月亮和六便士 第十五章(2)

 　　But if he wanted to be an artist, why didn't he say so? asked Mrs. Strickland at last.  “但是如果他想当画家，为什么不告诉我呢？”思特里克兰德太太最后开口说。

　　"I should have thought I was the last person to be unsympathetic to—to aspirations¹ of that kind."  “我想，对于他这种——这种志趣我是绝不会不同情支持的。”

　　Mrs. MacAndrew tightened² her lips.  麦克安德鲁太太的嘴唇咬紧了。

　　I imagine that she had never looked with approval on her sister's leaning towards persons who cultivated the arts.  我猜想，她妹妹喜好结交文人艺术家的脾气，她从来就不赞成。

　　She spoke³ of "culchaw" derisively⁴. 她一说到“文艺”这个词，就露出满脸鄙夷不屑的神情。

　　Mrs. Strickland continued: 思特里克兰德太太又接着说：

　　After all, if he had any talent I should be the first to encourage it.  I wouldn't have minded sacrifices. I'd much rather be married to a painter than to a stockbroker⁵.  “不管怎么说，要是他有才能，我会第一个出头鼓励他。什么牺牲我都不会计较的。同证券经纪人比起来，我还更愿意嫁给一个画家呢。

　　If it weren't for the children, I wouldn't mind anything.  如果不是为了孩子，我什么也不在乎。

　　I could be just as happy in a shabby studio in Chelsea as in this flat. 住在柴尔西一间破旧的画室里我会像住在这所房子里同样快乐。”

　　My dear, I have no patience with you, cried Mrs. MacAndrew. "You don't mean to say you believe a word of this nonsense?" “亲爱的，我可真要生你的气了，”麦克安德鲁太太叫喊起来，“看你的意思，这些鬼话你真相信了？”

　　But I think it's true, I put in mildly. “可我认为这是真实情况，”我婉转地表示自己的意见说。

　　She looked at me with good-humoured contempt. 她又好气又好笑地看了我一眼。

　　A man doesn't throw up his business and leave his wife and children at the age of forty to become a painter unless there's a woman in it.  “一个四十岁的人是不会为了要当画家而丢弃了工作、扔掉了妻子儿女的，除非这里面搀和着一个女人。

　　I suppose he met one of your—artistic friends, and she's turned his head. 我猜想他一定是遇见了你的哪个——艺术界的朋友，被她迷上了。”

　　A spot of colour rose suddenly to Mrs. Strickland's pale cheeks. 思特里克兰德太太苍白的面颊上突然泛上一层红晕。

　　What is she like? “她是怎样一个人？”

　　I hesitated a little. I knew that I had a bombshell. 我没有立刻回答。我知道我给他们准备了一颗炸弹。

　　There isn't a woman. “没有女人。”

　　Colonel MacAndrew and his wife uttered expressions of incredulity, and Mrs. Strickland sprang to her feet. 麦克安德鲁上校和他的妻子部表示不能相信地喊叫起来；思特里克兰德太太甚至从椅子上跳起来。

　　Do you mean to say you never saw her? “你是说你一次也没有看见她？”

　　There's no one to see. He's quite alone. “根本就没有人，叫我去看谁？他只有一个人。”

　　That's preposterous⁶, cried Mrs. MacAndrew. “这是世界上没有的事，”麦克安德鲁太太喊道。

　　I knew I ought to have gone over myself, said the Colonel. "You can bet your boots I'd have routed her out fast enough." “我早就知道得我自己跑一趟，”上校说，“我敢和你们打赌，我一定能马上就把那个女人搜寻出来。”

　　I wish you had gone over, I replied, somewhat tartly⁷. "You'd have seen that every one of your suppositions was wrong.  “我也希望你自己去，”我不很客气地回答，“你就会看到你的那些猜想没有一点是对的。

　　He's not at a smart hotel. He's living in one tiny room in the most squalid way.  他并没有住在时髦的旅馆里。他住的是一间极其寒酸的小房间。

　　If he's left his home, it's not to live a gay life. He's got hardly any money." 他离开家绝不是去过花天酒地的生活。他简直没有什么钱。”

1 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

2 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

3 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。

4 derisively   

adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• This answer came derisively from several places at the same instant. 好几个人都不约而同地以讥讽的口吻作出回答。
• The others laughed derisively. 其余的人不以为然地笑了起来。

5 stockbroker   

n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构）

参考例句：

• The main business of stockbroker is to help clients buy and sell shares.股票经纪人的主要业务是帮客户买卖股票。
• My stockbroker manages my portfolio for me.我的证券经纪人替我管理投资组合。

6 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

7 tartly   

adv.辛辣地，刻薄地

参考例句：

• She finished by tartly pointing out that he owed her some money. 她最后刻薄地指出他欠她一些钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Kay said tartly, "And you're more Yankee than Italian. 恺酸溜溜他说：“可你哪，与其说是意大利人，还不如说是新英格兰人。 来自教父部分