6级-《傲慢与偏见》-第8课

前情提要

柯林斯先生准时到达班纳特家，受到了班纳特一家十分客气的对待。柯林斯先生也非常客气地对待这里地每一个人……

故事原文

Pride and Prejudice 8

傲慢与偏见 8

Mr Bennet listened to his cousin with the greatest enjoyment. Mr Collins was as foolish as he had hoped. But by tea-time Mr Bennet had had enough(1), and after tea, asked his guest to read aloud to the ladies. However, when a novel was handed to Mr Collins, he looked shocked, and protested(2) that he never read novels. He chose a religious book instead, and started reading in a slow, serious voice. Lydia could not hide her boredom for long, and after only three pages she interrupted him rudely, to ask her mother a question about one of the officers in Meryton. Mr Collins was offended, and refused to read any more, although Mrs Bennet and her other daughters apologized for Lydia's lack of(3) manners.

班纳特先生饶有兴趣地听了这位侄子的谈话。柯林斯先生正像他所预料的那样愚蠢。到喝茶时分，班纳特先生觉得已经听够了，茶点过后，他便请客人给姑娘们大声读点东西。可是，柯林斯先生一看到递给他的是小说，脸上马上露出吃惊的神色，坚持说他从来不读小说。相反，他选了一本宗教方面的书，然后用缓慢、严肃的声调读了起来。丽迪亚不会长时间地掩饰自己的厌倦情绪，他只读了三页，她便粗鲁地打断了他，问她母亲麦里屯一位军官的情况怎么样了。柯林斯先生感情受到了伤害，拒绝再往下读，尽管班纳特太太和其他几个女儿为丽迪亚的失礼道了歉。

Mr Collins was not a sensible man, and neither education nor society had improved him. The respect he felt for his patron, and his very good opinion of himself and his new position, made him proud and servile at the same time. Now that(4) he had a home and a considerable income, he had decided to marry. The Bennet girls, who would lose their inheritance because of him, had a reputation for(5) being attractive and charming, and his idea of making amends to them was to marry one of them. He considered this an excellent plan, and thought himself extremely generous and unselfish in carrying it out.

柯林斯先生不是一位很有理智的人，教育和社会都改变不了他。对保护人的尊敬、自命不凡和新职位使得傲气和奴性在他身上并存。他现在既然有了窝，收入又相当可观，于是便决定结婚了。班纳特家的姑娘以娇媚迷人闻名遐迩，他所谓的补偿就是同其中的一位姑娘结婚，以弥补这些姑娘因为他而失去的继承权。他认为这是一个极好的计划，还觉得自己使之付诸实施，非常慷慨无私。

He had known he was right when he arrived at Longbourn and saw Jane Bennet's lovely face. As the eldest, she should marry first, and for the first evening she was his choice. But the next morning, after a fifteen-minute conversation with Mrs Bennet, he had to change his mind. When he explained that he was hoping to find a wife among her daughters, she replied, with a happy smile, that her eldest daughter was very likely to be engaged soon. 'But there are my other daughters, Mr Collins,' she continued, encouragingly.

他到达浪搏恩，见了简·班纳特可爱的脸蛋后，便肯定自己的决定是正确的。简作为长女，应当首先结婚，在头天晚上，他就选中了她。但第二天早上与班纳特太太经过15分钟的交谈，他就不得不改变自己的想法了。他解释说他要在几位姑娘中找一位妻子时，班纳特太太脸上洋溢出幸福的微笑，她回答说，大女儿很可能不久就订婚。“可是我还有别的女儿呢，柯林斯先生。”她继续说，语调中带着鼓励。

Mr Collins had only to change from Jane to Elizabeth, and it was soon done—done while Mrs Bennet was pouring the tea. Next to Jane in birth and beauty, Elizabeth was the obvious choice.

柯林斯先生不得不把简换成伊丽莎白，不一会儿就定了下来——班纳特太太沏茶时他做出了决定。伊丽莎白在年龄和姿色上都仅次于简，选她是很显然的。

Mrs Bennet was delighted, hoping that she might soon have two daughters married. The man whom she had so disliked the day before was now a favourite with her.

班纳特太太乐滋滋的，满心希望不久将有两个女儿嫁出去。前一天她还感到厌恶的男人一下子成了她的掌上明珠。

4  Elizabeth meets Mr Wickham

4  伊丽莎白巧遇韦翰先生

When later that morning Lydia suggested walking to Meryton to see some of the officers, all her sisters except Mary agreed to accompany her. Even Mr Collins went with them, encouraged by Mr Bennet, who was by now most anxious to have some time to himself. During their walk, the girls listened politely to Mr Collins' self-important speeches, but as soon as they entered Meryton, the younger ones no longer even pretended to be interested in his conversation, but looked eagerly around in search of the officers.

那天上午晚些时候，丽迪亚提议步行到麦里屯去见几位军官，除了玛丽，几位姐姐都同意陪她去。甚至柯林斯先生也去了。是班纳特先生鼓动他去的，他现在急切地需要清静一会儿。在路上，姑娘们很有礼貌地听着柯林斯先生妄自尊大的演讲，可是，她们一进人麦里屯，几位年龄小的便四处张望，搜索军官的影子，连听他讲话的样子都不装了。

Just then all the young ladies noticed a very gentleman-like young man, whom they had never seen before, walking down the street with an officer they knew. They were all wondering who the handsome stranger could be, when the officer came up to them to greet them. He asked permission to introduce his friend, whose name was Mr Wickham, and who had apparently arrived recently from London, to become an officer in the regiment. This was exactly as it should be, because the young man only needed an officer's uniform to become completely charming. He was very good-looking, with a very pleasant, sociable(6) manner, and after the introductions, conversation flowed most enjoyably in the little group. They were still standing and talking happily together, when they heard the sound of horses, and saw Darcy and Bingley riding down the street. The two gentlemen came straight towards the ladies to greet them. Bingley was clearly most interested in Jane Bennet, and started talking particularly to her. Darcy, however, was just determining(7) not to look at Elizabeth, when he suddenly noticed the stranger. By chance Elizabeth saw Darcy's and Wickham's faces at the moment when they caught sight of each other, and she was astonished at the effect of the meeting. Both changed colour, one white, the other red. After a few moments Mr Wickham touched his hat, and Mr Darcy nodded very slightly. What could this mean? It was impossible to imagine, and it was impossible not to wish to know.

正在这时，所有的年轻小姐都注意到了一位风度翩翩的年轻人，这个人她们以前从未见过，现在正和一位她们认识的军官沿着大街往前走。她们正在纳闷这位英俊的陌生人是谁，那位军官走过来和她们打招呼。军官获得允许之后介绍了他的朋友韦翰先生。他显然是新近从伦敦过来的，调到团里当军官。看来军官就理应他当，因为这个年轻人只需配上军官制服，便能使姑娘们完全为之倾倒。此人一表人才，谈吐文雅，待人随和，互相介绍完毕之后，这个小团体就充满了欢声笑语。他们正站在一块愉快地交谈，这时他们听到一阵马蹄声，看见达西和彬格莱骑着马沿街走来。两位先生径直来到姑娘们面前与她们打招呼。彬格莱显然对简·班纳特最感兴趣，开始跟她一个人谈话。而达西正在下决心不去看伊丽莎白时，突然注意到了那位陌生人。达西和韦翰目光相撞时，伊丽莎白正好看到他们两人的脸色。她对两人相遇时的表现感到惊讶不已。两人脸色都变了，一个白，一个红。片刻之后，韦翰先生碰了碰帽子以示行礼，达西先生则轻微地点了点头。这会是什么意思？不可能想象得出来，而且也不可能不想去探个究竟。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点

1. have had enough (with sb./sth.) 受够（某人/某事）了

例句：

I have had enough with him.

我真是受够他了。

I have had enough with this job.

这份工作我真是干够了。

2. protest 坚决地表示（to say sth. firmly）

例句：

He protested that the journey was too long by car.

他坚持说路途太远， 不适合开车去。

3. the lack of... 缺少……， 没有……

例句：

The lack of communication was the biggest problem of their marriage.

缺乏沟通是他们婚姻中最大的问题。

4. now that 既然现在……

同义表达： since

例句：

Now that you are busy, let me do it for you.

既然你忙，我就帮你做吧。

5. have a reputation for... 有一个……的名声

同义表达：be known for sth.

例句：

These cars have a reputation for good performance.

这些汽车以性能好闻名。

6. sociable 合群的，友好的，好交际的

例句：

If you became more sociable, you would have many friends.

如果你更合群一点， 你会有很多朋友。

7. determine to do sth. 下决心去做某事

be determined to do sth. 下定决心去做某事

例句：

He determines to teach his father some computer games.

他决心要教他爸爸玩几个电脑游戏。

He is determined to teach his father some computer games.

他下定决心去教他爸爸玩几个电脑游戏。