手机APP下载

您现在的位置: 首页 > 英语听力 > 双语有声读物 > 月亮和六便士 > 正文

月亮和六便士(MP3+中英字幕) 第四十六章(2)

来源:可可英语 编辑:Vicki   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet
  


扫描二维码可进行跟读训练
  下载MP3到电脑  [F8键暂停/播放]   批量下载MP3到手机

My friend's appearance suggested that he was now in the same predicament, and I prepared myself to cultivate an agreeable acquaintance. The society of beach-combers always repays the small pains you need be at to enjoy it. They are easy of approach and affable in conversation. They seldom put on airs, and the offer of a drink is a sure way to their hearts. You need no laborious steps to enter upon familiarity with them, and you can earn not only their confidence, but their gratitude, by turning an attentive ear to their discourse. They look upon conversation as the great pleasure of life, thereby proving the excellence of their civilisation, and for the most part they are entertaining talkers. The extent of their experience is pleasantly balanced by the fertility of their imagination. It cannot be said that they are without guile, but they have a tolerant respect for the law, when the law is supported by strength. It is hazardous to play poker with them, but their ingenuity adds a peculiar excitement to the best game in the world. I came to know Captain Nichols very well before I left Tahiti, and I am the richer for his acquaintance. I do not consider that the cigars and whisky he consumed at my expense (he always refused cocktails, since he was practically a teetotaller), and the few dollars, borrowed with a civil air of conferring a favour upon me, that passed from my pocket to his, were in any way equivalent to the entertainment he afforded me. I remained his debtor. I should be sorry if my conscience, insisting on a rigid attention to the matter in hand, forced me to dismiss him in a couple of lines.

从我这位朋友的仪表来看,今天他的境遇一点也不比那时好;我决定同他交个朋友。同这些在南海群岛的流浪汉相处,尽管得付出一点小代价,但总不会叫你吃亏的。这些人很容易接近,谈起话来很殷勤。他们很少摆架子,只要一杯水酒,就一定能把他们的心打动。要想同他们混熟,用不着走一段艰辛的路途,只要对他们的闲扯洗耳恭听,他们就不但对你非常信任,而且还会对你满怀感激。他们把谈话看做是生活的最大乐趣,用以证明自己出色的修养。这些人大多数谈话都很有风趣。他们的阅历很广,又善于运用丰富的想象力。不能说这些人没有某种程度的欺诈,但是他们对法律还是非常容忍,尽量遵守,只要法律有强大靠山的时候。同他们玩牌是件危险的勾当,但是他们那种头脑敏捷会使这一最有趣的游戏平添了极大的刺激。在我离开塔希提之前,已经同尼柯尔斯船长混得很熟了,我同他的这段交情只有使我的经验更加丰富。尽管我招待了他许多雪茄和威士忌(他从来不喝鸡尾酒,因为他实际上是个戒酒主义者),尽管他带着一副施恩于人的温文有礼的神气向我借钱,好几块银币从我的口袋转到了他的口袋里去,我还是觉得他让我享受到的乐趣大大超过了我付出的代价。自始至终他都是我的债主。如果我听从作者的良心,不肯走离本题,只用几行简单的文字就把尼柯尔斯打发掉,我会感到对不起他的。
I do not know why Captain Nichols first left England. It was a matter upon which he was reticent, and with persons of his kind a direct question is never very discreet. He hinted at undeserved misfortune, and there is no doubt that he looked upon himself as the victim of injustice. My fancy played with the various forms of fraud and violence, and I agreed with him sympathetically when he remarked that the authorities in the old country were so damned technical. But it was nice to see that any unpleasantness he had endured in his native land had not impaired his ardent patriotism. He frequently declared that England was the finest country in the world, sir, and he felt a lively superiority over Americans, Colonials, Dagos, Dutchmen, and Kanakas.
我不知道尼柯尔斯船长最初为什么要离开英国。这是一个他讳莫如深的话题;对于像他这样的人直接问这类事也是很不谨慎的。从他的话语里听得出来,他曾经受了不白之冤。毫无疑问,他把自己看作是执法不公的牺牲品。我的想象却总爱把他同某种诈骗或暴行联系起来。当他谈到英国当局执法过于机械时,我非常同情地表示同意。令人高兴的是,即使他在家乡有过什么不愉快的遭遇,他的爱国热情却并未因此受到任何损伤。他常对我说,英国是全世界最了不起的国家,他觉得自己比哪国人都优越得多,不管什么美国人、殖民地人、达哥人、荷兰人,或是卡纳加人,全不在他眼里。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
undeserved ['ʌndi'zə:vd]

想一想再看

adj. 不值得的,不当的

 
discourse ['diskɔ:s,dis'kɔ:s]

想一想再看

n. 谈话,演讲
vi. 谈话,讲述

联想记忆
cultivate ['kʌltiveit]

想一想再看

vt. 培养,耕作,栽培,结交(朋友), 促进增长,教养

联想记忆
extent [iks'tent]

想一想再看

n. 广度,宽度,长度,大小,范围,范围,程度

联想记忆
patriotism ['pætriətizəm]

想一想再看

n. 爱国主义,爱国心

联想记忆
rigid ['ridʒid]

想一想再看

adj. 僵硬的,刻板的,严格的

 
appearance [ə'piərəns]

想一想再看

n. 外表,外貌,出现,出场,露面

联想记忆
sympathetically [.simpə'θetikli]

想一想再看

adv. 同情地,表示好感地

 
conversation [.kɔnvə'seiʃən]

想一想再看

n. 会话,谈话

联想记忆
thereby ['ðɛə'bai]

想一想再看

adv. 因此,从而

 

发布评论我来说2句

    最新文章

    可可英语官方微信(微信号:ikekenet)

    每天向大家推送短小精悍的英语学习资料.

    添加方式1.扫描上方可可官方微信二维码。
    添加方式2.搜索微信号ikekenet添加即可。