铜山毛榉案 07当事人到访(4)

It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so thoughtful a man.

我好像从来没遇到过这么动人、这么会体贴人的人。

As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the advance was a great convenience,

由于我那时还欠着小商贩的债，这预付给我的钱当然对我是很大的方便。

and yet there was something unnatural¹ about the whole transaction which made me wish to know a little more before I quite committed myself.

然而，整个接洽过程当中，我总觉得有些地方不大自然，决定多了解一些情况然后再表态。

'May I ask where you live, sir?' said I.

'我是否可以问你住在什么地方，先生。'我说。

'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper² Beeches³, five miles on the far side of Winchester.

'汉普郡，可爱的乡村地区。铜山毛榉，它离温切斯特才五英里。

It is the most lovely country, my dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.'

真是最可爱不过的乡村，我亲爱的小姐，并且还有一座最可爱的古老的乡村房子。'

'And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would be.'

'那么我的职务呢，先生？我很想了解一下是什么工作。'

'One child, one dear little romper just six years old.

'一个小孩子，一个刚刚六岁的可爱的小淘气。

Oh, if you could see him killing⁴ cockroaches⁵ with a slipper⁶! Smack⁷! smack! smack! Three gone before you could wink⁸!'

哟，你要是能够看见他用拖鞋打死蟑螂！啪哒！啪哒！啪哒！你眼睛还来不及眨一眨，三个已经报销了！'

He leaned back in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again.

他靠在椅背上笑得又把他的眼睛眯成一条缝了。

I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement, but the father's laughter made me think that perhaps he was joking.

孩子这样的玩乐兴趣有点使我吃惊，但是他爸爸的笑声使我认为也许他只是在开玩笑而已。

'My sole duties, then,' I asked, 'are to take charge of a single child?'

'那么，我唯一的工作，'我说，'是照管一个孩子？'

'No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,' he cried.

'不，不，不是唯一的，不是唯一的，我亲爱的年轻小姐，'他大声地说。

'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would suggest, to obey any little commands my wife might give,

'你的任务应该是，我肯定你聪明的头脑会意识到，听候我妻子的任何命令，

provided always that they were such commands as a lady might with propriety⁹ obey. You see no difficulty, heh?'

假如这些命令是一位小姐理应遵从的话。你看，一点困难没有，是吗？'

'I should be happy to make myself useful.'

'我很乐意使自己成为对你们有用的人。'

'Quite so. In dress now, for example. We are faddy people, you know, faddy but kind-hearted.

'那太好了，现在说说服装，比如说，我们喜欢时尚，你知道，有时尚癖，但是心眼不坏。

If you were asked to wear any dress which we might give you, you would not object to our little whim¹⁰. Heh?'

倘若我们给你件服装要你穿的话，你不会反对我们的小小怪癖，是吗？'

'No,' said I, considerably¹¹ astonished at his words.

'不，'我说，对他的话感到相当吃惊。

'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to you?' 'Oh, no.'

'叫你坐在这里，或者坐在那里，这将不致于使你不高兴吧？' '啊！不会的。'

1 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

2 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

3 beeches   

n.山毛榉( beech的名词复数 )；山毛榉木材

参考例句：

• The beeches, oaks and chestnuts all belong to the same family. 山毛榉树、橡树和栗子树属于同科树种。 来自互联网
• There are many beeches in this wood. 这片树林里有许多山毛榉。 来自互联网

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 cockroaches   

n.蟑螂( cockroach的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• At night, the cockroaches filled the house with their rustlings. 夜里，屋里尽是蟑螂窸窸瑟瑟的声音。 来自辞典例句
• It loves cockroaches, and can keep a house clear of these hated insects. 它们好食蟑螂，可以使住宅免除这些讨厌昆虫的骚扰。 来自百科语句

6 slipper   

n.拖鞋

参考例句：

• I rescued the remains of my slipper from the dog.我从那狗的口中夺回了我拖鞋的残留部分。
• The puppy chewed a hole in the slipper.小狗在拖鞋上啃了一个洞。

7 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

8 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

9 propriety   

n.正当行为；正当；适当

参考例句：

• We hesitated at the propriety of the method.我们对这种办法是否适用拿不定主意。
• The sensitive matter was handled with great propriety.这件机密的事处理得极为适当。

10 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

11 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。