月亮和六便士 第十八章(3)

 　　Nature had made him a butt¹, but had denied him insensibility.  讲到施特略夫，一方面造物主把他制造成一个笑料，另一方面又拒绝给他迟钝的感觉。

　　He writhed² under the jokes, practical and otherwise, which were perpetually made at his expense, and yet never ceased, it seemed wilfully³, to expose himself to them.  人们不停地拿他开玩笑，不论是善意的嘲讽或是恶作剧的挖苦都叫他痛苦不堪，但是他又从来不停止给人制造嘲弄的机会，倒好像他有意这样做似的。

　　He was constantly wounded, and yet his good-nature was such that he could not bear malice:  他不断地受人伤害，可是他的性格又是那么善良，从来不肯怀恨人；

　　the viper⁴ might sting him, but he never learned by experience, and had no sooner recovered from his pain than he tenderly placed it once more in his bosom⁵.  即便挨了毒蛇咬，也不懂得吸取经验教训，只要疼痛一过，又会心存怜悯地把蛇揣在怀里。

　　His life was a tragedy written in the terms of knockabout farce⁶.  他的生活好象是按照那种充满打闹的滑稽剧的格式写的一出悲剧。

　　Because I did not laugh at him he was grateful to me, and he used to pour into my sympathetic ear the long list of his troubles.  因为我没有嘲笑过他，所以他很感激我；他常常把自己的一连串烦恼倾注到我富于同情的耳朵里。

　　The saddest thing about them was that they were grotesque⁷, and the more pathetic they were, the more you wanted to laugh. 最悲惨之点在于他受的这些委屈总是滑稽可笑的，这些事他讲得越悲惨，你就越忍不住要笑出来。

　　But though so bad a painter, he had a very delicate feeling for art, and to go with him to picture-galleries was a rare treat.  但是施特略夫虽然是一个不高明的画家，对艺术却有敏锐的鉴赏力，同他一起参观画廊是一种很难得的享受。

　　His enthusiasm was sincere and his criticism acute.  He was catholic.  他的热情是真实的，评论是深刻的。施特略夫是个天主教徒，

　　He had not only a true appreciation⁸ of the old masters, but sympathy with the moderns.  他不仅对古典派的绘画大师由衷赞赏，对于现代派画家也颇表同情。

　　He was quick to discover talent, and his praise was generous.  他善于发掘有才能的新人，从不吝惜自己的赞誉。

　　I think I have never known a man whose judgment⁹ was surer.  我认为在我见到的人中，再没有谁比他的判断更为中肯的了。

　　And he was better educated than most painters.  他比大多数画家都更有修养，

　　He was not, like most of them, ignorant of kindred arts, and his taste for music and literature gave depth and variety to his comprehension of painting.  也不象他们那样对其他艺术那样无知。他对音乐和文学的鉴赏力使他对绘画的理解既深刻又不拘于一格。

　　To a young man like myself his advice and guidance were of incomparable value. 对于象我这样的年轻人，他的诱导是极其可贵的。

　　When I left Rome I corresponded with him, and about once in two months received from him long letters in queer English,  我离开罗马后同他继续有书信往来，每两个月左右我就接到他用怪里怪气的英语写的一封长信。

　　which brought before me vividly¹⁰ his spluttering, enthusiastic, gesticulating conversation.  他谈话时那种又急切又热情、双手挥舞的神情总是跃然纸上。

　　Some time before I went to Paris he had married an Englishwoman, and was now settled in a studio in Montmartre.  在我去巴黎前不久，他同一个英国女人结了婚，在蒙特玛特尔区一间画室里安了家。

　　I had not seen him for four years, and had never met his wife. 我已经有四年没有同他见面了，她的妻子我还从来没见过。

1 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

2 writhed   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He writhed at the memory, revolted with himself for that temporary weakness. 他一想起来就痛悔不已，只恨自己当一时糊涂。
• The insect, writhed, and lay prostrate again. 昆虫折腾了几下，重又直挺挺地倒了下去。

3 wilfully   

adv.任性固执地；蓄意地

参考例句：

• Don't wilfully cling to your reckless course. 不要一意孤行。 来自辞典例句
• These missionaries even wilfully extended the extraterritoriality to Chinese converts and interfered in Chinese judicial authority. 这些传教士还肆意将"治外法权"延伸至中国信徒，干涉司法。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书

4 viper   

n.毒蛇；危险的人

参考例句：

• Envy lucks at the bottom of the human heart a viper in its hole.嫉妒潜伏在人心底，如同毒蛇潜伏在穴中。
• Be careful of that viper;he is dangerous.小心那个阴险的人，他很危险。

5 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

6 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

7 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

8 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。