'That,' he observed, to entertain her, is an interesting old place - one of the several seats which belonged to an ancient Norman family formerly of great influence in this county, the d'Urbervilles. I never pass one of their residences without thinking of them. There is something very sad in the extinction of a family of renown, even if it was fierce, domineering, feudal renown.'
“這座莊園，”為了讓她高興，他說，“是一個很有意味的古跡了——屬于古代諾曼家族府邸中的一個，這個家族從前在這個郡很有影響，名字叫德貝維爾。我每次從他們的住宅經(jīng)過，我就不由得想起他們來。一個顯赫的家族滅絕了，即使它是一個顯赫的兇狠霸道的封建家族，也是有些叫人傷感的?！?/div>

'Yes,' said Tess.
“是的，”苔絲說。

They crept along towards a point in the expanse of shade just at hand at which a feeble light was beginning to assert its presence, a spot where, by day, a fitful white streak of steam at intervals upon the dark green background denoted intermittent moments of contact between their secluded world and modern life. Modern life stretched out its steam feeler to this point three or four times a day, touched the native existences, and quickly withdrew its feeler again, as if what it touched had been uncongenial.
他們在蒼茫的夜色中慢慢地向一個地點(diǎn)走去，就在那個地點(diǎn)的附近，有一點(diǎn)兒微弱的亮光照明著；白天，那個地方不時在深綠色的背景里冒出一道白色的蒸氣，說明那個地方是這個幽僻的世界同現(xiàn)代生活相聯(lián)系的一個斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的聯(lián)接點(diǎn)。在一天里，現(xiàn)代生活有三四次把它的蒸氣觸角伸展到這個地方，同本地的生活發(fā)生接觸，然后又很快縮回它的觸角，仿佛它同它接觸的生活格格不入似的。

They reached the feeble light, which came from the smoky lamp of a little railway station; a poor enough terrestrial star, yet in one sense of more importance to Talbothays Dairy and mankind than the celestial ones to which it stood in such humiliating contrast. The cans of new milk were unladen in the rain, Tess getting a little shelter from a neighbouring holly tree.
他們走到了那道微弱光線的地方，原來光線是從一個小火車站里一盞冒煙的油燈中發(fā)出來的，和天上的星星比起來，它真是小得可憐，可是它對泰波塞斯的奶牛場和人類來說，雖然同天上的星星相比是那樣寒酸，但是它要比天上的星星重要得多。車上的牛奶罐在雨中被卸了下來，苔絲在附近一棵冬青樹下找了一個避雨的地方。

Then there was the hissing of a train, which drew up almost silently upon the wet rails, and the milk was rapidly swung can by can into the truck. The light of the engine flashed for a second upon Tess Durbeyfield's figure, motionless under the great holly tree. No object could have looked more foreign to the gleaming cranks and wheels than this unsophisticated girl, with the round bare arms, the rainy face and hair, the suspended attitude of a friendly leopard at pause, the print gown of no date or fashion, and the cotton bonnet drooping on her brow.
接著傳來了火車開來的咝咝聲，火車幾乎是悄悄地在濕漉漉的鐵軌上滑動的，牛奶也被一罐一罐地搬進(jìn)了火車的車廂里?；疖囶^上的燈光閃了一下，照出了苔絲·德北菲爾德的身影，她正一動也不動地站在一棵大冬青樹下。同蒸汽機(jī)的曲柄和輪子相比，沒有什么比這個不通世故的姑娘更叫人感到異樣的了，她光著胳膊，臉和頭發(fā)濕淋淋的，像一只暫時蹲著不動的老實的豹子一樣，身上穿的印花布裙子說不出是什么時代的款式，棉布帽子也耷拉在額頭上。