11. But quit my job and took up housekeeping the year after my marriage. Daily household chores keep me on my toes ; I'm delighted all day long.
take up ： 开始从事。 on one's toe ：准备行动。 all day long ：一整天。
keep me on my toes ：让我保持活力的状态，结合句意就：一刻也闲不着，乐此不疲。
我的翻译是：但是自从我结婚以后，便放弃了工作，开始打理家务。每天的家务琐事让我乐此不疲。我一整天都眉天眼笑的。
12. “ in a moment ”与 “ or so ”
一个表示“立刻”，一个表示“大约”。都是形容时间的。
13 、T hat's the “tremendous business” for me out of the three meals a day, for, except for the weekends, we have only this meal together. Besides, he always has his lunch in a neglected way at his workplace.
这句话我的翻译是：那对于我来说，是除了三顿饭以外，最为重大的事情。因为，除了周末，我们只能在一起吃一顿正餐。此外，他总是在他的工作场所，很轻率的打发他的午餐。
Passage:
Mrs. Chambers sits comfortably in her armchair, enjoying a cup of coffee. She has the right to relax. She has had a long and very busy life.
Mrs. Chambers has retired now to a small house in Bangor , a popular seaside town not far from Belfast . But for most of her life she lived in the country. Her husband's farm was on an island in the middle of Strangford Lake . There, Mrs. Chambers baked bread twice a week, made jam every summer, and put her husband's dinner on the table at twelve 0' clock exactly every day. The island farm had been owned by the Chambers family for may years, passing on from father to son. It was a quiet and beautiful place to live. They grew potatoes and vegetables, and kept hens and cows. When Mr. Chambers died, his son took on the farm, Mrs. Chambers moved away.
She takes another sip of coffee, and smiles as she remembers people from the past. “The old lady down the road thought she had a ghost in the house,” she says, “but it was only old Tom MaAleer, frightening her for fun.” The memories come fast. “Twenty men, they had, only tem years ago, to bring in the potato crop. Young Hugh has a machine now. He only needs five.”
It's time for the news on TV. Mrs. Chambers wants to see the racing results. She won quite a lot of money last week. Next month she's going down to Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland . The horse-racing there is wonderful. She finds it hard to stay away. But before the racing results there's another item of news. A bomb has exploded in Belfast . Several people have been killed. Mrs. Chambers shakes her head. “They're all crazy,” she says. “It's just a few who make all the trouble. The rest of us want to live in peace. We've all got life long friends from both sides. And most of the time we never talk about the trouble.”
The racing results come on. She leans forward to watch. For her, ordinary everyday life is the most important thing.
Translate Reference：
责任编辑：虫虫
