月亮和六便士 第十二章(6)

 　　Of course a miracle may happen, and you may be a great painter, but you must confess the chances are a million to one against it.  “当然了，也许会发生奇迹，你也许会成为一个大画家。但你必须承认，这种可能性是微乎其微的。

　　It'll be an awful sell if at the end you have to acknowledge you've made a hash of it. 假如到头来你不得不承认把事情搞得一塌糊涂，你就后悔莫及了。”

　　I've got to paint, he repeated. “我必须画画儿，”他又重复了一句。

　　Supposing you're never anything more than third-rate, do you think it will have been worth while to give up everything?  “假如你最多只能成为一个三流画家，你是不是还认为值得把一切都抛弃掉呢？

　　After all, in any other walk in life it doesn't matter if you're not very good;  不管怎么说，其他各行各业，假如你才不出众，并没有多大关系；

　　you can get along quite comfortably if you're just adequate; but it's different with an artist. 只要还能过得去，你就能够舒舒服服地过日子；但是当一个艺术家完全是另一码事。”

　　You blasted fool, he said. “你他妈的真是个傻瓜。”他说。

　　I don't see why, unless it's folly¹ to say the obvious. “我不知道你为什么这么说，除非我这样把最明显的道理说出来是在干傻事。”

　　I tell you I've got to paint. I can't help myself.  “我告诉你我必须画画儿。我由不了我自己。

　　When a man falls into the water it doesn't matter how he swims, well or badly: he's got to get out or else he'll drown. 一个人要是跌进水里，他游泳游得好不好是无关紧要的，反正他得挣扎出去，不然就得淹死。”

　　There was real passion in his voice, and in spite of myself I was impressed.  他的语音里流露着一片热诚，我不由自主地被他感动了。

　　I seemed to feel in him some vehement² power that was struggling within him;  我好象感觉到一种猛烈的力量正在他身体里面奋力挣扎；

　　it gave me the sensation of something very strong, overmastering, that held him, as it were, against his will. I could not understand.  我觉得这种力量非常强大，压倒一切，仿佛违拗着他自己的意志，并把他紧紧抓在手中。我理解不了。

　　He seemed really to be possessed³ of a devil, and I felt that it might suddenly turn and rend⁴ him. Yet he looked ordinary enough.  他似乎真的让魔鬼附体了，我觉得他可能一下子被那东西撕得粉碎。但是从表面上看，他却平平常常。

　　My eyes, resting on him curiously⁵, caused him no embarrassment⁶.  我的眼睛好奇地盯着他，他却一点也不感到难为情。

　　I wondered what a stranger would have taken him to be, sitting there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unbrushed bowler;  他坐在那里，穿着一件破旧的诺弗克上衣，戴着顶早就该拂拭的圆顶帽，我真不知道一个陌生人会把他当做什么人。

　　his trousers were baggy⁷, his hands were not clean; and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the little eyes, and the large, aggressive nose, was uncouth⁸ and coarse.  他的裤腿象两只口袋，手并不很干净，下巴上全是红胡子茬，一对小眼睛，撅起的大鼻头，脸相又笨拙又粗野。

　　His mouth was large, his lips were heavy and sensual. No; I could not have placed him. 他的嘴很大，厚厚的嘴唇给人以耽于色欲的感觉。不成，我无法判定他是怎样一类人。

　　You won't go back to your wife? I said at last. Never. “你不准备回到你妻子那里去了？”最后我开口说。“永远不回去了。”

　　She's willing to forget everything that's happened and start afresh. She'll never make you a single reproach. “她可是愿意把发生的这些事全都忘掉，一切从头开始。她一句话也不责备你。”

　　She can go to hell. “让她见鬼去吧！”

　　You don't care if people think you an utter blackguard? You don't care if she and your children have to beg their bread? Not a damn. “你不在乎别人把你当做个彻头彻尾的坏蛋吗？你不在乎你的妻子儿女去讨饭吗？”“一点也不在乎。”

　　I was silent for a moment in order to give greater force to my next remark. I spoke⁹ as deliberately¹⁰ as I could. 我沉默了一会儿，为了使我底下这句话有更大的力量。我故意把一个个的字吐得真真切切。

　　You are a most unmitigated cad. “你是个不折不扣的混蛋。”

　　Now that you've got that off your chest, let's go and have dinner. “成了，你现在把压在心上的话已经说出来了，咱们可以去吃饭了。”

1 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

2 vehement   

adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的

参考例句：

• She made a vehement attack on the government's policies.她强烈谴责政府的政策。
• His proposal met with vehement opposition.他的倡导遭到了激烈的反对。

3 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。

4 rend   

vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取

参考例句：

• Her scrams would rend the heart of any man.她的喊叫声会撕碎任何人的心。
• Will they rend the child from his mother?他们会不会把这个孩子从他的母亲身边夺走呢？

5 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

7 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。

8 uncouth   

adj.无教养的，粗鲁的

参考例句：

• She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
• His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。