地下墓穴（2）

 

Of a very different type was his companion, Julius Burger. He came of a curious blend, a German father and an Italian mother, with the robust¹ qualities of the North mingling² strangely with the softer graces of the South. Blue Teutonic eyes lightened his sun- browned face, and above them rose a square, massive forehead, with a fringe of close yellow curls lying round it. His strong, firm jaw³ was clean-shaven, and his companion had frequently remarked how much it suggested those old Roman busts⁴ which peered out from the shadows in the corners of his chamber⁵. Under its bluff⁶ German strength there lay always a suggestion of Italian subtlety⁷, but the smile was so honest, and the eyes so frank, that one understood that this was only an indication of his ancestry⁸, with no actual bearing upon his character. In age and in reputation, he was on the same level as his English companion, but his life and his work had both been far more arduous⁹. Twelve years before, he had come as a poor student to Rome, and had lived ever since upon some small endowment for research which had been awarded to him by the University of Bonn. Painfully, slowly, and doggedly¹⁰, with extraordinary tenacity¹¹ and single-mindedness, he had climbed from rung to rung of the ladder of fame, until now he was a member of the Berlin Academy, and there was every reason to believe that he would shortly be promoted to the Chair of the greatest of German Universities. But the singleness of purpose which had brought him to the same high level as the rich and brilliant Englishman, had caused him in everything outside their work to stand infinitely¹² below him. He had never found a pause in his studies in which to cultivate the social graces. It was only when he spoke¹³ of his own subject that his face was filled with life and soul. At other times he was silent and embarrassed, too conscious of his own limitations in larger subjects, and impatient of that small talk which is the conventional refuge of those who have no thoughts to express.

他的朋友尤利乌斯伯格完全是另一种类型。他是个混血儿，父亲是德国人，母亲是意大利人，北欧人的强悍与南欧人的温柔奇特地融合在他的性格中。晒黑的脸上，条顿民族特有的蓝眼睛炯炯有神，宽大的额头方方正正，上面是一头浓密的黄色卷发。刚毅的下巴刮得干干净净，他的同伴经常说，这副下巴会使人想起他房间角落里暗中窥视的那些古罗马胸像。在德国式的豪放背后，总是隐戴着一丝意大利式的狡猾，然而他的微笑是那么率真，目光是那么坦诚，在别人看来，这仅仅是由于他的血统，与他的性格无关。跟他的英国同伴相比，两人年龄相仿，声望相当，不过他的生活和工作要艰难得多。十二年前，他作为穷学生来到罗马，当时，波恩大学给了他一笔微薄的研究经费，他一直靠这点钱维持生活。他忍受着痛苦，投入全副身心，缓慢地，顽强地、坚韧不拔地在成名成家的阶梯上一级一级地攀登着，如今已成为柏林科学院的院士，而且种种迹象表明，不久他就会跻身德国大学顶尖学者的行列。然而，目的的单一虽使他取得了成就，但又使他在其他各个方面永远不及那个富有而杰出的英国人，他总是埋头研究工作，无法抽出片刻工夫来培养优雅的社交风度。只有在谈到自己的研究课题的时候他才会兴高采烈，神采飞扬。除此之外他总是沉默寡言，面对超出他的知识范围的广泛话题他感到局促不安，而那些思想空虚的人特别喜爱的闲言碎语则使他厌烦。

1 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

2 mingling   

adj.混合的

参考例句：

• There was a spring of bitterness mingling with that fountain of sweets. 在这个甜蜜的源泉中间，已经掺和进苦涩的山水了。
• The mingling of inconsequence belongs to us all. 这场矛盾混和物是我们大家所共有的。

3 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

4 busts   

半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 )； 妇女的胸部； 胸围； 突击搜捕

参考例句：

• Dey bags swells up and busts. 那奶袋快胀破了。
• Marble busts all looked like a cemetery. 大理石的半身象，简直就象是坟山。

5 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

6 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

7 subtlety   

n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别

参考例句：

• He has shown enormous strength,great intelligence and great subtlety.他表现出充沛的精力、极大的智慧和高度的灵活性。
• The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience.大多数听众都没有觉察到他讲话的微妙之处。

8 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

9 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

10 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

11 tenacity   

n.坚韧

参考例句：

• Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
• The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。

12 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。