月亮和六便士 第十五章(5)

 　　I have always been a little disconcerted by the passion women have for behaving beautifully at the death-bed of those they love.  女人们总是喜欢在她们所爱的人临终前表现得宽宏大量，她们的这种偏好叫我实在难以忍受。

　　Sometimes it seems as if they grudge¹ the longevity² which postpones³ their chance of an effective scene. 有时候我甚至觉得她们不愿意男人寿命太长，就是怕把演出这幕好戏的机会拖得太晚。

　　But now—now it's finished.  “但是现在——现在什么都完了。

　　I'm as indifferent to him as if he were a stranger.  我对他就像对一个路人似的什么感情也没有了。

　　I should like him to die miserable⁴, poor, and starving, without a friend.  我真希望他死的时候贫困潦倒、饥寒交迫，一个亲人也不在身边。

　　I hope he'll rot with some loathsome⁵ disease. I've done with him. 我真希望他染上恶疮，浑身腐烂。我同他的关系算完了。”

　　I thought it as well then to say what Strickland had suggested. 我想我不妨趁这个时候把思特里克兰德的建议说出来。

　　If you want to divorce him, he's quite willing to do whatever is necessary to make it possible. “如果你想同他离婚，他很愿意给你制造任何离婚所需要的口实。”

　　Why should I give him his freedom? “为什么我要给他自由呢？”

　　I don't think he wants it. He merely thought it might be more convenient to you. “我认为他不需要这种自由。他不过想这样做可能对你更方便一些。”

　　Mrs. Strickland shrugged⁶ her shoulders impatiently.  思特里克兰德太太不耐烦地耸了耸肩膀。

　　I think I was a little disappointed in her.  我觉得我对她有些失望。

　　I expected then people to be more of a piece than I do now, and I was distressed⁷ to find so much vindictiveness⁸ in so charming a creature.  当时我还同今天不一样，总认为人的性格是单纯统一的；当我发现这样一个温柔可爱的女性报复心居然这么重的时候，我感到很丧气。

　　I did not realise how motley are the qualities that go to make up a human being.  那时我还没认识到一个人的性格是极其复杂的。

　　Now I am well aware that pettiness and grandeur⁹, malice¹⁰ and charity, hatred¹¹ and love, can find place side by side in the same human heart. 今天我已经认识到这一点了：卑鄙与伟大、恶毒与善良、仇恨与热爱是可以互不排斥地并存在同一颗心里的。

　　I wondered if there was anything I could say that would ease the sense of bitter humiliation¹² which at present tormented¹³ Mrs. Strickland. I thought I would try. 我不知道我能否说几句什么，减轻一些当时正在折磨着思特里克兰德太太的屈辱。我想我还是该试一试。

1 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

2 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

3 postpones   

v.延期，推迟( postpone的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• So it at least postpones the amount of taxes on due. 因此它至少推延了税金的交纳。 来自互联网
• Even if it does, this just postpones the day of reckoning. 但即便如此，也只是推迟了不得不解决根本问题的日子而已。 来自互联网

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 loathsome   

adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的

参考例句：

• The witch hid her loathsome face with her hands.巫婆用手掩住她那张令人恶心的脸。
• Some people think that snakes are loathsome creatures.有些人觉得蛇是令人憎恶的动物。

6 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

8 vindictiveness   

恶毒；怀恨在心

参考例句：

• I was distressed to find so much vindictiveness in so charming a creature. 当我发现这样一个温柔可爱的女性报复心居然这么重时，我感到很丧气。 来自辞典例句
• Contradictory attriButes of unjust justice and loving vindictiveness. 不公正的正义和报复的相矛盾的特点。 来自互联网

9 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

10 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

11 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

12 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

13 tormented   

饱受折磨的

参考例句：

• The knowledge of his guilt tormented him. 知道了自己的罪责使他非常痛苦。
• He had lain awake all night, tormented by jealousy. 他彻夜未眠，深受嫉妒的折磨。