月亮和六便士 第1章(3)

 　　Maurice Huret in his famous article gave an outline of Charles Strickland's life  莫利斯·胥瑞在他那篇驰名的文章里简单地勾画了查理斯·思特里克兰德的生平；

　　which was well calculated to whet¹ the appetites of the inquiring.  作者有意这样吊一下读者的胃口。

　　With his disinterested² passion for art,  他对艺术的热情毫不搀杂个人的好恶，

　　he had a real desire to call the attention of the wise to a talent which was in the highest degree original;  他这篇文章的真正目的是唤起那些有头脑的人对一个极为独特的天才画家的注意力。

　　but he was too good a journalist to be unaware³ that the "human interest" would enable him more easily to effect his purpose.  但是胥瑞是一个善于写文章的老手，他不会不知道，只有引起读者“兴味” 的文章才更容易达到目的。

　　And when such as had come in contact with Strickland in the past, writers who had known him in London,  后来那些在思特里克兰德生前曾和他有过接触的人——有些人是在伦敦就认识他的作家，

　　painters who had met him in the cafes of Montmartre, discovered to their amazement⁴ that  有些是在蒙特玛特尔咖啡座上和他会过面的画家 ——极其吃惊地发现，

　　where they had seen but an unsuccessful artist, like another, authentic⁵ genius had rubbed shoulders with them  他们当初看作是个失败的画家，一个同无数落魄艺术家没有什么不同的画家，原来是个真正的天才，他们却交臂失之。

　　there began to appear in the magazines of France and America a succession of articles,  从这时起，在法国和美国的一些杂志上就连篇累牍地出现了各式各类的文章：

　　the reminiscences of one, the appreciation⁶ of another,  这个写对思特里克兰德的回忆，那个写对他作品的评述。

　　which added to Strickland's notoriety, and fed without satisfying the curiosity of the public.  结果是，这些文章更增加了思特里克兰德的声誉，挑起了、但却无法满足读者的好奇心。

　　The subject was grateful, and the industrious⁷ Weitbrecht-Rotholz has been able to give a remarkable⁸ list of authorities in his imposing⁹ monograph¹⁰. 这个题目大受读者欢迎，魏特布瑞希特-罗特霍尔兹下了不少工夫，在他写的一篇洋洋洒洒的专题论文里开列了一张篇目，列举出富有权威性的一些文章。

　　"Karl Strickland： sein Leben und seine Kunst， " by Hugo Weitbrecht-Rotholz， Ph. D. Schwingel und Hanisch. Leipzig， 1914. 【《查理斯·思特里克兰德，生平与作品》，哲学博士雨果·魏特布瑞希特-罗特霍尔兹着，莱比锡1914年施威英格尔与汉尼施出版，原书德文。（作者注）】

　　The faculty¹¹ for myth is innate¹² in the human race.  制造神话是人类的天性。

　　It seizes with avidity upon any incidents, surprising or mysterious, in the career of those who have at all distinguished¹³ themselves from their fellows,  对那些出类拔萃的人物，如果他们生活中有什么令人感到诧异或者迷惑不解的事件，人们就会如饥似渴地抓住不放，

　　and invents a legend to which it then attaches a fanatical belief.  编造出种种神话，而且深信不疑，近乎狂热。

　　It is the protest of romance against the commonplace of life.  这可以说是浪漫主义对平凡暗淡的生活的一种抗议。

　　The incidents of the legend become the hero's surest passport to immortality¹⁴.  传奇中的一些小故事成为英雄通向不朽境界的最可靠的护照。

　　The ironic¹⁵ philosopher reflects with a smile that Sir Walter Raleigh is more safely inshrined in the memory of mankind  一个玩世不恭的哲学家在想到这件事时肯定会哑然失笑的。瓦尔特·饶利爵士【瓦尔特·饶利爵士（1552？—1618），英国历史学家及航海家】之所以永远珍留在人们记忆里

　　because he set his cloak for the Virgin¹⁶ Queen to walk on than because he carried the English name to undiscovered countries. 是因为他把披风铺在地上，让伊丽莎白女皇踏着走过去，而不是因为他把英国名字带给了许多过去人们从来没有发现的国土。

1 whet   

v.磨快，刺激

参考例句：

• I've read only the fIrst few pages of her book,but It was enough to whet my appetIte.她的书我只看了开头几页，但已经引起我极大的兴趣。
• A really good catalogue can also whet customers' appetites for merchandise.一份真正好的商品目录也可以激起顾客购买的欲望。

2 disinterested   

adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的

参考例句：

• He is impartial and disinterested.他公正无私。
• He's always on the make,I have never known him do a disinterested action.他这个人一贯都是唯利是图，我从来不知道他有什么无私的行动。

3 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

4 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

5 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

6 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

7 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

8 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。

9 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

10 monograph   

n.专题文章，专题著作

参考例句：

• This monograph belongs to the category of serious popular books.这本专著是一本较高深的普及读物。
• It's a monograph you wrote six years ago.这是你六年前写的的专论。

11 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

12 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

13 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

14 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

15 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

16 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。