英语晨读：自负的瓦格纳

 　　The Conceited² Wagner

　　Richard Wagner was an undersized little man，with a head too big for his body—a sickly little man.His nerves were bad.And he had delusions³ of grandeur⁴.

　　He was a monster of conceit¹.Never for one minute did helook at the world or at people， except in relation to himself.He was not only the most important person in the world，to himself;in his own eyes he was the only person who existed.He believed himself to be one of the greatest dramatists in the world，one of the greatest thinkers，and one of the greatest composers.To hearhim talk，he was Shakespeare，and Beethoven，and Plato ，rolledinto one.And you would have had no difficulty in hearing himtalk.He was one of the most exhausting conversationalists thatever lived.An evening with him was an evening spent in listeningto a monologue⁵.Sometimes he was brilliant;sometimes he wasmaddeningly tiresome⁶.But whether he was being brilliant ordull，he had one sole topic of conversation：himself.What hethought and what he did.

　　He had a mania⁷ for being in the right.The slightest hint ofdisagreement，from anyone，on the most trivial point， was enough to set him off on a harangue⁸ that might last for hours，inwhich he proved himself right in so many ways，and with suchexhausting volubility，that in the end his hearer，stunned anddeafened，would agree with him，for the sake of peace.

1 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。

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 delusions   

n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想

参考例句：

• the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想
• She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行，她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句

4 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

5 monologue   

n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白

参考例句：

• The comedian gave a long monologue of jokes.喜剧演员讲了一长段由笑话组成的独白。
• He went into a long monologue.他一个人滔滔不绝地讲话。

6 tiresome   

adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的

参考例句：

• His doubts and hesitations were tiresome.他的疑惑和犹豫令人厌烦。
• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors.他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。

7 mania   

n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好

参考例句：

• Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
• Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。

8 harangue   

n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话

参考例句：

• We had to listen to a long harangue about our own shortcomings.我们必须去听一有关我们缺点的长篇大论。
• The minister of propaganda delivered his usual harangue.宣传部长一如既往发表了他的长篇大论。