又中又英｜Eye-opener

One of my favourite novels is Jane Eyre by the 19th century English author Charlotte Brontë. I have read Jane Eyre at least three times and am reading it again. I last read it over 30 years ago in the 20th century. Reading it again in the 21st century is an eye-opener for me. The expression "eye-opener" is used to describe something that surprises you and teaches you something new. Reading Jane Eyre in the 21st century is an eye-opener for me because the writing now seems quite archaic. The word "archaic" means old-fashioned or outdated. Many young people will consider 19th century English archaic.

Some young people may find it very hard to understand the writing in Jane Eyre. I am not young but also came across words in Jane Eyre that I did not understand. Reading the novel reminded me how much the English language has changed over time. One word in the novel I didn’t understand was spoony. I had to look it up in the dictionary. It’s an outdated noun that means a simple, silly, or foolish person. As an adjective, and as an American slang word nowadays, it means foolishly sentimental when expressing love for someone.

Another word I had to check in the dictionary was apothecary. It’s an archaic word that means a person who made and sold medicines in the old days. The modern-day equivalent of an apothecary is a pharmacist, but pharmacists don't make medicines. They only sell medicines.

其中一部我最喜爱的小说，是十九世纪英国作家夏洛蒂‧勃朗特的《简爱》。我读了《简爱》至少三遍，现在又再重读。上一次读它，是在超过三十年前的二十世纪。如今在二十一世纪重读小说，对我来说实在是眼界大开（eye-opener）。习语"eye-opener"是用来形容某事物令你很惊奇，对你来说很有启发性。在二十一世纪读《简爱》，对我来说是大开眼界（eye-opener），因为那种写法现在看来颇为 archaic—— archaic意思是古代或过时的。许多年轻人都会认为十九世纪的英语古老过时（archaic）。

有些年轻人会认为《简爱》的行文非常难以读懂。我并不年轻，但在《简爱》中也会遇到一些我不明白的字词。读这本小说令我又再想到，英语随着时间改变了这么多。小说中一个我不明白的字是 spoony。我查找了字典，它是一个过时的名词，意思是单纯、愚笨的人，或傻瓜；作为形容词，又或在今天作为美式俚语，它则解作痴情的人。

另一个我不得不查字典的字是 apothecary。它也是一个古老过时的字，指在古时制作和售卖药物的药剂师。时至今日，与apothecary 相对应的字是 pharmacist，但今天的药剂师并不会制药，他们只会卖药。

mickchug@gmail.com
Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻