时间:2019-01-18 作者:英语课 分类:有声英语文学名著


英语课

 Chapter 10 - Prince Andrew is introduced to Pfuel


 
This letter had not yet been presented to the Emperor when Barclay, one day at dinner, informed Bolkonsky that the sovereign wished to see him personally, to question him about Turkey, and that Prince Andrey was to present himself at Bennigsen’s quarters at six that evening.
News was received at the Emperor’s quarters that very day of a fresh movement by Napoleon which might endanger the army — news subsequently found to be false. And that morning Colonel Michaud had ridden round the Drissa fortifications with the Emperor and had pointed 1 out to him that this fortified 2 camp constructed by Pfuel, and till then considered a chef-d’oeuvre of tactical science which would ensure Napoleon’s destruction, was an absurdity 3, threatening the destruction of the Russian army.
Prince Andrey arrived at Bennigsen’s quarters — a country gentleman’s house of moderate size, situated 4 on the very banks of the river. Neither Bennigsen nor the Emperor was there, but Chernyshev, the Emperor’s aide-de-camp, received Bolkonsky and informed him that the Emperor, accompanied by General Bennigsen and Marquis Paulucci, had gone a second time that day to inspect the fortifications of the Drissa camp, of the suitability of which serious doubts were beginning to be felt.
Chernyshev was sitting at a window in the first room with a French novel in his hand. This room had probably been a music room; there was still an organ in it on which some rugs were piled, and in one corner stood the folding bedstead of Bennigsen’s adjutant. This adjutant was also there and sat dozing 5 on the rolled-up bedding, evidently exhausted 6 by work or by feasting. Two doors led from the room, one straight on into what had been the drawing room, and another, on the right, to the study. Through the first door came the sound of voices conversing 7 in German and occasionally in French. In that drawing room were gathered, by the Emperor’s wish, not a military council (the Emperor preferred indefiniteness), but certain persons whose opinions he wished to know in view of the impending 8 difficulties. It was not a council of war, but, as it were, a council to elucidate 9 certain questions for the Emperor personally. To this semicouncil had been invited the Swedish General Armfeldt, Adjutant General Wolzogen, Wintzingerode (whom Napoleon had referred to as a renegade French subject), Michaud, Toll 10, Count Stein who was not a military man at all, and Pfuel himself, who, as Prince Andrey had heard, was the mainspring of the whole affair. Prince Andrey had an opportunity of getting a good look at him, for Pfuel arrived soon after himself and, in passing through to the drawing room, stopped a minute to speak to Chernyshev.
At first sight, Pfuel, in his ill-made uniform of a Russian general, which fitted him badly like a fancy costume, seemed familiar to Prince Andrey, though he saw him now for the first time. There was about him something of Weyrother, Mack, and Schmidt, and many other German theorist-generals whom Prince Andrey had seen in 1805, but he was more typical than any of them. Prince Andrey had never yet seen a German theorist in whom all the characteristics of those others were united to such an extent.
Pfuel was short and very thin but broad-boned, of coarse, robust 11 build, broad in the hips 12, and with prominent shoulder blades. His face was much wrinkled and his eyes deep set. His hair had evidently been hastily brushed smooth in front of the temples, but stuck up behind in quaint 13 little tufts. He entered the room, looking restlessly and angrily around, as if afraid of everything in that large apartment. Awkwardly holding up his sword, he addressed Chernyshev and asked in German where the Emperor was. One could see that he wished to pass through the rooms as quickly as possible, finish with the bows and greetings, and sit down to business in front of a map, where he would feel at home. He nodded hurriedly in reply to Chernyshev, and smiled ironically on hearing that the sovereign was inspecting the fortifications that he, Pfuel, had planned in accord with his theory. He muttered something to himself abruptly 14 and in a bass 15 voice, as self-assured Germans do — it might have been “stupid fellow” . . . or “the whole affair will be ruined,” or “something absurd will come of it.” . . . Prince Andrey did not catch what he said and would have passed on, but Chernyshev introduced him to Pfuel, remarking that Prince Andrey was just back from Turkey where the war had terminated so fortunately. Pfuel barely glanced — not so much at Prince Andrey as past him — and said, with a laugh: “That must have been a fine tactical war”; and, laughing contemptuously, went on into the room from which the sound of voices was heard.
Pfuel, always inclined to be irritably 16 sarcastic 17, was particularly disturbed that day, evidently by the fact that they had dared to inspect and criticize his camp in his absence. From this short interview with Pfuel, Prince Andrey, thanks to his Austerlitz experiences, was able to form a clear conception of the man. Pfuel was one of those hopelessly and immutably 18 self-confident men, self-confident to the point of martyrdom as only Germans are, because only Germans are self-confident on the basis of an abstract notion — science, that is, the supposed knowledge of absolute truth. A Frenchman is self-assured because he regards himself personally, both in mind and body, as irresistibly 19 attractive to men and women. An Englishman is self-assured, as being a citizen of the best-organized state in the world, and therefore as an Englishman always knows what he should do and knows that all he does as an Englishman is undoubtedly 20 correct. An Italian is self-assured because he is excitable and easily forgets himself and other people. A Russian is self-assured just because he knows nothing does not want to know anything, since he does not believe that anything can be known. The German’s self-assurance is worst of all, stronger and more repulsive 21 than any other, because he imagines that he knows the truth — science — which he himself has invented but which is for him the absolute truth.
Pfuel was evidently of that sort. He had a science — the theory of oblique 22 movements deduced by him from the history of Frederick the Great’s wars, and all he came across in the history of more recent warfare 23 seemed to him absurd and barbarous — monstrous 24 collisions in which so many blunders were committed by both sides that these wars could not be called wars, they did not accord with the theory, and therefore could not serve as material for science.
In 1806 Pfuel had been one of those responsible, for the plan of campaign that ended in Jena and Auerstadt, but he did not see the least proof of the fallibility of his theory in the disasters of that war. On the contrary, the deviations 25 made from his theory were, in his opinion, the sole cause of the whole disaster, and with characteristically gleeful sarcasm 26 he would remark, “There, I said the whole affair would go to the devil!” Pfuel was one of those theoreticians who so love their theory that they lose sight of the theory’s object — its practical application. His love of theory made him hate everything practical, and he would not listen to it. He was even pleased by failures, for failures resulting from deviations in practice from the theory only proved to him the accuracy of his theory.
He said a few words to Prince Andrey and Chernyshev about the present war, with the air of a man who knows beforehand that all will go wrong, and who is not displeased 27 that it should be so. The unbrushed tufts of hair sticking up behind and the hastily brushed hair on his temples expressed this most eloquently 28.
He passed into the next room, and the deep, querulous sounds of his voice were at once heard from there.

adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
adj. 加强的
  • He fortified himself against the cold with a hot drink. 他喝了一杯热饮御寒。
  • The enemy drew back into a few fortified points. 敌人收缩到几个据点里。
n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论
  • The proposal borders upon the absurdity.这提议近乎荒谬。
  • The absurdity of the situation made everyone laugh.情况的荒谬可笑使每个人都笑了。
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
  • She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
v.交谈,谈话( converse的现在分词 )
  • I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
a.imminent, about to come or happen
  • Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时,严重的战乱爆发了。
  • The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。
v.阐明,说明
  • The note help to elucidate the most difficult parts of the text.这些注释有助于弄清文中最难懂的部分。
  • This guide will elucidate these differences and how to exploit them.这篇指导将会阐述这些不同点以及如何正确利用它们。
n.过路(桥)费;损失,伤亡人数;v.敲(钟)
  • The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
  • The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的
  • 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。
abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯,耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 );[建筑学]屋脊;臀围(尺寸);臀部…的
  • She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
  • They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的
  • There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里,有很多小巷。
  • They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。
adv.突然地,出其不意地
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
ad.易生气地
  • He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了,暴躁地斥责孩子们。
  • On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事,他妻子大声斥责,令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
adj.讥讽的,讽刺的,嘲弄的
  • I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
  • She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。
adv.不变地,永恒地
  • Only reefs stand alone immutably on the beach after a typhoon. 台风过后,海滩上只有那些礁石岿然独存。 来自互联网
adv.无法抵抗地,不能自持地;极为诱惑人地
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside. 她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He was irresistibly attracted by her charm. 他不能自已地被她的魅力所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》
adv.确实地,无疑地
  • It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
  • He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。
adj.排斥的,使人反感的
  • She found the idea deeply repulsive.她发现这个想法很恶心。
  • The repulsive force within the nucleus is enormous.核子内部的斥力是巨大的。
adj.斜的,倾斜的,无诚意的,不坦率的
  • He made oblique references to her lack of experience.他拐弯抹角地说她缺乏经验。
  • She gave an oblique look to one side.她向旁边斜看了一眼。
n.战争(状态);斗争;冲突
  • He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
  • Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。
adj.巨大的;恐怖的;可耻的,丢脸的
  • The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升,形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
  • Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人!
背离,偏离( deviation的名词复数 ); 离经叛道的行为
  • Local deviations depend strongly on the local geometry of the solid matrix. 局部偏离严格地依赖于固体矩阵的局部几何形状。
  • They were a series of tactical day-to-day deviations from White House policy. 它们是一系列策略上一天天摆脱白宫政策的偏向。
n.讥讽,讽刺,嘲弄,反话 (adj.sarcastic)
  • His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
  • She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。
a.不快的
  • The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了,瞪了我一眼。
  • He was displeased about the whole affair. 他对整个事情感到很不高兴。
adv. 雄辩地(有口才地, 富于表情地)
  • I was toasted by him most eloquently at the dinner. 进餐时他口若悬河地向我祝酒。
  • The poet eloquently expresses the sense of lost innocence. 诗人动人地表达了失去天真的感觉。
学英语单词
action-logic
Active Client
all-rubber adsorbent
allopartic species
antimigration
apparent creep
architective
automatic data set
axial quantum number
block-busting
blow sb out
bo be no marked by clear anatomical change
brain accentuated
break sweat
Byrkjedal
cable recess
can tong
cap type
casinogen
catalyst deactivation
cathodal operning clonus
clip position
combine nuclear and gas turbine power plant
communications control console
commutator transformator
Corydalis meifolia
cross checks
crown wheel core
cystatins
diethyl-p-tlouidine
diphenylcarbazone
ficciones
Finkenbach
flash column
Fribourg (Freiburg)
gnosticize
guarantor relationship
hand pulling
have no forked tail
hemomanometer with stethoscope
Hob.
immobilizers
impolite
indirect utility
J'ouvert
kovochich
La Hacienda
lace beaming machine
land occupation of the plant area
launch reserve scheme
line disconnecting switch
Maple Peak
merchant accounts
microphotometric method
mid-stance
migration potential
Muroto-zaki
Nagero
narrationally
neat lime
nonfilamentous
nonnumeric calculation
nouke
operation signal
or model
oto-
paasche
plasmodiophora mori yendo
potamarcha congener congener
primary haulage
procollagens
production restriction
proper nounhood
pumping of the barometer
put something in motion
radiophotoscanning
re-incarnation
real hack
Regency point
reichensachsen
rock element
sendust
sensitivity of micro-phone
Sheratan
skew bevel gear pair
spina bifida cystica
St.Paul's
terraformed
the disabled
thermomoulds
transferring control responsibility
transitional flow
tympanotomy
typed memory name space
ultra ata/66
unusefully
upper-triangular matrix
vavoom
vesicohysteropexy
wave energy of sea floor
wife-battering
zaborski