桐壺49：かうやうの折りは御あそびなどせさせ給ひしに、心ことなる物の音をかき鳴らし、はかなく聞こえ出づる言の葉も、人よりは異なりしけはひかたちの、面影につと添ひておぼさるるにも、やみのうつつにはなほ劣りけり。
このような折々にはよく管弦の遊びなどを催したものであったが、亡き桐壺更衣はひとしお趣深い音色で琴をかきならし、なにげなく口にする言葉なども他の者とは違ってあわれ深かったその様子が、今面影にふと寄り添ってくるように思われる。古歌に「うばたまの闇のうつつはさだかなる夢にいくらも勝らざりけり」（夜の闇の中での現実ははっきり見える夢と比べてそう良くもなかったなあ）と歌われたが、そうは言っても、やはり夢よりも闇の現実のほうが良かったなあと、帝は亡き桐壺と過ごした閨(ねや)のことなどを思い出していた。
N君：He would often play music with Kiritsubo in such a graceful evening. She used to make an especially charming sound with Koto. Her words uttered casually were also more thoughtful than other ladies'. The polite air around her seems to get close to her casual face. And old poem says, "The reality in a night darkness is inferior to the dream which is seen clearly." However, the Emperor considered the reality in a night darkness superior to the clear dream and recalled the wonderful neal night He spent with her in His bedroom.
S先生：「桐壺のあわれ深かったその様子が今面影にふと寄り添ってくるように思われる」は難しい日本語で、これをN君は The polite air around her seems to get close to her casual face. と英作したわけで苦心の跡が伺えます。このあたりはどう作ったらよいのかわかりませんが、私は以下に示したように He felt as if she were beside Him というフレーズを軸にして作ってみました。
On such occasions music concerts used to be held. The late Kiritsubo played the Koto, making an elegant sound. Her words uttered in a casual way seemed to be more touching than those of other ladies. Thinking of this and that, He felt as if she were beside Him. An old poem, "The reality in utter darkness is inferior to a dream which you can see clearly," comes and goes in His mind. "Though it might be so,” He said to himself, "the reality in pitch-darkness was far superior," and recalled the nights when He had made love with Kiritsubo.
N君：play the Koto の定冠詞は慣用的に必要です。はからずもふたつの utter が登場しました。ひとつは他動詞で「言葉を発する」、もうひとつは形容詞で「まったくの」。pitch-black「真っ黒」、pitch-darkness「真っ暗闇」。
