英语沙龙：A Conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

A Conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet

It is a truth universally acknowledged¹,

that a single man in possession of a good fortune,

must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man

may be on his entering a neighbourhood,

this truth is so well fixed² in the minds of the surrounding families,

that he is considered as the rightful property

of some one or other of their daughters.

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day,

“have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

“But it is,” returned she,

“for Mrs. Long has just been here,

and she told me all about it.”

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

“Do not you want to know who has taken it?”

“You want to tell me, and I have no objection³ to hearing it.”

This was invitation enough.

“Why, my dear, you must know,

Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man

of large fortune from the north of England;

that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place,

and was so much delighted with it

that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately;

that he is to take possession before Michaelmas,

and some of his servants are to be in the house

by the end of next week.”

“What is his name?”

“Bingley.”

“Is he married or single?”

“Oh, single, my dear, to be sure!

A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year.

What a fine thing for our girls!”

“How so? How can it affect them?”

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife,

“how can you be so tiresome⁴!

You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”

“Is that his design in settling here?”

“Design! Nonsense⁵, how can you talk so!

But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them,

and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.”

1 acknowledged   

adj.公认的v.承认( acknowledge的过去式和过去分词 )；鸣谢；对…打招呼；告知已收到

参考例句：

• He acknowledged publicly that he might have made a mistake. 他当众承认自己可能犯了个错误。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police acknowledged that three police vehicles were damaged. 警方承认有三辆警车被毁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 objection   

n.厌恶，异议，反对；反对的理由

参考例句：

• None of them raised any objection.他们谁也没提出反对意见。
• Please present your objection to the plan.请提出反对这个计划的理由。

4 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。

5 nonsense   

n.胡说，废话

参考例句：

• Go along with you! What you say is all nonsense!去你的！你说的全是废话！
• "Don't talk nonsense",she said sharply.“别胡扯”，她严厉地说。