欧美文化博览 文森特·凡· 高传(20)

But he never did. Whatever promises he'd made to his new flock in England, his family forced him to break.

但他却从来没有。无论他承诺自己会如何重返英格兰都是如此,他的家人迫使他履行诺言。

Instead of returning to Isleworth after Christmas, Vincent was packed off to this cute little town, Dordrecht, where his family had come up with a new calling for him, he was going to be a book seller.

圣诞节后没有返回艾尔沃斯,文森特被打发到多德雷赫特这个可爱的小城市,他的家人已经为他安排了新的人生,他将是一位图书销售商。

His boss was to be a Mr. Braat.

他的老板是巴雷特先生。

And the book shop stood right there where that café is.

而且书店对面恰巧有一家咖啡馆。

Actually, I can easily imagine Vincent as an eccentric book dealer¹.

实际上,我可以很容易地想象文森特作为一名古怪的图书经销商的模样。

His family always remembered him with his nose stuck in a book.

他的家人总是记得他的鼻子埋在一本书里的情景。

And later, he'd gone on to paint books with such love and excitement.

而后,他会带着如此的爱和兴奋给书籍涂漆。

It didn't matter how humble² a book was, Vincent's art always stressed its preciousness.

无论是怎样谦卑的一本书,文森特的艺术总是强调它的珍贵。

The book sellers I know tend to be scruffy³, cranky, unwashed types, lost in their own world just like Vincent.

我知道的这本书店往往是有些肮脏,脾气略有些暴躁,平民百姓的类型,像文森特一样迷失在自己的世界里。

He'd sit in a corner wearing his English top hat, ignoring the customers, as book sellers do and busying himself with the remarkable⁴ task he'd set himself here in Dordrecht.

他会坐在一个角落里，戴着他的英式大礼帽,无视客户们,因为这位书商在多德雷赫特做着自己卓越且忙碌的任务。

1 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 scruffy   

adj.肮脏的，不洁的

参考例句：

• Despite her scruffy clothes,there was an air of sophistication about her.尽管她衣衫褴褛，但神态老练世故。
• His scruffy appearance does not reflect his character.他邋遢的外表并不反映他的性格。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。