🔊 A moment’s glance was enough to satisfy Catherine that her apartment was very unlike the one which Henry had endeavoured to alarm her by the description of. It was by no means unreasonably large, and contained neither tapestry nor velvet. The walls were papered, the floor was carpeted; the windows were neither less perfect nor more dim than those of the drawing-room below; the furniture, though not of the latest fashion, was handsome and comfortable, and the air of the room altogether far from uncheerful.

只一瞥就足以让凯瑟琳确信,她的房间与亨利描述中试图吓唬她的那个截然不同。它绝非大得不合情理,里面既没有挂毯,也没有天鹅绒。墙壁贴了壁纸,地板铺了地毯；窗户既不比楼下的客厅窗户差,也不更暗；家具虽不是最新款式,却美观舒适,整个房间的氛围远非阴郁。

🔊

endeavoured /ɪnˈdevəd/

v. 努力尝试➕

🔊

unreasonably /ʌnˈriːznəbli/

adv. 不合理地➕

🔊

tapestry /ˈtæpəstri/

n. 挂毯➕

🔊

velvet /ˈvelvɪt/

n. 天鹅绒➕

🔊

uncheerful /ʌnˈtʃɪəfl/

adj. 不愉快的➕

🔊 Her heart instantaneously at ease on this point, she resolved to lose no time in particular examination of anything, as she greatly dreaded disobliging the general by any delay. Her habit therefore was thrown off with all possible haste, and she was preparing to unpin the linen package, which the chaise-seat had conveyed for her immediate accommodation, when her eye suddenly fell on a large high chest, standing back in a deep recess on one side of the fireplace. The sight of it made her start; and, forgetting everything else, she stood gazing on it in motionless wonder, while these thoughts crossed her:

既然在这方面安心了,她决心不再浪费时间仔细检查任何东西,因为她非常害怕因耽搁而得罪将军。于是她以最快的速度脱下外套,正准备解开亚麻布包裹--那是轻便马车座位为她即刻安顿而运送的--这时她的目光突然落在壁炉一侧凹进处的一个高大箱子上。这景象让她一惊；她忘记了一切,站在那里一动不动地凝视着它,心中掠过这些念头:

🔊

instantaneously /ˌɪnstənˈteɪniəsli/

adv. 即刻地➕

🔊

disobliging /ˌdɪsəˈblaɪdʒɪŋ/

v. 冒犯➕

🔊

chaise-seat /ʃeɪz siːt/

n. 马车座位➕

🔊

accommodation /əˌkɒməˈdeɪʃn/

n. 住宿➕

🔊

recess /rɪˈses/

n. 凹处➕

🔊

motionless /ˈməʊʃnləs/

adj. 静止的➕

🔊 "This is strange indeed! I did not expect such a sight as this! An immense heavy chest! What can it hold? Why should it be placed here? Pushed back too, as if meant to be out of sight! I will look into it—cost me what it may, I will look into it—and directly too—by daylight. If I stay till evening my candle may go out."

“这真是奇怪！我没有预料到这样的景象！一个巨大沉重的箱子！里面能装什么？为什么放在这里？还推到了后面,仿佛是为了不让人看见！我要看看里面--不管付出什么代价,我都要看看--而且立刻就看--趁天亮。如果我等到晚上,蜡烛可能会熄灭。”

🔊

immense /ɪˈmens/

adj. 巨大的➕

🔊

daylight /ˈdeɪlaɪt/

n. 日光➕

🔊

candle /ˈkændl/

n. 蜡烛➕

🔊 She advanced and examined it closely: it was of cedar, curiously inlaid with some darker wood, and raised, about a foot from the ground, on a carved stand of the same. The lock was silver, though tarnished from age; at each end were the imperfect remains of handles also of silver, broken perhaps prematurely by some strange violence; and, on the centre of the lid, was a mysterious cipher, in the same metal. Catherine bent over it intently, but without being able to distinguish anything with certainty. She could not, in whatever direction she took it, believe the last letter to be a T; and yet that it should be anything else in that house was a circumstance to raise no common degree of astonishment. If not originally theirs, by what strange events could it have fallen into the Tilney family?

她走上前去仔细端详:它是雪松木制的,巧妙地镶嵌着一些深色木材,离地约一英尺,架在一个同样雕刻的底座上。锁是银的,虽然因年代久远而黯淡；两端残留着不完整的银制把手,或许是被某种奇怪的暴力过早地损坏了；箱盖中央有一个神秘的符号,也是金属制成的。凯瑟琳专注地弯下身子,但无法确定地辨认出什么。无论从哪个方向看,她都不相信最后一个字母是T；然而,在这个家里它竟然是别的什么,这足以引起非同寻常的惊讶。如果原本不是他们的,那它又是通过怎样奇怪的事件落入蒂尔尼家族的呢？

🔊

cedar /ˈsiːdə(r)/

n. 雪松➕

🔊

curiously /ˈkjʊəriəsli/

adv. 好奇地➕

🔊

inlaid /ɪnˈleɪd/

v. 镶嵌➕

🔊

tarnished /ˈtɑːnɪʃt/

v. 失去光泽➕

🔊

imperfect /ɪmˈpɜːfɪkt/

adj. 不完美的➕

🔊

prematurely /ˈpremətʃəli/

adv. 过早地➕

🔊

violence /ˈvaɪələns/

n. 暴力➕

🔊

mysterious /mɪˈstɪəriəs/

adj. 神秘的➕

🔊

cipher /ˈsaɪfə(r)/

n. 密码➕

🔊

intently /ɪnˈtentli/

adv. 专注地➕

🔊

circumstance /ˈsɜːkəmstəns/

n. 情况➕

🔊

astonishment /əˈstɒnɪʃmənt/

n. 惊讶➕

🔊 Her fearful curiosity was every moment growing greater; and seizing, with trembling hands, the hasp of the lock, she resolved at all hazards to satisfy herself at least as to its contents. With difficulty, for something seemed to resist her efforts, she raised the lid a few inches; but at that moment a sudden knocking at the door of the room made her, starting, quit her hold, and the lid closed with alarming violence. This ill-timed intruder was Miss Tilney’s maid, sent by her mistress to be of use to Miss Morland; and though Catherine immediately dismissed her, it recalled her to the sense of what she ought to be doing, and forced her, in spite of her anxious desire to penetrate this mystery, to proceed in her dressing without further delay. Her progress was not quick, for her thoughts and her eyes were still bent on the object so well calculated to interest and alarm; and though she dared not waste a moment upon a second attempt, she could not remain many paces from the chest. At length, however, having slipped one arm into her gown, her toilette seemed so nearly finished that the impatience of her curiosity might safely be indulged. One moment surely might be spared; and, so desperate should be the exertion of her strength, that, unless secured by supernatural means, the lid in one moment should be thrown back. With this spirit she sprang forward, and her confidence did not deceive her. Her resolute effort threw back the lid, and gave to her astonished eyes the view of a white cotton counterpane, properly folded, reposing at one end of the chest in undisputed possession!

她恐惧的好奇心每时每刻都在增长；她用颤抖的手抓住锁扣,决心不惜一切代价至少弄清里面装了什么。她费力地抬起箱盖几英寸,似乎有什么东西在抵抗她的努力；但就在这时,房门突然响起敲门声,她一惊之下松了手,箱盖猛地合上,发出骇人的巨响。这个不合时宜的闯入者是蒂尔尼小姐的女仆,奉女主人的命来为莫兰小姐效劳；虽然凯瑟琳立刻打发她走了,但这提醒了她该做什么,迫使她尽管渴望揭开这个谜,也不得不继续穿衣,不再耽搁。她的动作并不快,因为她的心思和眼睛仍盯着那个足以引起兴趣和警觉的物体；虽然她不敢浪费片刻时间再次尝试,却也无法离箱子太远。然而,当她把一只胳膊套进长袍时,梳妆似乎接近完成,她那份急切的好奇心可以安全地放纵一下了。肯定能抽出一会儿工夫；而且她会拼尽全力,除非有超自然力量固定,箱盖瞬间就会被掀开。怀着这种精神,她一跃向前,她的信心没有欺骗她。她坚定的努力掀开了箱盖,让她惊讶的眼睛看到的是一条白色棉布床罩,整齐地折叠着,安然躺在箱子的一端,独占着那里！

🔊

fearful /ˈfɪəfl/

adj. 害怕的➕

🔊

curiosity /ˌkjʊəriˈɒsəti/

n. 好奇心➕

🔊

seizing /ˈsiːzɪŋ/

v. 抓住➕

🔊

hasp /hɑːsp/

n. 搭扣➕

🔊

hazards /ˈhæzədz/

n. 危险➕

🔊

resist /rɪˈzɪst/

v. 抵抗➕

🔊

ill-timed /ˌɪl ˈtaɪmd/

adj. 不合时宜的➕

🔊

intruder /ɪnˈtruːdə(r)/

n. 闯入者➕

🔊

mistress /ˈmɪstrəs/

n. 女主人➕

🔊

dismissed /dɪsˈmɪst/

v. 打发走➕

🔊

penetrate /ˈpenətreɪt/

v. 穿透➕

🔊

anxious /ˈæŋkʃəs/

adj. 焦虑的➕

🔊

calculated /ˈkælkjuleɪtɪd/

v. 计算➕

🔊

indulged /ɪnˈdʌldʒd/

v. 纵容➕

🔊

desperate /ˈdespərət/

adj. 绝望的➕

🔊

exertion /ɪɡˈzɜːʃn/

n. 努力➕

🔊

supernatural /ˌsuːpəˈnætʃrəl/

adj. 超自然的➕

🔊

resolute /ˈrezəluːt/

adj. 坚决的➕

🔊

counterpane /ˈkaʊntəpeɪn/

n. 床罩➕

🔊

reposing /rɪˈpəʊzɪŋ/

v. 休息➕

🔊

undisputed /ˌʌndɪˈspjuːtɪd/

adj. 无争议的➕

🔊 She was gazing on it with the first blush of surprise when Miss Tilney, anxious for her friend’s being ready, entered the room, and to the rising shame of having harboured for some minutes an absurd expectation, was then added the shame of being caught in so idle a search. "That is a curious old chest, is not it?" said Miss Tilney, as Catherine hastily closed it and turned away to the glass. "It is impossible to say how many generations it has been here. How it came to be first put in this room I know not, but I have not had it moved, because I thought it might sometimes be of use in holding hats and bonnets. The worst of it is that its weight makes it difficult to open. In that corner, however, it is at least out of the way."

她正带着初次惊讶的红晕凝视着它时,蒂尔尼小姐担心朋友是否准备好,走进了房间,于是,刚刚升起的那种怀有荒谬期望的羞耻感,又加上了被逮住在进行如此无聊搜索的羞耻。“那是个古怪的旧箱子,不是吗？”蒂尔尼小姐说道,这时凯瑟琳急忙关上箱子,转身走向镜子。“说不清它在这里多少代了。最初怎么放到这个房间的我不知道,但我没让人搬走它,因为我觉得它有时可以用来放帽子和女帽。最糟的是它太重,很难打开。不过在那个角落,至少它不碍事。”

🔊

blush /blʌʃ/

n. 脸红➕

🔊

harboured /ˈhɑːbəd/

v. 怀有➕

🔊

absurd /əbˈsɜːd/

adj. 荒谬的➕

🔊

expectation /ˌekspekˈteɪʃn/

n. 期望➕

🔊

idle /ˈaɪdl/

adj. 空闲的➕

🔊

generations /ˌdʒenəˈreɪʃnz/

n. 世代➕

🔊

bonnets /ˈbɒnɪts/

n. 女帽➕

🔊 Catherine had no leisure for speech, being at once blushing, tying her gown, and forming wise resolutions with the most violent dispatch. Miss Tilney gently hinted her fear of being late; and in half a minute they ran downstairs together, in an alarm not wholly unfounded, for General Tilney was pacing the drawing-room, his watch in his hand, and having, on the very instant of their entering, pulled the bell with violence, ordered "Dinner to be on table directly!"

凯瑟琳无暇说话,她一边脸红,一边系长袍,并以最急促的速度做出明智的决定。蒂尔尼小姐轻声暗示她担心迟到；半分钟后,她们一起跑下楼去,这种惊慌并非毫无根据,因为蒂尔尼将军正在客厅里踱步,手里拿着表,就在她们进门的那一刻,他猛拉铃铛,命令“立刻开饭！”

🔊

leisure /ˈleʒə(r)/

n. 闲暇➕

🔊

dispatch /dɪˈspætʃ/

n. 迅速➕

🔊

hinted /ˈhɪntɪd/

v. 暗示➕

🔊

unfounded /ʌnˈfaʊndɪd/

adj. 无根据的➕

🔊

pacing /ˈpeɪsɪŋ/

v. 踱步➕

🔊 Catherine trembled at the emphasis with which he spoke, and sat pale and breathless, in a most humble mood, concerned for his children, and detesting old chests; and the general recovering his politeness as he looked at her, spent the rest of his time in scolding his daughter for so foolishly hurrying her fair friend, who was absolutely out of breath from haste, when there was not the least occasion for hurry in the world: but Catherine could not at all get over the double distress of having involved her friend in a lecture and been a great simpleton herself, till they were happily seated at the dinner-table, when the general’s complacent smiles, and a good appetite of her own, restored her to peace. The dining-parlour was a noble room, suitable in its dimensions to a much larger drawing-room than the one in common use, and fitted up in a style of luxury and expense which was almost lost on the unpractised eye of Catherine, who saw little more than its spaciousness and the number of their attendants. Of the former, she spoke aloud her admiration; and the general, with a very gracious countenance, acknowledged that it was by no means an ill-sized room, and further confessed that, though as careless on such subjects as most people, he did look upon a tolerably large eating-room as one of the necessaries of life; he supposed, however, "that she must have been used to much better-sized apartments at Mr. Allen’s?"

凯瑟琳因他说话的重音而颤抖,面色苍白、气喘吁吁地坐下,态度极为谦卑,既为他的孩子们担忧,又憎恨旧箱子；将军看着她,恢复了礼貌,把剩下的时间都用来责备女儿如此愚蠢地催促她的漂亮朋友,她匆匆忙忙跑得喘不过气来,而世上根本没有必要匆忙:但凯瑟琳完全无法摆脱双重苦恼--既连累朋友挨训,自己又成了个大傻瓜--直到她们愉快地在餐桌旁坐下,将军得意的微笑和她自己的好胃口才让她恢复了平静。餐厅是个气派的房间,其尺寸适合比常用客厅大得多的客厅,装修奢华昂贵,但这几乎没被凯瑟琳未经训练的眼睛注意到,她只看到它的宽敞和仆人的数量。对于前者,她大声表达了赞叹；将军带着非常和蔼的面容,承认这绝不是一个大小不合适的房间,并进一步坦言,尽管他在这种事情上像大多数人一样不在意,但他确实认为一个相当宽敞的餐厅是生活的必需品之一；不过,他猜想,“她在艾伦先生家一定习惯了更宽敞的房间吧？”

🔊

emphasis /ˈemfəsɪs/

n. 强调➕

🔊

breathless /ˈbreθləs/

adj. 喘不过气➕

🔊

humble /ˈhʌmbl/

adj. 谦卑的➕

🔊

detesting /dɪˈtestɪŋ/

v. 厌恶➕

🔊

recovering /rɪˈkʌvərɪŋ/

v. 恢复➕

🔊

politeness /pəˈlaɪtnəs/

n. 礼貌➕

🔊

scolding /ˈskəʊldɪŋ/

v. 责骂➕

🔊

simpleton /ˈsɪmpltən/

n. 傻瓜➕

🔊

complacent /kəmˈpleɪsnt/

adj. 自满的➕

🔊

appetite /ˈæpɪtaɪt/

n. 食欲➕

🔊

noble /ˈnəʊbl/

adj. 高贵的➕

🔊

dimensions /daɪˈmenʃnz/

n. 尺寸➕

🔊

luxury /ˈlʌkʃəri/

n. 奢侈➕

🔊

expense /ɪkˈspens/

n. 花费➕

🔊

unpractised /ʌnˈpræktɪst/

adj. 未经训练的➕

🔊

spaciousness /ˈspeɪʃəsnəs/

n. 宽敞➕

🔊

attendants /əˈtendənts/

n. 侍从➕

🔊

gracious /ˈɡreɪʃəs/

adj. 亲切的➕

🔊

countenance /ˈkaʊntənəns/

n. 面容➕

🔊

acknowledged /əkˈnɒlɪdʒd/

v. 承认➕

🔊

confessed /kənˈfest/

v. 承认➕

🔊

tolerably /ˈtɒlərəbli/

adv. 相当地➕

🔊

necessaries /ˈnesəsəriz/

n. 必需品➕

🔊 "No, indeed," was Catherine’s honest assurance; "Mr. Allen’s dining-parlour was not more than half as large," and she had never seen so large a room as this in her life. The general’s good humour increased. Why, as he had such rooms, he thought it would be simple not to make use of them; but, upon his honour, he believed there might be more comfort in rooms of only half their size. Mr. Allen’s house, he was sure, must be exactly of the true size for rational happiness.

“不,确实没有,”凯瑟琳诚实地保证,“艾伦先生的餐厅还没有这一半大,”她一生中从未见过如此大的房间。将军的好心情增加了。哎呀,既然他有这样的房间,他认为不用它们才是愚蠢的；但是,以他的荣誉担保,他相信只有一半大小的房间可能更舒适。艾伦先生的房子,他确信,一定是真正适合理性幸福的大小。

🔊

assurance /əˈʃʊərəns/

n. 保证➕

🔊

humour /ˈhjuːmə(r)/

n. 幽默➕

🔊

rational /ˈræʃnəl/

adj. 理性的➕

🔊 The evening passed without any further disturbance, and, in the occasional absence of General Tilney, with much positive cheerfulness. It was only in his presence that Catherine felt the smallest fatigue from her journey; and even then, even in moments of languor or restraint, a sense of general happiness preponderated, and she could think of her friends in Bath without one wish of being with them.

晚上没有再发生任何打扰,而且在蒂尔尼将军偶尔不在场时,气氛十分欢快。只有在他在场时,凯瑟琳才感到旅途带来的一丝疲倦；即便如此,即使在倦怠或拘束的时刻,一种普遍的幸福感仍占上风,她可以想到她在巴斯的朋友们,却一点也不希望和他们在一起。

🔊

disturbance /dɪˈstɜːbəns/

n. 打扰➕

🔊

occasional /əˈkeɪʒənl/

adj. 偶尔的➕

🔊

positive /ˈpɒzətɪv/

adj. 积极的➕

🔊

fatigue /fəˈtiːɡ/

n. 疲劳➕

🔊

languor /ˈlæŋɡə(r)/

n. 倦怠➕

🔊

restraint /rɪˈstreɪnt/

n. 约束➕

🔊

preponderated /prɪˈpɒndəreɪtɪd/

v. 占优势➕

Chapter twenty (第二十章)

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