To Kill a Mockingbird 杀死一只知更鸟 Chapter 10

Atticus was feeble: he was nearly fifty. When Jem and I asked him why he was so old,he said he got started late, which we felt reflected upon his abilities and manliness ¹. Hewas much older than the parents of our school contemporaries, and there was nothingJem or I could say about him when our classmates said, "My father -- ", ,Jem was football crazy. Atticus was never too tired to play keep-away, but when Jemwanted to tackle him Atticus would say, "I'm too old for that, son.", ,Our father didn't do anything. He worked in an office, not in a drugstore. Atticus did notdrive a dump-truck for the county, he was not the sheriff, he did not farm, work in agarage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration ³ of anyone., , ,He did not do the things our schoolmates' fathers did: he never went hunting, he didnot play poker ⁶ or fish or drink or smoke. He sat in the livingroom and read., ,With these attributes, however, he would not remain as inconspicuous as we wishedhim to: that year, the school buzzed with talk about him defending Tom Robinson, noneof which was complimentary ⁷. After my bout ² with Cecil Jacobs when I committed myselfto a policy of cowardice ⁸, word got around that Scout ⁹ Finch ⁵ wouldn't fight any more, herdaddy wouldn't let her. This was not entirely ¹⁰ correct: I wouldn't fight publicly for Atticus,but the family was private ground. I would fight anyone from a third cousin upwardstooth and nail. Francis Hancock, for example, knew that., ,His confidence, his manliness and bravery, turn his wit into wisdom. 他的自信、男子气概和勇敢将他的风趣变为智慧。,I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张 。