《傲慢与偏见》 第57章(3)

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The colour now rushed into Elizabeth's cheeks in the instantaneous conviction of its being a letter from the nephew, instead of the aunt; and she was undetermined whether most to be pleased that he explained himself at all, or offended that his letter was not rather addressed to herself; when her father continued, "You look conscious. Young ladies have great penetration¹ in such matters as these; but I think I may defy even your sagacity, to discover the name of your admirer. This letter is from Mr. Collins."

伊丽莎白立刻断定这封信是那个姨侄写来的，而不是姨妈写来的，于是涨红了脸。她不知道应该为了他写信来解释而感到高兴呢，还是应该怪他没有直接把信写给她而生气，这时只听得父亲接下去说：“你好象心里有数似的。年轻的姑娘们对这些事情总是非常精明；可是即使以你这样的机灵，我看你还是猜不出你那位爱人姓甚名谁。告诉你，这封信是柯林斯先生寄来的。”

"From Mr. Collins! and what can he have to say?"

“柯林斯先生寄来的！他有什么话可说？”

"Something very much to the purpose of course. He begins with congratulations on the approaching nuptials² of my eldest³ daughter, of which, it seems, he has been told by some of the good-natured, gossiping Lucases. I shall not sport with your impatience⁴, by reading what he says on that point. What relates to yourself, is as follows." "Having thus offered you the sincere congratulations of Mrs. Collins and myself on this happy event, let me now add a short hint on the subject of another; of which we have been advertised by the same authority. Your daughter Elizabeth, it is presumed, will not long bear the name of Bennet, after her elder sister has resigned it, and the chosen partner of her fate may be reasonably looked up to as one of the most illustrious personages in this land."

“当然说得很彻底。他开头恭喜我的大女儿快要出嫁，这消息大概是那爱管闲事的好心的卢家说给他听的。这件事姑且不念出来，免得你不耐烦。与你有关的部分是这样写的”──‘愚夫妇既为尊府此次喜事竭诚道贺以后，容再就另一事略申数言。此事消息来源同上。据去尊府一俟大小姐出阁以后，二小姐伊丽莎白也即将出阁。且闻二小姐此次所选如意夫君，确系天下大富大贵之人。’

"Can you possibly guess, Lizzy, who is meant by this?" "This young gentleman is blessed, in a peculiar⁵ way, with every thing the heart of mortal can most desire, -- splendid property, noble kindred, and extensive patronage⁶. Yet in spite of all these temptations, let me warn my cousin Elizabeth, and yourself, of what evils you may incur⁷ by a precipitate⁸ closure with this gentleman's proposals, which, of course, you will be inclined to take immediate⁹ advantage of."

“丽萃，你猜得出这位贵人是谁吗？──‘贵人年轻福宏，举凡人间最珍贵之事物，莫不件件具有。非但家势雄厚，门第高贵，抑且布施提拔，权力无边。唯彼虽属条件优越，处处足以打动人心，然则彼若向尊府求婚，切不可遽而应承，否则难免轻率从事，后患无穷，此不佞不得不先以奉劝先生与表妹伊丽莎白者也。’

1 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

2 nuptials   

n.婚礼；婚礼( nuptial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their nuptials were performed by the local priest. 他们的婚礼由当地牧师主持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• If he married, when the nuptials would take place, and under what circumstances? 如果他结婚，那么什么时候举行婚礼？在什么情况下举行婚礼？ 来自辞典例句

3 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

4 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

5 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。

6 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。

7 incur   

vt.招致，蒙受，遭遇

参考例句：

• Any costs that you incur will be reimbursed in full.你的所有花费都将全额付还。
• An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business.一个企业为了维持营业,就不得不承担一定的费用和开支。

8 precipitate   

adj.突如其来的；vt.使突然发生；n.沉淀物

参考例句：

• I don't think we should make precipitate decisions.我认为我们不应该贸然作出决定。
• The king was too precipitate in declaring war.国王在宣战一事上过于轻率。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。