Chapter17-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《月亮与六便士The Moon and Sixpence》

Chapter XVII It was about five years after this that I decided to live in Paris for a while.I was growing stale in London.I was tired of doing much the same thing every day. My friends pursued their course with uneventfulness;they had no longer any surprises for me,and when I met them I knew pretty well what they would say; even their love-affairs had a tedious banality.We were like tram-cars running on their lines from terminus to terminus,and it was possible to calculate within small limits the number of passengers they would carry.Life was ordered too pleasantly.I was seized with panic.I gave up my small apartment,sold my few belongings,and resolved to start afresh. I called on Mrs.Strickland before I left.I had not seen her for some time, and I noticed changes in her;it was not only that she was older,thinner,and more lined;I think her character had altered.She had made a success of her business,and now had an office in Chancery Lane;she did little typing herself, but spent her time correcting the work of the four girls she employed.She hadhad the idea of giving it a certain daintiness,and she made much use of blue and red inks;she bound the copy in coarse paper,that looked vaguely like watered silk,in various pale colours;and she had acquired a reputation for neatness and accuracy.She was making money.But she could not get over the idea that to earn her living was somewhat undignified,and she was inclined to ·142· 十七 就在此事过去了大约五年以后，我决定到巴黎去住 一段时间。我在伦敦待烦了：日复一日，天天做的事都 差不多，这让我心生倦意。我的朋友们的生活都按部就 O uneventful [Ani'ventful] a.无重大事件的：平凡 班，死水一潭，不再给我惊奇。我们见了面，还没等他 的 们开口，我就已经知道他们要说什么了，就连他们的桃 ②banality[ba'naeloti]n.陈 词滥调 色事件也都是枯燥乏味的陈词滥调。我们这些人就如同 ③terminus[ta:minas】m.终 从终点站出发又回到终点站的有轨电车，会有多少乘客 点；终端 上车都会估算得差不多。生活被安排得井井有条，太舒 适了，让我陷入了恐慌。我退掉了我的小公寓，卖掉屈 指可数的几件家具，决心开始新生活。 临行前，我到斯特里克兰德太太家去辞行。我跟她 已经有些日子没见面了，发现她的诸多变化，不仅仅是 人变得苍老消瘦，皱纹增多了，我认为性格都变了。她 的生意兴隆，此时己经在昌塞里街开了一个事务所。她 很少亲力亲为，她雇用了四个女孩来打字，而她的时间 主要用在校对稿子上了。她有意识地把稿子打理得美观 daintiness ['deintinis]n. 考究，经常使用蓝色和红色的字带，成稿用各种各样的 优美：过分的讲究 淡色粗纸装订，不细看还以为是带波纹的丝绸呢。她已 经名声在外了，都知道她打出来的稿件排版整齐，文字 准确，她的财源滚滚而来。可是，她还是摆脱不了女人 自食其力总是有失身份的观念，所以每每与人谈话的时 ·143· Chapter XVII remind you that she was a lady by birth.She could not help bringing into her conversation the names of people she knew which would satisfy you that she had not sunk in the social scale.She was a little ashamed of her courage and business capacity,but delighted that she was going to dine the next night with a K.C.who lived in South Kensington.She was pleased to be able to tell you that her son was at Cambridge,and it was with a little laugh that she spoke of the rush of dances to which her daughter,just out,was invited.I suppose I said a very stupid thing. "Is she going into your business?"I asked. "Oh no;I wouldn't let her do that,"Mrs.Strickland answered."She's so pretty.I'm sure she'll marry well." "I should have thought it would be a help to you." "Several people have suggested that she should go on the stage,but of course I couldn't consent to that,I know all the chief dramatists,and I could get her a part to-morrow,but I shouldn't like her to mix with all sorts of people." I was a little chilled by Mrs.Strickland's exclusiveness "Do you ever hear of your husband?" "No;I haven't heard a word.He may be dead for all I know." "I may run across him in Paris.Would you like me to let you know about him?" She hesitated a minute. "If he's in any real want I'm prepared to help him a little.I'd send you a certain sum of money,and you could give it him gradually,as he needed it." “That's very good of you,”I said. But I knew it was not kindness that prompted the offer.It is not true that suffering ennobles the character;happiness does that sometimes,but suffering, for the most part,makes men petty and vindictive. ·144· 十七 候，她总愿意提醒对方自己出身高贵，忍不住要提到她 认识的一些人物，让你明白她的社会地位并没有降低。 对于自己在经商时表现出的胆识和能力，她也不觉得光 彩，而一说起第二天晚上要在一位住在南肯星顿的皇家 法律顾问家里共进晚餐，反而会让她欣喜若狂。若是能 告诉你她儿子在剑桥大学读书，她会欣欣然：讲起她女儿 刚刚进入社交界，舞会邀约不断，准备不足的时候，她 会轻轻地笑出声来。我推测自己说了一句愚不可及的话。 “她会参与你的打字工作吗？” “哦，不会的，我不会让她做这个的。”斯特里克 兰德太太答道，“她长得那么漂亮，我肯定她一定会嫁 得好。” “我早该想到，那对你会是一个助力。” “有几个人曾经建议说，她应该登台演戏，而我当 ①consent[kan'sent]v.赞成， 然不会同意。虽然那些大名鼎鼎的戏剧家我都认识，我 赞同；同意 能让她明天就演个角色，可我就是不愿意她跟乱七八糟 的人混在一起。” 2exclusiveness [ik'sklu:sivnis] .排他性；排外性 斯特里克兰德太太这种势利的态度让我觉得微有些 寒意。 “你有过你先生的消息吗？” “没有，一个字都没听过。在我看来，他已经死了。” “我在巴黎也许会遇见他，有他什么消息，要不要 我告诉你呢？” 她迟疑了一分钟。 “若是他真的穷困潦倒，我还是准备帮帮他。我会 给你寄笔钱过去，在他需要的时候，你可以分批给他。” “你心肠真好。”我说。 可我却明白她提出的帮助并不是出于慈悲。痛苦可 以让人性高尚，然而事实并非如此：有时，让人性高尚 的是幸福，而非痛苦，痛苦在大多数情况下只能使人们 变得狭隘卑鄙，复仇心切。 ·145·