月亮和六便士 第6章(2)

 　　Everyone talked a little louder than natural in an instinctive¹ desire to make the party go, and there was a great deal of noise in the room.  每个人都想叫宴会热闹一些，所以谈话的嗓门都比平常高了许多，屋子里一片喧哗。

　　But there was no general conversation.  但是从来没有大家共同谈一件事的时候，

　　Each one talked to his neighbour; to his neighbour on the right during the soup, fish, and entree²; to his neighbour on the left during the roast, sweet, and savoury.  每个人都在同他的邻座谈话，吃汤、鱼和小菜的当儿同右边的人谈，吃烤肉、甜食和开胃小吃的当儿同左边的人谈。

　　They talked of the political situation and of golf, of their children and the latest play, of the pictures at the Royal Academy, of the weather and their plans for the holidays.  他们谈政治形势，谈高尔夫球，谈孩子和新上演的戏，谈皇家艺术学院展出的绘画，谈天气，谈度假的计划。

　　There was never a pause, and the noise grew louder.  谈话一刻也没有中断过，声音也越来越响。

　　Mrs.Strickland might congratulate herself that her party was a success.  思特里克兰德太太的宴会非常成功，她可以感到庆幸。

　　Her husband played his part with decorum.  她的丈夫举止非常得体。

　　Perhaps he did not talk very much, and I fancied there was towards the end a look of fatigue³ in the faces of the women on either side of him.  也许他没有谈很多话，我觉得饭快吃完的时候，坐在他两边的女客脸容都有些疲惫。

　　They were finding him too heavy.  她们肯定认为很难同他谈什么。

　　Once or twice Mrs.Strickland's eyes rested on him somewhat anxiously. 有一两次思特里克兰德太太的目光带着些焦虑地落在他身上。

　　At last she rose and shepherded the ladies out of one room.  最后，她站起来，带着一群女客离开屋子。

　　Strickland shut the door behind her, and, moving to the other end of the table, took his place between the K.C.and the Government official.  在她们走出去以后，思特里克兰德把门关上，走到桌子的另一头，在皇家法律顾问和那位政府官员中间坐下来。

　　He passed round the port again and handed us cigars.  他又一次把红葡萄酒传过来，给客人递雪茄。

　　The K.C.remarked on the excellence⁴ of the wine, and Strickland told us where he got it.  皇家法律顾问称赞酒很好，思特里克兰德告诉我们他是从什么地方买来的。

　　We began to chat about vintages and tobacco.  我们开始谈论起酿酒同烟草来。

　　The K.C.told us of a case he was engaged in, and the Colonel talked about polo.  皇家法律顾问给大家说了他正在审理的一个案件，上校谈起打马球的事。

　　I had nothing to say and so sat silent, trying politely to show interest in the conversation;  我没有什么事好说，所以只是坐在那里，装作很有礼貌地津津有味地听着别人谈话的样子。

　　and because I thought no one was in the least concerned with me, examined Strickland at my ease.  因为我知道这些人谁都和我无关，所以就从从容容地仔细打量起思特里克兰德来。

　　He was bigger than I expected: I do not know why I had imagined him slender and of insignificant⁵ appearance;  他比我想象中的要高大一些；我不知道为什么我以前会认为他比较纤弱，貌不出众。

　　in point of fact he was broad and heavy, with large hands and feet, and he wore his evening clothes clumsily.  实际上他生得魁梧壮实，大手大脚，晚礼服穿在身上有些笨拙，

　　He gave you somewhat the idea of a coachman dressed up for the occasion.  给人的印象多少同一个装扮起来参加宴会的马车夫差不多。

　　He was a man of forty, not good-looking, and yet not ugly, for his features were rather good; but they were all a little larger than life-size, and the effect was ungainly.  他年纪约四十岁，相貌谈不上漂亮，但也不难看，因为他的五官都很端正，只不过都比一般人大了一号，所以显得有些粗笨。

　　He was clean shaven, and his large face looked uncomfortably naked.  他的胡须刮得很干净，一张大脸光秃秃的让人看着很不舒服。

　　His hair was reddish, cut very short, and his eyes were small, blue or grey.  他的头发颜色发红，剪得很短，眼睛比较小，是蓝色或者灰色的。

　　He looked commonplace.  他的相貌很平凡。

　　I no longer wondered that Mrs.Strickland felt a certain embarrassment⁶ about him;  我不再奇怪为什么思特里克兰德太太谈起他来总是有些不好意思了；

　　he was scarcely a credit to a woman who wanted to make herself a position in the world of art and letters.  对于一个想在文学艺术界取得一个位置的女人来说，他是很难给她增加光彩的。

　　It was obvious that he had no social gifts, but these a man can do without;  很清楚，他一点儿也没有社交的本领，但这也不一定人人都要有的。

　　he had no eccentricity⁷ even, to take him out of the common run; he was just a good, dull, honest, plain man.  他甚至没有什么奇行怪癖，使他免于平凡庸俗之嫌。他只不过是一个忠厚老实、索然无味的普通人。

　　One would admire his excellent qualities, but avoid his company.  一个人可以钦佩他的为人，却不愿意同他待在一起。

　　He was null.  他是一个毫不引人注意的人。

　　He was probably a worthy⁸ member of society, a good husband and father, an honest broker⁹; but there was no reason to waste one's time over him. 他可能是一个令人起敬的社会成员，一个诚实的经纪人，一个恪尽职责的丈夫和父亲，但是在他身上你没有任何必要浪费时间。

1 instinctive   

adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的

参考例句：

• He tried to conceal his instinctive revulsion at the idea.他试图饰盖自己对这一想法本能的厌恶。
• Animals have an instinctive fear of fire.动物本能地怕火。

2 entree   

n.入场权，进入权

参考例句：

• She made a graceful entree into the ballroom.她进入舞厅时显示非常优雅。
• Her wealth and reputation gave her entree into upper-class circles.她的财富和声望使她得以进入上层社会。

3 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

4 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

5 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

7 eccentricity   

n.古怪，反常，怪癖

参考例句：

• I can't understand the eccentricity of Henry's behavior.我不理解亨利的古怪举止。
• His eccentricity had become legendary long before he died.在他去世之前他的古怪脾气就早已闻名遐尔了。

8 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

9 broker   

n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排

参考例句：

• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions.他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。
• I'm a real estate broker.我是不动产经纪人。