Franz Kafka-Metamorphosis (Webster's Chinese-Traditional Thesaurus Edition) (2006)

8/20/2019 Franz Kafka-Metamorphosis (Webster's Chinese-Traditional Thesaurus Edition) (2006)

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Metamorphosis

Webster's Chinese Simplified Thesaurus

Editionfor ESL, EFL, ELP, TOEFL

®, TOEIC

®, and AP

® Test Preparation

FRANZ KAFKATRANSLATED BY DAVID WYLLIE

TOEFL®

, TOEIC®

, AP®

and Advanced Placement®

are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which hasneither reviewed nor endorsed this book. All rights reserved.


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TOEFL®, TOEIC®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which

has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. All rights reserved.

MetamorphosisWebster's Chinese Simplified

Thesaurus Edition for ESL, EFL, ELP, TOEFL ®, TOEIC®, and AP® Test

Preparation

Franz KafkaTranslated by David Wyllie


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ii

I C O N C L A S S I C S

Published by ICON Group International, Inc.7404 Trade Street

San Diego, CA 92121 USA

www.icongrouponline.com

Metamorphosis: Webster's Chinese Simplified Thesaurus Edition for ESL, EFL, ELP, TOEFL®,TOEIC®, and AP® Test Preparation

This edition published by ICON Classics in 2005Printed in the United States of America.

Copyright©2005 by ICON Group International, Inc.Edited by Philip M. Parker, Ph.D. (INSEAD); Copyright ©2005, all rights reserved.

All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

Copying our publications in whole or in part, for whatever reason, is a violation of copyright lawsand can lead to penalties and fines. Should you want to copy tables, graphs, or other materials, pleasecontact us to request permission (E-mail: [email protected]). ICON Group often grantspermission for very limited reproduction of our publications for internal use, press releases, andacademic research. Such reproduction requires confirmed permission from ICON GroupInternational, Inc.

TOEFL ®, TOEIC®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks of the Educational Testing

Service which has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. All rights reserved.

ISBN 0-497-26007-7

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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iii

Contents

PREFACE FROM THE EDITOR..........................................................................................1 I........................................................................................................................................ 2

II .................................................................................................................................... 19

III ................................................................................................................................... 37

GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................................... 55


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Franz Kafka 1

PREFACE FROM THE EDITORWebster’s paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings in

English courses. By using a running English-to-Chinese Simplified thesaurus at the bottom of each

page, this edition of Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was edited for three audiences. The first

includes Chinese Simplified-speaking students enrolled in an English Language Program (ELP), anEnglish as a Foreign Language (EFL) program, an English as a Second Language Program (ESL),

or in a TOEFL® or TOEIC® preparation program. The second audience includes English-speaking

students enrolled in bilingual education programs or Chinese Simplified speakers enrolled inEnglish speaking schools. The third audience consists of students who are actively building their

vocabularies in Chinese Simplified in order to take foreign service, translation certification,

Advanced Placement® (AP®)1 or similar examinations. By using the Webster's Chinese Simplified

Thesaurus Edition when assigned for an English course, the reader can enrich their vocabulary in

anticipation of an examination in Chinese Simplified or English.

Webster’s edition of this classic is organized to expose the reader to a maximum number ofdifficult and potentially ambiguous English words. Rare or idiosyncratic words and expressions are

given lower priority compared to “difficult, yet commonly used” words. Rather than supply a single

translation, many words are translated for a variety of meanings in Chinese Simplified, allowing

readers to better grasp the ambiguity of English, and avoid them using the notes as a pure

translation crutch. Having the reader decipher a word’s meaning within context serves to improve

vocabulary retention and understanding. Each page covers words not already highlighted on

previous pages. If a difficult word is not translated on a page, chances are that it has been translated

on a previous page. A more complete glossary of translations is supplied at the end of the book;

translations are extracted from Webster’s Online Dictionary.

Definitions of remaining terms as well as translations can be found at www.websters-online-

dictionary.org. Please send suggestions to [email protected]

The EditorWebster’s Online Dictionary

www.websters-online-dictionary.org

1 TOEFL®, TOEIC®, AP® and Advanced Placement® are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which

has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. All rights reserved.

http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/http://../to%20be%20ISBNd/Classic_Chinese_Simplified_05022006/DOCS/[email protected]://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/http://../to%20be%20ISBNd/Classic_Chinese_Simplified_05022006/DOCS/[email protected]://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/


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Metamorphosis2

I

One%morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found

himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-likeback, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightlydomed and divided by arches into stiff sections. The bedding was hardly ableto cover it and seemed ready to slide off any moment. His many legs, pitifullythin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as helooked.

" What's happened to me?" he thought. It wasn't a dream. His room, a properhuman room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar

walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table - Samsa was atravelling salesman - and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cutout of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed alady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy furmuff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer.

Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops ofrain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. "Howabout if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense", he thought, butthat was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on hisright, and in his present state couldn't get into that position. However hard hethrew himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was. He must

Chinese Simplifiedbedding : 被褥.belly: 肚子, 腹部, 腹.boa: 蟒蛇.dream: 梦寐, 梦见, 做梦, 梦想.dreams: 梦想.dull: 索然, 板滞, 沉闷的, 干燥,

拙, 深沉.frame: 框, 帧, 架, 画面, 陷害,边框, 诬陷, 架子, 框架.

fur: 毛, 软毛.gilded: 镀金的, 有钱的.

hat: 帽子.helplessly: 无助地.hitting : 击中.horrible: 可怕, 恐怖的.hung : 挂.pane: 窗玻璃, 窗格.peacefully

: 安然, 和平地.rolled: 卷.sad: 悲伤, 哀愁, 不幸, 哀伤, 哀怨,悲伤的, 悲哀的.

salesman: 锁售员.

sleeping : 睡眠, 睡着.slide: 滑落, 滑行, 滑.stiff: 僵硬, 板滞, 僵硬的.textile: 纺织品.threw: 丢了.travelling : 旅行, 旅行的, 移动的.upright

: 正直, 直立, 刚正, 正值,直立的, 端正, 正直的.viewer: 观看者, 观众.waved: 挥动.woke: 醒觉.


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Franz Kafka 3

have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look atthe floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild, dull painthere that he had never felt before.%

"Oh, God", he thought, "what a strenuous career it is that I've chosen!Travelling day in and day out. Doing business like this takes much more effortthan doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the curse oftravelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food,contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to knowanyone or become friendly with them. It can all go to Hell!" He felt a slight itchup on his belly; pushed himself slowly up on his back towards the headboard sothat he could lift his head better; found where the itch was, and saw that it wascovered with lots of little white spots which he didn't know what to make of; and

when he tried to feel the place with one of his legs he drew it quickly backbecause as soon as he touched it he was overcome by a cold shudder.

He slid back into his former position. "Getting up early all the time", hethought, "it makes you stupid. You've got to get enough sleep. Other travellingsalesmen live a life of luxury. For instance, whenever I go back to the guesthouse during the morning to copy out the contract, these gentlemen are alwaysstill sitting there eating their breakfasts. I ought to just try that with my boss; I'dget kicked out on the spot. But who knows, maybe that would be the best thingfor me. If I didn't have my parents to think about I'd have given in my notice a

long time ago, I'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tellhim everything I would, let him know just what I feel. He'd fall right off hisdesk! And it's a funny sort of business to be sitting up there at your desk,talking down at your subordinates from up there, especially when you have togo right up close because the boss is hard of hearing . Well, there's still somehope; once I've got the money together to pay off my parents' debt to him -another five or six years I suppose - that's definitely what I'll do. That's when I'llmake the big change. First of all though, I've got to get up, my train leaves at

five."

Chinese Simplifiedboss: 老板, 上司, 头子, 浮雕.chosen: 精选, 选择了.copy: 复本, 抄, 抄写, 拷贝.curse: 咒骂, 诅咒, 咒.debt: 债务, 债, 窟窿.definitely: 肯定地, 岂不, 斩钉截铁.desk

: 书桌, 桌子.eating : 吃.friendly: 友好, 友善, 友好的, 好客,友好地, 和气.

funny: 有趣的.

gentlemen: 绅士.guest: 客人, 来宾, 来客.headboard: 床头板.hearing : 听力, 听见.instance: 例子, 比方, 实例.irregular: 不规则, 无规律的.itch

: 发痒, 痒.leaves: 离开.lift: 举起, 开放, 掀起, 电梯, 抬起.luxury: 奢侈, 豪华.mild: 温和的.

overcome: 克服, 越过.salesmen: 销售员.shudder: 发抖, 不寒而栗, 震荡.shut: 关闭.slid: 滑行.slight: 轻微, 稍微.spot

: 斑点, 点子, 侦查.strenuous: 费力的.stupid: 愚笨, 笨拙, 愚笨的.whenever: 无论何时, 每当.worries: 烦恼, 烦扰.


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Metamorphosis4

And%he looked over at the alarm clock, ticking on the chest of drawers. "Godin Heaven!" he thought. It was half past six and the hands were quietly movingforwards, it was even later than half past, more like quarter to seven. Had thealarm clock not rung ? He could see from the bed that it had been set for four

o'clock as it should have been; it certainly must have rung. Yes, but was itpossible to quietly sleep through that furniture-rattling noise? True, he had notslept peacefully, but probably all the more deeply because of that. What shouldhe do now? The next train went at seven; if he were to catch that he would haveto rush like mad and the collection of samples was still not packed, and he didnot at all feel particularly fresh and lively. And even if he did catch the train hewould not avoid his boss's anger as the office assistant would have been there tosee the five o'clock train go, he would have put in his report about Gregor's notbeing there a long time ago. The office assistant was the boss's man, spineless,and with no understanding. What about if he reported sick? But that would beextremely strained and suspicious as in fifteen years of service Gregor had neveronce yet been ill. His boss would certainly come round with the doctor from themedical insurance company, accuse his parents of having a lazy son, and acceptthe doctor's recommendation not to make any claim as the doctor believed thatno-one was ever ill but that many were workshy. And what's more, would hehave been entirely wrong in this case? Gregor did in fact, apart from excessivesleepiness after sleeping for so long, feel completely well and even felt much

hungrier than usual.He was still hurriedly thinking all this through, unable to decide to get out of

the bed, when the clock struck quarter to seven. There was a cautious knock atthe door near his head. "Gregor", somebody called - it was his mother - "it'squarter to seven. Didn't you want to go somewhere?" That gentle voice! Gregorwas shocked when he heard his own voice answering , it could hardly berecognised as the voice he had had before. As if from deep inside him, there wasa painful and uncontrollable squeaking mixed in with it, the words could bemade out at first but then there was a sort of echo which made them unclear,leaving the hearer unsure whether he had heard properly or not. Gregor hadwanted to give a full answer and explain everything, but in the circumstances

Chinese Simplifiedaccuse: 控告, 控诉.alarm: 警报, 惊动.answering : 回答.assistant: 助手, 助理, 帮手, 副,壁助.

cautious: 谨慎, 仔细, 慎重,

警慎的.drawers: 抽屉.echo: 回声, 反响, 回音.excessive: 过份, 过多, 过度,过多的, 过分.

hearer: 听众.hurriedly: 赶紧, 匆匆, 匆忙地.ill: 生病, 不善, 不完全, 麻烦的,拙劣的.

knock: 敲, 敲撞.lazy: 懒惰, 懒惰的.lively

: 活泼, 热闹, 生气勃勃,生气勃勃地, 轻快.packed: 挤得满满的.painful: 痛苦, 痛苦的.recommendation: 推荐, 建议.

rung : 响铃.rush: 速行, 匆匆.sick: 生病.sleepiness: 睡意.slept: 睡了.strained: 紧张, 紧张的.struck

: 敲打.suspicious: 可疑, 可疑的.unclear: 不清楚的, 未清除的.uncontrollable: 控制不了的.unsure: 无把握的.


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Franz Kafka 5

contented%himself with saying: "Yes, mother, yes, thank-you, I'm getting upnow." The change in Gregor's voice probably could not be noticed outsidethrough the wooden door, as his mother was satisfied with this explanation andshuffled away. But this short conversation made the other members of the

family aware that Gregor, against their expectations was still at home, and soonhis father came knocking at one of the side doors, gently, but with his fist."Gregor, Gregor", he called, "what's wrong?" And after a short while he calledagain with a warning deepness in his voice: "Gregor! Gregor!" At the other sidedoor his sister came plaintively: "Gregor? Aren't you well? Do you needanything?"

Gregor answered to both sides: "I'm ready, now", making an effort to removeall the strangeness from his voice by enunciating very carefully and putting long

pauses between each, individual word. His father went back to his breakfast,but his sister whispered: "Gregor, open the door, I beg of you." Gregor,however, had no thought of opening the door, and instead congratulated himselffor his cautious habit, acquired from his travelling, of locking all doors at nighteven when he was at home.

The first thing he wanted to do was to get up in peace without beingdisturbed, to get dressed, and most of all to have his breakfast. Only then wouldhe consider what to do next, as he was well aware that he would not bring histhoughts to any sensible conclusions by lying in bed. He remembered that he

had often felt a slight pain in bed, perhaps caused by lying awkwardly, but thathad always turned out to be pure imagination and he wondered how hisimaginings would slowly resolve themselves today. He did not have theslightest doubt that the change in his voice was nothing more than the first signof a serious cold, which was an occupational hazard for travelling salesmen.

It was a simple matter to throw off the covers; he only had to blow himselfup a little and they fell off by themselves. But it became difficult after that,especially as he was so exceptionally broad. He would have used his arms and

his hands to push himself up; but instead of them he only had all those little legscontinuously moving in different directions, and which he was moreover unable

Chinese Simplifiedacquired: 已获得的, 已成习惯的.answered: 回答.beg : 恳求, 乞求, 要求.blow: 吹, 打击.breakfast: 早餐, 早饭, 早点.conclusions: 结论.continuously

: 一直, 不住, 昼夜.covers: 盖子.directions: 指导, 说明, 方向.disturbed: 不安.exceptionally: 例外地.

fist: 拳头.gently: 徐徐, 悄悄地, 轻柔地.habit: 习惯.hazard: 危险.imagination: 想像力, 想像.locking : 锁紧.occupational

: 职业的.pauses: 暂停.pure: 单纯, 纯净的, 纯洁, 纯粹.push: 推.remove: 解除, 拔除, 排斥, 撤除,

搬移, 消除, 移动.resolve: 解决, 决心, 下决心, 分解,志气.

satisfied: 满意, 乐意, 心满意足的.sensible: 明智, 懂事, 感觉得到的,可感觉到的.

strangeness

: 陌生.throw: 扔, 丢掉, 丢, 投.warning : 警报, 鉴戒, 警告.whispered: 耳语.wooden: 木制, 木制的.


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Metamorphosis6

to control. If he wanted to bend one of them, then that was the first one thatwould stretch itself out; and if he finally managed to do what he wanted withthat leg , all the others seemed to be set free and would move about painfully."This is something that can't be done in bed", Gregor said to himself, "so don't

keep trying to do it".%

The first thing he wanted to do was get the lower part of his body out of thebed, but he had never seen this lower part, and could not imagine what it lookedlike; it turned out to be too hard to move; it went so slowly; and finally, almost ina frenzy, when he carelessly shoved himself forwards with all the force he couldgather, he chose the wrong direction, hit hard against the lower bedpost, andlearned from the burning pain he felt that the lower part of his body might well,at present, be the most sensitive.

So then he tried to get the top part of his body out of the bed first, carefullyturning his head to the side. This he managed quite easily, and despite itsbreadth and its weight, the bulk of his body eventually followed slowly in thedirection of the head. But when he had at last got his head out of the bed andinto the fresh air it occurred to him that if he let himself fall it would be a miracleif his head were not injured, so he became afraid to carry on pushing himselfforward the same way. And he could not knock himself out now at any price;better to stay in bed than lose consciousness.

It took just as much effort to get back to where he had been earlier, but whenhe lay there sighing, and was once more watching his legs as they struggledagainst each other even harder than before, if that was possible, he could think ofno way of bringing peace and order to this chaos. He told himself once morethat it was not possible for him to stay in bed and that the most sensible thing todo would be to get free of it in whatever way he could at whatever sacrifice. Atthe same time, though, he did not forget to remind himself that calmconsideration was much better than rushing to desperate conclusions. At timeslike this he would direct his eyes to the window and look out as clearly as he

could, but unfortunately, even the other side of the narrow street was envelopedin morning fog and the view had little confidence or cheer to offer him. "Seven

Chinese Simplifiedbend: 弯曲, 弯折.breadth: 阔度, 宽度.bringing : 带来.bulk: 体积, 大批.calm: 镇静, 泰然, 安静, 安宁,坦然, 从容不迫, 冷静, 镇定,

平静的, 沉静.carelessly: 不经意, 胡乱, 大意地.chaos: 混乱, 凌乱.cheer: 喝采, 叫好, 欢呼.chose: 选择.

consciousness: 意识, 觉悟.consideration: 考虑, 心眼, 考量.desperate: 危急, 非常的.fog : 雾.frenzy: 狂乱.gather: 集合, 聚集, 采集, 集聚,

集会, 召集, 搜集, 捡, 聚会.injured: 受伤, 受伤的, 受损害的.learned: 有学问, 博学, 博雅, 饱学.leg : 腿, 脚.miracle: 奇迹, 神迹.

narrow: 狭窄, 窄, 逼仄, 狭, 小气,狭隘, 狭窄的.

occurred: 发生.painfully: 痛苦地.remind: 提醒.sacrifice: 牺牲.sensitive

: 敏感, 灵敏, 识相,敏感的.stretch: 张开, 拉紧, 伸展, 伸.unfortunately: 不巧, 不幸,不幸的是, 很遗憾, 不幸地.


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Franz Kafka 7

o'clock, already", he said to himself when the clock struck again, "seven o'clock,and there's still a fog like this." And he lay there quietly a while longer,breathing lightly as if he perhaps expected the total stillness to bring thingsback to their real and natural state.%

But then he said to himself: "Before it strikes quarter past seven I'll definitelyhave to have got properly out of bed. And by then somebody will have comeround from work to ask what's happened to me as well, as they open up at workbefore seven o'clock." And so he set himself to the task of swinging the entirelength of his body out of the bed all at the same time. If he succeeded in fallingout of bed in this way and kept his head raised as he did so he could probablyavoid injuring it. His back seemed to be quite hard, and probably nothing wouldhappen to it falling onto the carpet. His main concern was for the loud noise he

was bound to make, and which even through all the doors would probably raiseconcern if not alarm. But it was something that had to be risked.

When Gregor was already sticking half way out of the bed - the new methodwas more of a game than an effort, all he had to do was rock back and forth - itoccurred to him how simple everything would be if somebody came to help him.Two strong people - he had his father and the maid in mind - would have beenmore than enough; they would only have to push their arms under the dome ofhis back, peel him away from the bed, bend down with the load and then bepatient and careful as he swang over onto the floor, where, hopefully, the little

legs would find a use. Should he really call for help though, even apart from thefact that all the doors were locked? Despite all the difficulty he was in, he couldnot suppress a smile at this thought.

After a while he had already moved so far across that it would have beenhard for him to keep his balance if he rocked too hard. The time was now tenpast seven and he would have to make a final decision very soon. Then therewas a ring at the door of the flat. "That'll be someone from work", he said tohimself, and froze very still, although his little legs only became all the more

lively as they danced around. For a moment everything remained quiet. "They'renot opening the door", Gregor said to himself, caught in some nonsensical hope.

Chinese Simplifiedapart: 分别, 分开.bound: 限, 边际, 弹回, 范围.breathing : 呼吸, 呼吸的, 微风.careful: 小心, 仔细, 不苟, 慎重,周密, 小心的, 精细, 细心, 细致.

carpet: 地毯.clock

: 钟, 时钟, 钟表.dome: 圆屋顶, 穹顶.doors: 门.entire: 整个, 全部, 全球, 通通,总体, 全体, 全部的, 完整的.

falling : 落下的, 落下.flat: 平坦, 平板, 平坦的, 平的,居室.

forth: 向前.hopefully: 抱有希望地, 期望地.lightly: 轻轻, 轻轻地, 轻易.load

: 包袱, 负载, 装满, 担子,装载, 负荷, 载重.loud: 高声, 大声, 大声的.maid: 女佣, 侍女, 少女, 姑娘.noise: 噪音, 噪声, 响声, 吵闹声,

吵声.opening : 揭幕, 口, 打开, 孔,开始.

patient: 耐烦, 患者, 病号, 病员,耐心, 忍耐, 病人.

peel: 果皮, 剥皮.quietly

: 安静地, 悄悄.rocked: 摇动, 摇摆.stillness: 静止, 寂静.strikes: 打击.suppress: 压制, 镇压, 抹杀.


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Metamorphosis8

But%then of course, the maid's firm steps went to the door as ever and opened it.Gregor only needed to hear the visitor's first words of greeting and he knew whoit was - the chief clerk himself. Why did Gregor have to be the only onecondemned to work for a company where they immediately became highly

suspicious at the slightest shortcoming ? Were all employees, every one of them,louts, was there not one of them who was faithful and devoted who would go somad with pangs of conscience that he couldn't get out of bed if he didn't spendat least a couple of hours in the morning on company business? Was it really notenough to let one of the trainees make enquiries - assuming enquiries were evennecessary - did the chief clerk have to come himself, and did they have to showthe whole, innocent family that this was so suspicious that only the chief clerkcould be trusted to have the wisdom to investigate it? And more because thesethoughts had made him upset than through any proper decision, he swanghimself with all his force out of the bed. There was a loud thump, but it wasn'treally a loud noise. His fall was softened a little by the carpet, and Gregor's backwas also more elastic than he had thought, which made the sound muffled andnot too noticeable. He had not held his head carefully enough, though, and hit itas he fell; annoyed and in pain, he turned it and rubbed it against the carpet.

"Something's fallen down in there", said the chief clerk in the room on the left.Gregor tried to imagine whether something of the sort that had happened to himtoday could ever happen to the chief clerk too; you had to concede that it was

possible. But as if in gruff reply to this question, the chief clerk's firm footstepsin his highly polished boots could now be heard in the adjoining room. Fromthe room on his right, Gregor's sister whispered to him to let him know: "Gregor,the chief clerk is here."

"Yes, I know", said Gregor to himself; but without daring to raise his voiceloud enough for his sister to hear him.

"Gregor", said his father now from the room to his left, "the chief clerk hascome round and wants to know why you didn't leave on the early train. We

don't know what to say to him. And anyway, he wants to speak to you

Chinese Simplifiedannoyed: 懊恼, 窝囊.assuming : 傲慢的, 僭越的.boots: 靴子.clerk: 书记, 营业员, 办事员, 职员.concede: 承认.conscience: 良心.daring

: 大胆, 胆大, 大胆的.devoted: 忠诚, 忠实的, 忠实.elastic: 松紧带, 弹性的.faithful: 忠实, 忠实的.footsteps: 脚步.

greeting : 问候.gruff: 粗糙, 粗糙的.imagine: 想像, 设想.innocent: 无辜, 无罪的, 天真.investigate: 考查, 侦查, 探讨,查证, 追究, 追查, 调查.

least

: 最少, 至少, 最少的.mad: 狂, 发怒, 发狂, 生气,疯狂的.

noticeable: 值得注意的.polished: 优美的, 精练的, 擦亮的.

raise: 升起, 提高, 筹措, 增加,抚育, 举起.

reply: 回答, 答覆, 答复, 反应,答应, 答词, 回信.

rubbed: 摩擦.shortcoming : 缺点, 短处.thoughts

: 心头, 感想.thump: 重击.trusted: 信任.upset: 烦恼, 懊恼, 打翻.wisdom: 智慧.


14/71

Franz Kafka 9

personally. %So please open up this door. I'm sure he'll be good enough toforgive the untidiness of your room."

Then the chief clerk called "Good morning, Mr. Samsa".

"He isn't well", said his mother to the chief clerk, while his father continuedto speak through the door. "He isn't well, please believe me. Why else wouldGregor have missed a train! The lad only ever thinks about the business. Itnearly makes me cross the way he never goes out in the evenings; he's been intown for a week now but stayed home every evening. He sits with us in thekitchen and just reads the paper or studies train timetables. His idea ofrelaxation is working with his fretsaw. He's made a little frame, for instance, itonly took him two or three evenings, you'll be amazed how nice it is; it's hangingup in his room; you'll see it as soon as Gregor opens the door. Anyway, I'm glad

you're here; we wouldn't have been able to get Gregor to open the door byourselves; he's so stubborn; and I'm sure he isn't well, he said this morning thathe is, but he isn't."

"I'll be there in a moment", said Gregor slowly and thoughtfully, but withoutmoving so that he would not miss any word of the conversation. "Well I can'tthink of any other way of explaining it, Mrs. Samsa", said the chief clerk, "I hopeit's nothing serious. But on the other hand, I must say that if we people incommerce ever become slightly unwell then, fortunately or unfortunately as you

like, we simply have to overcome it because of business considerations." "Canthe chief clerk come in to see you now then?", asked his father impatiently,knocking at the door again. "No", said Gregor. In the room on his right therefollowed a painful silence; in the room on his left his sister began to cry.

So why did his sister not go and join the others? She had probably only justgot up and had not even begun to get dressed. And why was she crying ? Was itbecause he had not got up, and had not let the chief clerk in, because he was indanger of losing his job and if that happened his boss would once more pursuetheir parents with the same demands as before? There was no need to worry

about things like that yet. Gregor was still there and had not the slightestintention of abandoning his family. For the time being he just lay there on the

Chinese Simplifiedbegun: 开始.commerce: 商业, 商务.continued: 持续的.conversation: 谈话, 会话.cry: 喊, 叫, 哭, 哭泣.crying : 叫喊的, 嚎哭的, 显著的.danger

: 危险.demands: 要求.evenings: 每晚.explaining : 解释.forgive: 包涵, 包容, 原谅, 宽恕,

饶恕.fortunately: 幸好, 恰巧, 幸亏,幸好地.

glad: 高兴, 高兴的.intention: 意图, 打算, 动机, 心意,心眼儿, 用心, 用意, 念头.

lad

: 小伙子, 少年.opens: 打开.ourselves: 我们自己, 我们.personally: 亲自, 亲手, 亲自地,亲眼.

pursue: 追求, 追, 追赶, 追逐.reads: 阅读.relaxation: 松弛, 弛豫.silence: 沉默, 沈默, 悄静.sits: 坐.stayed: 停留.stubborn

: 顽固, 执着, 顽固的.thinks: 想.unwell: 不适, 不好过的.worry: 担心, 使烦恼, 缠绕, 担忧,心事, 担, 烦恼, 着急.


15/71

Metamorphosis10

carpet, %and no-one who knew the condition he was in would seriously haveexpected him to let the chief clerk in. It was only a minor discourtesy, and asuitable excuse could easily be found for it later on, it was not something forwhich Gregor could be sacked on the spot. And it seemed to Gregor much more

sensible to leave him now in peace instead of disturbing him with talking at himand crying. But the others didn't know what was happening , they wereworried, that would excuse their behaviour. The chief clerk now raised hisvoice, "Mr. Samsa", he called to him, "what is wrong? You barricade yourself inyour room, give us no more than yes or no for an answer, you are causingserious and unnecessary concern to your parents and you fail - and I mentionthis just by the way - you fail to carry out your business duties in a way that isquite unheard of. I'm speaking here on behalf of your parents and of youremployer, and really must request a clear and immediate explanation. I amastonished, quite astonished. I thought I knew you as a calm and sensibleperson, and now you suddenly seem to be showing off with peculiar whims.This morning, your employer did suggest a possible reason for your failure toappear, it's true - it had to do with the money that was recently entrusted to you -but I came near to giving him my word of honour that that could not be the rightexplanation. But now that I see your incomprehensible stubbornness I nolonger feel any wish whatsoever to intercede on your behalf. And nor is yourposition all that secure. I had originally intended to say all this to you in private,

but since you cause me to waste my time here for no good reason I don't see whyyour parents should not also learn of it. Your turnover has been veryunsatisfactory of late; I grant you that it's not the time of year to do especiallygood business, we recognise that; but there simply is no time of year to do nobusiness at all, Mr. Samsa, we cannot allow there to be."

"But Sir", called Gregor, beside himself and forgetting all else in theexcitement, "I'll open up immediately, just a moment. I'm slightly unwell, anattack of dizziness, I haven't been able to get up. I'm still in bed now. I'm quitefresh again now, though. I'm just getting out of bed. Just a moment. Be patient!It's not quite as easy as I'd thought. I'm quite alright now, though. It's shocking ,what can suddenly happen to a person! I was quite alright last night, my parents

Chinese Simplifiedastonished: 诧异.barricade: 设路障, 路障.behalf: 代表.cannot: 不能, 不足, 不得, 不可,不克, 未可.

discourtesy: 无礼貌.dizziness

: 眩晕.duties: 税, 职责.employer: 雇主.excitement: 兴奋, 刺激.excuse: 包涵, 借口, 原谅.

fail: 不及格, 失败, 不遂.happening : 事件, 发生.honour: 荣誉, 尊敬, 名誉.incomprehensible: 不能理解的,无限的, 费解的, 不能理解.

intercede: 调解.mention

: 提到, 提及.originally: 本来, 原来, 原本, 当初,起初.

peculiar: 奇特, 特殊的.recognise: 辨.

request: 要求, 请求.secure: 安全, 保险, 牢固.shocking : 不像话, 震惊.stubbornness: 牛脾气.turnover: 营业额, 周转.unheard: 没听到过.unnecessary

: 不必要, 不必要的,多馀.unsatisfactory: 不能令人满意的.whatsoever: 任何, 任何其它.worried: 担心, 不安, 忧虑.


16/71

Franz Kafka 11

know%about it, perhaps better than me, I had a small symptom of it last nightalready. They must have noticed it. I don't know why I didn't let you know atwork! But you always think you can get over an illness without staying athome. Please, don't make my parents suffer! There's no basis for any of the

accusations you're making; nobody's ever said a word to me about any of thesethings. Maybe you haven't read the latest contracts I sent in. I'll set off with theeight o'clock train, as well, these few hours of rest have given me strength. Youdon't need to wait, sir; I'll be in the office soon after you, and please be so good asto tell that to the boss and recommend me to him!" And while Gregor gushedout these words, hardly knowing what he was saying, he made his way over tothe chest of drawers - this was easily done, probably because of the practise hehad already had in bed - where he now tried to get himself upright. He reallydid want to open the door, really did want to let them see him and to speak withthe chief clerk; the others were being so insistent, and he was curious to learnwhat they would say when they caught sight of him. If they were shocked thenit would no longer be Gregor's responsibility and he could rest. If, however,they took everything calmly he would still have no reason to be upset, and if hehurried he really could be at the station for eight o'clock. The first few times hetried to climb up on the smooth chest of drawers he just slid down again, but hefinally gave himself one last swing and stood there upright; the lower part of hisbody was in serious pain but he no longer gave any attention to it. Now he let

himself fall against the back of a nearby chair and held tightly to the edges of itwith his little legs. By now he had also calmed down, and kept quiet so that hecould listen to what the chief clerk was saying.

"Did you understand a word of all that?" the chief clerk asked his parents,"surely he's not trying to make fools of us". "Oh, God!" called his mother, whowas already in tears, "he could be seriously ill and we're making him suffer.Grete! Grete!" she then cried. "Mother?" his sister called from the other side.They communicated across Gregor's room. "You'll have to go for the doctorstraight away. Gregor is ill. Quick, get the doctor. Did you hear the way Gregorspoke just now?" "That was the voice of an animal", said the chief clerk, with acalmness that was in contrast with his mother's screams. "Anna! Anna!" his

Chinese Simplifiedaccusations: 谴责.calmly: 平静地.caught: 捉了.chest: 胸部, 箱, 胸膛.climb: 爬, 攀登.contracts: 合同.contrast

: 对比, 对照, 比较, 比照.curious: 有好奇心, 好奇, 好奇的.hurried: 匆忙, 仓促, 仓促的, 慌乱.illness: 病, 病症, 疾病.insistent: 坚持的, 显著的.

knowing : 博学的, 知道.latest: 最新, 最新的.listen: 听, 倾听.longer: 较长的.nearby: 附近, 在附近, 附近的,就近, 就地.

practise

: 练习.quiet: 安静, 寂静, 安定, 安生,沉静, 宁静的.

recommend: 推荐, 保送, 引进.sight: 视觉, 景象, 情景, 目光,

视力, 视线.smooth: 平稳, 润滑, 光滑, 平滑,通顺.

spoke: 辐条, 说了.staying : 停留.suffer: 受苦, 蒙受, 遭受, 受到,

遭到.swing : 摆动, 秋千, 摇摆.symptom: 症状, 病象, 病征, 病状.tears: 泪, 泪水, 眼泪.tightly: 紧紧.


17/71

Metamorphosis12

father called into the kitchen through the entrance hall, clapping his hands, "get alocksmith here, now!" And the two girls, their skirts swishing, immediately ranout through the hall, wrenching open the front door of the flat as they went.How had his sister managed to get dressed so quickly? There was no sound of

the door banging shut again; they must have left it open; people often do inhomes where something awful has happened.%

Gregor, in contrast, had become much calmer. So they couldn't understandhis words any more, although they seemed clear enough to him, clearer thanbefore - perhaps his ears had become used to the sound. They had realised,though, that there was something wrong with him, and were ready to help. Thefirst response to his situation had been confident and wise, and that made himfeel better. He felt that he had been drawn back in among people, and from the

doctor and the locksmith he expected great and surprising achievements -although he did not really distinguish one from the other. Whatever was saidnext would be crucial, so, in order to make his voice as clear as possible, hecoughed a little, but taking care to do this not too loudly as even this might wellsound different from the way that a human coughs and he was no longer sure hecould judge this for himself. Meanwhile, it had become very quiet in the nextroom. Perhaps his parents were sat at the table whispering with the chief clerk,or perhaps they were all pressed against the door and listening .

Gregor slowly pushed his way over to the door with the chair. Once there he

let go of it and threw himself onto the door, holding himself upright against itusing the adhesive on the tips of his legs. He rested there a little while to recoverfrom the effort involved and then set himself to the task of turning the key in thelock with his mouth. He seemed, unfortunately, to have no proper teeth - howwas he, then, to grasp the key? - but the lack of teeth was, of course, made up forwith a very strong jaw; using the jaw, he really was able to start the key turning,ignoring the fact that he must have been causing some kind of damage as abrown fluid came from his mouth, flowed over the key and dripped onto the

floor.

Chinese Simplifiedachievements: 政绩, 成就.adhesive: 胶粘的.awful: 可怕, 可怕的.confident: 确信, 有信心.coughed: 咳嗽.coughs: 咳嗽.crucial

: 关键, 至关紧要.damage: 损坏, 祸害.distinguish: 辨别, 区别.drawn: 画了.ears: 耳朵.

entrance: 入口, 大门, 入门.flowed: 流动.fluid: 流体, 液, 液体的.grasp: 抓紧, 把握, 掌握, 领会, 抓,抓住.

homes: 家, 家园. jaw

: 颚, 颌. judge: 法官, 裁判, 判定, 判断,审判员.

listening : 听.lock: 锁, 撞锁.

locksmith: 锁匠.loudly: 高声, 大声, 大声地.onto: 到…上.pressed: 压.recover: 重获, 收复, 病愈, 休养,恢复, 复原.

surprising

: 可惊.teeth: 牙齿, 牙.turning : 旋转.whispering : 耳语般.wise: 高明, 明智的, 英明.


18/71

Franz Kafka 13

"Listen", said the chief clerk in the next room, "he's turning the key." Gregorwas greatly encouraged by this; but they all should have been calling to him, hisfather and his mother too: "Well done, Gregor", they should have cried, "keep atit, keep hold of the lock!" And with the idea that they were all excitedly

following his efforts, he bit on the key with all his strength, paying no attentionto the pain he was causing himself. As the key turned round he turned aroundthe lock with it, only holding himself upright with his mouth, and hung onto thekey or pushed it down again with the whole weight of his body as needed. Theclear sound of the lock as it snapped back was Gregor's sign that he could breakhis concentration, and as he regained his breath he said to himself: "So, I didn'tneed the locksmith after all". Then he lay his head on the handle of the door toopen it completely.%

Because he had to open the door in this way, it was already wide open beforehe could be seen. He had first to slowly turn himself around one of the doubledoors, and he had to do it very carefully if he did not want to fall flat on his backbefore entering the room. He was still occupied with this difficult movement,unable to pay attention to anything else, when he heard the chief clerk exclaim aloud "Oh!", which sounded like the soughing of the wind. Now he also saw him- he was the nearest to the door - his hand pressed against his open mouth andslowly retreating as if driven by a steady and invisible force. Gregor's mother,her hair still dishevelled from bed despite the chief clerk's being there, looked at

his father. Then she unfolded her arms, took two steps forward towards Gregorand sank down onto the floor into her skirts that spread themselves out aroundher as her head disappeared down onto her breast. His father looked hostile,and clenched his fists as if wanting to knock Gregor back into his room. Then helooked uncertainly round the living room, covered his eyes with his hands andwept so that his powerful chest shook.

So Gregor did not go into the room, but leant against the inside of the otherdoor which was still held bolted in place. In this way only half of his body could

be seen, along with his head above it which he leant over to one side as hepeered out at the others. Meanwhile the day had become much lighter; part of

Chinese Simplifiedbreast: 奶子, 乳房, 胸, 胸部.breath: 气息, 鼻息, 呼吸, 气流.concentration: 专心, 浓缩, 集中,浓度.

disappeared: 不见了, 消失.dishevelled: 散乱的, 乱蓬蓬.double

: 双重, 双, 加倍.driven: 驾.efforts: 努力.excitedly: 勃然.exclaim: 呼叫.

fists: 拳头.greatly: 大幅度地, 大大地, 大大.handle: 柄, 把手, 把柄, 处理,辫子, 耳子, 把子, 弄, 对付, 加以,处置.

hostile: 怀敌意, 敌对, 敌对的.invisible

: 无形, 看不见的, 隐形的.lighter: 驳船, 驳运, 比较轻.nearest: 最靠近的.paying : 有利的, 合算的, 支付的.retreating : 撤退.

shook: 摇动.snapped: 猛咬.spread: 扩散, 流传, 传播, 散播,敷, 撒.

steady: 稳定, 坚定, 平稳, 平稳的.steps: 步骤.unable

: 无法, 不能, 未能.uncertainly: 易变的.unfolded: 展开.wanting : 缺少的, 不足的.wept: 哭泣.


19/71

Metamorphosis14

the endless, grey-black building on the other side of the street - which was ahospital - could be seen quite clearly with the austere and regular line ofwindows piercing its facade; the rain was still falling, now throwing down large,individual droplets which hit the ground one at a time. The washing up from

breakfast lay on the table; there was so much of it because, for Gregor's father,breakfast was the most important meal of the day and he would stretch it out forseveral hours as he sat reading a number of different newspapers. On the wallexactly opposite there was photograph of Gregor when he was a lieutenant inthe army, his sword in his hand and a carefree smile on his face as he called forthrespect for his uniform and bearing . The door to the entrance hall was open andas the front door of the flat was also open he could see onto the landing and thestairs where they began their way down below.%

"Now, then", said Gregor, well aware that he was the only one to have keptcalm, "I'll get dressed straight away now, pack up my samples and set off. Willyou please just let me leave? You can see", he said to the chief clerk, "that I'mnot stubborn and like I like to do my job; being a commercial traveller is arduousbut without travelling I couldn't earn my living. So where are you going, in tothe office? Yes? Will you report everything accurately, then? It's quite possiblefor someone to be temporarily unable to work, but that's just the right time toremember what's been achieved in the past and consider that later on, once thedifficulty has been removed, he will certainly work with all the more diligence

and concentration. You're well aware that I'm seriously in debt to our employeras well as having to look after my parents and my sister, so that I'm trapped in adifficult situation, but I will work my way out of it again. Please don't makethings any harder for me than they are already, and don't take sides against meat the office. I know that nobody likes the travellers. They think we earn anenormous wage as well as having a soft time of it. That's just prejudice but theyhave no particular reason to think better it. But you, sir, you have a betteroverview than the rest of the staff, in fact, if I can say this in confidence, a betteroverview than the boss himself - it's very easy for a businessman like him tomake mistakes about his employees and judge them more harshly than heshould. And you're also well aware that we travellers spend almost the whole

Chinese Simplifiedaccurately: 正确地.arduous: 险峻, 艰苦.austere: 严厉的.bearing : 态度, 仪表, 忍耐.businessman: 商人, 实业家.carefree: 开朗, 乐天.diligence

: 勤勉, 勤奋.earn: 赚得, 挣得.endless: 漫长, 无穷, 无穷的.enormous: 极大, 庞大, 巨大,巨大的.

facade: 正面.landing : 着陆.lieutenant: 陆军中尉.meal: 餐, 膳食, 饭.newspapers: 报章, 报纸.nobody: 没有人, 没人.opposite

: 相反, 相对, 对面,对立面, 相反的.overview: 概述, 总的看法.pack: 包装, 包扎, 包, 背包.photograph: 照片, 相片.

prejudice: 偏见.respect: 尊敬, 方面, 遵守, 尊重.soft: 柔软, 柔和, 柔软的.stairs: 楼梯.sword: 剑.temporarily: 姑且, 暂且, 暂时性的.trapped

: 受困.traveller: 旅客, 旅行者, 游客.uniform: 制服, 匀净, 匀实, 一律.wage: 薪水, 薪金, 工资.washing : 洗涤.


20/71

Franz Kafka 15

year away from the office, so that we can very easily fall victim to gossip andchance and groundless complaints, and it's almost impossible to defend yourselffrom that sort of thing, we don't usually even hear about them, or if at all it'swhen we arrive back home exhausted from a trip, and that's when we feel the

harmful effects of what's been going on without even knowing what causedthem. Please, don't go away, at least first say something to show that you grantthat I'm at least partly right!"

But the chief clerk had turned away as soon as Gregor had started to speak,and, with protruding lips, only stared back at him over his trembling shouldersas he left. He did not keep still for a moment while Gregor was speaking, butmoved steadily towards the door without taking his eyes off him. He movedvery gradually, as if there had been some secret prohibition on leaving the

room. It was only when he had reached the entrance hall that he made a suddenmovement, drew his foot from the living room, and rushed forward in a panic.In the hall, he stretched his right hand far out towards the stairway as if outthere, there were some supernatural force waiting to save him.%

Gregor realised that it was out of the question to let the chief clerk go away inthis mood if his position in the firm was not to be put into extreme danger. Thatwas something his parents did not understand very well; over the years, theyhad become convinced that this job would provide for Gregor for his entire life,and besides, they had so much to worry about at present that they had lost sight

of any thought for the future. Gregor, though, did think about the future. Thechief clerk had to be held back, calmed down, convinced and finally won over;the future of Gregor and his family depended on it! If only his sister were here!She was clever; she was already in tears while Gregor was still lying peacefullyon his back. And the chief clerk was a lover of women, surely she couldpersuade him; she would close the front door in the entrance hall and talk himout of his shocked state. But his sister was not there, Gregor would have to dothe job himself.

And without considering that he still was not familiar with how well hecould move about in his present state, or that his speech still might not - or

Chinese Simplifiedarrive: 抵达, 到达, 到.besides: 此外, 另外, 除了, 并且,再说, 况且.

clever: 高明, 聪明的, 伶俐, 玲珑,机灵, 巧妙, 聪明.

defend: 防守, 保卫, 捍卫, 辩护,

辩解, 驻守, 防卫.depended: 依赖.exhausted: 疲惫, 精疲力竭的.extreme: 极端, 非常, 深沉.gossip: 摆龙门阵, 闲话, 闲谈.

gradually: 逐渐, 渐次, 渐渐, 日趋,逐渐地, 渐.

groundless: 莫须有, 毫无根据的.harmful: 有害, 有害的, 不利, 不良.lips: 嘴唇.lover: 爱好者, 爱人, 情人.lying

: 撒谎的.mood: 心情, 气氛, 情绪, 语气,心思, 思绪.

panic: 惊慌, 恐慌.persuade: 劝说, 说服.

prohibition: 禁令, 违碍, 禁止.protruding : 突出.secret: 秘密, 机密.shoulders: 肩, 双肩.steadily: 坚定地, 平稳地.stretched: 伸展.sudden

: 突然, 急剧, 突然的.supernatural: 超自然的.trembling : 发抖, 发抖的.trip: 旅程, 旅游, 旅行, 跟头, 旅途.victim: 被害人, 受害者, 遇难者.


21/71

Metamorphosis16

probably%would not - be understood, he let go of the door; pushed himselfthrough the opening; tried to reach the chief clerk on the landing who,ridiculously, was holding on to the banister with both hands; but Gregor fellimmediately over and, with a little scream as he sought something to hold onto,

landed on his numerous little legs. Hardly had that happened than, for the firsttime that day, he began to feel alright with his body; the little legs had the solidground under them; to his pleasure, they did exactly as he told them; they wereeven making the effort to carry him where he wanted to go; and he was soonbelieving that all his sorrows would soon be finally at an end. He held back theurge to move but swayed from side to side as he crouched there on the floor. Hismother was not far away in front of him and seemed, at first, quite engrossed inherself, but then she suddenly jumped up with her arms outstretched and herfingers spread shouting : "Help, for pity's sake, Help!" The way she held herhead suggested she wanted to see Gregor better, but the unthinking way shewas hurrying backwards showed that she did not; she had forgotten that thetable was behind her with all the breakfast things on it; when she reached thetable she sat quickly down on it without knowing what she was doing; withouteven seeming to notice that the coffee pot had been knocked over and a gush ofcoffee was pouring down onto the carpet.

"Mother, mother", said Gregor gently, looking up at her. He had completelyforgotten the chief clerk for the moment, but could not help himself snapping in

the air with his jaws at the sight of the flow of coffee. That set his motherscreaming anew, she fled from the table and into the arms of his father as herushed towards her. Gregor, though, had no time to spare for his parents now;the chief clerk had already reached the stairs; with his chin on the banister, helooked back for the last time. Gregor made a run for him; he wanted to be sureof reaching him; the chief clerk must have expected something, as he leapt downseveral steps at once and disappeared; his shouts resounding all around thestaircase. The flight of the chief clerk seemed, unfortunately, to put Gregor'sfather into a panic as well. Until then he had been relatively self controlled, butnow, instead of running after the chief clerk himself, or at least not impedingGregor as he ran after him, Gregor's father seized the chief clerk's stick in his

Chinese Simplifiedanew: 重新.backwards: 逆, 逆向, 向后.banister: 栏杆.believing : 有信仰的.chin: 下巴, 颏.engrossed: 专心.fled

: 逃离.gush: 涌出. jaws: 咽喉, 颌. jumped: 跳跃.landed: 着陆.

numerous: 不一而足, 众多, 大量,很多的.

outstretched: 伸开的.pot: 壶, 罐, 锅.reaching : 到达.resounding : 响亮, 反响强烈,

响亮的.ridiculously: 可笑地.sake: 缘故.scream: 叫喊, 呐喊, 呼啸.seeming : 表面上的.

shouting : 呼喊.shouts: 呼喊.snapping : 猛咬.sorrows: 悲哀.sought: 寻求.spare: 备用, 饶恕.staircase

: 楼梯.swayed: 摇摆.unthinking : 轻率的.urge: 催促, 激励, 促使, 劝告,呼吁, 促进.


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Franz Kafka 17

right hand (the chief clerk had left it behind on a chair, along with his hat andovercoat), picked up a large newspaper from the table with his left, and usedthem to drive Gregor back into his room, stamping his foot at him as he went.Gregor's appeals to his father were of no help, his appeals were simply not

understood, however much he humbly turned his head his father merelystamped his foot all the harder.%

Across the room, despite the chilly weather, Gregor's mother had pulledopen a window, leant far out of it and pressed her hands to her face. A strongdraught of air flew in from the street towards the stairway, the curtains flew up,the newspapers on the table fluttered and some of them were blown onto thefloor. Nothing would stop Gregor's father as he drove him back, making hissingnoises at him like a wild man. Gregor had never had any practice in moving

backwards and was only able to go very slowly. If Gregor had only beenallowed to turn round he would have been back in his room straight away, buthe was afraid that if he took the time to do that his father would becomeimpatient, and there was the threat of a lethal blow to his back or head from thestick in his father's hand any moment. Eventually, though, Gregor realised thathe had no choice as he saw, to his disgust, that he was quite incapable of goingbackwards in a straight line; so he began, as quickly as possible and withfrequent anxious glances at his father, to turn himself round. It went veryslowly, but perhaps his father was able to see his good intentions as he did

nothing to hinder him, in fact now and then he used the tip of his stick to givedirections from a distance as to which way to turn.

If only his father would stop that unbearable hissing! It was making Gregorquite confused. When he had nearly finished turning round, still listening tothat hissing, he made a mistake and turned himself back a little the way he had just come. He was pleased when he finally had his head in front of the doorway,but then saw that it was too narrow, and his body was too broad to get throughit without further difficulty. In his present mood, it obviously did not occur to

his father to open the other of the double doors so that Gregor would haveenough space to get through. He was merely fixed on the idea that Gregor

Chinese Simplifiedafraid: 危惧, 恐怕, 害怕.anxious: 焦急, 巴不得, 担心,焦虑的.

broad: 宽, 宽广.chilly: 寒冷的.confused: 困惑, 缭乱, 颠倒, 犯浑.disgust

: 使厌烦, 恶心, 憎恶.doorway: 门口, 入口处.drove: 驾.fixed: 固定, 确定, 一定, 固定的.flew: 飞.

frequent: 频仍, 密切, 经常.glances: 匆匆一看.hinder: 妨碍.impatient: 不耐烦, 无耐心的.incapable: 无法, 无能, 无能力的.intentions: 不露声色, 意图.lethal

: 致命的, 致死的.mistake: 错误, 差错.newspaper: 报纸, 报.occur: 发生.picked: 精选的.

pleased: 满意, 高兴的.stamping : 冲压.stick: 棍, 棒子, 棍子, 插入, 棒,黏贴, 手杖.

threat: 威胁.tip: 小费, 尖端, 尾端.unbearable

: 不堪忍受, 不能忍受的.understood: 明白.weather: 天气.wild: 野, 猖披, 猖獗, 野生,野性的.


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Metamorphosis18

should be got back into his room as quickly as possible. Nor would he ever haveallowed Gregor the time to get himself upright as preparation for gettingthrough the doorway. What he did, making more noise than ever, was to driveGregor forwards all the harder as if there had been nothing in the way; it

sounded to Gregor as if there was now more than one father behind him; it wasnot a pleasant experience, and Gregor pushed himself into the doorway withoutregard for what might happen. One side of his body lifted itself, he lay at anangle in the doorway, one flank scraped on the white door and was painfullyinjured, leaving vile brown flecks on it, soon he was stuck fast and would nothave been able to move at all by himself, the little legs along one side hungquivering in the air while those on the other side were pressed painfully againstthe ground. Then his father gave him a hefty shove from behind which releasedhim from where he was held and sent him flying , and heavily bleeding , deepinto his room. The door was slammed shut with the stick, then, finally, all wasquiet.%

Chinese Simplifiedallowed: 允许.along : 沿着, 沿, 一同.bleeding : 渗色, 出血.brown: 褐色, 棕色, 布朗.deep: 深, 深深, 深刻, 深厚, 浓厚,深沉, 奥秘.

drive

: 驱动器, 精神, 驾车, 驾驶,志气, 驾.fast: 快, 禁食, 快速, 迅速, 速.finally: 最后, 到底, 终于, 最後,总算.

flank: 腹部, 侧面.flying : 飞行, 飞.ground: 地, 地面, 地皮, 理由,土地.

happen: 发生.heavily: 沉重地.hefty

: 重的, 肌肉发达的.held: 握住.lay: 产卵, 安放, 放, 凡俗.move: 步骤, 搬家, 移动, 一举,运动, 感动, 开动, 移.

pleasant: 愉快, 愉快的, 舒适的.preparation: 预备, 制剂, 准备.quickly: 很快, 快, 迅速地.regard: 看待, 关系, 认为, 留意,注意, 心意.

sent: 送了.shove

: 推.soon: 不久, 最近, 眼看, 快, 近期,早, 早日.

stuck: 黏贴.vile: 恶劣, 恶劣的.


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Franz Kafka 19

I I

It %was not until it was getting dark that evening that Gregor awoke from his

deep and coma-like sleep. He would have woken soon afterwards anywayeven if he hadn't been disturbed, as he had had enough sleep and felt fullyrested. But he had the impression that some hurried steps and the sound of thedoor leading into the front room being carefully shut had woken him. The lightfrom the electric street lamps shone palely here and there onto the ceiling andtops of the furniture, but down below, where Gregor was, it was dark. Hepushed himself over to the door, feeling his way clumsily with his antennae - ofwhich he was now beginning to learn the value - in order to see what had beenhappening there. The whole of his left side seemed like one, painfully stretchedscar, and he limped badly on his two rows of legs. One of the legs had beenbadly injured in the events of that morning - it was nearly a miracle that only oneof them had been - and dragged along lifelessly. It was only when he hadreached the door that he realised what it actually was that had drawn him overto it; it was the smell of something to eat. By the door there was a dish filledwith sweetened milk with little pieces of white bread floating in it. He was sopleased he almost laughed, as he was even hungrier than he had been thatmorning, and immediately dipped his head into the milk, nearly covering his

eyes with it. But he soon drew his head back again in disappointment; not onlydid the pain in his tender left side make it difficult to eat the food - he was only

Chinese Simplifiedafterwards: 后来, 然后, 以后,此后, 後, 然後, 后, 过后, 底下,此後, 後来.

antennae: 触须.badly: 非常的.bread: 面包.carefully

: 小心地, 小心翼翼.ceiling : 天花板.clumsily: 粗陋.covering : 包层, 衣子.dark: 暗, 黑暗, 夜.

disappointment: 失望.dish: 菜, 碟.dragged: 拖拉, 拖曳.eat: 吃.electric: 电, 电气, 电力的.floating : 漂浮的, 移动的, 浮动的,

飘浮.fully: 十分, 完全地.furniture: 家具, 家俱.impression: 印像, 印象.laughed: 笑.

learn: 学, 学习.milk: 牛奶, 乳.pain: 痛苦, 痛, 使疼痛, 疼痛.palely: 苍白地.scar: 疤痕, 痕, 疤, 瘢痕, 伤痕.shone: 照耀.sleep

: 梦寐, 睡觉, 睡眠, 睡.smell: 嗅, 臭, 香味.tender: 嫩, 纤细, 细嫩, 温柔,柔弱的.

tops: 最好.


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Metamorphosis20

able to eat if his whole body worked together as a snuffling whole - but the milkdid not taste at all nice. Milk like this was normally his favourite drink, and hissister had certainly left it there for him because of that, but he turned, almostagainst his own will, away from the dish and crawled back into the centre of the

room.%

Through the crack in the door, Gregor could see that the gas had been lit inthe living room. His father at this time would normally be sat with his eveningpaper, reading it out in a loud voice to Gregor's mother, and sometimes to hissister, but there was now not a sound to be heard. Gregor's sister would oftenwrite and tell him about this reading, but maybe his father had lost the habit inrecent times. It was so quiet all around too, even though there must have beensomebody in the flat. "What a quiet life it is the family lead", said Gregor to

himself, and, gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able toprovide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents. But whatnow, if all this peace and wealth and comfort should come to a horrible andfrightening end? That was something that Gregor did not want to think abouttoo much, so he started to move about, crawling up and down the room.

Once during that long evening, the door on one side of the room was openedvery slightly and hurriedly closed again; later on the door on the other side didthe same; it seemed that someone needed to enter the room but thought better ofit. Gregor went and waited immediately by the door, resolved either to bring the

timorous visitor into the room in some way or at least to find out who it was; butthe door was opened no more that night and Gregor waited in vain. Theprevious morning while the doors were locked everyone had wanted to get inthere to him, but now, now that he had opened up one of the doors and the otherhad clearly been unlocked some time during the day, no-one came, and the keyswere in the other sides.

It was not until late at night that the gaslight in the living room was put out,and now it was easy to see that parents and sister had stayed awake all that time,

as they all could be distinctly heard as they went away together on tip-toe. Itwas clear that no-one would come into Gregor's room any more until morning;

Chinese Simplifiedawake: 唤醒, 觉醒, 醒.comfort: 安慰.crack: 裂缝, 精干, 崩裂, 爆裂,裂开, 空隙.

crawling : 爬行.darkness: 黑暗.distinctly

: 逼真, 明显地.drink: 喝, 饮用, 饮, 饮料.enter: 进, 进入, 回车键, 入.favourite: 最喜爱.frightening : 凶恶.

gas: 气体, 瓦斯, 气, 汽油, 煤气.gaslight: 煤气灯光.gazing : 凝视.keys: 钥匙.lit: 点燃.living : 活泼的.maybe

: 或许, 也许, 或者, 说不定,可能, 不一定.normally: 按理, 按说, 一般上.opened: 打开.peace: 和平.

pride: 自豪, 骄傲.reading : 读物, 读数.resolved: 坚决的.sister: 姐妹.slightly: 略, 有点儿, 略微, 稍,稍微.

somebody

: 某人, 有人.taste: 滋味, 品味, 味道, 尝味.vain: 无效的.visitor: 旅游者, 来宾, 访问者.wealth: 财富, 财帛.


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Franz Kafka 21

that gave him plenty of time to think undisturbed about how he would have tore-arrange his life. For some reason, the tall, empty room where he was forced toremain made him feel uneasy as he lay there flat on the floor, even though hehad been living in it for five years. Hardly aware of what he was doing other

than a slight feeling of shame, he hurried under the couch. It pressed down onhis back a little, and he was no longer able to lift his head, but he nonetheless feltimmediately at ease and his only regret was that his body was too broad to get itall underneath. He spent the whole night there. Some of the time he passed in alight sleep, although he frequently woke from it in alarm because of his hunger,and some of the time was spent in worries and vague hopes which, however,always led to the same conclusion: for the time being he must remain calm, hemust show patience and the greatest consideration so that his family could bearthe unpleasantness that he, in his present condition, was forced to impose onthem.%

Gregor soon had the opportunity to test the strength of his decisions, as earlythe next morning, almost before the night had ended, his sister, nearly fullydressed, opened the door from the front room and looked anxiously in. She didnot see him straight away, but when she did notice him under the couch - he hadto be somewhere, for God's sake, he couldn't have flown away - she was soshocked that she lost control of herself and slammed the door shut again fromoutside. But she seemed to regret her behaviour, as she opened the door again

straight away and came in on tip-toe as if entering the room of someoneseriously ill or even of a stranger. Gregor had pushed his head forward, right tothe edge of the couch, and watched her. Would she notice that he had left themilk as it was, realise that it was not from any lack of hunger and bring him insome other food that was more suitable? If she didn't do it herself he wouldrather go hungry than draw her attention to it, although he did feel a terribleurge to rush forward from under the couch, throw himself at his sister's feet andbeg her for something good to eat. However, his sister noticed the full dishimmediately and looked at it and the few drops of milk splashed around it withsome surprise. She immediately picked it up - using a rag , not her bare hands -and carried it out. Gregor was extremely curious as to what she would bring in

Chinese Simplifiedbare: 赤裸裸, 赤裸的.bear: 熊, 忍受, 背负, 忍耐, 承担,担负, 空头, 堪.

conclusion: 结论, 结局, 总结.couch: 睡椅.draw: 画, 不分胜负, 描, 吸, 拉.ease

: 缓解, 减轻, 容易, 悠, 舒适.empty: 空, 空洞.frequently: 往往, 常常, 时常,经常, 不时, 频繁, 经常地.

greatest: 莫大.

hopes: 希望.hunger: 饥饿.hungry: 饥饿, 饿, 饥饿的.impose: 征收, 实施.nonetheless: 然而.patience: 忍耐, 忍受, 耐心, 耐性.plenty

: 丰富, 许多.rag : 破布, 碎布.realise: 达.regret: 遗憾, 抱歉, 后悔, 懊悔,歉意, 惋惜, 後悔.

shame: 羞耻.stranger: 陌生人, 异乡人, 生人.surprise: 使吃惊, 惊奇, 惊骇.tall: 高大的, 高大.terrible: 可怕, 糟糕, 可怕的.underneath: 在下面, 下面的.undisturbed

: 安顿, 坦然, 平静,不受干拢的.uneasy: 不安, 担心, 不安的.unpleasantness: 不愉快.vague: 模糊, 含糊, 隐约, 模糊的.


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Metamorphosis22

its place, imagining the wildest possibilities, but he never could have guessedwhat his sister, in her goodness, actually did bring. In order to test his taste, shebrought him a whole selection of things, all spread out on an old newspaper.There were old, half- rotten vegetables; bones from the evening meal, covered in

white sauce that had gone hard; a few raisins and almonds; some cheese thatGregor had declared inedible two days before; a dry roll and some bread spreadwith butter and salt. As well as all that she had poured some water into thedish, which had probably been permanently set aside for Gregor's use, andplaced it beside them. Then, out of consideration for Gregor's feelings, as sheknew that he would not eat in front of her, she hurried out again and eventurned the key in the lock so that Gregor would know he could make things ascomfortable for himself as he liked. Gregor's little legs whirred, at last he couldeat. What's more, his injuries must already have completely healed as he foundno difficulty in moving. This amazed him, as more than a month earlier he hadcut his finger slightly with a knife, he thought of how his finger had still hurt theday before yesterday.%

"Am I less sensitive than I used to be, then?", he thought, and was alreadysucking greedily at the cheese which had immediately, almost compellingly,attracted him much more than the other foods on the newspaper. Quickly oneafter another, his eyes watering with pleasure, he consumed the cheese, thevegetables and the sauce; the fresh foods, on the other hand, he didn't like at all,

and even dragged the things he did want to eat a little way away from thembecause he couldn't stand the smell. Long after he had finished eating and laylethargic in the same place, his sister slowly turned the key in the lock as a signto him that he should withdraw. He was immediately startled, although he hadbeen half asleep, and he hurried back under the couch. But he needed great self-control to stay there even for the short time that his sister was in the room, aseating so much food had rounded out his body a little and he could hardlybreathe in that narrow space. Half suffocating, he watched with bulging eyes ashis sister unselfconsciously took a broom and swept up the left-overs, mixingthem in with the food he had not even touched at all as if it could not be usedany more. She quickly dropped it all into a bin, closed it with its wooden lid,

Chinese Simplifiedaside: 在旁边, 一旁.asleep: 睡着, 睡着的.beside: 在旁边.bin: 箱子, 贮藏室, 桶.breathe: 呼吸.broom: 扫帚, 帚, 扫把.bulging

: 膨胀.butter: 牛油, 黄油.cheese: 奶酪, 干酪, 乳酪, 乾酪.comfortable: 舒服, 舒服的.dropped: 落下.

feelings: 感情, 面子.finger: 手指, 指头.goodness: 美德.hurt: 伤害, 使受伤.inedible: 不能吃的.injuries: 伤害.knife

: 刀子, 刀, 餐刀.lid: 盖子.mixing : 混音.permanently: 永久地.pleasure: 欢乐, 乐趣, 愉快.

possibilities: 可能性.roll: 滚动, 簸荡, 卷.rotten: 腐败的, 腐朽.salt: 盐.sauce: 调味汁, 酱油.self-control: 克制, 自我克制.startled

: 震惊.swept: 打扫.vegetables: 蔬菜, 素食.watering : 给浇水.withdraw: 撤回, 退避, 取出.


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Franz Kafka 23

and carried everything out. She had hardly turned her back before Gregor cameout again from under the couch and stretched himself.%

This was how Gregor received his food each day now, once in the morningwhile his parents and the maid were still asleep, and the second time aftereveryone had eaten their meal at midday as his parents would sleep for a littlewhile then as well, and Gregor's sister would send the maid away on someerrand. Gregor's father and mother certainly did not want him to starve either,but perhaps it would have been more than they could stand to have any moreexperience of his feeding than being told about it, and perhaps his sister wantedto spare them what distress she could as they were indeed suffering enough.

It was impossible for Gregor to find out what they had told the doctor andthe locksmith that first morning to get them out of the flat. As nobody could

understand him, nobody, not even his sister, thought that he could understandthem, so he had to be content to hear his sister's sighs and appeals to the saintsas she moved about his room. It was only later, when she had become a littlemore used to everything - there was, of course, no question of her ever becomingfully used to the situation - that Gregor would sometimes catch a friendlycomment, or at least a comment that could be construed as friendly. "He'senjoyed his dinner today", she might say when he had diligently cleared awayall the food left for him, or if he left most of it, which slowly became more andmore frequent, she would often say, sadly, "now everything's just been left there

again".

Although Gregor wasn't able to hear any news directly he did listen to muchof what was said in the next rooms, and whenever he heard anyone speaking hewould scurry straight to the appropriate door and press his whole body againstit. There was seldom any conversation, especially at first, that was not about himin some way, even if only in secret. For two whole days, all the talk at everymealtime was about what they should do now; but even between meals theyspoke about the same subject as there were always at least two members of the

family at home - nobody wanted to be at home by themselves and it was out ofthe question to leave the flat entirely empty. And on the very first day the maid

Chinese Simplifiedappropriate: 适当, 妥善, 得宜,恰如其份, 适度, 适宜, 恰当, 相当,适当的, 妥当, 对头.

catch: 捕捉, 捕捞, 捕拿, 捉.comment: 注解, 评论, 按语, 注释,批评.

content

: 内容, 要旨, 含量.diligently: 用心, 勤劳地, 勤奋地.dinner: 晚餐, 正餐.directly: 直接地, 一头, 索性.distress: 苦恼, 悲痛.

doctor: 医生, 大夫, 医师, 博士.eaten: 吃了.entirely: 完全, 全部地.errand: 差使.hardly: 几乎不, 毫不, 辛苦地.impossible: 不可能, 不可能的.meals

: 膳食.midday: 正午, 中午.received: 收到.rooms: 房间.scurry: 疾走.

seldom: 很少, 难得.send: 派遣, 派出, 送, 发送, 寄,投, 派.

sighs: 叹息.slowly: 徐徐, 慢慢地, 缓缓.stand: 站住, 主张, 架子, 站立, 耐,

站, 架.starve: 饥饿, 饿死.straight: 直, 海峡, 迳直, 直接,笔直, 一直.

suffering : 痛苦, 熬煎, 苦难.


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Metamorphosis24

had fallen to her knees and begged Gregor's mother to let her go without delay.It was not very clear how much she knew of what had happened but she leftwithin a quarter of an hour, tearfully thanking Gregor's mother for her dismissalas if she had done her an enormous service. She even swore emphatically not to

tell anyone the slightest about what had happened, even though no-one hadasked that of her. Now Gregor's sister also had to help his mother with thecooking ; although that was not so much bother as no-one ate very much.Gregor often heard how one of them would unsuccessfully urge another to eat,and receive no more answer than "no thanks, I've had enough" or somethingsimilar. No-one drank very much either. His sister would sometimes ask hisfather whether he would like a beer, hoping for the chance to go and fetch itherself. When his father then said nothing she would add, so that he would notfeel selfish, that she could send the housekeeper for it, but then his father wouldclose the matter with a big, loud "No", and no more would be said.%

Even before the first day had come to an end, his father had explained toGregor's mother and sister what their finances and prospects were. Now andthen he stood up from the table and took some receipt or document from thelittle cash box he had saved from his business when it had collapsed five yearsearlier. Gregor heard how he opened the complicated lock and then closed itagain after he had taken the item he wanted. What he heard his father say wassome of the first good news that Gregor heard since he had first been

incarcerated in his room. He had thought that nothing at all remained from hisfather's business, at least he had never told him anything different, and Gregorhad never asked him about it anyway. Their business misfortune had reducedthe family to a state of total despair, and Gregor's only concern at that time hadbeen to arrange things so that they could all forget about it as quickly as possible.So then he started working especially hard, with a fiery vigour that raised himfrom a junior salesman to a travelling representative almost overnight, bringingwith it the chance to earn money in quite different ways. Gregor converted hissuccess at work straight into cash that he could lay on the table at home for thebenefit of his astonished and delighted family. They had been good times andthey had never come again, at least not with the same splendour, even though

Chinese Simplifiedarrange: 整理, 擘画, 安排, 布置.ate: 吃了.beer: 啤酒.begged: 乞求.bother: 烦扰, 打扰, 理会.collapsed: 崩溃.complicated

: 复杂, 繁复, 曲折,复杂的, 疑难.converted: 转换.cooking : 烹调.delay: 延迟, 延期, 耽搁, 耽误, 耽.

delighted: 愉快.despair: 绝望, 泄气.dismissal: 解雇.drank: 喝了.fetch: 拿, 取, 带来.fiery: 如火, 炽热的.finances

: 财政.hoping : 希望.housekeeper: 女管家, 保姆. junior: 初级.knees: 膝盖.

misfortune: 不幸, 变故.overnight: 通宵.prospects: 前途, 前景.receipt: 收据, 收条.representative: 代表, 议员, 代理的,代议制的, 描写的, 表现的.

selfish

: 自私, 自私自利, 自私的.splendour: 壮丽, 显赫.swore: 立誓.tearfully: 潸, 含眼地.vigour: 活力, 精力.


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Gregor%had later earned so much that he was in a position to bear the costs ofthe whole family, and did bear them. They had even got used to it, both Gregorand the family, they took the money with gratitude and he was glad to provideit, although there was no longer much warm affection given in return. Gregor

only remained close to his sister now. Unlike him, she was very fond of musicand a gifted and expressive violinist, it was his secret plan to send her to theconservatory next year even though it would cause great expense that wouldhave to be made up for in some other way. During Gregor's short periods intown, conversation with his sister would often turn to the conservatory but itwas only ever mentioned as a lovely dream that could never be realised. Theirparents did not like to hear this innocent talk, but Gregor thought about it quitehard and decided he would let them know what he planned with a grandannouncement of it on Christmas day. That was the sort of totally pointlessthing that went through his mind in his present state, pressed upright against thedoor and listening. There were times when he simply became too tired tocontinue listening, when his head would fall wearily against the door and hewould pull it up again with a start, as even the slightest noise he caused wouldbe heard next door and they would all go silent. "What's that he's doing now",his father would say after a while, clearly having gone over to the door, and onlythen would the interrupted conversation slowly be taken up again.

When explaining things, his father repeated himself several times, partly

because it was a long time since he had been occupied with these matters himselfand partly because Gregor's mother did not understand everything first time.From these repeated explanations Gregor learned, to his pleasure, that despite alltheir misfortunes there was still some money available from the old days. It wasnot a lot, but it had not been touched in the meantime and some interest hadaccumulated. Besides that, they had not been using up all the money thatGregor had been bringing home every month, keeping only a little for himself,so that that, too, had been accumulating . Behind the door, Gregor nodded withenthusiasm in his pleasure at this unexpected thrift and caution. He couldactually have used this surplus money to reduce his father's debt to his boss, and

Chinese Simplifiedaccumulated: 积累.accumulating : 积累.affection: 感情, 爱, 疾病影响.announcement: 告示, 公报, 通告.caution: 小心.conservatory: 温室.enthusiasm

: 热心, 劲头, 热情,积极性.expense: 花费, 费用, 支出.expressive: 富表情的.fond: 喜欢.

gifted: 天才, 天赋的.grand: 堂皇, 隆重, 雄伟, 盛大,宏大, 大型的, 宏伟.

gratitude: 感谢.keeping : 保管, 保持.lovely: 可爱, 可爱的.meantime

: 同时.partly: 部分地.periods: 周期, 期.pointless: 窝囊.pull: 拉, 牵引.

repeated: 重复的.silent: 无声, 沉默的.surplus: 盈余, 过剩, 顺差, 剩馀,多馀, 剩余, 盈馀.

thrift: 节俭.tired: 疲倦, 疲乏, 疲倦的.totally

: 完全, 统统, 总体, 完全地.unexpected: 意想不到, 意外, 不虞,突然, 出现意外, 没意料到的.

violinist: 小提琴手, 小提琴家.wearily: 疲劳, 疲劳地.


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the day when he could have freed himself from that job would have come muchcloser, but now it was certainly better the way his father had done things.%

This money, however, was certainly not enough to enable the family to liveoff the interest; it was enough to maintain them for, perhaps, one or two years,no more. That's to say, it was money that should not really be touched but setaside for emergencies; money to live on had to be earned. His father was healthybut old, and lacking in self-confidence. During the five years that he had notbeen working - the first holiday in a life that had been full of strain and nosuccess - he had put on a lot of weight and become very slow and clumsy.Would Gregor's elderly mother now have to go and earn money? She sufferedfrom asthma and it was a strain for her just to move about the home, every otherday would be spent struggling for breath on the sofa by the open window.

Would his sister have to go and earn money? She was still a child of seventeen,her life up till then had been very enviable, consisting of wearing nice clothes,sleeping late, helping out in the business, joining in with a few modest pleasuresand most of all playing the violin. Whenever they began to talk of the need toearn money, Gregor would always first let go of the door and then throw himselfonto the cool, leather sofa next to it, as he became quite hot with shame andregret. He would often lie there the whole night through, not sleeping a winkbut scratching at the leather for hours on end. Or he might go to all the effort ofpushing a chair to the window, climbing up onto the sill and, propped up in the

chair, leaning on the window to stare out of it. He had used to feel a great senseof freedom from doing this, but doing it now was obviously something moreremembered than experienced, as what he actually saw in this way wasbecoming less distinct every day, even things that were quite near; he had usedto curse the ever-present view of the hospital across the street, but now he couldnot see it at all, and if he had not known that he lived in Charlottenstrasse, whichwas a quiet street despite being in the middle of the city, he could have thoughtthat he was looking out the window at a barren waste where the grey sky andthe grey earth mingled inseparably. His observant sister only needed to noticethe chair twice before she would always push it back to its exact position by the

Chinese Simplifiedasthma: 气喘.barren: 不毛, 荒芜, 贫瘠.climbing : 攀登, 上升的.clumsy: 笨拙, 拙.cool: 凉, 镇静, 镇定, 凉爽,凉爽的.

distinct

: 明显, 不同, 清楚, 独特,独特的, 清晰, 鲜明.enviable: 值得羡慕的.exact: 确切, 精密, 准确, 正确的.experienced: 有经验, 有经验的,

内行, 老成.healthy: 健康的, 健壮.helping : 帮助人的, 辅助的, 帮助.lacking : 不足, 缺乏, 贫乏.leather: 皮革, 皮.lie: 谎言, 谎话, 躺, 撒谎, 说谎.modest

: 谦虚, 谦虚的, 虚心.observant: 观察敏锐.pleasures: 愉快.scratching : 刮�

Franz Kafka-Metamorphosis (Webster's Chinese-Traditional Thesaurus Edition) (2006)

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Transcript of Franz Kafka-Metamorphosis (Webster's Chinese-Traditional Thesaurus Edition) (2006)