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属类: 双语小说 【分类】世界名著 -[作者: 毛姆] 阅读:[36209]
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1
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一两天以后,斯特里克兰太太派人给我送来一张纸条,问我是否能在晚饭后去看看她。我到了她家,只有她一个人,她身着黑色的衣服,朴素得近于苦行,让人想起她目前遭遇变故后的孤寂。我因为不谙世故,所以很吃惊,尽管她悲痛的感情是真实的,但就在这种情况下,她也能够按照得体观念,使自己的衣着符合她所扮演的角色。

1
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A day or two later Mrs. Strickland sent me round a note asking if I could go and see her that evening after dinner.I found her alone.Her black dress, simple to austerity, suggested her bereaved condition, and I was innocently astonished that notwithstanding a real emotion she was able to dress the part she had to play according to her notions of seemliness.

2
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“你说过如果我想让你做任何事,你都不会介意的,是不是?”她问道。

2
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“You said that if I wanted you to do anything you wouldn’t mind doing it,”she remarked.

3
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“千真万确。”

3
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“It was quite true.”

4
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“你愿意去趟巴黎,去见见查理吗?”

4
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“Will you go over to Paris and see Charlie?”

5
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“我吗?”

5
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“I?”

6
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我吃了一惊。我想我和他只见过一次,我不知道她想让我干什么。

6
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I was taken aback. I refected that I had only seen him once.I did not know what she wanted me to do.

7
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“弗雷德本打算要去,”弗雷德就是麦克安德鲁上校,“但我确信他去不合适,他只会把事情弄得更糟,我不知道还有谁能帮我。”

7
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“Fred is set on going.”Fred was Colonel MacAndrew.“But I’m sure he’s not the man to go. He’ll only make things worse.I don’t know who else to ask.”

8
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她的声音有点颤抖,我觉得我要是有片刻的犹豫也是一种残忍。

8
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Her voice trembled a little, and I felt a brute even to hesitate.

9
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“但是我和你丈夫说过的话不超过十句,他不认识我。他可能只会让我滚开的。”

9
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“But I’ve not spoken ten words to your husband. He doesn’t know me.He’ll probably just tell me to go to the devil.”

10
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“那对你也没有伤害呀。”斯特里克兰太太笑着说。

10
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“That wouldn’t hurt you,”said Mrs. Strickland, smiling.

11
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“那你究竟想让我去干什么呢?”

11
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“What is it exactly you want me to do?”

12
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她没有直接回答。

12
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She did not answer directly.

13
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“我觉得他不认识你反而是个优势,你知道,他对弗雷德从来没有好感,他觉得他是个傻瓜;他不理解军人。弗雷德爱意气用事,如果他们大吵一通,事情反而不好办了。如果你说你是代表我去的,他是不会拒绝同你谈谈的。”

13
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“I think it’s rather an advantage that he doesn’t know you. You see, he never really liked Fred;he thought him a fool;he didn’t understand soldiers.Fred would fly into a passion, and there’d be a quarrel, and things would be worse instead of better.If you said you came on my behalf, he couldn’t refuse to listen to you.”

14
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“我同你们认识的时间不长,”我答道,“我不想刺探与我不相关的事,但我看不出能指望谁来处理这样一件事,除非他能了解所有的细节。再者说了,你为什么不亲自去一趟呢?”

14
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“I haven’t known you very long,”I answered.“I don’t see how anyone can be expected to tackle a case like this unless he knows all the details. I don’t want to pry into what doesn’t concern me.Why don’t you go and see him yourself?”

15
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“你忘了他可不是一个人。”

15
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“You forget he isn’t alone.”

16
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我没再说什么。我好像看见我正在拜访查尔斯·斯特里克兰,递上我的名片,看见他走进房间,用食指和拇指夹着我的名片。

16
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I held my tongue. I saw myself calling on Charles Strickland and sending in my card;I saw him come into the room, holding it between fnger and thumb:

17
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“请问您有何贵干?”

17
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“To what do I owe this honour?”

18
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“我来是为了您太太的事儿。”

18
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“I’ve come to see you about your wife.”

19
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“真的,当你年龄再大一点,你无疑就会学到事不关己高高挂起的好处了。如果你识趣,把头稍微向左边转一下,你就会看到那扇门。再会。”

19
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“Really. When you are a little older you will doubtless learn the advantage of minding your own business.If you will be so good as to turn your head slightly to the left, you will see the door.I wish you good afternoon.”

20
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我可以预见,当我出门的时候,很难再保持体面尊严了。我真希望我还没有回伦敦,等斯特里克兰太太解决了她的难题后我再回来。我偷偷地瞄了她一眼,她正陷于沉思中,但是她马上抬头看着我,深深地叹了口气,微微笑了一下。

20
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I foresaw that it would be diffcult to make my exit with dignity, and I wished to goodness that I had not returned to London till Mrs. Strickland had composed her diffculties.I stole a glance at her.She was immersed in thought.Presently she looked up at me, sighed deeply, and smiled.

21
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“真是太出乎意料了,”她说,“我们结婚有十七年了,我做梦也没想到查理会是这样一种人,会迷恋上某个女人。我们一直相处得很好。当然,我有很多的兴趣爱好,而他不能分享。”

21
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“It was all so unexpected,”she said.“We’d been married seventeen years. I never dreamed that Charlie was the sort of man to get infatuated with anyone.We always got on very well together.Of course, I had a great many interests that he didn’t share.”

22
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“你发现了谁?”——我不太清楚自己怎么能说得更明白些——“那个人是谁?就是他和谁一起私奔了?”

22
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“Have you found out who”-I did not quite know how to express myself-“who the person, who it is he’s gone away with?”

23
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“没有,好像没人知道。这点挺奇怪。一般来说,如果一个男人爱上了某个女人,人们一定会看到他们出双入对的,一起吃个午饭或者别的什么事情。妻子的朋友们总是会来告诉她一声的。我没有得到任何警示——什么都没有。他的那封来信好像一个晴天霹雳,我原以为他一直特别幸福哩。”

23
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“No. No one seems to have an idea.It’s so strange.Generally when a man falls in love with someone people see them about together, lunching or something, and her friends always come and tell the wife.I had no warning-nothing.His letter came like a thunderbolt.I thought he was perfectly happy.”

24
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她开始哭了,可怜的女人,我也为她感到非常难过。但是,一会儿以后,她变得更加镇静了。

24
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She began to cry, poor thing, and I felt very sorry for her. But in a little while she grew calmer.

25
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“让别人看笑话,对自己没好处。”她擦干了泪水说道,“唯一要做的事是决定什么是万全之策。”

25
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“It’s no good making a fool of myself,”she said, drying her eyes.“The only thing is to decide what is the best thing to do.”

26
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她继续说着,有点语无伦次,一会儿说刚刚过去的事,一会儿又说他们初次的相遇和结婚后的事,但是现在我才开始在脑海中形成他们生活连贯的画面。这些画面也似乎证明了我以前的猜测是正确的。

26
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She went on, talking somewhat at random, now of the recent past, then of their frst meeting and their marriage;but presently I began to form a fairly coherent picture of their lives;and it seemed to me that my surmises had not been incorrect.

27
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斯特里克兰太太是一位驻印度文官的女儿,她的父亲退休之后,一家人定居在偏远的乡下。但每年的八月,她父亲都会带着家人来到伊斯特本换换空气;就是在那儿,她正当二十岁的芳龄时遇见了查尔斯·斯特里克兰,当年他二十三岁。

27
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Mrs.Strickland was the daughter of an Indian civilian, who on his retirement had settled in the depths of the country, but it was his habit every August to take his family to Eastbourne for change of air;and it was here, when she was twenty, that she met Charles Strickland.He was twenty-three.

28
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他们在一起玩网球,一起在海滨大道上散步,一起听黑人流浪歌手唱歌;在他正式求婚前的一个星期她就下决心和他在一起了。他们定居在伦敦,先是住在汉普斯特德区,后来,当他的经济状况好转后,他们就搬到城里来了,两个孩子随后陆续降生。

28
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They played tennis together, walked on the front together, listened together to the nigger minstrels;and she made up her mind to accept him a week before he proposed to her.They lived in London, frst in Hampstead, and then, as he grew more prosperous, in town.Two children were born to them.

29
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“他似乎非常喜欢两个孩子,即使他厌倦了我,我也奇怪他怎么会舍得离开孩子,一切都是那么不可思议,直到现在我也无法相信这是真的。”

29
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“He always seemed very fond of them. Even if he was tired of me, I wonder that he had the heart to leave them.It’s all so incredible.Even now I can hardly believe it’s true.”

30
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最后,她给我看了那封他写给她的信,我本来对这封信就很好奇,只是不敢贸然提出来想看这封信。

30
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At last she showed me the letter he had written. I was curious to see it, but had not ventured to ask for it.

31
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我亲爱的艾米:

31
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My Dear Amy,

32
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我想你会发现房子里的一切我都安排好了。我已经转告了安妮你的指示。当你们到家的时候,晚饭已经为你和孩子们准备好了。我不会在家里迎接你们了。我已经下定决心跟你分开过了,我将在今天上午去巴黎。我到的时候会把这封信寄出去。我不会回去了,我的决定是不可改变的。

32
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I think you will find everything all right in the flat. I have given Anne your instructions, and dinner will be ready for you and the children when you come.I shall not be there to meet you.I have made up my mind to live apart from you, and I am going to Paris in the morning.I shall post this letter on my arrival.I shall not come back.My decision is irrevocable.

33
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你永远的

33
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Yours always,

34
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查尔斯·斯特里克兰

34
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Charles Strickland.

35
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“没有一句话的解释或者歉疚的表示,你难道不认为这个人太没人情味了吗?”

35
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“Not a word of explanation or regret. Don’t you think it’s inhuman?”

36
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“在这种情况下,这封信是挺奇怪的。”我回答说。

36
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“It’s a very strange letter under the circumstances,”I replied.

37
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“只有一个解释,那就是他已经不再是他自己了。我不知道这个女人是谁,她已经把他牢牢掌控了,但是她已经把他变成了另外一个人,显然这不是一朝一夕了。”

37
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“There’s only one explanation, and that is that he’s not himself. I don’t know who this woman is who’s got hold of him, but she’s made him into another man.It’s evidently been going on a long time.”

38
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“你这么想,有什么证据吗?”

38
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“What makes you think that?”

39
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“弗雷德已经发现了。我丈夫每周总有三四个晚上说去俱乐部打桥牌,弗雷德认识这家俱乐部的一个成员,跟那人说起查尔斯是个打桥牌的好手时,那人很吃惊。他说他从没见查尔斯去过棋牌室,现在再清楚不过了,当我以为查尔斯在俱乐部打桥牌时,他正跟那个女人在一起。”

39
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Fred found that out. My husband said he went to the club three or four nights a week to play bridge.Fred knows one of the members, and said something about Charles being a great bridge-player.The man was surprised.He said he’d never even seen Charles in the card-room.It’s quite clear now that when I thought Charles was at his club he was with her.”

40
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我沉默了一会儿,然后我想到了孩子们。

40
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I was silent for a moment. Then I thought of the children.

41
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“一定很难跟罗伯特解释这件事吧。”我说道。

41
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“It must have been very diffcult to explain to Robert,”I said.

42
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“哦,我还没跟他俩提一个字呢,你知道,我们是在他俩不得不返校的头一天回到城里的。我稳住了情绪,告诉他们父亲因为生意上的事外出了。”

42
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“Oh, I never said a word to either of them. You see, we only came up to town the day before they had to go back to school.I had the presence of mind to say that their father had been called away on business.”

43
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斯特里克兰太太遭受突然的打击,心里藏着这个秘密,还能举止得体,装作若无其事的样子,这真是难为她了。而且,她还要把注意力放在把一切事情安排妥当,把两个孩子安心打发走,对她来说,也真不容易。斯特里克兰太太的话音又哽咽了。

43
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It could not have been very easy to be bright and careless with that sudden secret in her heart, nor to give her attention to all the things that needed doing to get her children comfortably packed off. Mrs.Strickland’s voice broke again.

44
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“我可怜的宝贝们,他们以后该怎么办呀?这让我们可怎么活呀?”

44
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“And what is to happen to them, poor darlings?How are we going to live?”

45
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她挣扎着想控制着自己的情绪,我看见她的手抽搐般地一会儿攥着,一会儿又松开,这种痛苦真是万箭穿心呀。

45
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She struggled for self-control, and I saw her hands clench and unclench spasmodically. It was dreadfully painful.

46
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“如果你认为我去巴黎有好处,我当然会去,但是你必须确切地告诉我,你想让我做什么。”

46
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“Of course I’ll go over to Paris if you think I can do any good, but you must tell me exactly what you want me to do.”

47
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“我想让他回家。”

47
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“I want him to come back.”

48
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“我听麦克安德鲁上校的意思,你已经决定和他离婚了。”

48
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“I understood from Colonel MacAndrew that you’d made up your mind to divorce him.”

49
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“我绝不会和他离婚。”她咬牙切齿地回答,“把我的话告诉他,他永远别想和那个女人结婚,我和他一样执拗,我永远不会和他离婚,我要为我的孩子着想。”

49
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“I’ll never divorce him,”she answered with a sudden violence.“Tell him that from me. He’ll never be able to marry that woman.I’m as obstinate as he is, and I’ll never divorce him.I have to think of my children.”

50
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我想她补充的这番话是为了向我解释她的态度,但是我认为这种态度与其说是母爱,还不如说是很自然的嫉妒心。

50
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I think she added this to explain her attitude to me, but I thought it was due to a very natural jealousy rather than to maternal solicitude.

51
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“那你还爱他吗?”

51
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“Are you in love with him still?”

52
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“我不知道,我就想让他回来。如果他回来了,我会既往不咎。毕竟我们结婚十七年了,我是个心胸宽阔的女人,只要我不知道他干了什么,我不会介意他的行为的。他一定也知道他对那个女人的迷恋不会持续多久的。如果他现在回来了,一切都会风平浪静的,没人知道究竟是怎么回事。”

52
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“I don’t know. I want him to come back.If he’ll do that we’ll let bygones be bygones.After all, we’ve been married for seventeen years.I’m a broad-minded woman.I wouldn’t have minded what he did as long as I knew nothing about it.He must know that his infatuation won’t last.If he’ll come back now everything can be smoothed over,and no one will know anything about it.”

53
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斯特里克兰太太这样介意流言蜚语,多少让我心底有点发凉。因为我不知道别人的看法在一个女人的生活中竟然起到这么大的作用,这种在乎给她们那种最深沉的感情投下了一抹不真诚的阴影。

53
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It chilled me a little that Mrs. Strickland should be concerned with gossip, for I did not know then how great a part is played in women’s life by the opinion of others.It throws a shadow of insincerity over their most deeply felt emotions.

54
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斯特里克兰现在住在哪儿大家是知道的。他的合伙人写了一封言辞激烈的信,派人送到了他有存款的银行,在信中合伙人奚落他像老鼠一样躲了起来。而斯特里克兰也写了一封冷嘲热讽的回信,告诉他的合伙人在哪儿可以准确无误地找到他,目前他好像住在旅馆里。

54
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It was known where Strickland was staying. His partner, in a violent letter, sent to his bank, had taunted him with hiding his whereabouts;and Strickland, in a cynical and humorous reply, had told his partner exactly where to fnd him.He was apparently living in an hotel.

55
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“我从来没听说过这家旅馆,”斯特里克兰太太说,“不过弗雷德很清楚,他说这家旅馆很贵。”

55
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“I’ve never heard of it,”said Mrs. Strickland.“But Fred knows it well.He says it’s very expensive.”

56
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她的脸涨得通红。我猜测她似乎看到她丈夫正安顿在一间豪华套房里,在一家又一家讲究的饭店里吃饭,她的脑海中浮现她丈夫正在花天酒地,白天去马场,晚上去剧场。

56
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She fushed darkly. I imagined that she saw her husband installed in a luxurious suite of rooms, dining at one smart restaurant after another, and she pictured his days spent at race-meetings and his evenings at the play.

57
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“他这个岁数,不能这么折腾下去了,”她说,“说到底,他也四十岁了,一个小伙子这样做,我还能理解,但他这个岁数的男人,孩子都快成人了,还这样做,岂不是很可怕!再说身体也受不了哇。”

57
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“It can’t go on at his age,”she said.“After all, he’s forty. I could understand it in a young man, but I think it’s horrible in a man of his years, with children who are nearly grown up.His health will never stand it.”

58
-

愤怒和悲悯在她的心中斗争着。

58
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Anger struggled in her breast with misery.

59
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“告诉他,我们的家在呼唤他回来。家里一切照旧,可一切又完全不同了。没有他我活不下去。我迟早会自杀的。跟他谈谈过去,谈谈我们共同的经历。当孩子们问起他来,我可怎么说呀?他的房间和他离开时一模一样,正等着他回来。我们大家也正等着他回来。”

59
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“Tell him that our home cries out for him. Everything is just the same, and yet everything is different.I can’t live without him.I’d sooner kill myself.Talk to him about the past, and all we’ve gone through together.What am I to say to the children when they ask for him?His room is exactly as it was when he left it.It’s waiting for him.We’re all waiting for him.”

60
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现在她明白无误地告诉了我,见到斯特里克兰我应该怎么说。她甚至想到了斯特里克兰会怎么说,告诉了我如何周全地回答。

60
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Now she told me exactly what I should say. She gave me elaborate answers to every possible observation of his.

61
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“你一定会尽力帮我的,是吧?”她可怜巴巴地说,“把我现在的处境告诉他。”

61
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“You will do everything you can for me?”she said pitifully.“Tell him what a state I’m in.”

62
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我明白她希望我竭尽所能地唤起他的同情心,她的眼泪一个劲儿地往下落,我被深深地打动了,我对斯特里克兰的冷酷无情义愤填膺,我答应她会尽我的全力把他带回来。我同意第二天就动身,在巴黎一直待到事情多少有些进展再说。这时,天色渐渐暗了下来,在经过了感情大起大落后,我们两人都有点精疲力竭,于是我向她告辞了。

62
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I saw that she wished me to appeal to his sympathies by every means in my power. She was weeping freely.I was extraordinarily touched.I felt indignant at Strickland’s cold cruelty, and I promised to do all I could to bring him back.I agreed to go over on the next day but one, and to stay in Paris till I had achieved something.Then, as it was growing late and we were both exhausted by so much emotion, I left her.

序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

seemliness

[siːmɪlɪsnɪs]

n.适当;恰当;合乎礼节

Paris

[’pærɪs]

n.巴黎;重楼(百合科植物);帕里斯(姓氏)

aback

[ə’bæk]

adv.吃惊地;向后地;后退地

brute

[bruːt]

n.畜生;残忍的人

honour

[ˈɒnə]

n.光荣;

doubtless

[’daʊtləs]

adj.无疑的;确定的

Presently

[’prezntli]

adv.不久;一会儿;现在;目前

thunderbolt

[’θʌndəbəʊlt]

n.雷电;晴天霹雳;(突然且具毁灭性的猛烈行动的)人或物

felted

[’feltɪd]

v. 把 ... 制成毡(使 ... 粘结)

surmise

[sə’maɪz]

n.推测

prosperous

[’prɒspərəs]

adj.繁荣的;兴旺的

irrevocable

[ɪ’revəkəbl]

adj.不能挽回的;不能取消的;不能变更的

inhuman

[ɪn’hjuːmən]

adj.残忍的;无人性的;非人类的

Fred

[fred]

= Fast Random Enquiry Display,快速随机查询显示;

comfortably

[’kʌmftəbli]

舒适地,自在地;

darling

[’dɑːlɪŋ]

n.亲爱的;可爱的人;可爱的物

dreadful

[’dredfl]

adj.可怕的;糟糕的

Colonel

[’kɜːnl]

n.上校

obstinate

[’ɒbstɪnət]

adj.固执的;倔强的;不易屈服的;(病)难治的

solicitude

[sə’lɪsɪtjuːd]

n.关心;挂念;焦虑

infatuation

[ɪnˌfætʃu’eɪʃn]

n.迷恋

humorous

[’hjuːmərəs]

adj.幽默的;诙谐的

dine

[daɪn]

v.用正餐;进餐

past

[pɑːst]

a. 过去的;

pitiful

[’pɪtɪfl]

adj.慈悲的;可怜的;凄惨的

简典