美国语文第六册 第2期:纽卡斯尔公爵趣事(2)

 　　The Cornish voter, who was an honest fellow, and would not have thought himself entitled to any reward, 康沃尔这位选举人是一位诚实的人，断不敢认为自己配得上此等殊荣，

　　but for such a torrent¹ of acknowledgments, thanked the Duke for his kindness, and told him the supervisor² of excise³ was old and infirm, 闻听公爵如滚滚洪流一般的答谢谦辞后，马上对公爵的仁慈善意表示感谢，并告诉他总督年高体弱，

　　and, if he would have the goodness to recommend his son-in-law to the commissioners⁴, in case of the old man's death, 万一这位老者撒手而去，倘若公爵能推荐他的女婿出任专员的话，

　　he should think himself and his family bound to render his grace every assistance in their power, on any future occasion. 他本人和全家将来必定效犬马之劳。

　　"My dear friend, why do you ask for such a trifling⁵ employment?" exclaimed his grace; “我亲爱的朋友，你为什么要自寻烦恼谋这个微不足道的差事呢？”公爵说，

　　"your relative shall have it the moment the place is vacant, if you will but call my attention to it." “如果你仅仅让我留意的话，你的亲戚很快就会有隙可乘。”

　　"But how shall I get admitted to you, my lord? “可是，我怎样才能获得您的认可呢，大人？

　　For in London, I understand, it is a very difficult business to get a sight of you great folks, 至于在伦敦，我明白要想在您众多的追随者中幸蒙您垂青比登天还难，

　　though you are so kind and complaisant⁶ to us in the country." 尽管您在这个国家一向以仁慈和善、容易亲近而享有盛名。

　　"The instant the man dies," replied the Duke, "set out posthaste for London; “这人一死，”公爵答道，“你就火速赶往伦敦，

　　drive directly to my house, and, be it by night or by day, thunder at the door; 马车直接赶到我的府上，不管白天还是黑天，直接敲门就是。

　　I will leave word with my porter to show you upstairs directly; and the employment shall be disposed of according to your wishes." 我会给门童交代这事，门童直接带你上楼。这个差事会如愿给你留着的。”

1 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

2 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

3 excise   

n.(国产)货物税；vt.切除，删去

参考例句：

• I'll excise the patient's burnt areas.我去切除病人烧坏的部分。
• Jordan's free trade zone free of import duty,excise tax and all other taxes.约旦的自由贸易区免收进口税、国内货物税及其它一切税收。

4 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

5 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

6 complaisant   

adj.顺从的，讨好的

参考例句：

• He has a pretty and complaisant wife.他有个漂亮又温顺的妻子。
• He is complaisant to her.他对她百依百顺。