which the care she took of her home and her love of good housewifery made not a little remarkable. 后一种性格从她过去辛勤操理家务、热心家庭主妇的职责看来倒也不足为奇。

She must be a woman of complicated character, and there was something dramatic in the contrast of that with her demure appearance. 看来她一定是一个性格非常复杂的女人，这同她那端庄娴静的外表倒构成了极富于戏剧性的对比。

I was excited by the encounter, and my fancy worked busily while I sought to concentrate myself on the game I was playing. 这次与思特里克兰德和勃朗什不期而遇使我非常激动，勾起我无数奇思遐想。但是我还是拼命把精神集中在走棋上，

I always tried my best to beat Strickland, because he was a player who despised the opponent he vanquished;  使出全副本领，一定要把思特里克兰德击败。他非常看不起那些败在他手下的人；

his exultation in victory made defeat more difficult to bear. 如果叫他取胜，他那种洋洋自得的样子简直叫你无地自容。

On the other hand, if he was beaten he took it with complete good-humour. 但是在另一方面，如果他下输了，他倒也从来不发脾气。

He was a bad winner and a good loser. 换言之，思特里克兰德只能输棋，不能赢棋。

Those who think that a man betrays his character nowhere more clearly than when he is playing a game might on this draw subtle inferences. 有人认为只有下棋的时候才能最清楚地观察一个人的性格，这倒是可以从思特里克兰德这人的例子取得一些微妙的推论。

When he had finished I called the waiter to pay for the drinks, and left them. 下完棋以后，我把侍者叫来，付了酒账，便离开了他们。

The meeting had been devoid of incident. 这次会面实在没有什么值得记述的地方，

No word had been said to give me anything to think about, and any surmises I might make were unwarranted. 没有一句话可以使我追思、玩味，如果我有任何臆测，也毫无事实根据。

I was intrigued. I could not tell how they were getting on. 但这反而更引起了我的好奇心。我实在摸不透这两人的关系。

I would have given much to be a disembodied spirit so that I could see them in the privacy of the studio and hear what they talked about. 如果灵魂真能出窍的话，不论出什么代价我也得试一次；只有这样我才能在画室里看到他俩私下如何过活，才能听到他们交谈些什么。

I had not the smallest indication on which to let my imagination work. 总之一句话，我没有可以供我的幻想力发挥作用的最小依据。