《远大前程》第8章 拜访文米克先生和贾格斯先生(4)

There we found Jaggers washing his hands and face carefully with perfumed¹ soap．

在这儿，我们发现贾格斯先生用香皂仔细地洗手洗脸。

He did this every evening before going home．

他每天晚上回家之前都这么做。

He seemed to be washing away his clients² and his work，like dirt．We all walked to his house together．

他像洗脏物一样，似乎要洗掉他的顾客和工作。我们大家一起走向他家。

The housekeeper³ brought in the first dish． She was about forty，with a strange wild expression on her pale face．

女管家首先上菜盘。她大概40多岁，在她苍白的脸上有一种奇怪的野蛮表情。

She seemed almost afraid of her master，and looked anxiously at him whenever she entered the room．

她好像害怕她的主人，不管什么时候进到这间屋子，她都很忧虑地看着他。

The food was indeed very good，and the conversation was cheerful⁴．

吃的确实是美味佳肴，谈话也是欢快的。

But somehow Mr Jaggers made us all show the worst side of our characters，and encouraged Drummle，who we all disliked，to annoy us．

但是，贾格斯先生莫名其妙地让我们大家都表露一下自己性格最坏的一面，鼓动着我们都不喜欢惹我们生气的朱穆尔说。

When Drummle stupidly said that he was stronger than any of us，we all protested，foolishly showing each other our muscles⁵ to prove how strong we were．

当朱穆尔大言不惭地说他比我们都强壮时，我们都反对，愚蠢地相互显示一下我们的肌肉来证明我们是多么强壮。

Suddenly Mr Jaggers clapped his large hand on the housekeeper's，as she was removing a dish． We stopped talking immediately．

突然，贾格斯先生向正在收拾盘子的女管家拍拍他那双大手。我们立即停止谈话。

Gentlemen，he said，look at my housekeeper here．She is stronger than any of you．Molly，show them your wrists⁶．

绅士们，他说，看看我这儿的女管家，她比你们任何一名都强壮。莫莉，给他们看看你的手腕。

No，please，master，she begged，trying to pull away，but he held her hand firmly．

别了，求求您啦，主人，她乞求着说，企图拽走。但是，他紧紧地握着她的手。

Show them，Molly，he said，and she held her wrists out to us．I've never seen stronger hands than these，he said．

给他们看看，莫莉，他说，她拿出自己的腕给我们看，我从来没有见过比这双手更强壮的，他说。

There was silence for a few minutes．All right，Molly，you can go，he said，and she hurried out．

片刻，鸦鹊无声。很好，莫莉，你可以走了，他说。她急忙出去了。

During the rest of the dinner，Mr Jaggers continued to enjoy watching us quarrelling with Drummle．

在晚饭休息期间，贾格斯先生饶有兴趣地看着我们和朱穆尔争吵。

He gave the impression，surprisingly，of liking⁷ Drummle very much．

他给人们一个奇怪的印象，正合朱穆尔的意。

But I was glad when the dinner was over，and Herbert and I could walk quietly back to our rooms together．

不过，当晚餐结束时，我很高兴，我和赫伯特能一起赶快回我们的房间了。

1 perfumed   

香味的

参考例句：

• The air was perfumed with the scent of subtropical vegetation. 空气中弥漫着亚热带植物的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Flowers perfumed the air. 空气中弥漫着花香。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 clients   

n.顾客( client的名词复数 )；当事人；诉讼委托人；[计算机]客户端

参考例句：

• a lawyer with many famous clients 拥有许多著名委托人的律师
• She understood the importance of establishing a close rapport with clients. 她懂得与客户建立密切和谐的关系的重要性。

3 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。

4 cheerful   

adj.快活的，高兴的，兴高采烈

参考例句：

• Yellow is a cheerful colour.黄色是令人高兴的颜色。
• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。

5 muscles   

n.肌肉( muscle的名词复数 )；（操纵他人的）力量；权力；肌肉组织

参考例句：

• I must take some exercise and loosen up my muscles. 我必须活动活动使肌肉放松些。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Gosh! My muscles is going to ache all over tomorrow. 哎呀！明天我全身肌肉都会痛了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 wrists   

n.腕，腕关节( wrist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her wrists chafed where the rope had been. 她的手腕上绳子勒过的地方都磨红了。
• Paul was put into the cell,his wrists were finally freed from handcuffs. 保罗被关进单人牢房后，终于把手铐从他手腕上取了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。