月亮和六便士 第四十九章(1)

 Chapter 49 第四十九章

I lived at the Hotel de la Fleur, and Mrs. Johnson, the proprietress, had a sad story to tell of lost opportunity. 我住在鲜花旅馆，旅馆的女主人，约翰生太太给我讲了一个悲惨的故事——她如何把大好良机白白错过去了。

After Strickland's death certain of his effects were sold by auction¹ in the market-place at Papeete, 思特里克兰德死了以后，他的一些遗物在帕皮提市场上拍卖。

and she went to it herself because there was among the truck an American stove she wanted. 她亲自跑了一趟，因为在拍卖的物品中有一个她需要的美国式煤油炉子。

She paid twenty-seven francs for it. 她花了二十七法郎把炉子买了下来。

"There were a dozen pictures," she told me, “有十来张画，”她对我说，

"but they were unframed, and nobody wanted them. “但是都没有镶框，谁也不要。

Some of them sold for as much as ten francs, but mostly they went for five or six. 有几张要卖十法郎，但是大部分只卖五、六法郎一张。

Just think, if I had bought them I should be a rich woman now." 想想吧，如果我把它们买下来，现在可是大富翁了。”

But Tiare Johnson would never under any circumstances have been rich. She could not keep money. 但是蒂阿瑞·约翰生无论在什么情况下也绝对发不了财；她手头根本存不下钱。

The daughter of a native and an English sea-captain settled in Tahiti, 她是一个在塔希提落户的白人船长同一个土着女人结婚生的女儿。

when I knew her she was a woman of fifty, who looked older, and of enormous proportions. 我认识她的时候，她已经五十岁了，但是样子比年纪显得还要老。

Tall and extremely stout², 她的身躯又大又壮，一身肥肉；

she would have been of imposing³ presence if the great good-nature of her face had not made it impossible for her to express anything but kindliness⁴. 如果不是一张只能呈现出仁慈和蔼表情来的一团和气的面孔，她的仪表会是非常威严的。

Her arms were like legs of mutton, her breasts like giant cabbages; 她的胳臂像两条粗羊腿，乳房像两颗大圆白菜，

her face, broad and fleshy, gave you an impression of almost indecent nakedness, and vast chin succeeded to vast chin. 一张胖脸满是肥肉，给人以浑身赤裸、很不雅观的感觉。脸蛋下面是一重又一重的肉下巴。

I do not know how many of them there were. They fell away voluminously into the capaciousness of her bosom⁵. 我说不上她有几重下巴，嘟嘟噜噜地一直垂到她那肥胖的胸脯上。

She was dressed usually in a pink Mother Hubbard, and she wore all day long a large straw hat. 平常她总穿着一件粉红色的宽大的薄衫，戴着一顶大草帽，

But when she let down her hair, which she did now and then, for she was vain of it, you saw that it was long and dark and curly; 但是当她把头发松垂下来的时候（她常常这样做，因为她对自己的头发感到很骄傲），你会看到她生着一头又黑又长、打着小卷的秀发；

and her eyes had remained young and vivacious⁶. 此外，她的眼睛也非常年轻，炯炯有神。

Her laughter was the most catching⁷ I ever heard; 她的笑声是我听到过的最富有感染性的笑声；

it would begin, a low peal⁸ in her throat, and would grow louder and louder till her whole vast body shook. 开始的时候只是在喉咙里一阵低声咯咯，接着声音越来越大，直到她那肥胖的身躯整个都哆哆嗦嗦地震颤起来。

She loved three things—a joke, a glass of wine, and a handsome man. 她最喜欢的是三件东西——笑话、酒同漂亮的男人。

To have known her is a privilege. 有缘同她结识真是一件荣幸的事。

1 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

2 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

3 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

4 kindliness   

n.厚道，亲切，友好的行为

参考例句：

• Martha looked up into a strange face and dark eyes alight with kindliness and concern. 马撒慢慢抬起头，映入眼帘的是张陌生的脸，脸上有一双充满慈爱和关注的眼睛。 来自辞典例句
• I think the chief thing that struck me about Burton was his kindliness. 我想，我对伯顿印象最深之处主要还是这个人的和善。 来自辞典例句

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 vivacious   

adj.活泼的，快活的

参考例句：

• She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
• The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。

7 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

8 peal   

n.钟声；v.鸣响

参考例句：

• The bells of the cathedral rang out their loud peal.大教堂响起了响亮的钟声。
• A sudden peal of thunder leaves no time to cover the ears.迅雷不及掩耳。