美国语文第五册 第247期:暴躁易怒的妻子(1)

 　　Mrs. Bollingbroke says: I wish I knew what was the matter with me this morning. 博林布鲁克夫人：我今天早晨真是活见鬼了，

　　Why do you keep the newspaper all to yourself, my dear? 亲爱的，怎么你一直抱着报纸不放？

　　Mr. Bolingbroke says: Here it is for you, my dear; I have finished it. 博林布鲁克先生：亲爱的，给你，我才看完。

　　I humbly¹ thank you for giving it to me when you have done with it. 读完就递给我，真要感谢劳您大驾了。

　　I hate stale² news. Is there anything in the paper? for I can not be at the trouble of hunting it. 我讨厌过时的新闻，报纸上有什么消息不？我可不愿费神找。

　　Yes, my dear; there are the marriages of two of our friends. 亲爱的，报上报道了我们两对朋友的婚礼。

　　Who? Who? Your friend, the widow³ Nettleby, to her cousin John Nettleby. 那谁和谁？你的朋友，寡妇奈特比和她的表兄约翰·奈特比。

　　Mrs. Nettleby? Dear! But why did you tell me? 奈特比夫人？你为什么告诉我这些？

　　Because you asked me, my dear. 你问我的，亲爱的。

　　Oh, but it is a hundred times pleasanter to read the paragraph one’s self. 嗨，不管怎么说，还是自己读到这类消息感觉要有趣得多！

　　One loses all the pleasure of the surprise by being told. Well, whose was the other marriage? 你这么一开口，我所有的快乐惊奇一点儿也没啦，好了，还有一对呢？

　　Oh, my dear, I will not tell you; I will leave you the pleasure of the surprise. 哦，亲爱的，我不会再说了，就把那快乐惊奇留给你自己吧。

　　But you see I can not find it. How provoking⁴ you are, my dear! Do pray tell me. Our friend Mr. Granby. 你看不出来，我找不到吗，你怎么这样烦人？做做好事，夫君，快点告诉我。还有一对是我们的朋友格兰比。

　　Mr. Granby? Dear! Why did you not make me guess? I should have guessed him directly. But why do you call him our friend? 格兰比先生？我的妈呀！你怎么不让我再猜猜呢？我原本一下子就能猜到的，可你为什么说他是我们的朋友？

　　I am sure he is no friend of mine, nor ever was. 他肯定不是我的朋友，从来都不是，

　　I took an aversion to him, as you remember, the very first day I saw him. I am sure he is no friend of mine. 我那么讨厌他，你该记得，从我遇见他第一天起，我就说过，我可绝没这么个朋友。

　　I am sorry for it, my dear; but I hope you will go and see Mrs. Granby. 对不起，亲爱的，不过我还是希望你去看看格兰比夫人。

　　Not I, indeed, my dear. Who was she? Miss Cooke. 我也不会去，真的，亲爱的，那她是谁呀？库克小姐。

1 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

2 stale   

adj.因陈旧而乏味的，过时的；没有新意的

参考例句：

• The room smelled musty and stale.这个房间闻起来有股发霉的陈味儿。
• The bread is too stale to eat.面包太陈不能吃了。

3 widow   

n.寡妇

参考例句：

• Martha was a very rich young widow.玛莎是个很有钱的年轻寡妇。
• All this money was appropriated for the support of his widow.所有这些钱作为给他的遗孀的抚养费。

4 provoking   

a.激怒人的，刺激人的

参考例句：

• These are thought-provoking questions. 这些问题可以诱导大家去思考。
• The remarks are meaningful and thought-provoking. 语颇隽永，耐人寻味。