第三册第10篇：奥利弗.哥尔德斯密斯

10. Oliver Goldsmith 奥利弗.哥尔德斯密斯

There are few writers for whom the reader feels such personal kindness as for Oliver Goldsmith, for few have so eminently¹ possessed² the magic gift of identifying themselves with their writings. We read his character in every page and grow into familiar intimacy³ with him as we read. The artless benevolence⁴ that beams throughout his works; the whimsical, yet amiable⁵ views of human life and human nature; the unforced humor, blending so happily with good feeling and good sense, and singularly dashed at times with a pleasing melancholy⁶; even the very nature of his mellow⁷, and flowing and softly tinted⁸ style,—all seem to bespeak⁹ his moral as well as his intellectual qualities, and make us love the man at the same time that we admire the author. While the productions of writers of loftier pretension¹⁰ and more resounding¹¹ names are suffered to molder on our shelves, those of Goldsmith are cherished and laid in our bosoms¹². We do not quote them with ostentation¹³, but they mingle¹⁴ with our minds, sweeten our tempers, and harmonize our thoughts; they put us in good humor with ourselves and with the world, and in so doing they make us happier and better men.
像奥利弗.哥尔德斯密斯那样使读者倾心爱慕其人品的作家，实属屈指可数，因为极少作家具有他那种把自己融化于作品之中的奇才。在他作品的每一页中，我们都可看到其性格，因此在阅读过程中对他越来越了解，越来越感到亲切。在他的全部作品中，闪烁着赤诚的慈悲之心。他对人生和人性的看法虽离奇却不乏温情；他的幽默毫不勉强，揉入了美好的感情与良知理性，是那么恰如其分，有时夹杂一丝宜人的忧郁感，更是独具一格，而且他的文笔风格醇厚、流畅、色彩柔和，这一切似乎都表明了他的道德品质与智慧，使我们不仅因他是作家而钦佩他，同时还对他本人产生爱慕之情。在我们听任自命不凡的名声更大的作家的作品躺在书架上发霉的同时，哥尔德斯密斯的作品却被我们棒在怀中，视若至宝。这并不是因为我们想引用他的作品以示卖弄，而是它们已融入了我们的心灵，陶冶了我们的性情，融洽了我们的思想；它们使我们对己对人都胸怀开朗，并因而使我们更加幸福和完美。

An acquaintance with the private biography of Goldsmith lets us into the secret of his gifted pages. We there discover them to be little more than transcripts¹⁵ of his own heart and picturing of his fortunes. There he shows himself the same kind, artless, good-humored, excursive, sensible, whimsical, intelligent being that he appears in his writings.
知悉哥尔德斯密斯的个人身世，可以使我们得以了解他那一页接一页的天才作品的秘密。我们发现，他的作品正是他内心的表白及其个人命运的写照。他自己就是他作品中所描写的那个仁慈、质朴、幽默、散漫、明智、聪明且又充满奇思妙想的人。　

Scarcely an adventure or character is given in his works that may not be traced to his own party-colored story. Many of his most ludicrous scenes and ridiculous incidents have been drawn¹⁶ from his own blunders and mischances, and he seems really to have been buffeted¹⁷ into almost every maxim¹⁸ imparted by him for the instruction of his reader.
在他的作品中，几乎没有一桩事件或一个人物不是取材于他本身丰富多彩的生活经历。作品中许多最滑稽的情节和最可笑的插曲都是来自于他自己做过的愚蠢事或经历的不幸遭遇。看来，他传授给读者并借以教育读者的每一句箴言，都是他在生活经历感悟中磨练出来的。

1 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

3 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

4 benevolence   

n.慈悲，捐助

参考例句：

• We definitely do not apply a policy of benevolence to the reactionaries.我们对反动派决不施仁政。
• He did it out of pure benevolence. 他做那件事完全出于善意。

5 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。

6 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

7 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

8 tinted   

adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• a pair of glasses with tinted lenses 一副有色镜片眼镜
• a rose-tinted vision of the world 对世界的理想化看法

9 bespeak   

v.预定；预先请求

参考例句：

• Today's events bespeak future tragedy.今天的事件预示着未来的不幸。
• The tone of his text bespeaks certain tiredness.他的笔调透出一种倦意。

10 pretension   

n.要求；自命，自称；自负

参考例句：

• I make no pretension to skill as an artist,but I enjoy painting.我并不自命有画家的技巧，但我喜欢绘画。
• His action is a satire on his boastful pretension.他的行动是对他自我卖弄的一个讽刺。

11 resounding   

adj. 响亮的

参考例句：

• The astronaut was welcomed with joyous,resounding acclaim. 人们欢声雷动地迎接那位宇航员。
• He hit the water with a resounding slap. 他啪的一声拍了一下水。

12 bosoms   

胸部( bosom的名词复数 )； 胸怀； 女衣胸部（或胸襟）； 和爱护自己的人在一起的情形

参考例句：

• How beautifully gold brooches glitter on the bosoms of our patriotic women! 金光闪闪的别针佩在我国爱国妇女的胸前，多美呀！
• Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty. 我们寻个僻静的地方，去痛哭一场吧。

13 ostentation   

n.夸耀，卖弄

参考例句：

• Choose a life of action,not one of ostentation.要选择行动的一生，而不是炫耀的一生。
• I don't like the ostentation of their expensive life - style.他们生活奢侈，爱摆阔，我不敢恭维。

14 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

15 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 buffeted   

反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去

参考例句：

• to be buffeted by the wind 被风吹得左右摇摆
• We were buffeted by the wind and the rain. 我们遭到风雨的袭击。

18 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。