月亮和六便士 第五十八章(5)

The conversation proceeded, 谈话继续下去。 and I marvelled¹ at the tact² with which Mr. Van Busche Taylor avoided all subjects that might have been in the least embarrassing, 我非常佩服凡·布施·泰勒先生的老练；凡是令人感到尴尬的话题，他完全回避掉。 and at the ingenuity³ with which Mrs. Strickland, without saying a word that was untrue, insinuated⁴ that her relations with her husband had always been perfect. 我也非常惊奇思特里克兰德太太的圆滑；尽管她没有说一句不真实的话，却充分暗示了她同自己丈夫的关系非常融睦，从来没有任何嫌隙。 At last Mr. Van Busche Taylor rose to go. 最后，凡·布施·泰勒先生起身告辞， Holding his hostess' hand, he made her a graceful⁵, though perhaps too elaborate, speech of thanks, and left us. 他握着女主人的一只手，向她说了一大篇优美动听、但未免过于造作的感谢词，便离开了我们。 "I hope he didn't bore you," she said, when the door closed behind him. “我希望这个人没有使你感到厌烦，”当门在凡·布施·泰勒的身背后关上以后，思特里克兰德太太说。 "Of course it's a nuisance sometimes, but I feel it's only right to give people any information I can about Charlie. “当然了，有时候也实在让人讨厌，但是我总觉得，有人来了解查理斯的情况，我是应该尽量把我知道的提供给人家的。 There's a certain responsibility about having been the wife of a genius." 作为一个伟大天才的未亡人，这该是一种义务吧。” She looked at me with those pleasant eyes of hers, which had remained as candid⁶ and as sympathetic as they had been more than twenty years before. 她用她那一对可爱的眼睛望着我，她的目光非常真挚，非常亲切，同二十多年以前完全一样。 I wondered if she was making a fool of me. 我有点儿怀疑她是不是在耍弄我。 "Of course you've given up your business," I said. “你那个打字所大概早就停业了吧？”我说。 "Oh, yes," she answered airily. “啊，当然了，”她大大咧咧地说， "I ran it more by way of a hobby than for any other reason, and my children persuaded me to sell it. “当年我开那家打字所主要也是为了觉得好玩，没有其他什么原因。后来我的两个孩子都劝我把它出让给别人。 They thought I was overtaxing my strength." 他们认为太耗损我的精神了。” I saw that Mrs. Strickland had forgotten that she had ever done anything so disgraceful as to work for her living. 我发现思特里克兰德太太已经忘记了她曾不得不自食其力这一段不光彩的历史。 She had the true instinct of the nice woman that it is only really decent for her to live on other people's money. 同任何一个正派女人一样，她真实地相信只有依靠别人养活自己才是规矩的行为。 "They're here now," she said. “他们都在家，”她说， "I thought they'd, like to hear what you had to say about their father. “我想你给他们谈谈他们父亲的事，他们一定很愿意听的。 You remember Robert, don't you? 你还记得罗伯特吧？ I'm glad to say he's been recommended for the Military Cross." 我很高兴能够告诉你，他的名字已经提上去，就快要领陆军十字勋章了。”

1 marvelled   

v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 tact   

n.机敏，圆滑，得体

参考例句：

• She showed great tact in dealing with a tricky situation.她处理棘手的局面表现得十分老练。
• Tact is a valuable commodity.圆滑老练是很有用处的。

3 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

4 insinuated   

v.暗示( insinuate的过去式和过去分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入

参考例句：

• The article insinuated that he was having an affair with his friend's wife. 文章含沙射影地点出他和朋友的妻子有染。
• She cleverly insinuated herself into his family. 她巧妙地混进了他的家庭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

6 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。