红发会 11正式应聘(2)

"There was nothing in the office but a couple of wooden chairs and a deal table,

"办公室里除了几把木椅和一张办公桌外，没有别的东西。

behind which sat a small man with a head that was even redder than mine.

办公桌后面坐着一个头发颜色比我的还要红的小个子男人；

He said a few words to each candidate as he came up,

每一个候选人走到他跟前，他都说几句，

and then he always managed to find some fault in them which would disqualify them.

然后他总是想办法在他们身上挑毛病，说他们不合格。

Getting a vacancy¹ did not seem to be such a very easy matter, after all.

原来，要得到一个职位并不是那么容易的事情。

However, when our turn came the little man was much more favourable² to me than to any of the others,

不管怎么样，轮到我们的时候，这个小个子男人对我比对任何其他人都客气多了。

and he closed the door as we entered, so that he might have a private word with us."

我们走进去后，他就把门关上，这样他可以和我们单独谈。"

'This is Mr. Jabez Wilson,' said my assistant, 'and he is willing to fill a vacancy in the League.'

我的伙计说，'这位是杰贝兹·威尔逊先生，他愿意填补红发会的空缺。'

'And he is admirably suited for it,' the other answered.

对方回答说，'他非常适合担任这个职务。

'He has every requirement. I cannot recall when I have seen anything so fine.'

他满足了我们的一切条件。在我的记忆中，我还没有看见过有谁的头发颜色比他的更好的了。'

He took a step backward, cocked his head on one side, and gazed at my hair until I felt quite bashful.

他后退了一步，歪着脑袋，凝视着我的头发，直看得我不好意思起来。

Then suddenly he plunged³ forward, wrung⁴ my hand, and congratulated me warmly on my success.

随即他一个箭步向前拉住我的手，热烈祝贺我求职成功。

'It would be injustice⁵ to hesitate,' said he. 'You will, however, I am sure, excuse me for taking an obvious precaution.'

他说，'如果再犹豫不决那就太不对了。不过，对不起，我显然必须谨慎小心，我相信你是不会介意的。'

1 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

2 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

5 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。