月亮和六便士 第三十章(3)

 She ceased to be a woman, complex, kind and petulant¹, considerate and thoughtless; she was a Maenad. She was desire. 她不再是一个女性了，不再是一个性格复杂的女性——既善良又乖戾，既谨慎又轻率；她成了迈那德（希腊神话中酒神的女祭司），成了欲念的化身。

But perhaps this is very fanciful; and it may be that she was merely bored with her husband and went to Strickland out of a callous² curiosity. 但是也许这都是我的臆测；可能她不过对自己的丈夫感到厌倦，只是出于好奇心（并无任何热情在内）才去我的思特里克兰德。

She may have had no particular feeling for him, 可能她对他并没有特殊的感情，

but succumbed³ to his wish from propinquity or idleness, to find then that she was powerless in a snare⁴ of her own contriving⁵. 她之屈从于思特里克兰德的欲念只是由于两人日夜厮守、由于她厌烦无聊，而一旦同他接近以后，却发现陷入了自己编织的罗网里。

How did I know what were the thoughts and emotions behind that placid⁶ brow and those cool gray eyes? 在她那平静的前额和冷冷的灰色的眼睛后面隐匿着什么思想和感情，我怎能知道呢？

But if one could be certain of nothing in dealing⁷ with creatures so incalculable as human beings, 然而，尽管在探讨象人这样无从捉摸的生物时，我们什么也不敢肯定，

there were explanations of Blanche Stroeve's behaviour which were at all events plausible⁸. 但对于勃朗什·施特略夫的行为还有一些解释是完全说得通的。

On the other hand, I did not understand Strickland at all. 另一方面，我对思特里克兰德却一点也不了解。

I racked my brain, but could in no way account for an action so contrary to my conception of him. 他这次的行为与我平日对他的理解格格不入，我苦苦思索，无论如何也无法解释。

It was not strange that he should so heartlessly have betrayed his friends' confidence, 他毫无心肝地辜负了朋友对他的信任，为了自己一时兴之所至，

nor that he hesitated not at all to gratify a whim⁹ at the cost of another's misery¹⁰. That was in his character. 给别人带来莫大的痛苦，这都不足为奇，因为这都是他性格的一部分。

He was a man without any conception of gratitude¹¹. He had no compassion¹². 他既不知感恩，也毫无怜悯心肠。

The emotions common to most of us simply did not exist in him, 我们大多数人所共有的那些感情在他身上都不存在；

and it was as absurd to blame him for not feeling them as for blaming the tiger because he is fierce and cruel. 如果责备他没有这些感情，就象责备老虎凶暴残忍一样荒谬。

But it was the whim I could not understand. I could not believe that Strickland had fallen in love with Blanche Stroeve. 我所不能解释的是为什么他突然动了施特略夫的念头。我不能相信思特里克兰德会爱上了勃朗什·施特略夫。

I did not believe him capable of love. 我根本不相信这个人会爱上一个人。

That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness either for himself or for others; 在爱这种感情中主要成分是温柔，但思特里克兰德却不论对自己或对别人都不懂得温柔。

1 petulant   

adj.性急的，暴躁的

参考例句：

• He picked the pen up with a petulant gesture.他生气地拿起那支钢笔。
• The thing had been remarked with petulant jealousy by his wife.

2 callous   

adj.无情的，冷淡的，硬结的，起老茧的

参考例句：

• He is callous about the safety of his workers.他对他工人的安全毫不关心。
• She was selfish,arrogant and often callous.她自私傲慢，而且往往冷酷无情。

3 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

4 snare   

n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑

参考例句：

• I used to snare small birds such as sparrows.我曾常用罗网捕捉麻雀等小鸟。
• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a snare and a delusion.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。

5 contriving   

（不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的现在分词 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到

参考例句：

• Why may not several Deities combine in contriving and framing a world? 为什么不可能是数个神联合起来，设计和构造世界呢？ 来自哲学部分
• The notorious drug-pusher has been contriving an escape from the prison. 臭名昭著的大毒枭一直都在图谋越狱。

6 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

9 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

10 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

11 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

12 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。