双语有声阅读：爱的约会(3)

"Going my way, soldier?" she murmured. he made one step closer to her. Then he saw Hollis Meynell.

 

“问路吗，军人？”她轻轻地说。他又走近一步，接着，他看到了霍丽丝梅内尔。

She was standing¹ almost directly behind the girl, a woman well past 40, her graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump; her thick-ankled feet were thrust into low-heeled shoes.

霍丽丝梅内尔就站在这姑娘身后，一个40多岁的女人，灰白的头发塞在破旧的帽子下面，很胖，厚实的双脚穿着低跟鞋。

But she wore a red rose in the rumpled² lapel of her brown coat.The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away.

可是她那皱巴巴的外衣上别着一朵红玫瑰。绿衣女孩匆匆离去。

 

Blandford felt as though he were being split in two, so keen was his desire to follow the girl, yet so deep was his longing³ for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and upheld his own; and there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible; he could see that now. Her gray eyes had a warm, kindly⁴ twinkle.

 

布兰福德心碎了，他多想跟着那女孩啊，然而他又真切地渴望见这个女人，是她的精神一直陪伴他，激励他。她就站在那里，苍白丰满的面庞，温柔而理性，灰色的眼睛里闪着温和的光芒。

Lieutenant⁵ Blandford did not hesitate. His fingers gripped the small worn, blue leather copy of Of Human Bondage⁶, which was to identify him to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even rarer than love-a friendship for which he had been and must ever be grateful...

布兰福德没有犹豫，他紧抓着那本破旧的《人性的枷锁》，它是向她证明身份的依据。尽管这不会是爱情，但是一种珍贵的东西，是他曾经拥有并要感激的友情…

He squared his broad shoulders, saluted⁷ and held the book out toward the woman, although even while he spoke⁸ he felt shocked by the bitterness of his disappointment."I'm Lieutenant John Blandford, and you-you are Miss Meynell. I'm so glad you could meet me. May...may I take you to dinner?"

尽管因深深的失望而感到痛苦，布兰福德仍摆正双肩，敬了个礼，然后把书递给那个女人：“我是约翰布兰福德，您—您是梅内尔女士吧，我可以—可以请您吃饭吗？”

The woman smiled. "I don't know what this is all about, son," she answered. "That young lady in the green suit - the one who just went by - begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said that if you asked me to go out with you, I should tell you that she's waiting for you in that big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of a test."

女人微笑着。“孩子，我不明白这是怎么回事，”她说道，“那位穿绿衣服的年轻小姐请求我戴上这朵玫瑰，她说如果你请我一块出去，就告诉你，她在对面的餐厅等你。她说这是一种考验。”

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

3 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

4 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。

5 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

6 bondage   

n.奴役，束缚

参考例句：

• Masters sometimes allowed their slaves to buy their way out of bondage.奴隶主们有时允许奴隶为自己赎身。
• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。

7 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。