🔊 Catherine was not so much engaged at the theatre that evening, in returning the nods and smiles of Miss Thorpe, though they certainly claimed much of her leisure, as to forget to look with an inquiring eye for Mr. Tilney in every box which her eye could reach; but she looked in vain. Mr. Tilney was no fonder of the play than the pump-room. She hoped to be more fortunate the next day; and when her wishes for fine weather were answered by seeing a beautiful morning, she hardly felt a doubt of it; for a fine Sunday in Bath empties every house of its inhabitants, and all the world appears on such an occasion to walk about and tell their acquaintance what a charming day it is.

凯瑟琳那晚在剧院里,与其说是忙于回应索普小姐的点头微笑--尽管这些招呼确实占去了她不少闲暇--倒不如说是忙于用探寻的目光扫视她目光所及的每一个包厢,寻找蒂尔尼先生；但终是徒劳。蒂尔尼先生对看戏的兴致,并不比去泵房更高。她希望次日能交好运；当翌日清晨的明媚应验了她对晴天的祈愿时,她几乎毫不怀疑；因为在巴斯,一个晴朗的星期日总会将居民尽数引出家门,人人趁机漫步,逢人便赞叹这天气多么迷人。

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inquiring /ɪnˈkwaɪərɪŋ/

adj. 探询的；好奇的➕

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pump-room /ˈpʌmp ruːm/

n. （巴斯等矿泉疗养地的）水泵房（社交场所）➕

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inhabitants /ɪnˈhæbɪtənts/

n. 居民；住户➕

🔊 As soon as divine service was over, the Thorpes and Allens eagerly joined each other; and after staying long enough in the pump-room to discover that the crowd was insupportable, and that there was not a genteel face to be seen, which everybody discovers every Sunday throughout the season, they hastened away to the Crescent, to breathe the fresh air of better company. Here Catherine and Isabella, arm in arm, again tasted the sweets of friendship in an unreserved conversation; they talked much, and with much enjoyment; but again was Catherine disappointed in her hope of reseeing her partner. He was nowhere to be met with; every search for him was equally unsuccessful, in morning lounges or evening assemblies; neither at the Upper nor Lower Rooms, at dressed or undressed balls, was he perceivable; nor among the walkers, the horsemen, or the curricle-drivers of the morning. His name was not in the pump-room book, and curiosity could do no more. He must be gone from Bath. Yet he had not mentioned that his stay would be so short! This sort of mysteriousness, which is always so becoming in a hero, threw a fresh grace in Catherine’s imagination around his person and manners, and increased her anxiety to know more of him. From the Thorpes she could learn nothing, for they had been only two days in Bath before they met with Mrs. Allen. It was a subject, however, in which she often indulged with her fair friend, from whom she received every possible encouragement to continue to think of him; and his impression on her fancy was not suffered therefore to weaken. Isabella was very sure that he must be a charming young man, and was equally sure that he must have been delighted with her dear Catherine, and would therefore shortly return. She liked him the better for being a clergyman, "for she must confess herself very partial to the profession"; and something like a sigh escaped her as she said it. Perhaps Catherine was wrong in not demanding the cause of that gentle emotion-but she was not experienced enough in the finesse of love, or the duties of friendship, to know when delicate raillery was properly called for, or when a confidence should be forced.

礼拜仪式一结束,索普家和艾伦家便急切相聚；他们在泵房逗留了足够长的时间,结果照例发现人群令人难以忍受,而且看不到一张文雅的面孔--在整个社交季节,每个星期日人人都能发现这一状况--于是匆匆赶往新月楼,去呼吸更优雅圈子里的新鲜空气。在此,凯瑟琳与伊莎贝拉挽臂同行,再度在畅谈中品味友谊甘甜；她们谈兴甚浓,乐在其中；但凯瑟琳重见舞伴的希望又一次落空。四处寻他不着；无论是晨间漫步场所还是晚间聚会,每次寻觅都同样无果；无论在上舞厅还是下舞厅,在盛装或便装舞会上,皆不见他的踪影；他也不在清晨散步者、骑手或驾驭双轮轻便马车的人之中。泵房宾客簿上没有他的名字,好奇心至此已无能为力。他必定已离开巴斯了。可他却从未提及此行如此短暂！这般神秘色彩,在英雄身上总是相得益彰,为凯瑟琳想象中他的风采举止平添优雅,也加深了她渴望更多了解他的心情。从索普家那儿她打听不到什么,因为他们遇见艾伦太太前在巴斯只待了两天。不过,这话题她常与那位漂亮友人津津乐道,而友人则给予各种鼓励,让她继续念着他；因此,他在她心中的印象并未淡去。伊莎贝拉深信他必定是位迷人青年,同样深信他必定对她亲爱的凯瑟琳怀有好感,因而不久便会回来。得知他是位牧师,她对他的好感又添了几分,“因为她必须承认自己对此职业颇为偏爱”；言及此时,她不觉轻叹一声。或许凯瑟琳未追问那声轻叹的缘由是个疏忽--但她对爱情的细腻之处与友谊的分寸尚欠历练,不知何时该巧妙揶揄,何时该强求吐露心声。

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divine service /dɪˈvaɪn ˈsɜːvɪs/

n. 宗教仪式；礼拜➕

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insupportable /ˌɪnsəˈpɔːtəbl/

adj. 难以忍受的；无法容忍的➕

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genteel /dʒenˈtiːl/

adj. 文雅的；有教养的；上流社会的➕

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Crescent /ˈkresnt/

n. （常指街道或建筑的）新月形（区域或排列）➕

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unreserved /ˌʌnrɪˈzɜːvd/

adj. 无保留的；坦率的；完全的➕

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lounges /ˈlaʊndʒɪz/

n. 休息室；休闲室➕

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assemblies /əˈsembliz/

n. 集会；聚会➕

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curricle-drivers /ˈkʌrɪkl ˌdraɪvəz/

n. 双轮轻便马车车夫➕

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mysteriousness /mɪˈstɪəriəsnəs/

n. 神秘；不可思议➕

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becoming /bɪˈkʌmɪŋ/

adj. 合适的；相称的；得体的➕

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finesse /fɪˈnes/

n. 技巧；策略；手腕➕

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raillery /ˈreɪləri/

n. 善意的取笑；逗趣➕

🔊 Mrs. Allen was now quite happy-quite satisfied with Bath. She had found some acquaintance, had been so lucky too as to find in them the family of a most worthy old friend; and, as the completion of good fortune, had found these friends by no means so expensively dressed as herself. Her daily expressions were no longer, "I wish we had some acquaintance in Bath!" They were changed into, "How glad I am we have met with Mrs. Thorpe!" and she was as eager in promoting the intercourse of the two families, as her young charge and Isabella themselves could be; never satisfied with the day unless she spent the chief of it by the side of Mrs. Thorpe, in what they called conversation, but in which there was scarcely ever any exchange of opinion, and not often any resemblance of subject, for Mrs. Thorpe talked chiefly of her children, and Mrs. Allen of her gowns.

艾伦太太如今心满意足--对巴斯十分满意。她结识了几位熟人,还幸运地发现其中一位是她一位极可敬的老朋友的家人；更锦上添花的是,她看出这些朋友的衣着远不及她自己那般讲究。她日常的感叹不再是“我真希望在巴斯能有些熟人！”而变成了“我多高兴咱们遇见了索普太太！”她促进两家交往的热切劲儿,丝毫不亚于她照管的小姐和伊莎贝拉本人；除非一天里大半时光都陪在索普太太身边进行她们所谓的交谈,否则她绝不会满足,但这种交谈中几乎从不交换意见,话题也鲜有重合,因为索普太太谈的主要是自己的孩子,而艾伦太太谈的主要是自己的礼服。

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expensively /ɪkˈspensɪvli/

adv. 昂贵地；奢华地➕

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resemblance /rɪˈzembləns/

n. 相似；类似➕

🔊 The progress of the friendship between Catherine and Isabella was quick as its beginning had been warm, and they passed so rapidly through every gradation of increasing tenderness that there was shortly no fresh proof of it to be given to their friends or themselves. They called each other by their Christian name, were always arm in arm when they walked, pinned up each other’s train for the dance, and were not to be divided in the set; and if a rainy morning deprived them of other enjoyments, they were still resolute in meeting in defiance of wet and dirt, and shut themselves up, to read novels together. Yes, novels; for I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic custom so common with novel-writers, of degrading by their contemptuous censure the very performances, to the number of which they are themselves adding-joining with their greatest enemies in bestowing the harshest epithets on such works, and scarcely ever permitting them to be read by their own heroine, who, if she accidentally take up a novel, is sure to turn over its insipid pages with disgust. Alas! If the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard? I cannot approve of it. Let us leave it to the reviewers to abuse such effusions of fancy at their leisure, and over every new novel to talk in threadbare strains of the trash with which the press now groans. Let us not desert one another; we are an injured body. Although our productions have afforded more extensive and unaffected pleasure than those of any other literary corporation in the world, no species of composition has been so much decried. From pride, ignorance, or fashion, our foes are almost as many as our readers. And while the abilities of the nine-hundredth abridger of the History of England, or of the man who collects and publishes in a volume some dozen lines of Milton, Pope, and Prior, with a paper from the Spectator, and a chapter from Sterne, are eulogized by a thousand pens-there seems almost a general wish of decrying the capacity and undervaluing the labour of the novelist, and of slighting the performances which have only genius, wit, and taste to recommend them. "I am no novel-reader-I seldom look into novels-Do not imagine that I often read novels-It is really very well for a novel." Such is the common cant. "And what are you reading, Miss-?" "Oh! It is only a novel!" replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame. "It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda"; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language. Now, had the same young lady been engaged with a volume of the Spectator, instead of such a work, how proudly would she have produced the book, and told its name; though the chances must be against her being occupied by any part of that voluminous publication, of which either the matter or manner would not disgust a young person of taste: the substance of its papers so often consisting in the statement of improbable circumstances, unnatural characters, and topics of conversation which no longer concern anyone living; and their language, too, frequently so coarse as to give no very favourable idea of the age that could endure it.

凯瑟琳与伊莎贝拉的友谊进展神速,一如初识时的炽热,她们飞快地经历了亲密情谊的各个阶段,不久便再无可向彼此或外人证明的新鲜迹象了。她们以教名相称,散步时总挽着手臂,跳舞时为对方别起裙裾,在舞队中形影不离；即便阴雨的早晨剥夺了其他娱乐,她们仍毅然不顾潮湿泥泞相聚,闭门共读小说。是的,小说；因为我绝不认同小说家们那种既不慷慨又不明智的常见行径--他们自己正是这类作品的创作者,却与最大的批评者联手,以最严厉的措辞贬低这些作品,几乎从不让自己笔下的女主角阅读小说；倘若她偶然拿起一本,必定会厌恶地翻过那些乏味的书页。唉！倘若一部小说的女主人公都得不到另一部小说女主人公的庇护,她还能指望谁的认可与尊重呢？我对此无法苟同。就让评论家们去随意抨击这些想象的产物吧,让他们对每一部新小说都重复那些陈词滥调,抱怨出版界充斥的糟粕。我们切莫彼此背离；我们是个受尽委屈的族群。尽管我们的作品为世界带来了比任何其他文学形式更广泛、更自然的乐趣,却没有哪种文体像小说这样饱受诋毁。出于傲慢、无知或时尚,我们的敌人几乎和读者一样多。而当那第九百位删节《英国史》的编者,或是那位将弥尔顿、蒲柏和普赖尔的几行诗,加上《旁观者》的一篇文章和斯特恩的一章,汇编成册出版的人,其才华被无数笔墨颂扬时--世人却似乎普遍倾向于贬低小说家的能力,轻视他们的劳动,并蔑视那些仅凭天才、机智和品味取胜的作品。“我不读小说--我很少看小说--别以为我常读小说--这对一部小说来说已经很不错了。” 这便是常见的虚伪说辞。“小姐,您在看什么？” “哦！不过是本小说！” 年轻女子答道,一边放下书,假装漠不关心,或流露出片刻的羞愧。“不过是《塞西莉亚》,或《卡米拉》,或《贝琳达》”；换句话说,不过是一部作品,其中展现了心灵最伟大的力量,对人类本性最透彻的理解,对其多样性最幸福的描绘,以及最生动洋溢的机智与幽默,都以最精炼的语言传达给世界。试想,如果同一位年轻女子拿着的是一卷《旁观者》而不是这样一部作品,她会多么自豪地展示那本书,并说出它的名字；尽管她沉迷于那部浩繁出版物任何部分的可能性微乎其微,因为其内容或风格足以令任何有品味的青年生厌:那些文章往往充斥着不可能发生的情节、矫揉造作的人物,以及诸如牧师俸禄等早已无人关心的话题；其语言也常常粗俗不堪,让人对那个竟能容忍它的时代产生不了什么好印象。

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gradation /ɡrəˈdeɪʃn/

n. 渐变；等级；阶段➕

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tenderness /ˈtendənəs/

n. 温柔；柔情；脆弱➕

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Christian name /ˈkrɪstʃən neɪm/

n. （相对于姓氏的）教名；名字➕

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ungenerous /ʌnˈdʒenərəs/

adj. 不大方的；吝啬的；心胸狭窄的➕

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impolitic /ɪmˈpɒlətɪk/

adj. 不明智的；失策的；不得当的➕

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contemptuous /kənˈtemptʃuəs/

adj. 轻蔑的；鄙视的➕

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censure /ˈsenʃə(r)/

n. 指责；谴责➕

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epithets /ˈepɪθets/

n. （表示特性的）修饰词；绰号；称号➕

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insipid /ɪnˈsɪpɪd/

adj. 乏味的；淡而无味的；无特色的➕

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patronized /ˈpætrənaɪzd/

v. （patronize的过去分词）光顾；惠顾；以高人一等的态度对待➕

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effusions /ɪˈfjuːʒnz/

n. （感情的）迸发；抒发；溢出物➕

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threadbare /ˈθredbeə(r)/

adj. （衣服）破旧的；（观念、笑话等）陈腐的；老一套的➕

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decried /dɪˈkraɪd/

v. （decry的过去式）谴责；贬低➕

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eulogized /ˈjuːlədʒaɪzd/

v. （eulogize的过去式）称赞；颂扬➕

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undervaluing /ˌʌndəˈvæljuːɪŋ/

v. （undervalue的现在分词）低估；轻视➕

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delineation /dɪˌlɪniˈeɪʃn/

n. 描绘；描述；轮廓➕

Chapter five (第五章)

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