月亮和六便士 第5章(1)

 　　Chapter 5 第五章

　　During the summer I met Mrs. Strickland not infrequently.  夏天我同思特里克兰德太太见面的次数不算少。

　　I went now and then to pleasant little luncheons¹ at her flat, and to rather more formidable tea-parties.  我时不时地到她家里去吃午饭，或是去参加茶会；午饭总是吃得很好，茶点更是非常丰盛。

　　We took a fancy to one another.  我同思特里克兰德太太很相投。

　　I was very young, and perhaps she liked the idea of guiding my virgin² steps on the hard road of letters;  我当时年纪很轻，或许她喜欢的是指引着我幼稚的脚步走上文坛的艰辛道路，

　　while for me it was pleasant to have someone I could go to with my small troubles, certain of an attentive³ ear and reasonable counsel.  而在我这一方面，遇到一些不如意的琐事也乐于找到一个人倾诉一番。我准知道她会专神倾听，也一定能给我一些合乎情理的劝告。

　　Mrs. Strickland had the gift of sympathy.  思特里克兰德太太是很会同情人的。

　　It is a charming faculty⁴, but one often abused by those who are conscious of its possession:  同情体贴本是一种很难得的本领，但是却常常被那些知道自己有这种本领的人滥用了。

　　for there is something ghoulish in the avidity with which they will pounce⁵ upon the misfortune of their friends so that they may exercise their dexterity⁶.  他们一看到自己的朋友有什么不幸就恶狠狠地扑到人们身上，把自己的全部才能施展出来，这就未免太可怕了。

　　It gushes⁷ forth⁸ like an oil-well, and the sympathetic pour out their sympathy with an abandon that is sometimes embarrassing to their victims.  同情心应该象一口油井一样喷薄自出；惯爱表同情的人让它纵情奔放，反而使那些受难者非常困窘。

　　There are bosoms⁹ on which so many tears have been shed that I cannot bedew them with mine.  有的人胸膛上已经沾了那么多泪水，我不忍再把我的洒上了。

　　Mrs. Strickland used her advantage with tact¹⁰.  思特里克兰德太太对自己的长处运用很得体，

　　You felt that you obliged her by accepting her sympathy.  她让你觉得你接受她的同情是对她作了一件好事。

　　When, in the enthusiasm of my youth, I remarked on this to Rose Waterford, she said: 我年轻的时候在一阵热情冲动中，曾同柔斯?瓦特尔芙德谈论这件事，她说：

　　Milk is very nice, especially with a drop of brandy in it, but the domestic cow is only too glad to be rid of it.  "牛奶很好吃，特别是加上几滴白兰地。但是母牛却巴不得赶快让它淌出去。

　　A swollen¹¹ udder is very uncomfortable. 肿胀的乳头是很不舒服的。"

　　Rose Waterford had a blistering¹² tongue.  柔斯?瓦特尔芙德的嘴非常刻薄。

　　No one could say such bitter things; on the other hand, no one could do more charming ones. 这种辛辣的话谁也说不出口，但是另一方面，哪个人做事也没有她漂亮。

　　There was another thing I liked in Mrs. Strickland.  还有一件事叫我喜欢思特里克兰德太太。

　　She managed her surroundings with elegance¹³.  她的住所布置得非常优雅。

　　Her flat was always neat and cheerful, gay with flowers, and the chintzes in the drawing-room, 房间总是干干净净，摆着花，叫人感到非常舒服。客厅里的印花布窗帘

　　notwithstanding their severe design, were bright and pretty.  虽然图案比较古板，可是色彩光艳，淡雅宜人。

　　The meals in the artistic¹⁴ little dining-room were pleasant; the table looked nice, the two maids were trim and comely¹⁵; the food was well cooked.  在雅致的小餐厅里吃饭是一种享受；餐桌式样大方，两个侍女干净利落，菜肴烹调得非常精致。

　　It was impossible not to see that Mrs. Strickland was an excellent housekeeper¹⁶.  谁都看得出，思特里克兰德太太是一位能干的主妇，

　　And you felt sure that she was an admirable mother.  另外，毫无疑问她也是一位贤妻良母。

　　There were photographs in the drawing-room of her son and daughter.  客厅里摆着她儿女的照片。

　　The son-his name was Robert-was a boy of sixteen at Rugby;  儿子--他名叫罗伯特--十六岁，正在罗格贝学校读书；

　　and you saw him in flannels¹⁷ and a cricket cap, and again in a tail-coat and a stand-up collar.  你在照片上看到他穿着一套法兰绒衣服，戴着板球帽，另外一张照片穿的是燕尾服，系着直立的硬领。

　　He had his mother's candid¹⁸ brow and fine, reflective eyes.  他同母亲一样，生着宽净的前额和沉思的漂亮的眼睛。

　　He looked clean, healthy, and normal. 他的样子干净整齐，看去又健康，又端正。

1 luncheons   

n.午餐，午宴( luncheon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Edith Helm was not invited to these intimate luncheons. 伊迪丝·赫尔姆没有被邀请出度反映亲密关系的午餐会。
• The weekly luncheons became a regular institution. 这每周一次午餐变成了一种经常的制度。

2 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

3 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

4 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

5 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

6 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

7 gushes   

n.涌出，迸发( gush的名词复数 )v.喷，涌( gush的第三人称单数 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• The stream gushes forth from the rock. 一股小溪从岩石中涌出来。 来自辞典例句
• Fuel gushes into the combustion chamber. 燃料喷进燃烧室。 来自辞典例句

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 bosoms   

胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形

参考例句：

• How beautifully gold brooches glitter on the bosoms of our patriotic women! 金光闪闪的别针佩在我国爱国妇女的胸前，多美呀！
• Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty. 我们寻个僻静的地方，去痛哭一场吧。

10 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

11 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

12 blistering   

adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡

参考例句：

• The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
• This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句

13 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

14 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

15 comely   

adj.漂亮的，合宜的

参考例句：

• His wife is a comely young woman.他的妻子是一个美丽的少妇。
• A nervous,comely-dressed little girl stepped out.一个紧张不安、衣着漂亮的小姑娘站了出来。

16 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

17 flannels   

法兰绒男裤； 法兰绒( flannel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Erik had been seen in flannels and an imitation Panama hat. 人们看到埃里克身穿法兰绒裤，头戴仿制巴拿马草帽。
• He is wearing flannels and a blue jacket. 他穿着一条法兰绒裤子和一件蓝夹克。

18 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。