Lesson Three
The use of force 使用暴力
-- by William Carlos Williams
Text
They will new patients to me, all I had was the name, Olson. Please come down as soon as you can, my daughter is very sick.
他们是我的新病人,我所知道的只有名字,奥尔逊。请您尽快赶来,我女儿病得很重。
When I arrived I was met by the mother, a big startled looking woman, very clean and apologetic who merely said, Is this the doctor? And let me in. In the back, she added. You must excuse us, doctor, we have her in the kitchen where it is warm. It is very damp here sometimes.
当我到达时,孩子的母亲迎接了我,她身材高大,一脸惊慌,衣着整洁,带着歉意,只问,您
是医生吧?就让我进了屋。在后面,她又说,请你一定要原谅我们,医生,我们让她呆在厨房里,那儿暖和。这里有时很潮湿。
The child was fully dressed and sitting on her father’s lap near the kitchen table. He tried to get up, but I motioned for him not to bother took of my overcoat and started to look things over. I could see that they were all very nervous, eyeing me up and down distrustfully. As often, in such cases, they weren’t telling me more than they had to, it was up to me to tell them; that’s why were spending three dollars on me.
在厨房的桌子旁,这个孩子穿得严严实实的,坐在她父亲的腿上。他试图站 起来,但我示意不必了,然后我脱下外套并开始检查。我能够觉察出他们都很紧张,怀疑地上下打量着我。通常在这样的情况下,除非必要,他们不会对我讲得太多,而是要我告诉他们,这就是他们为什么会在我身上花3美元。
The child was fairly eating me up with her cold, steady eyes, and no expression on her face whatever. She did not move and seemed, inwardly, quiet; an unusually attractive little thing, and as strong as a heifer in appearance. But her face was flushed, she was breathing rapid
ly, and I realized that she had a high fever. She had magnificent blonde hair, in profusion. One of those picture children often reproduced in advertising leaflets and the photogravure sections of the Sunday papers.
这个孩子用她那冷漠而平静的目光小心仔细地打量着我,脸上没有任何表情。她没有动好像内心很平静,这是一位非常具有魅力的小东西,外表像小母牛一样结实。但她的脸很红,而且呼吸急促,我知道她在发高烧。她长了一头漂亮的金发,非常浓密,和经常出现在广告插页或周日报纸图片上的孩子一样。
She’s had a fever for three days, began the father and we don’t know what it comes from. My wife has given her things, you know, like people do, but it don’t do no good. And there’s been a lot of sickness around. So we tho’t you’d better look her over and tell us what is the matter.
她发烧已经3天了,父亲开口说,我们不知道是什么原因。我太太给她吃了一些药,你知道,大家都是这样做的,可根本没有什么用。而且附近很多人都生了病,所以我们想最好请您最好给她检查一下,然后告诉我们是怎么一回事。
As doctors often do I took a trial shot at it as a point of departure. Has she had a sore throat?
像医生们经常做的那样,我从我猜想是病症所在的地方开始提问。她嗓子痛吗?
Both parents answered me together, No… No, she says her throat don’t hurt her.
父母俩人一起回答说,没有…没有,她说她的嗓子不疼。
Does your throat hurt you? Added the mother to the child. But the little girl’s expression didn’t change nor did she move her eyes from my face.
你嗓子疼吗?母亲又问了一下孩子。小女孩表现没有丝毫变化而她的目光一直没有从我的脸上移开。
Have you looked?
你看了吗?
I tried to, said the mother, but I couldn’t see.
我想看,母亲说,但看不见。
As it happens we had been having a number of cases of diphtheria in the school to which this child went during that month and we were all, quite apparently, thinking of that, though no one had as yet spoken of the thing.
这个月碰巧孩子上学的那个学校已经有好几个白喉的病例。因此到目前为此虽然没有人说出这件事,但很显然我们都想到了。
Well, I said, suppose we take a look at the throat first. I smiled in my best professional manner and asking for the child’s first name I said, come on, Mathilda, open your mouth and let’s take a look at your throat.
好了 ,我说,我们先看看嗓子吧。我以医生特有的职业方式微笑着,问了孩子的名字并说道:来,玛蒂尔达,张开嘴,让我们看一下你的嗓子。
Nothing doing.
女孩没有任何反应。
Aw, come on, I coaxed, just open you mouth wide and me take a look. Look, I said opening both hands wide, I haven’t anything in my hands. Just open up and let me see.
哦,来吧,我劝道,张大你的嘴,让我看看。看,我说着把两只手摊开,我的手里没有东西,张大嘴,让我看看。
Such a nice man, put in the mother. Look how kind he is to you. Come on, do what he tells you to. He won’t hurt you.
他是一个多么好的人呀,母亲插了进来。你看他对你多好呀,来,照他说的做。他不会弄疼你的。
At that I ground my teeth in disturbed. If only they wouldn’t use the word “hurt” I might be able to get somewhere. But I did not allow myself to be hurried or disturbed but speaking quietly and slowly I approached the child again.
这下我气得咬牙切齿,要是他们不用“疼”这个词,我也许还能有点进展。但我没有着急或烦恼,而是轻声细语地说着话,一边再次靠近这个孩子。
As I moved my chair a little nearer suddenly with one catlike movement both her bands clawed instinctively for my eyes and she almost reached them too. In fact she knocked my glasses flying and they fell, though unbroken, several feet away from me on the kitchen floor.
我刚刚把椅子拉近了一点,突然,她像猫一样本能地朝我的双眼抓去,她差一点就抓到了。然而她只是打飞了我的眼镜,虽然眼镜没有碎,但已经落到离我几英尺远的厨房地板上。
Both the mother and father almost turned themselves inside out in embarrassment and apology. You bad girl, said mother, taking her and shaking her by one arm. Look what you’ve done. The nice man…
父母俩人都非常尴尬,充满歉意,你这个坏孩子,母亲一边说一边抓着她,并摇晃着她的一只手,你看看你做的事。这么一个好人……
For heaven’s sake, I broke in. Don’t call me a nice man to her. I’m here to look at her throat on the chance that she might have diphtheria and possibly die of it. But that’s nothing to her.
Look here, I said to the child, we’re going to look at your throat. You’re old enough to understand what I’m saying. Will you open it now by yourself or shall we have to open it for you?sort of look atme什么意思

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