《傲慢与偏见》 第13章(1)

"I HOPE my dear," said Mr. Bennet to his wife as they were at breakfast the next morning, "that you have ordered a good dinner today, because I have reason to expect an addition to our family party."

第二天吃过早饭的时候，班纳特先生对他的太太说：“我的好太太，我希望你今天的午饭准备得好一些，因为我预料今天一定有客人来。”

"Who do you mean, my dear? I know of nobody that is coming, I am sure, unless Charlotte Lucas should happen to call in, and I hope my dinners are good enough for her. I do not believe she often sees such at home."

“你指的是那一位客人，我的好老爷？我一些也不知道有谁要来，除非夏绿蒂·卢卡斯碰巧会来看我们，我觉得拿我们平常的饭餐招待她也够好了。我不相信她在家里经常吃得这么好。”

"The person of whom I speak, is a gentleman and a stranger."

“我所说到的这位客人是位男宾，又是个生客。”

Mrs. Bennet's eyes sparkled¹. -- "A gentleman and a stranger! It is Mr. Bingley, I am sure. Why Jane -- you never dropt a word of this; you sly² thing! Well, I am sure I shall be extremely glad to see Mr. Bingley. -- But -- good lord! how unlucky! there is not a bit of fish to be got today. Lydia, my love, ring the bell. I must speak to Hill, this moment."

班纳特太太的眼睛闪亮了起来。“一位男宾又是一位生客！那准是彬格莱先生，没有错。──哦，吉英，你从来没出过半点儿风声，你这个狡猾的东西！──嘿，彬格莱先生要来，真叫我太高兴啦。可是──老天爷呀！运气真不好，今天连一点儿鱼也买不着。──丽迪雅宝贝儿，代我按一按铃。我要马上吩咐希尔一下。”

"It is not Mr. Bingley," said her husband; "it is a person whom I never saw in the whole course of my life."

她的丈夫连忙说：“并不是彬格莱先生要来；说起这位客人，我一生都没见过他。”

This roused a general astonishment³; and he had the pleasure of being eagerly questioned by his wife and five daughters at once.

这句话叫全家都吃了一惊。他的太太和五个女儿立刻迫切地追问他，使他颇为高兴。

After amusing⁴ himself some time with their curiosity, he thus explained. "About a month ago I received this letter, and about a fortnight ago I answered it, for I thought it a case of some delicacy⁵, and requiring early attention. It is from my cousin, Mr. Collins, who, when I am dead, may turn you all out of this house as soon as he pleases."

拿他太太和女儿们的好奇心打趣了一阵以后，他便原原本本地说：“大约在一个月以前，我就收到了一封信，两星期以前我写了回信，因为我觉得这是件相当伤脑筋的事，得趁早留意。信是我的表侄柯林斯先生寄来的。我死了以后，这位表侄可以高兴什么时候把你们撵出这所屋子，就什么时候撵出去。”

1 sparkled   

v.发火花，闪耀( sparkle的过去式和过去分词 )；（饮料）发泡；生气勃勃，热情奔放，神采飞扬

参考例句：

• Her jewellery sparkled in the candlelight. 烛光下，她的首饰光彩熠熠。
• Her eyes sparkled with excitement. 她的眼睛由于兴奋而发亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 sly   

adj.狡猾的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• You can't trust him,he's a sly old fox.你不能相信他，他是一只狡猾的老狐狸。
• I was ready to sly out the alley door.我准备从那边小门溜出去。

3 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

4 amusing   

adj.有有趣的，好玩的

参考例句：

• The girl was amusing herself with a doll.那女孩在玩洋娃娃自娱。
• He related some amusing stories in his childhood to his children.他向孩子们述说了他少年时代的一些趣事。

5 delicacy   

n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴

参考例句：

• We admired the delicacy of the craftsmanship.我们佩服工艺师精巧的手艺。
• He sensed the delicacy of the situation.他感觉到了形势的微妙。