《木匠老陈》 巴金 （3）

老陈和他徒弟的工作使我的眼界宽了不少。

The work which Lao Chen and his apprentices did was a real eye-opener to me.

那时我还在家里读书，祖父聘请了一位前清的老秀才来管教我们。老秀才不知道教授的方法，他只教我们认一些字，呆板的读一些书。

I was studying at home under the tutorship of an old scholar of Qing dynasty whom my grandfather had engaged. The old scholar knew nothing about teaching methods. All he did was make me learn some Chinese characters and do some dull reading.

此外，他就把我们关在书房里，端端正正的坐在凳子上，让时间白白的过去。过惯了这种单调的生活以后，无怪乎我特别喜欢老陈了。

Apart from that, he had me cooped up in my study and sit bolt upright doing nothing while time was slipping through my fingers. Because of this monotonous life, it was no wonder that I developed a special liking for Lao Chen.

apprentices : n.学徒

eye-opener : n.令人惊奇的事物；使人大开眼界的事物

under the tutorship of sb.：在谁的辅导之下

engaged: v.吸引住；雇佣；参加；（机器）接合；与（敌人）开战；同...订婚

cooped up：v.把...关在笼子里；拘禁

bolt upright ：笔笔直直

monotonous ：adj.单一的；无聊的

It was no wonder that：难怪...

developed a special liking for：对...特别感兴趣