英文经典：傲慢与偏见-Pride and Prejudice

Chapter 1 (an excerpt)

It is a truth universally acknowledged¹, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed² in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

 

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”

 

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

 

“But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”

 

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

 

“Do not you want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently.

 

“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

 

This was invitation enough.

 

“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”

 

“What is his name?”

 

“Bingley.”

 

“Is he married or single?”

 

Word Checker

universally (adverb): of or related to the whole world

possession (noun): the owning or holding of something

well fixed (adjective): set firmly; will not be changed

let (adjective): rented out (British English)

chaise and four (noun): a carriage pulled by four horses

Michaelmas (noun): The Feast³ of St. Michael (Sept. 29)

1 acknowledged   

adj.公认的v.承认( acknowledge的过去式和过去分词 )；鸣谢；对…打招呼；告知已收到

参考例句：

• He acknowledged publicly that he might have made a mistake. 他当众承认自己可能犯了个错误。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police acknowledged that three police vehicles were damaged. 警方承认有三辆警车被毁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 feast   

n.盛宴，筵席，节日

参考例句：

• After the feast she spent a week dieting to salve her conscience.大吃了一顿之后，她花了一周时间节食以安慰自己。
• You shouldn't have troubled yourself to prepare such a feast!你不该准备这样丰盛的饭菜，这样太麻烦你了！