月亮和六便士 第二十一章(5)

 　　I wish you weren't so damned monosyllabic. Have you never had a moment's regret for all the unhappiness you caused them? “我希望你别他妈的老说一个字。你给他们带来这么多不幸，难道你就一分钟也没有后悔过？”

　　His lips broke into a smile, and he shook his head. 他咧开嘴笑了，摇了摇头。

　　I should have thought sometimes you couldn't help thinking of the past.  “我能想象得出，有时候你还是会不由自主地想起过去的。

　　I don't mean the past of seven or eight years ago, but further back still, when you first met your wife, and loved her, and married her.  我不是说想起六七年以前的事，我是说更早以前，你和你妻子刚刚认识的时候，你爱她，同她结了婚。

　　Don't you remember the joy with which you first took her in your arms? 你难道就忘了第一次把她抱在怀里的时候你感到的喜悦？”

　　I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting¹ present. “我不想过去。对我说来，最重要的是永恒的现在。”

　　I thought for a moment over this reply. It was obscure, perhaps, but I thought that I saw dimly his meaning. 我想了想他这句答话的意思。也许他的语义很隐晦，但是我想我还是懂得他大概指的是什么了。

　　Are you happy? I asked. “你快活吗？”我问。

　　Yes. “当然了。”

　　I was silent. I looked at him reflectively. He held my stare, and presently a sardonic² twinkle lit up his eyes. 我没有说什么。我沉思地凝视着他。他也目不转睛地望着我，没过一会儿他的眼睛又闪烁起讥笑的光芒。

　　I'm afraid you disapprove³ of me? “我想你对我有点儿意见吧？”

　　Nonsense, I answered promptly⁴; "I don't disapprove of the boa-constrictor; on the contrary, I'm interested in his mental processes." “你这话问得没意义，”我马上接口说，“我对蟒蛇的习性并不反对，相反地我对它的心理活动倒很感兴趣。”

　　It's a purely⁵ professional interest you take in me? “这么说来，你纯粹是从职业的角度对我发生兴趣啰？”

　　Purely. “纯粹是这样。”

　　It's only right that you shouldn't disapprove of me. You have a despicable character. “你不反对我是理所当然的，你的性格也实在讨厌。”

　　Perhaps that's why you feel at home with me, I retorted. “也许这正是你同我在一起感到很自然的原故，”我反唇相讥说。

　　He smiled dryly, but said nothing.  他只干笑了一下，没说什么。

　　I wish I knew how to describe his smile. I do not know that it was attractive, but it lit up his face, changing the expression, which was generally sombre, and gave it a look of not ill-natured malice⁶.  我真希望我能形容一下儿他笑的样子。我不敢说他的笑容多么好看，但是他一笑起来，脸就泛起光彩，使他平时总是阴沉着的面容改了样子，平添了某种刁钻刻薄的神情。

　　It was a slow smile, starting and sometimes ending in the eyes; it was very sensual, neither cruel nor kindly⁷, but suggested rather the inhuman⁸ glee of the satyr.  他的笑容来得很慢，常常是从眼睛开始也就消失在眼梢上。另外，他的微笑给人以一种色欲感，既不是残忍的，也不是仁慈的，令人想到森林之神的那种兽性的喜悦。

　　It was his smile that made me ask him: 正是他的这种笑容使我提出一个问题。

1 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

2 sardonic   

adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的

参考例句：

• She gave him a sardonic smile.她朝他讥讽地笑了一笑。
• There was a sardonic expression on her face.她脸上有一种嘲讽的表情。

3 disapprove   

v.不赞成，不同意，不批准

参考例句：

• I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
• She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员，但她的父母不赞成。

4 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

5 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

6 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

7 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

8 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。