原文
Eliza was there . . . very much so . . . and looked even grimmer than
usual. Miss Eliza was one of those people who give you the impression
that life is indeed a vale of tears, and that a smile, never to speak of
a laugh, is a waste of nervous energy truly reprehensible. The Andrew
girls had been "girls" for fifty odd years and seemed likely to remain
girls to the end of their earthly pilgrimage. Catherine, it was said,
had not entirely given up hope, but Eliza, who was born a pessimist, had
never had any. They lived in a little brown house built in a sunny
corner scooped out of Mark Andrew's beech woods. Eliza complained that
it was terrible hot in summer, but Catherine was wont to say it was
lovely and warm in winter.
語彙など
- grim:厳しい
- than usual:普段より
- impression:印象
- vale of tears:憂き世
- waste:浪費
- nervous:気弱な,神経質な
- reprehensible:とがむべき
- odd:余りの
- earthly:地上の,俗界の
- pilgrimage:巡礼,長旅
- pessimist:悲観主義者,厭世主義者
- sunny corner:日当たりの良い場所
- scoop out:〜をえぐり出す
- beech wood:ブナの森
- complain:不満を漏らす
- wont:〜するのを常としている