《曾达的囚徒》第1期:拉森狄尔家族与艾尔弗伯格家族(1)

1 The Rassendylls-and the Elphbergs

1 拉森狄尔家族与艾尔弗伯格家族

'I wonder¹ when you're going² to do something useful³， Rudolf，'my brother's wife⁴ said⁵．She looked at me crossly over the breakfast table．

“我在想你究竟什么时候才会做一些有用的事儿，鲁道夫。”我的嫂嫂说。她在餐桌的那头生气地望着我。

'But why should I do anything，Rose⁶？'I answered，calmly eating my egg．'I've got⁷ nearly⁸ enough money for the things I want，and my brother，Robert，is a lord-Lord Burlesdon．I'm very happy．'

“但我干嘛要做事呢，罗丝？”我一边回答她，一边从容地吃着鸡蛋。“我的钱够多的，差不多想要什么就能买什么，再说我哥哥罗伯特又是一位贵族——伯利斯顿勋爵，我挺幸福。”

'You're twenty-nine，and you've done nothing except…'

“可你都29岁了，你还什么都没干，除了……”

'Play about？It's true⁹．We Rassendylls are a rich and famous¹⁰ family，and we don't need to do anything．'

“除了胡闹？你说对了，我们拉森狄尔家的人又有钱又有名，而且我们什么也不用做。”

This made¹¹ Rose angry．'Rich and famous families usually behave¹² worse¹³ than less¹⁴ important¹⁵ families，'she said．

我这么说让罗丝生气了。“又有钱又有名的人家通常比那些普通人家更不规矩！”

When I heard this，I touched my dark¹⁶ red hair．I knew what she meant．

听了她的话，我用手摸摸我的深红色头发。我懂她的意思。

'I'm so pleased¹⁷ that Robert's hair is black！'she cried．

“我真高兴罗伯特的头发是黑色的！”她说道。

Just then my brother，Robert，came in．When he looked at Rose，he could¹⁸ see that there was¹⁹ something wrong．

正在此时，我哥哥罗伯特走了进来，他一看罗丝，就看出有些不对头。

'What's the matter，my dear？'he said．

“怎么了，亲爱的？”他问道。

'Oh，she's angry because I never do anything useful，and because I've got red hair，'I said．

“她生气了，因为我从没做过什么有用的事儿，而且我还长着红头发。”我说。

'Well，I know he can't do much about his hair，or his nose…'Rose began．

“当然，我知道他对他的头发和鼻子无能为力……”罗丝说。

'No，the nose and the hair are in the family，'my brother agreed²⁰．'And Rudolf has both of them．'

“是的，这样的鼻子和这样的头发是祖传的，”我哥哥同意她的话，“而且鲁道夫两样都占了。”

In the room there were many family pictures，and one of them was of a very beautiful woman，Lady Amelia，who lived a hundred and fifty years ago．I stood²¹ up and turned to look at it．

房间里有很多家族成员的画像，其中一幅画着一位非常美丽的女人，阿米莉亚夫人，她生活在150年以前。我站了起来，转身去看她。

'If you took²² that picture away，Robert，'Rose cried，'we could forget all about it．'

“如果你把那画像拿走，罗伯特，”罗丝说，“我们就可以把这件事忘掉。”

'Oh，but I don't want to forget about it，'I replied²³．'I like being²⁴ an Elphberg．'

“哦，可是我并不想忘掉它。”我回答。“我喜欢做艾尔弗伯格家族的一员。”

But perhaps²⁵ I should stop for a moment and explain²⁶ why Rose was angry about my nose and my hair and why I，a Rassendyll，said I was an Elphberg．After all，the Elphbergs are the royal²⁷ family of Ruritania，and have been for hundreds of years．

也许我应该停下来一会儿，解释一下为什么罗丝对我的鼻子和头发那么生气，究竟又为什么，我，一个姓拉森狄尔的，会说我自己是艾尔弗伯格家族的一员。毕竟艾尔弗伯格家族是卢里塔尼亚的王族，而且，几百年来一直如此。

1 wonder   

v.惊奇；惊讶；(对...)感到怀疑

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is late.我想知道他为什么迟到。
• No wonder it's a wonder.怪不得这是一个奇迹。

2 going   

n.去，离去，地面(或道路)的状况，工作情况；(复数形式）goings: 行为；adj.进行中的，流行的，现存的

参考例句：

• We're going to listen to a report this afternoon. 今天下午我们要去听报告。
• He hates leaving the office and going on holiday.他不愿离开办公室去度假。

3 useful   

adj.有用的；有益的

参考例句：

• The horse is a useful animal.马是有用的动物。
• He's a useful member of the team.他是该队的一名强手。

4 wife   

n.妻子，太太，老婆

参考例句：

• She is my wife.她是我妻子。
• He is a tall man but his wife is a short woman.他是个子很高的男人，但他妻子很矮。

5 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

6 rose   

n.玫瑰，蔷薇；v.(rise的过去式)起立，上升，升起

参考例句：

• This is a red rose.这是一朵红色玫瑰花。
• The river suddenly rose.河水暴涨。

7 got   

v.(get的过去式)得到，猜到，明白

参考例句：

• I just got some bad news.我刚得到一些坏消息。
• I have got far too much work to do.我要做的事太多了。

8 nearly   

adv.将近，几乎，差不多

参考例句：

• I nearly missed the bus.我险些错过了公交车。
• It is nearly two years since I came here.我来这儿快两年了。

9 true   

a.真实，不假的；忠实，可靠的；正确无误的

参考例句：

• He who doesn't reach the Great Wall is not a true man.不到长城非好汉。
• I will come and see if it is true.我要来了解一下，是否真有其事。

10 famous   

adj.著名的，驰名的，闻名遐迩的；极好的；擅长的

参考例句：

• The hotel is famous for its suppers.那个酒店以晚餐而著称。
• He is famous for his learning.他以有学问而出名。

11 made   

v.make的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They were not made in china.它们不是中国制造的。
• The monkey made a long arm for the peach.猴子伸臂去摘桃子。

12 behave   

vt./vi.举动；举止；行为表现

参考例句：

• The children behave well.孩子们行为良好。
• Not all kings behave in a kingly way.并非所有国王都有王者风范。

13 worse   

adj.更坏的，更差的；adv.更坏，更差

参考例句：

• I have even worse news for you.我有更坏的消息告诉你。
• The weather got worse during the day.白天天气更坏了。

14 less   

adj.更少的，更小的；adv.更少地，更小地；n.少量，次要；prep.减

参考例句：

• I read much less now than I did at school.我现在看书远比我上学时少。
• You can't buy the dress with less than 50 yuan.买这件衣服没有50元钱下不来。

15 important   

adj.重要的；重大的；严重的

参考例句：

• It's important to find out what he is doing.弄清他在干什么是重要的。
• This is a very important problem.这个问题很重要。

16 dark   

adj.黑色的；暗的；黑暗的

参考例句：

• The night is too dark for us to see.夜间太暗，我们看不见。
• The sky was dark blue and clear when the moon came up.月亮出来时，天空是深蓝色的，非常晴朗。

17 pleased   

adj.高兴的，快乐的，喜欢的，满意的

参考例句：

• She was pleased to hear good news about him.听到他的好消息，她很高兴。
• Whichever day you come,we will be pleased to see you.无论你哪一天来，我们都很高兴。

18 could   

v.能，可能(can的过去式)；aux.v.(can的过去式)能；可以

参考例句：

• Could I open the window?我可以打开窗子吗？
• I could wait ten minutes.我可以等十分钟。

19 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

20 agreed   

adj.同意的；接受的；经过协议的；双方共同议定的v.同意，赞同( agree的过去式和过去分词)；[语法学]（在性、数、人称或格方面）一致；相同；和睦相处

参考例句：

• He finally agreed, albeit reluctantly, to help us. 尽管勉强，他最后还是同意帮助我们。
• Both sides in the dispute have agreed to go to arbitration . 争执双方已同意提请仲裁。

21 stood   

vbl.stand的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She stood up when they came in.当他们进来时，她站了起来。
• The child stood by the side of his mother.孩子站在母亲身边。

22 took   

vt.带，载(take的过去式)

参考例句：

• I took my dog for a walk along the river.我带着狗沿那条河散步。
• It took me about two hours to cook the meat.我花了大约两个小时来煮这些肉。

23 replied   

v.[法律]（原告对被告）答辩( reply的过去式和过去分词 )；反响；作答；（以行动）做出反应

参考例句：

• She replied in a measured tone to his threat. 她以很有分寸的语气回答了他的威胁。
• I gathered from the way she replied that she wasn't very enthusiastic. 从她回答的语气判断，我觉得她不很热心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 being   

n.存在；生存；生命存在，生命，人， 本质；art.在，有，是

参考例句：

• Can you explain to me the purpose of being?你能对我解释一下存在的目的吗？
• What is the purpose of our being?我们生存的目的是什么？

25 perhaps   

adv.也许，可能

参考例句：

• Perhaps it will rain in the afternoon.下午可能有雨。
• Perhaps I can help you.也许我能帮帮你的忙吧。

26 explain   

vt.解释，说明；vi. 解释，说明，辩解

参考例句：

• She knows how to explain it.她知道怎么解释它。
• Could you explain that again?您能再解释一遍吗？

27 royal   

adj.王室的，皇家的；堂皇的，盛大的；极大的，第一流的

参考例句：

• Most European royal families are connected with each other.欧洲大部分王室都有姻亲关系。
• His grandfather was a royal duke.他的祖父是王室公爵。