月亮和六便士 第二十九章(1)

 Chapter 29 第二十九章

I kept silence for a little while, thinking of what Stroeve had told me. I could not stomach his weakness, and he saw my disapproval¹. 我沉默了一会，思索着施特略夫对我讲的事情。我无法忍受他这种懦弱，他也看出来我对他这个做法不以为然。

"You know as well as I do how Strickland lived," he said tremulously. “你跟我知道得一样清楚，思特里克兰德过的是什么日子，”他声音颤抖着说，

"I couldn't let her live in those circumstances—I simply couldn't." “我不能让她在那种环境里过活——我就是不能。”

That's your business, I answered. “这是你的事。”我回答。

What would you have done? he asked. “如果这事叫你遇上，你会怎么做？”他问。

She went with her eyes open.  “她是睁着眼睛自己走开的。

If she had to put up with certain inconveniences it was her own lookout². 如果她不得不吃些苦头，也是自找。”

Yes; but, you see, you don't love her. “你说得对，但是，你知道，你并不爱她。”

Do you love her still? “你现在还爱她吗？”

Oh, more than ever. Strickland isn't the man to make a woman happy. It can't last. “啊！比以前更爱。思特里克兰德不是一个能使女人幸福的人。这件事长不了。

I want her to know that I shall never fail her. 我要让她知道，我是永远不会叫她的指望落空的。”

Does that mean that you're prepared to take her back? “你的意思是不是说，你还准备收留她呢？”

I shouldn't hesitate. Why, she'll want me more than ever then. “我将丝毫也不踌躇。到那时候她就会比过去任何时候都更需要我了。

When she's alone and humiliated³ and broken it would be dreadful if she had nowhere to go. 当她被人抛弃，受尽屈辱，身心交瘁，如果她无处可以投奔，那就太可怕了。”

He seemed to bear no resentment⁴. 施特略夫似乎一点也不生她的气。

I suppose it was commonplace in me that I felt slightly outraged⁵ at his lack of spirit. 也许我这人太平凡了，所以对他这种没有骨气竟有一些恼火。

Perhaps he guessed what was in my mind, for he said: 他可能猜到我的想法了，因为他这么说：

I couldn't expect her to love me as I loved her. “我不能希望她象我爱她那样爱我。

I'm a buffoon⁶. I'm not the sort of man that women love. 我是滑稽角色。我不是那种叫女人钟情的男子汉。

I've always known that. I can't blame her if she's fallen in love with Strickland. 这一点我早就知道。如果她爱上了思特里克兰德，我不能责怪她。”

You certainly have less vanity than any man I've ever known, I said. “我还从来没见到过有谁象你这样没有自尊心的呢，”我说。

1 disapproval   

n.反对，不赞成

参考例句：

• The teacher made an outward show of disapproval.老师表面上表示不同意。
• They shouted their disapproval.他们喊叫表示反对。

2 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

3 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

4 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

5 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

6 buffoon   

n.演出时的丑角

参考例句：

• They pictured their manager as a buffoon.他们把经理描绘成一个小丑。
• That politician acted like a buffoon during that debate.这个政客在那场辩论中真是丑态百出。