美国语文第六册 第3期:纽卡斯尔公爵趣事(3)

 　　The parties separated; the Duke drove to a friend's house in the neighborhood, 晚宴散后，公爵乘马车来到相邻的朋友家下榻，

　　without a wish or desire to see his new acquaintance till that day seven years; 一直到七年后的那天都没有任何想去看望自己这位刚结识的朋友的意思和愿望。

　　but the memory of the Cornish elector, not being burdened with such a variety of objects, was more retentive¹. 不过，这件事在康沃尔这位选举人的记忆里可扎下根了。

　　The supervisor² died a few months after, and the Duke's humble³ friend, relying on the word of a peer, 几个月后总督死了，公爵这位卑微的朋友怀揣着对同侪这句话的期冀，

　　was conveyed to London posthaste, and ascended⁴ with alacrity⁵ the steps of that nobleman's palace. 十万火急地赶往伦敦，抢先一步踏上那位大人物宅邸的台阶。

　　The reader should be informed, that just at this time, no less a person than the King of Spain was expected hourly to depart this life, 列为看官想必清楚，在当时有一位身份不亚于西班牙国王的人无时无刻不想远离这种生活，

　　an event in which the minister of Great Britain was particularly concerned; 问题是大不列颠的内阁大臣则尤其热衷于这种生活。

　　and the Duke of Newcastle, on the very night that the proprietor⁶ of the decisive vote arrived at his door, had sat up anxiously expecting dispatches from Madrid. 在那个特别的夜晚手中握有关键选票的人在纽卡斯尔公爵门前叩门，而纽卡斯尔公爵原本焦急地盼望来自马德里的信件。

　　Wearied by official business and agitated⁷ spirits, he retired⁸ to rest, 由于连日公事繁忙，他心神疲惫不堪，已经回到内室休息。

　　having previously⁹ given particular instructions to his porter not to go to bed, 他早就叮嘱过门童务必打起精神，

　　as he expected every minute a messenger with advices of the greatest importance, 他每分钟都在焦急中度过，盼望有信使捎来最重要的讯息，

　　and desired that he might be shown upstairs, the moment of his arrival. 盼着门童能将信使引上楼来。

1 retentive   

v.保留的，有记忆的；adv.有记性地，记性强地；n.保持力

参考例句：

• Luke had an amazingly retentive memory.卢克记忆力惊人。
• He is a scholar who has wide learning and a retentive memory.他是一位博闻强记的学者。

2 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

3 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

4 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 alacrity   

n.敏捷，轻快，乐意

参考例句：

• Although the man was very old,he still moved with alacrity.他虽然很老，动作仍很敏捷。
• He accepted my invitation with alacrity.他欣然接受我的邀请。

6 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

7 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。