美国语文第五册 第116期:高德夫人的演讲(2)

 　　Yes, it is worth talking of! But that's how you always try to put me down. 没错，太该念叨念叨！不过，你怎么总是让我失望？

　　You fly into a rage, and then if I only try to speak, you won't hear me. 只要我刚想开口，你就大发雷霆，你根本不会听我的。

　　That's how you men always will have all the talk to yourselves: a poor woman is n't allowed to get a word in. 你们这些男人，就是喜欢大老爷们围在一起胡侃乱吹，倒霉的女人不许插一句话。

　　A nice notion¹ you have of a wife, to suppose she's nothing to think of but her husband's buttons. 一个老婆等于一个好点子，你也不想想，难道除去整天盯着老公纽扣，你老婆什么都不懂？

　　A pretty notion, indeed, you have of marriage. 一旦你结了婚，总会给你琢磨出好点子。

　　Ha! if poor women only knew what they had to go through! 嘁！如果那些倒霉女人只知逆来顺受，

　　what with buttons, and one thing and another,—they'd never tie themselves up,—no, not to the best man in the world, I'm sure. 只瞅那些纽扣，那些七扯八拉的家庭琐事，她们才不会把自己和世上那些并不咋样的男人栓到一根绳上，没错，不会的。

　　What would they do, Mr. Caudle?—Why, do much better without you, I'm certain. 女人还能做什么？高德先生，天呀！没有你们这些男人，女人只会做得太好，这点，绝对错不了。

　　And it's my belief, after all, that the button was n't off the shirt; 不管怎么说，这是我的心思，纽扣当时没有掉；

　　it's my belief that you pulled it off that you might have something to talk about. 兴许你把纽扣拽掉了，说明你或许有话要说，这还是我的心思。

　　Oh, you're aggravating² enough, when you like, for anything! 噢，只要你不待见，你总是怒火中烧！

　　All I know is, it's very odd that the button should be off the shirt; 没一件事不这样！所有我知道的，就是纽扣竟然从衣服上掉了，这可真奇怪了。

　　for I'm sure no woman's a greater slave to her husband's buttons than I am. I only say it's very odd. 我觉得，没有哪位妇女对她丈夫卑躬屈膝能比过我，只能说，这事太离谱。

1 notion   

n.概念，意念，看法

参考例句：

• One common Chinese notion is that the elders ought to be respected.中国人共有的一种观念是长者应受到尊敬。
• He had a sudden notion to visit all his relatives.他心血来潮，突然想去拜访他所有的亲戚。

2 aggravating   

adj.恼人的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• How aggravating to be interrupted! 被打扰，多令人生气呀！
• Diesel exhaust is particularly aggravating to many susceptible individuals. 许多体质敏感的人尤其反感柴油废气。