原文
"Josie Pye will be just like her when she grows up," said Diana.
"Josie's mother and Aunt Atossa are cousins, you know. Oh, dear, I'm
glad that's over. She's so malicious--she seems to put a bad flavor in
everything. Father tells such a funny story about her. One time they had
a minister in Spencervale who was a very good, spiritual man but very
deaf. He couldn't hear any ordinary conversation at all. Well, they used
to have a prayer meeting on Sunday evenings, and all the church members
present would get up and pray in turn, or say a few words on some Bible
verse. But one evening Aunt Atossa bounced up. She didn't either pray or
preach. Instead, she lit into everybody else in the church and gave them
a fearful raking down, calling them right out by name and telling them
how they all had behaved, and casting up all the quarrels and scandals
of the past ten years. Finally she wound up by saying that she was
disgusted with Spencervale church and she never meant to darken its door
again, and she hoped a fearful judgment would come upon it. Then she sat
down out of breath, and the minister, who hadn't heard a word she said,
immediately remarked, in a very devout voice, 'amen! The Lord grant our
dear sister's prayer!' You ought to hear father tell the story."
語彙など
- malicious:意地の悪い
- flavor:風味
- minister:牧師
- spiritual:崇高な
- deaf:聴覚障害のある
- prayer meeting:祈祷会
- in turn:順に
- verse:節
- bounce:跳ねる
- preach:説教する
- light into:〜を激しく攻撃する
- raking:速い
- right out:率直に
- cast up:ののしる
- scandal:スキャンダル,醜聞
- wind up:結局〜となって終わる
- disgust:うんざりさせる
- darken someone's door:(人)を訪問する
- out of breath:息を切らして
- devout:敬けんな
- amen:アーメン
- Lord:神
- grant:与える