這場戲：求醫生給瘋侄女動刀
第 5 章 · 共 27 章 · 4'28"
維奧萊特給醫生講侄女的病，先誇 Such a pretty name for a disease（一個病叫這麼好聽的名字），再說她 She lacerates herself with memory（用回憶把自己割得遍體鱗傷）。診所電報說她 out of her mind（瘋了），她只能求人：If you can't, I'm at my wits' end（要是你也不行，我真沒轍了）。想學把瘋病講得又美又可怕，看這段。
❝ 獨白 · 9 句 out of her mind（神志不清），一場瘋病的來龍去脈
out of her mind 瘋了、神志不清cope with 應付、對付fits of violence 一陣陣的暴怒taking the form of 以……的形式出現
❝ 獨白 · 6 句 平靜與鳥群的獨白
從「福氣」滑到吞噬的鳥群，溫柔的語氣洩露了她自己的噩夢。
《夏日痴魂》這段在維奧萊特的宅邸：她向庫克羅維茨醫生描述侄女凱瑟琳的病，先諷刺地誇 Such a pretty name for a disease（一個病叫這麼好聽的名字），再提到 She lacerates herself with memory（她用回憶把自己割得遍體鱗傷）。診所的電報說她 Your niece is out of her mind（您侄女瘋了），維奧萊特已經 at her wits' end（束手無策），還被告知醫院這週後就留不住她。她請醫生做實驗性手術，說它能 pacify（讓人平靜），甚至用「滿是兇殘吞噬之鳥的天空」比喻病人的噩夢。想學優雅又危險的病人自述，這段最陰。
A1–C2 是歐標等級。點一個等級後，比它高的卡片會變淡，播放到那裡不會自動暫停。
“If she isn't unapproachable and hopeless, I don't know who is.”
要是她還不算沒法治、沒指望，我就不知道誰算了。
把夫人剛立的門檻原樣遞回去，一句話堵得她說不出話。
If X isn't Y, I don't know who is.
反將一軍、說某人不配時用；對平輩熟人用，對長輩會顯頂撞。
If he isn't a genius, nobody is. ／ If that's not love, I don't know what is.
中性
isn't 與 unapproachable 連讀，who is 收尾上揚。
If this isn't the worst traffic, I don't know what is. 要是這還不算最堵，我就不知道什麼算了。
“But what a blessing to them, doctor, to be just peaceful.”
可對他們來說，能平靜下來就是天大的福氣，醫生。
把殘酷的結果說成恩典，溫柔的字面底下全是狠。
what a blessing to be ...
感慨某種解脫時用；把別人受損說成福氣會被聽出涼薄。
What a relief it would be to forget. ／ What a gift just to feel calm.
正式
what a blessing 輕快帶過，just peaceful 放慢。
What a blessing it would be to sleep through the night. 能一覺睡到天亮，那才是福氣。
“You said a sky filled with savage, devouring birds?”
您是說，滿是兇殘吞噬的鳥群的天空？
一問把夫人壓著的恐懼勾出來，她瞬間失了神。
a sky filled with X
追問對方說過的意象時用；別在對方情緒不穩時逼問。
A sky black with birds? ／ A sky full of wings?
literary
savage 與 devouring 之間略頓，birds 尾音壓低。
A room filled with strangers and silence? 一間擠滿陌生人、鴉雀無聲的屋子？
“And help her. If you can't, I'm at my wits' end.”
幫幫她。如果你也不行，那我真是束手無策了。
用“智力到頭”的習語把無助說到頂，是求助時最生動的一句。
I'm at my wits' end.
對信任的人求助、說自己真的沒轍時用；正式報告裡別用，偏口語。
I'm completely out of ideas. ／ I don't know which way to turn anymore.
口語
And help her 一頓，If you can't 連讀，at my wits' end 降調收尾。
I've tried everything — I'm at my wits' end. 我什麼都試過了，真是沒轍了。
It all started last summer. The first I knew, there was a cable from this clinic in Paris... ...saying, "Your niece is out of her mind. What shall we do?" I was almost out of my mind last summer. Sebastian had just died, I was ill, but I did everything I could. I said, "Send her straight home with a nurse." So they put her on the Berengaria... ...locked in her stateroom like a wild animal. She was taken straight to St. Mary's.
一切從去年夏天開始。 我最早知道的，是巴黎那家診所發來一封電報…… ……上面寫著：「您侄女瘋了。我們該怎麼辦？」 去年夏天，我自己也差點瘋了。 塞巴斯蒂安剛死，我又病著，可我還是盡力做了我能做的。 我說：「派個護士直接送她回家。」 於是他們把她送上了「貝倫加利亞號」…… ……鎖在客艙裡，像頭野獸。 她直接被送進了聖瑪麗。
But what a blessing to them, doctor, to be just peaceful. To be just suddenly peaceful. After all that horror... ...after those nightmares... ...just to be able to lift up their eyes to a sky... ...not black with savage, devouring birds.
可對他們來說，能平靜下來就是天大的福氣，醫生。 能一下子平靜下來。 受了那麼多驚嚇之後…… ……做過那麼多噩夢之後…… ……只要能抬起眼睛，看看天空…… ……不是被兇殘的、吞噬一切的鳥群遮黑的那種天空。
下一章 · 06in the image of依照……的樣子這場戲：講海龜和食肉鳥的慘劇意思是「束手無策、沒轍了」。wits 是「頭腦、機智」，一個人連機智都用到頭了，就是徹底沒主意了。臺詞 If you can't, I'm at my wits' end 就是「要是你也不行，我真沒轍了」。
out of one's mind。比如 Your niece is out of her mind 就是「您侄女瘋了」。它也可以誇張地表示「被逼瘋、受不了」，視語氣而定。
意思是「應付、對付」，後面接難題、壓力或局面。臺詞 they can't cope with her fits of violence 就是「他們應付不了她一陣陣的暴怒」。
意思是「使平靜、安撫」，偏書面。它既可以指讓情緒失控的人安靜下來，也可以指用手段「平息」局面，醫療語境裡常指讓人鎮定。
是反諷。字面說病名好聽，其實在挖苦：dementia praecox 聽著像花名，現實卻很可怕。這句把殘忍和優雅並排放在一起，正是維奧萊特的說話方式。
