时间:2016-12-01 09:45:17
来源:http://www.pinghe.com/ 作者:平和英语村
卖花女伊莉莎.杜利特尔,长得眉清目秀,聪明乖巧,但出身寒微,家境贫寒。她每天到街头叫卖鲜花,赚点钱补贴家用。一天,伊莉莎低俗的嗓音引起了语言学家希金斯教授的注意,教授夸口只要经过他的训练,卖花女也可以成为贵夫人。伊莉莎觉得教授说的话对她是一个机会,就主动上门请求教授训练她。教授的朋友皮克林和他打赌,如果让伊莉莎以贵夫人的身份出席6个月后将举办的大使游园会而不被人识破真相,那么皮克林愿意承担一切试验费用和伊莉莎的学费,这激起了教授的斗志,希金斯欣然接受了挑战。他是不甘示弱的,他从最基本的字母发音开始教起。希金斯是个精力旺盛和讲究科学的学者,对每一感兴趣件事都能废寝忘食。他胸怀坦荡、丝毫不怀任何恶意,但他又像孩子一样,毫不顾及他人的感情,对伊莉莎严加训练。
Mrs. Higgins: However did you learn good manners with my son around?
Eliza Doolittle: It was very difficult. I should never have known how ladies and gentlemen really behaved, if it hadn't been for Colonel Pickering. He always showed what he thought and felt about me as if I were something better than a common flower girl. You see, Mrs. Higgins, apart from the things one can pick up, the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated. I shall always be a common flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like a common flower girl, and always will. But I know that I shall always be a lady to Colonel Pickering, because he always treats me like a lady, and always will.
希金斯的母亲:你到底是如何跟我儿子学得如此举止大方、言谈得体的?
杜丽特尔:非常不容易。要不是皮克林上校,我永远不会知道淑女和绅士到底是如何待人接物的。他总是告诉我他对我的看法和感受,似乎我是一个有身份的女人,而不是一个普通的卖花女。你看,希金斯太太,除了那些人们能够学得到的特征外,淑女和卖花女之间的区别不在于她的行为举止,而在于她如何被对待。对于希金斯教授来说,我永远是一个普通的卖花女,因为他总是像对待一个普通卖花女那样对待我,而且他是永远不会变的。但我知道对皮克林上校来说我永远是一位淑女,因为他总像对待淑女一样地对待我,而且他也是永远不会变的。