《傲慢与偏见》 第21章(4)

Mr. Darcy is impatient to see his sister, and to confess the truth, we are scarcely less eager to meet her again. I really do not think Georgiana Darcy has her equal for beauty, elegance¹, and accomplishments²; and the affection she inspires in Louisa and myself is heightened into something still more interesting, from the hope we dare to entertain of her being hereafter our sister. I do not know whether I ever before mentioned to you my feelings on this subject, but I will not leave the country without confiding³ them, and I trust you will not esteem⁴ them unreasonable⁵. My brother admires her greatly already, he will have frequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing, her relations all wish the connection as much as his own, and a sister's partiality is not misleading me, I think, when I call Charles most capable of engaging any woman's heart. With all these circumstances to favour an attachment⁶ and nothing to prevent it, am I wrong, my dearest Jane, in indulging the hope of an event which will secure the happiness of so many?

“达西先生急着要去看看他妹妹；说老实话，我们也差不多同样热切地希望和她重逢。我以为乔治安娜·达西无论在容貌方面，举止方面，才艺方面，的确再也没有人能够比得上。露薏莎和我都大胆地希望她以后会做我们的嫂嫂，因此我们对她便越发关切了。我不知道以前有没有跟你提起过我对这件事的感觉，可是当此离开乡村之际，我不愿意不把这些感觉说出来，我相信你不会觉得这是不合理的吧。我的哥哥已经深深地受上了她，他现在可以时常去看她，他们自会更加亲密起来；双方的家庭方面都同样盼望这门亲事能够成功。我想，如果我说，查尔斯最善于博取任何女人的欢心，这可不能是出于做姐妹的偏心，瞎说一阵吧。既是各方面都赞成这段姻缘，而且事情毫无阻碍，那么，最亲爱的吉英，我衷心希望着这件人人乐意的事能够实现，你能说我错吗？”

What think you of this sentence, my dear Lizzy? said Jane as she finished it. Is it not clear enough? Does it not expressly declare that Caroline neither expects nor wishes me to be her sister; that she is perfectly⁷ convinced of her brother's indifference⁸, and that if she suspects the nature of my feelings for him, she means (most kindly⁹!) to put me on my guard? Can there be any other opinion on the subject?

你觉得这一句怎么样，亲爱的丽萃？”吉英读完了以后说。“说得还不够清楚吗？这不是明明白白地表明她们不希望、也不愿意我做她们的嫂嫂吗？不是说明了她完全相信他的哥哥对我无所谓吗？而且不也是说明了：假如她怀疑到我对他有感情，她就要劝我（多亏她这样好心肠！）当心些吗？这些话还能有别的解释吗？”

Yes, there can; for mine is totally different. Will you hear it?

“当然可以有别的解释；我的解释就和你的解释完全两样。你愿意听一听吗？”

Most willingly.

“非常愿意。”

You shall have it in few words. Miss Bingley sees that her brother is in love with you, and wants him to marry Miss Darcy. She follows him to town in the hope of keeping him there, and tries to persuade you that he does not care about you.

“这只消三言两语就可以说明白。彬格莱小姐看出他哥哥爱上了你，可是她却希望他和达西小姐结婚。她跟着他到城里去，就为的是要把他绊住在那儿，而且竭力想来说服你，叫你相信他对你没有好感。”

Jane shook her head.

吉英摇摇头。

1 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

2 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 confiding   

adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• The girl is of a confiding nature. 这女孩具有轻信别人的性格。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Celia, though confiding her opinion only to Andrew, disagreed. 西莉亚却不这么看，尽管她只向安德鲁吐露过。 来自辞典例句

4 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

5 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

6 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

7 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

8 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

9 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。