苏珊姑妈的妙招（上）对付倔老头

By the Rule of Contrary

Lucy Maud Montgomery

By Lucy Maud Montgomery

∷陈佳选注

她不年轻，也不漂亮，更没有爱情的滋润，但是她却有对付倔老头的制胜法宝……

“Look here, Burton,” said old John Ellis in an ominous

tone of voice, “I want to know if what that old busybody

of a Mary Keane came here today gossiping about is true. If it is—well, I’ve something to say about the matter! Have you been courting that niece of Susan Oliver’s all summer on the sly?

”

Burton Ellis’s handsome, boyish face flushed darkly crimson to the roots of his curly black hair.

Something in the father’s tone roused anger and rebellion in the son. He straightened himself up from the turnip row he was hoeing, looked his father squarely in the face,

and said quietly, “Not on the sly, sir, I never do things that way. But I have been going to see Madge Oliver for sometime, and we are engaged. We are thinking of being married this fall, and we hope you will not object.”

Burton’s frankness nearly took away his father’s breath. Old John fairly choked withrage

“You young fool,” he spluttered

, bringing down his hoe with such energy that he sliced off half a dozen of his finest young turnip plants, “have you gone clean

crazy? No, sir, I’ll never consent to your marrying an Oliver, and you needn’t have any idea that I will.”

“Then I’ll marry her without your consent,” retorted Burton angrily, losing the temper he had been trying to keep.

1. Lucy Maud Montgomery: 露西·莫德·蒙哥马利（1874—1942），享誉世界的加拿大女作家，擅长小说创作。代表作品为《绿山墙的安妮》，被誉为“ 世界上最甜蜜的少女成长故事”。

2. ominous: 不祥的，不吉的。

3. busybody: 爱管闲事的人。

4.court:向……献殷勤，向……求爱；on the sly: 偷偷地。

5. 伯顿·艾利斯那张英俊、孩子气的脸一下子涨得紫红，一直红到黑色卷发的发根。

6. turnip: 芜菁，大头菜； hoe: 锄（地），为（庄稼等）锄草； look somebody squarely in the face: 正视某人，直直地看着某人。

7.choked with rage: 气得说不出话来。

8. splutter: 气急败坏地说。

9. clean: 完全地，全然地。

“Oh, will you indeed! Well, if you do, out you go, and not a cent of my money or a rod

of my land do you ever get.”

“What have you got against Madge?” asked Burton, forcing himself to speak calmly, for he knew his father too well to doubt for a minute that he meant and would do just what he said.

“She’s an Oliver,” said old John crustily

, “and that’s enough.” And considering that he had settled the matter, John Ellis threw down his hoe and left the field in a towering rage

Burton hoed away savagely until his anger had spent itself on the weeds. Give up Madge—dear, sweet little Madge? Not he! Yet if his father remained of the same mind, their marriage was out of the question

at present. And Burton knew quite well that his father would remain of the same mind. Old John Ellis had the reputation of being the most contrary

man in Greenwood.

When Burton had finished his row he left the turnip field and went straight across lots to see Madge and tell her his dismal story. An hour later Miss Susan Oliver went up the stairs of her little brown house to Madge’s room and found her niece lying on the bed, her pretty curls tumbled

,her soft cheeks flushed crimson, crying as if her heart would break.

Miss Susan was a tall, grim, angular spinster who looked like the last person in the world to whom a love affair might be confided.

But never were appearances more deceptive than in this case. Behind her unprepossessing exterior Miss Susan had a warm, sympathetic heart filled to the brim with kindly affection for her pretty niece.

She had seen Burton Ellis going moodily

across the fields homeward and guessed that something had gone wrong.

10. rod: 杆（长度单位，等于5.5码）。

11. crustily: 粗暴地。

12. in a towering rage: 怒气冲天地。

13. out of the question: 不可能的。注意out of question的意思则是“ 毫无疑问，没问题”。

14. contrary: 乖戾的，固执的。

15. tumbled: 蓬乱的。

16. angular: 消瘦的，瘦骨嶙峋的； spinster:［过时］（尤指看来不大会结婚的）老姑娘； confide: 透露，吐露。

17. unprepossessing: 不讨人喜欢的，不吸引人的； exterior:外表； sympathetic: 富于同情心的。

18. moodily: 闷闷不乐地。

“Now, dearie, what is the matter?” she said, tenderly patting the brown head.

Madge sobbed out the whole story disconsolately.

Burton’s father would not let him marry her because she was an Oliver. And, oh, what would she do?

“Don’t worry, Madge,” said Miss Susan comfortingly. “I’ll soon settle old John Ellis.”

“Why, what can you do?” asked Madge forlornly

.Miss Susan squared her shoulders and looked amused.

“You’ll see. I know old John Ellis better than he knows himself. He is the most contrary man the Lord ever made. I went to school with him. I learned how to manage him then, and I haven’t forgotten how. I’m going straight up to interview

him.”

“Are you sure that will do any good?” said Madge doubtfully. “If you go to him and take Burton’s and my part, won’t it only make him worse?”

“Madge, dear,” said Miss Susan, busily twisting her scanty

, iron-grey hair up into a hard little knob at the back of her head before Madge’s glass, “you just wait. I’m not young, and I’m not pretty, and I’m not in love, but I’ve more gumption

than you and Burton have or ever will have. You keep your eyes open and see if you can learn something. You’ll need it if you go up to live with old John Ellis.”

Burton had returned to the turnip field, but old John Ellis was taking his ease with a rampant political newspaper on the cool verandah of hishouse.

Looking up from a bitter editorial to chuckle over a cutting sarcasm contained therein, he saw a tall, angular figure coming up the lane with aggressiveness written large in every fold and flutter of shawl and skirt

…

19. sob out: 哭诉，呜咽地说；disconsolately: 悲伤地。

20. forlornly: 没希望地。

21. square: 挺直（肩、腰等）；amused: 顽皮的。

22. interview: 会见。

23. scanty: 少量的。

24. gumption: 魄力。

25. rampant: 言论激烈的；verandah: 门廊，阳台。

26. 老伯顿正在看一篇言辞激烈的社论，里面一句尖刻的讽刺让他暗自发笑，一抬头，他发现一个高大、瘦削的人影正从小道上走来，飘动的围巾和裙摆的每个褶子里都透出一股子咄咄逼人的气势。

To Be Continued

以上内容选自《英语学习》杂志

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《英语学习》杂志创刊于1958年，由北京外国语大学主办，是一本集知识、学习和趣味于一体的英语文化综合性刊物，被评为“全国优秀外语教辅期刊”，一贯以“学习英语的终身益友，了解世界的精彩橱窗”为宗旨，在突出人文旨趣、深入介绍西方社会文化、增进阅读者的英语修养的理念指导下，坚持严谨而不失活泼、品位与趣味并重的办刊风格，凸显杂志的高等教育气质。

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