訂婚的消息。不成想，聽到這個消息以后，她竟非常高興。

"An Englishman,"she exclaimed."But that is splendid, splendid. And you,"she turned to George,"you are making your home in this country? You do not intend to return to England just yet?"

“是英國人!”她驚訝地大聲說道，“好極了。你，”她轉(zhuǎn)向喬治，“你要在南非安家嗎?你現(xiàn)在不打算回國吧?”

She seemed relieved when she heard that George had bought a farm near our own farm and intended to settle in South Africa. She became quite animated, and chattered away to him.

當她聽說喬治已經(jīng)在我們農(nóng)場附近購置了一片農(nóng)場并打算定居下來時，好像松了一口氣。她興致勃勃地和喬治攀談起來。

Tante Sanna would bring in dishes of sweet, sweet, sticky candy, or a great bowl of grapes or peaches, and Great-aunt Stephina would converse gravely about happenings on the farm ,and, more rarely, of the outer world. 桑娜阿姨每次都要端出幾碟粘乎乎的南非糖果和一缽葡萄或桃子給我們吃。斯蒂菲娜老姑總是一本正經(jīng)他說些農(nóng)場里的事，偶爾也談些外邊世界發(fā)生的事。

When we had finished our sweetmeats or fruit she would accompany us to the stoep, bidding us thank our mother for her gift and sending quaint, old-fashioned messages to her and the Father. Then she would turn and enter the house, closing the door behind, so that it became once more a place of mystery.

待我們吃完糖果或水果，她總要將我們送到屋前的門廊，叮囑我們要多謝母親給她送食品，要我們對父母親轉(zhuǎn)達一些稀奇古怪的老式祝愿，然后就轉(zhuǎn)身回到屋里，隨手關(guān)上門，使那里再次成為神秘世界。

As I grew older I found, rather to my surprise, that I had become genuinely fond of my aloof old great-aunt. But to this day I do not know what strange impulse made me take George to see her and to tell her, before I had confided in another living soul, of our engagement. To my astonishment, she was delighted.

讓我感到吃驚的是，隨著我逐漸長大，我發(fā)現(xiàn)打心眼里喜歡起我那位孤伶伶的老姑姑來。至今我仍不知道那是一種什么樣的奇異動力，使我在還沒有透露給別人之前就把喬治領(lǐng)去看望姑姑，告訴她我們已經(jīng)訂婚的消息。不成想，聽到這個消息以后，她竟非常高興。

"An Englishman,"she exclaimed."But that is splendid, splendid. And you,"she turned to George,"you are making your home in this country? You do not intend to return to England just yet?"

“是英國人!”她驚訝地大聲說道，“好極了。你，”她轉(zhuǎn)向喬治，“你要在南非安家嗎?你現(xiàn)在不打算回國吧?”

She seemed relieved when she heard that George had bought a farm near our own farm and intended to settle in South Africa. She became quite animated, and chattered away to him.

當她聽說喬治已經(jīng)在我們農(nóng)場附近購置了一片農(nóng)場并打算定居下來時，好像松了一口氣。她興致勃勃地和喬治攀談起來。