双语有声阅读：完美的妻子

随着平静岁月的流逝，维多利亚美丽的容颜开始渐褪；他似乎觉得她年轻时的成熟思想也开始变得不再锋芒毕露，就像果实在树上挂得过久。他意识到自从他第一次见到她，她从来没有改变过；她只是变得更加成熟、温婉和甜美。

 

 

A Perfect Wife 

By Ellen Glasgow

 

 

After thirty years of married happiness, he could still remind himself that Victoria was endowed with every charm except the thrilling touch of human frailty¹. Though her perfection discouraged pleasures, especially the pleasures of love, he had learned in time to feel the pride of a husband in her natural frigidity². For he still clung, amid the decay of moral platitudes³, to the discredited⁴ ideal of chivalry⁵. In his youth the world was suffused⁶ with the after-glow of the long Victorian age, and a graceful⁷ feminine style had softened⁸ the manners, if not the natures, of men. At the end of that interesting epoch⁹, when womanhood was exalted¹⁰ from a biological factsintosa miraculous¹¹ power, Virginius Littlepage, the younger son of an old and affluent¹² family, had married Victoria Brooke, the grand-daughter of a tobacco planter, who had made a satisfactory fortune by forsaking¹³ his plantation¹⁴ and converting tobaccos into cigarettes. While Virginius had been trained by stern tradition to respect every woman who had not stooped to folly¹⁵, the virtue¹⁶ peculiar¹⁷ to her sex was among the least of his reasons for admiring Victoria. She was not only modest, which was usual in the nineties, but she was beautiful, which is unusual in any decade.

 

In the beginning of their acquaintance he had gone even further and ascribed intellect to her; but a few months of marriage had shown this to be merely one of the many delusions¹⁸ created by perfect features and noble expression. Everything about her had been smooth and definite, even the tones of her voice and the way her light brown hair, which she wore a la Pompadour, was rolled stiffly back from her forehead and coiled in a burnished¹⁹ rope on the top of her head. 

　　

A serious young man, ambitious to attain²⁰ a place in the world more brilliant than the secluded²¹ seat of his ancestors, he had been impressed at their first meeting by the compactness and precision of Victoria's orderly mind. For in that earnest period the minds, as well as the emotions, of lovers were orderly. It was an age when eager young men flocked to church on Sunday morning, and eloquent²² divines discoursed²³ upon the Victorian poets in the middle of the week. He could afford to smile now when he recalled the solemn Browning class in which he had first lost his heart. How passionately²⁴ he had admired Victoria's virginal features! How fervently²⁵ he had envied her competent but caressing²⁶ way with the poet!

 

Incredible as it seemed to him now, he had fallen in love with her while she recited from the more ponderous²⁷ passages in The Ring and the Book. He had fallen in love with her then, though he had never really enjoyed Browning, and it had been a relief to him when the Unseen, in company with its illustrious poet, had at last gone out of fashion. Yet, since he was disposed to admire all the qualities he did not possess, he had never ceased to respect the firmness with which Victoria continued to deal in other forms with the Absolute.

 

As the placid²⁸ years passed, and she came to rely less upon her virginal features, it seemed to him that the ripe opinions of her youth began to shrink and flatten²⁹ as fruit does that has hung too long on the tree. She had never changed, he realized, since he had first known her; she had become merely riper, softer, and sweeter in nature. 

　　

Her advantage restedswheresadvantage never fails to rest, in moral fervour. To be invariably right was her single wifely failing. For his wife, he sighed, with the vague unrest of a husband whose infidelities are imaginary, was a genuinely good woman. She was as far removed from pretence³⁰ as she was from the posturing³¹ virtues³² that flourish in the credulous³³ world of the drama. The pity of it was that even the least exacting³⁴ husband should so often desire something more piquant³⁵ than goodness.(from They Stooped to Folly, 1929)

 

完美的妻子 

　　经过了三十年的幸福婚姻，他仍能时常提醒自己，维多利亚除了缺乏那么一点点令人心动的人性脆弱以外,拥有一切美妙的品质。尽管她的完美减少了乐趣，尤其是爱情的乐趣，经过长时间的生活，作为一个丈夫，他渐渐为她天性中的保守感到骄傲。虽然陈腐的道德已经没落，他却仍然坚守遭到怀疑的骑士风范。他年轻的时候，漫长的维多利亚时代的余晖仍未散去；如果说优雅的女性化风尚没有软化男人们的本性，那它也软化了他们的举止。在这个有趣的年代行将结束的时候，人们对女性的赞美已不再停留在对女人的自然属性的赞美上，而是近乎把女人作为神明来膜拜。在这个时候，弗吉尼亚斯·里托尔培奇，一个古老富有家庭中的小儿子，和维多利亚·布鲁克结婚了。维多利亚是一个大烟草种植园主的孙女，这个种植园主因不再种植烟草而是把烟草做成卷烟而发了财。尽管严格的传统教育使弗吉尼亚斯尊重所有不甘堕落至做蠢事的女性，女性独有的美德并不是他爱慕维多利亚的原因。她不仅谦虚——这个品质在九十年代很普遍，她还非常美丽，这在任何年代都是不常见的。

 

在他们相识之初，他甚至还认为她才华出众。但是几个月的婚姻生活证明了这不过是完美的外表和高贵的言辞带来的众多错觉之一。她的一切都是那么安详平淡，那么不事张扬，甚至包括她说话的声调和她选择的发式；她梳的是高卷式发型，淡褐色的头发从前额向后紧紧地卷过去用一根光亮的头绳盘绕在头顶上。那是一个凡事都严肃认真的年代，甚至恋人的情感和头脑都是有条理的。

 

弗吉尼亚斯就是这样一个严肃的年轻人，他梦想有朝一日能在世上赢得辉煌的地位，远胜于他名声不旺的祖先。他们第一次见面的时候，他就发现维多利亚不仅思想有条理，而且思维缜密精确，因而留下了深刻的印象。在那个年代，满怀激情的年轻男子星期天早晨都涌向教堂；每星期三牧师们绘声绘色地讲述维多利亚诗人的诗歌。现在他回想起在那讨论诗人布朗宁的严肃课堂上，自己竟然春心萌动，不禁哑然失笑。他那时是多么醉心于维多利亚清纯的容颜，而看到她对布朗宁的诗心领神会，爱不释手时，他又是多么妒忌！

 

现在看起来真是难以置信，他居然是在她背诵《戒指和书》中非常沉闷的段落时爱上她的。尽管他从来没有真正喜欢过布朗宁的诗，他还是在那时爱上了她。当这个杰出的诗人与他的诗“幽冥”终于不再时兴的时候，他感到如释重负般的轻松。可是，对维多利亚继续以其它形式信奉绝对真理所表现出的坚定精神，他向来无比钦佩，因为他总是钦佩他所没有的所有品质。

 

随着平静岁月的流逝，维多利亚美丽的容颜开始渐褪；他似乎觉得她年轻时的成熟思想也开始变得不再锋芒毕露，就像果实在树上挂得过久。他意识到自从他第一次见到她，她从来没有改变过；她只是变得更加成熟、温婉和甜美。

 

她优于别人的地方在于她的精神热诚，这种优势牢不可破。作为妻子,她惟一的缺点就是能在任何时候都不做错事。臆想对妻子有不忠行为的丈夫总会有种淡淡的不安，正是带着这种不安他叹息道，他的妻子是一个真正的好女人。她没有一点虚饰，也没有一点在这个容易轻信的世界上所流行的那种伪善。但遗憾的是，即使是最不挑剔的丈夫也时常会渴望一点更为活泼有趣的东西，而不仅仅是善良。

1 frailty   

n.脆弱；意志薄弱

参考例句：

• Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。
• He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。

2 frigidity   

n.寒冷；冷淡；索然无味；（尤指妇女的）性感缺失

参考例句：

• Doctor Simpson believes that Suzie's frigidity is due to some hang-up about men. 辛普森大夫认为苏西的性冷淡是由于她对男人有着异常的精神反应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Frigidity and horror have attacked that crying baby ! 那位哭闹的孩子又冷又害怕。 来自辞典例句

3 platitudes   

n.平常的话，老生常谈，陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 )；滥套子

参考例句：

• He was mouthing the usual platitudes about the need for more compassion. 他言不由衷地说了些需要更加同情之类的陈腔滥调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He delivered a long prose full of platitudes. 他发表了一篇充满陈词滥调的文章。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 discredited   

不足信的，不名誉的

参考例句：

• The reactionary authorities are between two fires and have been discredited. 反动当局弄得进退维谷，不得人心。
• Her honour was discredited in the newspapers. 她的名声被报纸败坏了。

5 chivalry   

n.骑士气概，侠义；（男人）对女人彬彬有礼，献殷勤

参考例句：

• The Middle Ages were also the great age of chivalry.中世纪也是骑士制度盛行的时代。
• He looked up at them with great chivalry.他非常有礼貌地抬头瞧她们。

6 suffused   

v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was suffused with colour. 她满脸通红。
• Her eyes were suffused with warm, excited tears. 她激动地热泪盈眶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

8 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

9 epoch   

n.(新)时代；历元

参考例句：

• The epoch of revolution creates great figures.革命时代造就伟大的人物。
• We're at the end of the historical epoch,and at the dawn of another.我们正处在一个历史时代的末期，另一个历史时代的开端。

10 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

11 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

12 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

13 forsaking   

放弃( forsake的现在分词 )； 弃绝； 抛弃； 摒弃

参考例句：

• I will not be cowed into forsaking my beliefs. 我不会因为被恐吓而放弃自己的信仰。
• At fourteen he ran away, forsaking his home and friends. 他十四岁出走，离开了家乡和朋友。

14 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

15 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

16 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

17 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

18 delusions   

n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想

参考例句：

• the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想
• She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行，她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句

19 burnished   

adj.抛光的，光亮的v.擦亮（金属等），磨光( burnish的过去式和过去分词 )；被擦亮，磨光

参考例句：

• The floor was spotless; the grate and fire-irons were burnished bright. 地板上没有污迹；炉栅和火炉用具擦得发亮。 来自辞典例句
• The woods today are burnished bronze. 今天的树林是一片发亮的青铜色。 来自辞典例句

20 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

21 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

23 discoursed   

演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He discoursed on an interesting topic. 他就一个有趣的题目发表了演讲。
• The scholar discoursed at great length on the poetic style of John Keats. 那位学者详细讲述了约翰·济慈的诗歌风格。

24 passionately   

ad.热烈地，激烈地

参考例句：

• She could hate as passionately as she could love. 她能恨得咬牙切齿，也能爱得一往情深。
• He was passionately addicted to pop music. 他酷爱流行音乐。

25 fervently   

adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地

参考例句：

• "Oh, I am glad!'she said fervently. “哦，我真高兴！”她热烈地说道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• O my dear, my dear, will you bless me as fervently to-morrow?' 啊，我亲爱的，亲爱的，你明天也愿这样热烈地为我祝福么？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

26 caressing   

爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的

参考例句：

• The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
• He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

27 ponderous   

adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的

参考例句：

• His steps were heavy and ponderous.他的步伐沉重缓慢。
• It was easy to underestimate him because of his occasionally ponderous manner.由于他偶尔现出的沉闷的姿态，很容易使人小看了他。

28 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。

29 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

30 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

31 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。

32 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。

33 credulous   

adj.轻信的，易信的

参考例句：

• You must be credulous if she fooled you with that story.连她那种话都能把你骗倒，你一定是太容易相信别人了。
• Credulous attitude will only make you take anything for granted.轻信的态度只会使你想当然。

34 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

35 piquant   

adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的

参考例句：

• Bland vegetables are often served with a piquant sauce.清淡的蔬菜常以辛辣的沙司调味。
• He heard of a piquant bit of news.他听到了一则令人兴奋的消息。