《傲慢与偏见》 第22章(1)

THE Bennets were engaged to dine with the Lucases, and again during the chief of the day, was Miss Lucas so kind as to listen to Mr. Collins. Elizabeth took an opportunity of thanking her. "It keeps him in good humour," said she, "and I am more obliged to you than I can express." Charlotte assured her friend of her satisfaction in being useful, and that it amply repaid her for the little sacrifice of her time. This was very amiable¹, but Charlotte's kindness extended farther than Elizabeth had any conception of; -- its object was nothing less than to secure her from any return of Mr. Collins's addresses, by engaging them towards herself.

这一天班纳特全家都被卢卡斯府上请去吃饭，又多蒙卢卡斯小姐一片好意，整日陪着柯林斯先生谈话。伊丽莎白利用了一个机会向她道谢。她说：“这样可以叫他精神痛快些，我对你真是说不尽的感激。”夏绿蒂说，能够替朋友效劳，非常乐意，虽然花了一点时间，却得到了很大的快慰。这真是太好了；可是夏绿蒂的好意，远非伊丽莎白所能意料；原来夏绿蒂是有意要尽量逗引柯林斯先生跟她自己谈话，免得他再去向伊丽莎白献殷勤。

Such was Miss Lucas's scheme; and appearances were so favourable² that when they parted at night, she would have felt almost sure of success if he had not been to leave Hertfordshire so very soon. But here, she did injustice³ to the fire and independence of his character, for it led him to escape out of Longbourn House the next morning with admirable slyness, and hasten to Lucas Lodge⁴ to throw himself at her feet.

她这个计谋看来进行得十分顺利。晚上大家分手的时候，夏绿蒂几乎满有把握地感觉到，要不是柯林斯先生这么快就要离开哈福德郡，事情一定能成功。但是她这样的想法，未免太不了解他那如火如荼、独断独行的性格。且说第二天一大早，柯林斯就采用了相当狡猾的办法，溜出了浪博恩，赶到卢家庄来向她屈身求爱。

He was anxious to avoid the notice of his cousins, from a conviction that if they saw him depart, they could not fail to conjecture⁵ his design, and he was not willing to have the attempt known till its success could be known likewise; for though feeling almost secure, and with reason, for Charlotte had been tolerably encouraging, he was comparatively diffident since the adventure of Wednesday. His reception however was of the most flattering kind. Miss Lucas perceived him from an upper window as he walked towards the house, and instantly set out to meet him accidentally in the lane. But little had she dared to hope that so much love and eloquence⁶ awaited her there.

他唯恐给表妹们碰到了，他认为，假若让她们看见他走开，那就必定会让她们猜中他的打算，而他不等到事情有了成功的把握，决不愿意让人家知道。虽说他当场看到夏绿蒂对他颇有情意，因此觉得这事十拿九稳可以成功，可是从星期三那场冒险以来，他究竟不敢太鲁莽了。不过人家倒很巴结地接待了他。卢卡斯小姐从楼上窗口看见他向她家里走来，便连忙到那条小道上去接他，又装出是偶然相逢的样子。她万万想不到，柯林斯这一次竟然给她带来了说不尽的千情万爱。

In as short a time as Mr. Collins's long speeches would allow, every thing was settled between them to the satisfaction of both; and as they entered the house, he earnestly entreated⁷ her to name the day that was to make him the happiest of men; and though such a solicitation⁸ must be waved for the present, the lady felt no inclination⁹ to trifle with his happiness. The stupidity with which he was favoured by nature must guard his courtship from any charm that could make a woman wish for its continuance; and Miss Lucas, who accepted him solely¹⁰ from the pure and disinterested¹¹ desire of an establishment, cared not how soon that establishment were gained.

在短短的一段时间里，柯林斯先生说了多多少少的话，于是两人之间便一切都讲妥了，而且双方都很满意。一走进屋子，他就诚恳地要求她择定吉日，使他成为世界上最幸福的人，虽说这种请求，暂应该置之不理，可是这位小姐并不想要拿他的幸福当儿戏。他天生一副蠢相，求起爱来总是打动不了女人的心，女人一碰到他求爱，总是请他碰壁。卢卡斯小姐所以愿意答应他，完全是为了财产打算，至于那笔财产何年何月可以拿到手，她倒不在乎。

1 amiable   

adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的

参考例句：

• She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
• We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。

2 favourable   

adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的

参考例句：

• The company will lend you money on very favourable terms.这家公司将以非常优惠的条件借钱给你。
• We found that most people are favourable to the idea.我们发现大多数人同意这个意见。

3 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

4 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

5 conjecture   

n./v.推测，猜测

参考例句：

• She felt it no use to conjecture his motives.她觉得猜想他的动机是没有用的。
• This conjecture is not supported by any real evidence.这种推测未被任何确切的证据所证实。

6 eloquence   

n.雄辩；口才，修辞

参考例句：

• I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
• The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

7 entreated   

恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。
• 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

8 solicitation   

n.诱惑；揽货；恳切地要求；游说

参考例句：

• Make the first solicitation of the three scheduled this quarter. 进行三位名单上预期捐助人作本季第一次邀请捐献。 来自互联网
• Section IV is about the proxy solicitation system and corporate governance. 随后对委托书的格式、内容、期限以及能否实行有偿征集、征集费用由谁承担以及违反该制度的法律责任进行论述，并提出自己的一些见解。 来自互联网

9 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

10 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

11 disinterested   

adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的

参考例句：

• He is impartial and disinterested.他公正无私。
• He's always on the make,I have never known him do a disinterested action.他这个人一贯都是唯利是图，我从来不知道他有什么无私的行动。