They stood still and listened, but all they could hear was the thump-thump of their own hearts. This place was at least as quiet as the Wood between the Worlds. But it was a different kind of quietness. The silence of the Wood had been rich and warm (you could almost hear the trees growing) and full of life: this was a dead, cold, empty silence. You couldn 8217;t imagine anything growing in it.
他们站好细听，但只听到自己心脏的砰砰跳动声。这里至少和世界之间的树林一样宁静。然而，却是另一种宁静。那片树林宁静、青翠、温暖，充满生机，你几乎可以听见树木在生长。这里却是一种冷而空的死寂，你无法想像，这里会有生命在生长。
8220;Let 8217;s go home, 8221; said Polly.
‘我们回家吧。”波莉说。
8220;But we haven 8217;t seen anything yet, 8221; said Digory. 8220;Now we 8217;re here, we simply must have a look round. 8221;
”可我们什么也没看见呢，”迪格雷说，“既然来了，就要到处走走。”
8220;I 8217;m sure there 8217;s nothing at all interesting here. 8221;
“我敢肯定，这儿不好玩。”
8220;There 8217;s not much point in finding a magic ring that lets you into other worlds if you 8217;re afraid to look at them when you 8217;ve got there. 8221;
“要是你来了都不敢看，那么，找一枚有魔法的戒指把你带到‘另外的世界’有什么意义呢？”
8220;Who 8217;s talking about being afraid? 8221; said Polly, letting go of Digory 8217;s hand.
“谁说不敢了，”波莉说着．甩开了迪格雷的手。
8220;I only thought you didn 8217;t seem very keen on exploring this place. 8221;
“我刚才只是想．你对探索这个地方不太热心。”
8220;I 8217;ll go anywhere you go. 8221;
“随便你去哪儿，我都去。”
8220;We can get away the moment we want to, 8221; said Digory. 8220;Let 8217;s take off our green rings and put them in our right-hand pockets. All we 8217;ve got to do is to remember that our yellow are in our left-hand pockets. You can keep your hand as near your pocket as you like, but don 8217;t put it in or you 8217;ll touch your yellow and vanish. 8221;
我们想离开的时候就能离开。”迪格雷说，“取下绿戒指，放进右边的口袋里。只需要记住，左边是黄的，右边是绿的。你可以把手放在离口袋比较近的地方，但不要伸进去，否则，你一碰到黄戒指就会消失。”
They did this and went quietly up to one of the big arched doorways which led into the inside of the building. And when they stood on the threshold and could look in, they saw it was not so dark inside as they had thought at first. It led into a vast, shadowy hall which appeared to be empty; but on the far side there was a row of pillars with arches between them and through those arches there streamed in some more of the same tired-looking light. They crossed the hall, walking very carefully for fear of holes in the floor or of anything lying about that they might trip over. It seemed a long walk. When they had reached the other side they came out through the arches and found themselves in another and larger courtyard.
安排好后，他们悄悄地朝通向建筑内部的一个巨大拱门走去。当他们站在门槛上朝里看时，发现早面并非他们原先所想的那么黑，能看见一个幽暗的空荡荡的大厅．大厅的远端有一排拱门柱，空隙露出更多那种疲惫的光线。他们小心翼翼地穿过大厅，怕地上有洞或其他东西将他们绊倒。当他们走过去，穿过柱子之间的拱门时，发现自己又到了另一个更大的院子里。
8220;That doesn 8217;t look very safe, 8221; said Polly, pointing at a place where the wall bulged outward and looked as if it were ready to fall over into the courtyard. In one place a pillar was missing between two arches and the bit that came down to where the top of the pillar ought to have been hung there with nothing to support it. Clearly, the place had been deserted for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.
“好像不太安全。”波莉说，她指着一面似乎随时都可能倒向院中的凸出的墙。有一处地方缺了一根柱子，柱顶原来所在的部位只留下一点儿残迹，豪无支撑地悬在空中。那地方显然已荒芜了几百年甚至上千年了。
8220;If it 8217;s lasted till now, I suppose it 8217;ll last a bit longer, 8221; said Digory. 8220;But we must be very quiet. You know a noise sometimes brings things down 8211; like an avalanche in the Alps. 8221;
“既然能保留到今天，我想一定还会保留得更长。”迪格雷说，‘但我们必须保持安静。你知道，声音有时会使东西塌下来― 就像阿尔卑斯山的雪崩一样。”