月亮和六便士 第十五章(1)

 　　Chapter 15 第十五章

　　When I reached London I found waiting for me an urgent request that I should go to Mrs. Strickland's as soon after dinner as I could.  我回到伦敦家里，发现有一封急信在等着我，叫我一吃过晚饭就到思特里克兰德太太那里去。

　　I found her with Colonel MacAndrew and his wife.  我在她家里也看到了麦克安德鲁上校同他的妻子。

　　Mrs. Strickland's sister was older than she, not unlike her, but more faded; 思特里克兰德太太的姐姐比思特里克兰德太太年纪大几岁，样子同她差不多，只是更衰老一些。

　　and she had the efficient air, as though she carried the British Empire in her pocket, which the wives of senior officers acquire from the consciousness of belonging to a superior caste.  这个女人显出一副精明能干的样子，仿佛整个大英帝国都揣在她口袋里似的；一些高级官员的太太深知自己属于优越的阶层，总是带着这种神气的。

　　Her manner was brisk, and her good-breeding scarcely concealed¹ her conviction that if you were not a soldier you might as well be a counter-jumper.  麦克安德鲁太太精神抖擞，言谈举止表现得很有教养，但却很难掩饰她那根深蒂固的偏见：如果你不是军人，就连站柜台的小职员还不如。

　　She hated the Guards, whom she thought conceited², and she could not trust herself to speak of their ladies, who were so remiss³ in calling.  她讨厌近卫队军官，认为这些人傲气；不屑于谈论这些官员的老婆，认为她们出身低微。

　　Her gown was dowdy⁴ and expensive. 麦克安德鲁上校太太的衣服不是时兴的样式，价钱却很昂贵。

　　Mrs. Strickland was plainly nervous. 思特里克兰德太太显然十分紧张。

　　Well, tell us your news, she said. “好了，给我们讲讲你的新闻吧，”她说。

　　I saw your husband. I'm afraid he's quite made up his mind not to return. I paused a little. "He wants to paint." “我见到你丈夫了。我担心他已经拿定主意不再回来了。”我停了一会儿。“他想画画儿。”

　　What do you mean? cried Mrs. Strickland, with the utmost astonishment⁵. “你说什么？”思特里克兰德太太喊叫起来，惊奇得不知所以。

　　Did you never know that he was keen on that sort of thing. “你一点儿也不知道他喜欢画画儿？”

　　He must be as mad as a hatter, exclaimed the Colonel. “这人简直神经失常了，”上校大声说。

　　Mrs. Strickland frowned a little. She was searching among her recollections. 思特里克兰德太太皱了皱眉头。她苦苦地搜索她的记忆。

　　I remember before we were married he used to potter about with a paint-box.  “我记得在我们结婚以前他常常带着个颜料盒到处跑。

　　But you never saw such daubs. We used to chaff⁶ him. He had absolutely no gift for anything like that. 可是他画的画儿要多难看有多难看。我们常常打趣他。他对这种事可以说一点才能也没有。”

　　Of course it's only an excuse, said Mrs. MacAndrew. “当然没有，这只不过是个借口，”麦克安德鲁太太说。

　　Mrs. Strickland pondered deeply for some time.  思特里克兰德太太又仔细思索了一会儿。

　　It was quite clear that she could not make head or tail of my announcement.  非常清楚，她对我带来的这个消息完全不理解。

　　She had put some order into the drawing-room by now, her housewifely instincts having got the better of her dismay;  这次她已经把客厅略微收拾了一下，

　　and it no longer bore that deserted⁷ look, like a furnished house long to let, which I had noticed on my first visit after the catastrophe⁸.  不像出了事以后我第一次到这里来时那样冷冷清清、仿佛等待出租的带家具的房间那样了。

　　But now that I had seen Strickland in Paris it was difficult to imagine him in those surroundings.  但是在我同思特里克兰德在巴黎会过面以后，却很难想像他是属于这种环境的人了。

　　I thought it could hardly have failed to strike them that there was something incongruous in him. 我觉得他们这些人也不会没有觉察思特里克兰德有一些怪异的地方。

1 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

2 conceited   

adj.自负的，骄傲自满的

参考例句：

• He could not bear that they should be so conceited.他们这样自高自大他受不了。
• I'm not as conceited as so many people seem to think.我不像很多人认为的那么自负。

3 remiss   

adj.不小心的，马虎

参考例句：

• It was remiss of him to forget her birthday.他竟忘了她的生日，实在是糊涂。
• I would be remiss if I did not do something about it.如果我对此不做点儿什么就是不负责任。

4 dowdy   

adj.不整洁的；过旧的

参考例句：

• She was in a dowdy blue frock.她穿了件不大洁净的蓝上衣。
• She looked very plain and dowdy.她长得非常普通，衣也过时。

5 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

6 chaff   

v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳

参考例句：

• I didn't mind their chaff.我不在乎他们的玩笑。
• Old birds are not caught with chaff.谷糠难诱老雀。

7 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

8 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。