【荆棘鸟】第三章 07

 "I do doubt. What thinking man doesn't? That's why at times I'm empty." He looked beyond her, at something she couldn't see. "Do you know, I think I'd give up every ambition, every desire in me, for the chance to be a perfect priest?"

  "Perfection in anything," she said, "is unbearably¹ dull. Myself, I prefer a touch of imperfection."

  He laughed, looking at her in admiration² tinged³ with envy. She was a remarkable⁴ woman.

  Her widowhood was thirty-three years old and her only child, a son, had died in infancy⁵. Because of her peculiar⁶ status in the Gillanbone community she had not availed herself of any of the overtures⁷ made to her by the more ambitious males of her acquaintance; as Michael Carson's widow she was indisputably a queen, but as someone's wife she passed control "of all she had to that someone. Not Mary Carson's idea of living, to play second fiddle⁸. So she had abjured⁹ the flesh, preferring to wield¹⁰ power; it was inconceivable that she should take a lover, for when it came to gossip Gillanbone was as receptive as a wire to an electrical current. To prove herself human and weak was not a part of her obsession¹¹.

  But now she was old enough to be officially beyond the drives of the body. If the new young priest was assiduous in his duties to her and she rewarded him with little gifts like a car, it was not at all incongruous. A staunch pillar of the Church all her life, she had supported her parish and its spiritual leader in fitting fashion even when Father Kelly had hiccupped his way through the Mass. She was not alone in feeling charitably inclined toward Father Kelly's successor; Father Ralph de Bricassart was deservedly popular with every member of his flock, rich or poor. If his more remote parishioners could not get into Gilly to see him, he went to them, and until Mary Carson had given him his car he had gone on horseback. His patience and kindness had brought him liking¹² from all and sincere love from some; Martin King of Bugela had expensively refurnished the presbytery, Dominic O'Rourke of Dibban-Dibban paid the salary of a good housekeeper¹³.

  So from the pedestal of her age and her position Mary Carson felt quite safe in enjoying Father Ralph; she liked matching her wits against a brain as intelligent as her own, 

 

“我确实抱有怀疑。有思想的人对什么不怀疑呢？这就是我为什么常常感到空

虚的原因。”他望着她背后的某种她所看不见的什么东西。“我想，我为了能成为

一个完美无暇的教士，已经抛弃了我的一切抱负、所有欲念，这你知道吗？”

 

    “不论什么事，完美无缺总是枯燥难耐的，”她说道，“我本人倒喜欢少许带

点儿暇疵。”

 

    他笑了起来，赞赏而又多少有些炉忌地望着她。她真是个非同寻常的女人。

 

    她已经孀居了33个春秋，唯一的儿子还在摇篮里的时候就死去了。由于她在基

兰搏的地位非同一般，因此她从来没考虑过她所熟识的几个雄心勃勃的男人向她作

出的表示；作为迈克尔·卡森的未亡人，她是个无可争议的女人，但作为某人的妻

子，她得把她对一切的控制权都交给了那个人。但玛丽·卡森对生活的想法并不是

当个副手。因此，她发誓弃绝肉欲，宁愿玩权弄势。她会有个情夫，这是完全无可

置疑的。因为就流言蜚语而言，基兰博就象根适合于传电的导线。但她既不通达人

情也没有一般人的弱点。

 

    可是现在，她已经被公认到了耄耋之年，不复有肉体上的冲动了。倘若新来的

年轻神父对她勤于职守，而她回赠给他诸如小汽车之类的薄礼，这根本没有什么不

当。她一生都是教会的坚实栋梁，一直以相称的方式支持她的教区和教区的宗教首

领，甚至在凯利神父做弥撒时一个劲儿地打嗝儿的情况下也是如此。对凯利神父的

继承者心怀好感、宽厚相待的并不是她一个人；拉尔夫·德·布里克萨特神父也受

到了他教区每一个教民的理所当然的拥戴，不管是富者还是穷人。如果住在较远的

教区的教民不能到基里来见他的话，他就去看望他们：在玛丽·卡森没送他汽车之

前，他是骑着马去的。他的耐心与仁慈使他博得了全体教民的喜欢，以及部分教民

的由衷地爱戴。布格拉的马丁花了不少钱修葺了神父的住宅：迪班—迪班的多米尼

克·奥鲁尔克出钱雇了一名好管家。

      

  因此，玛丽·卡森从她那受人尊重的年纪和地位出发，觉得她是可以安然无事

地细玩慢赏拉尔夫神父的。她喜欢和一个与她同样聪明的头脑斗智，她喜欢智胜他，

因为她对自己实际上是否智胜了他根本没有把握。

1 unbearably   

adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌

参考例句：

• It was unbearably hot in the car. 汽车里热得难以忍受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She found it unbearably painful to speak. 她发现开口说话痛苦得令人难以承受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

3 tinged   

v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• memories tinged with sadness 略带悲伤的往事
• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

6 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。

7 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

8 fiddle   

n.小提琴；vi.拉提琴；不停拨弄，乱动

参考例句：

• She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
• Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。

9 abjured   

v.发誓放弃( abjure的过去式和过去分词 )；郑重放弃（意见）；宣布撤回（声明等）；避免

参考例句：

• She abjured her beliefs. 她放弃了她的信仰。 来自互联网
• TAe man abjured his religion. 那个人发誓放弃他的宗教信仰。 来自互联网

10 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

11 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

12 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

13 housekeeper   

n.管理家务的主妇，女管家

参考例句：

• A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
• She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家，一家人吃得很省。