【有声英语文学名著】战争与和平 Book 7(8)
时间:2018-12-18 作者:英语课 分类:有声英语文学名著
英语课
Chapter 8 - Nikolai's mother finds him a bride
Count Ilya Rostov had resigned the position of Marshal of the Nobility because it involved him in too much expense, but still his affairs did not improve. Natasha and Nikolai often noticed their parents conferring together anxiously and privately 1 and heard suggestions of selling the fine ancestral Rostov house and estate near Moscow. It was not necessary to entertain so freely as when the count had been Marshal, and life at Otradnoe was quieter than in former years, but still the enormous house and its lodges 2 were full of people and more than twenty sat down to table every day. These were all their own people who had settled down in the house almost as members of the family, or persons who were, it seemed, obliged to live in the count’s house. Such were Dimmler the musician and his wife, Vogel the dancing master and his family, Belova, an old maiden 3 lady, an inmate 4 of the house, and many others such as Petya’s tutors, the girls’ former governess, and other people who simply found it preferable and more advantageous 5 to live in the count’s house than at home. They had not as many visitors as before, but the old habits of life without which the count and countess could not conceive of existence remained unchanged. There was still the hunting establishment which Nikolai had even enlarged, the same fifty horses and fifteen grooms 6 in the stables, the same expensive presents and dinner parties to the whole district on name days; there were still the count’s games of whist and boston, at which — spreading out his cards so that everybody could see them — he let himself be plundered 7 of hundreds of rubles every day by his neighbors, who looked upon an opportunity to play a rubber with Count Rostov as a most profitable source of income.
The count moved in his affairs as in a huge net, trying not to believe that he was entangled 8 but becoming more and more so at every step, and feeling too feeble to break the meshes 9 or to set to work carefully and patiently to disentangle them. The countess, with her loving heart, felt that her children were being ruined, that it was not the count’s fault for he could not help being what he was — that (though he tried to hide it) he himself suffered from the consciousness of his own and his children’s ruin, and she tried to find means of remedying the position. From her feminine point of view she could see only one solution, namely, for Nikolai to marry a rich heiress. She felt this to be their last hope and that if Nikolai refused the match she had found for him, she would have to abandon the hope of ever getting matters right. This match was with Julie Karagina, the daughter of excellent and virtuous 10 parents, a girl the Rostovs had known from childhood, and who had now become a wealthy heiress through the death of the last of her brothers.
The countess had written direct to Julie’s mother in Moscow suggesting a marriage between their children and had received a favorable answer from her. Karagina had replied that for her part she was agreeable, and everything depend on her daughter’s inclination 11. She invited Nikolai to come to Moscow.
Several times the countess, with tears in her eyes, told her son that now both her daughters were settled, her only wish was to see him married. She said she could lie down in her grave peacefully if that were accomplished 12. Then she told him that she knew of a splendid girl and tried to discover what he thought about marriage.
At other times she praised Julie to him and advised him to go to Moscow during the holidays to amuse himself. Nikolai guessed what his mother’s remarks were leading to and during one of these conversations induced her to speak quite frankly 13. She told him that her only hope of getting their affairs disentangled now lay in his marrying Julie Karagina.
“But, Mamma, suppose I loved a girl who has no fortune, would you expect me to sacrifice my feelings and my honor for the sake of money?” he asked his mother, not realizing the cruelty of his question and only wishing to show his noble-mindedness.
“No, you have not understood me,” said his mother, not knowing how to justify 14 herself. “You have not understood me, Nikolenka. It is your happiness I wish for,” she added, feeling that she was telling an untruth and was becoming entangled. She began to cry.
“Mamma, don’t cry! Only tell me that you wish it, and you know I will give my life, anything, to put you at ease,” said Nikolai. “I would sacrifice anything for you — even my feelings.”
But the countess did not want the question put like that: she did not want a sacrifice from her son, she herself wished to make a sacrifice for him.
“No, you have not understood me, don’t let us talk about it,” she replied, wiping away her tears.
“Maybe I do love a poor girl,” said Nikolai to himself. “Am I to sacrifice my feelings and my honor for money? I wonder how Mamma could speak so to me. Because Sonya is poor I must not love her,” he thought, “must not respond to her faithful, devoted 15 love? Yet I should certainly be happier with her than with some doll-like Julie. I can always sacrifice my feelings for my family’s welfare,” he said to himself, “but I can’t coerce 16 my feelings. If I love Sonya, that feeling is for me stronger and higher than all else.”
Nikolai did not go to Moscow, and the countess did not renew the conversation with him about marriage. She saw with sorrow, and sometimes with exasperation 17, symptoms of a growing attachment 18 between her son and the portionless Sonya. Though she blamed herself for it, she could not refrain from grumbling 19 at and worrying Sonya, often pulling her up without reason, addressing her stiffly as “my dear,” and using the formal “you” instead of the intimate “thou” in speaking to her. The kindhearted countess was the more vexed 20 with Sonya because that poor, dark-eyed niece of hers was so meek 21, so kind, so devotedly 22 grateful to her benefactors 23, and so faithfully, unchangingly, and unselfishly in love with Nikolai, that there were no grounds for finding fault with her.
Nikolai was spending the last of his leave at home. A fourth letter had come from Prince Andrey, from Rome, in which he wrote that he would have been on his way back to Russia long ago had not his wound unexpectedly reopened in the warm climate, which obliged him to defer 24 his return till the beginning of the new year. Natasha was still as much in love with her betrothed 25, found the same comfort in that love, and was still as ready to throw herself into all the pleasures of life as before; but at the end of the fourth month of their separation she began to have fits of depression which she could not master. She felt sorry for herself: sorry that she was being wasted all this time and of no use to anyone — while she felt herself so capable of loving and being loved.
Things were not cheerful in the Rostovs’ home.
1
adv.以私人的身份,悄悄地,私下地
- Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
- The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。
2 lodges
v.存放( lodge的第三人称单数 );暂住;埋入;(权利、权威等)归属
- But I forget, if I ever heard, where he lodges in Liverpool. 可是我记不得有没有听他说过他在利物浦的住址。 来自辞典例句
- My friend lodges in my uncle's house. 我朋友寄居在我叔叔家。 来自辞典例句
3 maiden
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
- The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
- The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。
4 inmate
n.被收容者;(房屋等的)居住人;住院人
- I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
- The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。
5 advantageous
adj.有利的;有帮助的
- Injections of vitamin C are obviously advantageous.注射维生素C显然是有利的。
- You're in a very advantageous position.你处于非常有利的地位。
6 grooms
n.新郎( groom的名词复数 );马夫v.照料或梳洗(马等)( groom的第三人称单数 );使做好准备;训练;(给动物)擦洗
- Plender end Wilcox became joint grooms of the chambers. 普伦德和威尔科克斯成为共同的贴身侍从。 来自辞典例句
- Egypt: Families, rather than grooms, propose to the bride. 埃及:在埃及,由新郎的家人,而不是新郎本人,向新娘求婚。 来自互联网
7 plundered
掠夺,抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )
- Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
- The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。
8 entangled
adj.卷入的;陷入的;被缠住的;缠在一起的v.使某人(某物/自己)缠绕,纠缠于(某物中),使某人(自己)陷入(困难或复杂的环境中)( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )
- The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
- Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 meshes
网孔( mesh的名词复数 ); 网状物; 陷阱; 困境
- The net of Heaven has large meshes, but it lets nothing through. 天网恢恢,疏而不漏。
- This net has half-inch meshes. 这个网有半英寸见方的网孔。
10 virtuous
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的
- She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性,人人都尊敬她。
- My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。
11 inclination
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好
- She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
- I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。
12 accomplished
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
- Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
- Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
13 frankly
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
- To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
- Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
14 justify
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护
- He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
- Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗?
15 devoted
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的
- He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
- We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
16 coerce
v.强迫,压制
- You can't coerce her into obedience.你不能强制她服从。
- Do you think there is any way that we can coerce them otherwise?你认为我们有什么办法强迫他们不那样吗?
17 exasperation
n.愤慨
- He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
- She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
18 attachment
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附
- She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
- She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。
19 grumbling
adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的
- She's always grumbling to me about how badly she's treated at work. 她总是向我抱怨她在工作中如何受亏待。
- We didn't hear any grumbling about the food. 我们没听到过对食物的抱怨。
20 vexed
adj.争论不休的;(指问题等)棘手的;争论不休的问题;烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 );使苦恼;使生气;详细讨论
- The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
- He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
21 meek
adj.温顺的,逆来顺受的
- He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
- The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。
22 devotedly
专心地; 恩爱地; 忠实地; 一心一意地
- He loved his wife devotedly. 他真诚地爱他的妻子。
- Millions of fans follow the TV soap operas devotedly. 千百万观众非常着迷地收看这部电视连续剧。
23 benefactors
n.捐助者,施主( benefactor的名词复数 );恩人
- I rate him among my benefactors. 我认为他是我的一个恩人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- We showed high respect to benefactors. 我们对捐助者表达了崇高的敬意。 来自辞典例句