橘子不是唯一的水果，人生并非只有单一的况味。
英国女作家珍妮特·温特森的《橘子不是唯一的水果》是一部讲述爱、悲伤和愤怒的成长小说。在英国一个偏远的小镇，女孩珍妮特成长在一个宗教氛围浓郁的家庭里。母亲是一个偏执虔诚的教徒。在母亲的教育下，教会活动成了珍妮特日常生活的一切。随着年龄的增长，珍妮特发现自己与小镇和母亲的偏执并不和谐，并且最终因为她离经背道的恋爱观使矛盾爆发了。于是，她带着这份决绝离开了小镇和母亲，选择了那除了“橘子”外的人生。
英式发音 适合泛听
Excerpt from Exodus 节选自“出埃及”
At school I couldn't seem to learn anything or win anything, not even the draw to get out of being dinner monitor. Dinner monitor meant that you had to make sure everybody had a plate and that the water jug didn't have bits in it. Dinner monitors got served last and had the smallest portions. I'd been drawn to do it three times running and I got shouted at in class for always smelling of 1)gravy. My clothes were gravy-spotted and my mother made me wear the same 2)gymslip all week because she said there was no point trying to make me look clean as long as I had that duty. My mother was right. It was a 3)Breeding Ground. And it wasn't as though I hadn't tried. We had been set a project just before we started last autumn, we had to write an essay called “What I Did in My Summer Holidays.” I was anxious to do it well because I knew they thought I couldn't read or anything, not having been to school early enough. I did it slowly in my best handwriting, proud that some of the others could only print. We read them out one by one, then gave them to the teacher. I was at the end of the alphabet, and I could hardly wait. The teacher was the kind of woman who wanted her class to be happy.
在学校里，我好像什么也学不到，什么也赢不了，就连抽个签也逃不掉当食堂班长这份苦差。当食堂班长是指，你得确保每个人都有一个餐盘，水壶里不能只剩一点水。食堂班长最后一个给分到饭，而且只能分到最少分量的饭菜。我曾一连三次抽到这份差事，同班同学对我大吵大嚷，因为我闻起来总有一股肉汤味儿。我衣服上沾满了星星点点的肉汤，母亲就让我一整周都穿同一套校服上学，因为她说只要我还要管食堂，把我打扮得再整洁也没意义。我母亲说得对，学校就是个养殖场。倒不是说我没努力过。去年秋天，就在新学期开始前，老师布置过一次作业，让我们写一篇题为《我在暑假干了什么》的短文。我很在意这事，一心想要写好，因为我知道他们都以为我上学不够早所以还不会阅读或是别的什么。我慢慢写，写出我最漂亮的字，我很自豪，因为很多别的学生只能用印刷体写字。我们一个一个轮流读出自己的作文，然后交给老师。我的姓氏排在字母表的最后，只能耐着性子等。老师是那种希望全班同学都快快乐乐的女人。
I wanted to please her, and trembling with 4)anticipation I started my essay… “This holiday I went to Colwyn Bay with our church camp.”
我想取悦她，便满心期待地颤抖着开始朗读我的作文……“这个暑假，我跟着教堂露营团去了科尔温湾。”
The teacher nodded and smiled.
老师微笑着点点头。
“It was very hot, and Auntie Betty, whose leg was loose anyway, got 5)sunstroke and we thought she might die.”
“天气非常热，贝蒂阿姨——反正她的腿一碰就会断的，她中暑了，我们都以为她会死掉。”
The teacher began to look a bit worried, but the class 6)perked up.
老师开始显得有点忧虑了，但同学们的精神却为之一振。
“But she got better, thanks to my mother who stayed up all night struggling mightily.”
“但她好转了，多亏我母亲整夜陪护，无微不至地照料她。”
“Is your mother a nurse?” asked teacher, with quiet sympathy.
“你母亲是位护士吗？”老师问道，言语中透着一丝淡淡的同情。
“No, she just heals the sick.”
“不，她不过是可以治愈病人。”
Teacher frowned. “Well, carry on then.”
老师皱起了眉头。“好吧，那就继续念吧。”
“When Auntie Betty got better we all went in the bus to Llandudno to testify on the beach. I played the 7)tambourine, and Elsie Norris brought her 8)accordion, but a boy threw some sand, and since then she's had no F sharp. We're going to have a 9)jumble sale in the autumn to try and pay for it.”
“等贝蒂阿姨有所好转后，我们就一起坐公共汽车去兰迪德诺看沙滩场地。我打铃鼓，埃尔希·诺里斯带上了她的手风琴，但那架手风琴被一个男孩扔了一把沙子，从那儿以后，升F调就拉不出来了。我们还打算到秋天时搞一次旧物拍卖，筹钱修好它。”
The class had got very quiet. Teacher looked at me. “Is there any more?”
教室里鸦雀无声。老师看着我说道：“还有吗？”
“Yes, two more sides.”
“有，还有两面纸。”
“Very good, but I don't think we'll have time today. Put your work back in your tidy box, and do some more colouring till playtime.”
“很好，但我想今天我们没时间了。把你的作业收进小书桌里去，现在开始画画，画到下课为止。”
The class giggled.
教室里响起咯咯的笑声。
Slowly I sat down, not sure what was going on, but sure that something was. When I got home I told my mother I didn't want to go again.
我慢慢地坐下去，不确定到底发生了什么事，但肯定有什么状况。等我回到家后，我对母亲说我不想去学校了。
“You've got to, ” she said. “Here, have an orange.”
“不想去也得去。”她说，“来，吃个橘子。”