月亮和六便士 第十四章(2)

 　　But to my practical mind it remained to be seen whether the passion which obsessed¹ him would be justified² of its works.  但是以我讲求实际的眼睛看来，使他着了迷的这种热情是否能产生出有价值的作品来，还有待时间证明。

　　When I asked him what his brother-students at the night classes he had attended in London thought of his painting, he answered with a grin: 等我问起他在伦敦学画时夜校的同学对他的绘画如何评价的时候，他笑了笑说：

　　They thought it a joke. "他们觉得我是在闹着玩。"

　　Have you begun to go to a studio here? "你到了这里以后，开始进哪个绘画学校了么？"

　　Yes. The blighter came round this morning-the master, you know; when he saw my drawing he just raised his eyebrows³ and walked on. "进了。今天早晨那个笨蛋还到我住的地方来过--我是说那个老师，你知道；他看了我的画以后，只是把眉毛一挑，连话也没说就走了。"

　　Strickland chuckled⁴. He did not seem discouraged. He was independent of the opinion of his fellows. 思特里克兰德咯咯地笑起来。他似乎一点也没有灰心丧气。别人的意见对他是毫无影响的。

　　And it was just that which had most disconcerted me in my dealings with him.  在我同他打交道的时候，正是这一点使我狼狈不堪。

　　When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves.  有人也说他不在乎别人对他的看法，但这多半是自欺欺人。

　　Generally they mean only that they will do as they choose, in the confidence that no one will know their vagaries;  一般说来，他们能够自行其是是因为相信别人都看不出来他们的怪异的想法；

　　and at the utmost only that they are willing to act contrary to the opinion of the majority because they are supported by the approval of their neighbours.  最甚者也是因为有几个近邻知交表示支持，才敢违背大多数人的意见行事。

　　It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set.  如果一个人违反传统实际上是他这一阶层人的常规，那他在世人面前作出违反传统的事倒也不困难。

　　It affords you then an inordinate⁵ amount of self-esteem.  相反地，他还会为此洋洋自得。

　　You have the self-satisfaction of courage without the inconvenience of danger.  他既可以标榜自己的勇气又不致冒什么风险。

　　But the desire for approbation⁶ is perhaps the most deeply seated instinct of civilised man.  但是我总觉得事事要邀获别人批准，或许是文明人类最根深蒂固的一种天性。

　　No one runs so hurriedly to the cover of respectability as the unconventional woman who has exposed herself to the slings⁷ and arrows of outraged⁹ propriety¹⁰.  一个标新立异的女人一旦冒犯了礼规，招致了唇枪舌剑的物议，再没有谁会象她那样飞快地跑去寻找尊严体面的庇护了。

　　I do not believe the people who tell me they do not care a row of pins for the opinion of their fellows.  那些告诉我他们毫不在乎别人对他们的看法的人，我是绝不相信的。

　　It is the bravado¹¹ of ignorance.  这只不过是一种无知的虚张声势。

　　They mean only that they do not fear reproaches for peccadillos which they are convinced none will discover. 他们的意思是：他们相信别人根本不会发现自己的微疵小瑕，因此更不怕别人对这些小过失加以谴责了。

　　But here was a man who sincerely did not mind what people thought of him, and so convention had no hold on him; he was like a wrestler¹² whose body is oiled;  但是这里却有一个真正不计较别人如何看待他的人，因而传统礼规对他一点也奈何不得。他象是一个身上涂了油的角力者，

　　you could not get a grip on him; it gave him a freedom which was an outrage⁸.  你根本抓不住他。这就给了他一种自由，叫你感到火冒三丈。

　　I remember saying to him: 我还记得我对他说：

1 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

2 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

3 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

4 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

5 inordinate   

adj.无节制的；过度的

参考例句：

• The idea of this gave me inordinate pleasure.我想到这一点感到非常高兴。
• James hints that his heroine's demands on life are inordinate.詹姆斯暗示他的女主人公对于人生过于苛求。

6 approbation   

n.称赞；认可

参考例句：

• He tasted the wine of audience approbation.他尝到了像酒般令人陶醉的听众赞许滋味。
• The result has not met universal approbation.该结果尚未获得普遍认同。

7 slings   

抛( sling的第三人称单数 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• "Don't you fear the threat of slings, Perched on top of Branches so high?" 矫矫珍木巅，得无金丸惧？ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Used for a variety of things including slings and emergency tie-offs. 用于绳套，设置保护点，或者紧急情况下打结。

8 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

9 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

10 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

11 bravado   

n.虚张声势，故作勇敢，逞能

参考例句：

• Their behaviour was just sheer bravado. 他们的行为完全是虚张声势。
• He flourished the weapon in an attempt at bravado. 他挥舞武器意在虚张声势。

12 wrestler   

n.摔角选手，扭

参考例句：

• The wrestler tripped up his opponent.那个摔跤运动员把对手绊倒在地。
• The stronger wrestler won the first throw.较壮的那个摔跤手第一跤就赢了。