Their mother's death left the four surviving children with their father and an aunt. Both adults were 15)distant, and the 16)bleak northern weather left the children with little to do much of the year. They began to write poetry, stories, and plays.
母亲死后，四个活下来的孩子就由父亲和姨母抚养。两位大人都是不甚热情的人。北方寒冷的气候也让孩子们在一年中的大多数时间无事可做。于是他们开始创作诗歌、故事和戏剧。
When the three girls grew older, they were sent to school. Anne's poor health and Emily's homesickness soon brought them home. But Charlotte showed her 17)stern sense of duty even as a child, and attended school at Cowan Bridge and Roe Head. Although nearsighted and extremely shy, she made life-long friends at Roe Head.
三个女孩长大后被送到学校上学。安妮身体虚弱，艾米莉思乡病严重，两人没多久就回到家中。然而，还是孩子的夏洛蒂已经表现出坚定的责任感，先后在科恩桥学校和罗黑德学校就读。虽然她有近视，而且非常害羞，夏洛蒂还是在罗黑德交到了一生的朋友。
As Charlotte and her brother and sisters entered their teens, they faced the 18)prospect of earning their livings. For women of her time and class, there were few options. One was becoming a 19)governess, and Charlotte took a position. Her employers were kind. But Charlotte had an 20)aversion to strangers all her life that she could not overcome.
夏洛蒂和弟妹们步入少年期后，他们要面对自力更生的问题。处于她那个年代和社会地位的女性并没有太多选择，其中一个就是当家庭教师，夏洛蒂便选择了一个这样的职位。虽然她的雇主都很和善，但终其一生，夏洛蒂始终未能克服对陌生人的排斥感。
Charlotte left her employers and made plans with her sisters to start their own school. For this purpose, she and Emily went to Belgium to acquire 21)proficiency in French. However, shyness and homesickness drove them both home again.
夏洛蒂离开了雇主，打算和妹妹们开设自己的学校。出于这个原因，她和艾米莉前往比利时学习法语，以达到熟练水平。然而害羞的性格加上思乡病，两人又一次回到家中。
Charlotte also taught with her friend Miss Wooler at a school near her home for a while. But she was still not happy with the work. In her book The Life of Charlotte Bronte, Charlotte's friend Elizabeth Gaskell pointed out reasons why being either a governess or a teacher was unsuitable for her. One was Charlotte's shyness, which would even cause her 22)raging headaches if she spent too much time in the company of strangers. Charlotte also did not understand children. Although she was always kind to everyone, she didn't know how to 23)relate to them.
夏洛蒂也曾经与朋友伍勒小姐在自家附近一所学校教书，但依然干得不顺心。在《夏洛蒂·勃朗特的一生》一书中，夏洛蒂的朋友伊丽莎白·加斯克尔指出了夏洛蒂不适合当家庭教师或老师的原因。一是因为夏洛蒂很害羞，如果她与陌生人在一起待太久，她甚至会产生剧烈头痛。另外，夏洛蒂也不懂孩子的心。虽然她对所有人都很友善，却不知道怎样跟他们沟通。
Most of the Brontes' young adult years were spent trying to make money. When plans for a school fell through, the girls began to seriously consider writing, and began working on novels. They would do household 24)chores during the day, write when they could, and meet in the evening after everyone else was in bed. They would compare and critique each other's work.
在青年时期的大部分时间里，勃朗特姐弟们都在努力赚钱。当开办学校的计划失败后，几个女孩开始认真考虑将写作作为职业，并开始写小说。白天她们做家务活，有时间就写一会儿；晚上当其他人都上床睡觉后，她们就聚在一起，互相比较、点评作品。
All three met with more or less success, but Jane Eyre won instant popularity. It also earned enough money that Charlotte could now expect to make a living as a writer.
三姐妹或多或少都取得了成功，但只有《简·爱》一炮而红，也为夏洛蒂赚到足够的钱。她现在可以以写作为生了。
But bad fortune came along in the next two years. Emily and Anne died from 25)tuberculosis and Branwell, who had developed an 26)opium 27)addiction, also passed away.
可是在接下来的两年里，噩运接踵而至。艾米莉和安妮因为感染肺结核去世，布兰韦尔则染上鸦片毒瘾，也离开了人世。
The children's aunt had passed away a few years earlier, and this left Charlotte alone with her father. With only each other to 28)rely on, they grew close, and looked out for each other.
孩子们的姨母在早些年就过世了，所以现在只剩下夏洛蒂和她的父亲。父女俩只有对方可以依靠，他们越发亲近，相依为命。
Charlotte continued to have writing success with Shirley (1849), Villette (1853) and The Professor (1857). Her father was very proud.
夏洛蒂随后的《雪莉》（1849年）、《维莱特》（1853年）和《教师》（1857年）也相继获得了成功。父亲引以为傲。
Charlotte finally had a short 29)respite from her lonely life. At the age of 37, she married her father's assistant, Arthur Nicholls. They lived happily after Charlotte's difficult earlier life, much like Jane Eyre and Rochester. But unlike Jane and Rochester, their happiness was cut short. Nine months after their wedding, Charlotte died from a 30)lingering fever and was buried in the family 31)vault in Haworth church.
夏洛蒂孤独的生活终于可以暂告一段落。37岁时，她嫁给了父亲的助手阿瑟·尼科尔斯。经过了夏洛蒂早年的艰苦生活，他们过上了幸福的生活，就像简·爱和罗切斯特那样。但两人的幸福只是昙花一现，没能像简和罗切斯特那样延续下去。在婚礼结束的九个月后，夏洛蒂高烧不退，最终去世。她被安葬在霍沃斯教堂的家族墓穴中。
Charlotte Bronte's writing brought her into contact with a wider world, and she became friends with great authors of her day, such as Robert Southey注1 and William Makepeace Thackeray注2. But she always remained a true 32)inhabitant of her rural home, retiring, 33)sober, and 34)circumspect. Like her sisters, the bleak and lonely beauty of the moors was a part of her.
夏洛蒂·勃朗特的写作让她接触到更广阔的世界。她与同时期的伟大作家如罗伯特·骚塞和威廉·梅克比斯·萨克雷成为了朋友。但她自始至终都没有离开那个农村的家——隐居避世、严于律己、小心谨慎。和妹妹们一样，漠泽那荒凉而孤独的美正是她的一部分。
