🔊 The narrow room, in which they were smoking and taking refreshments, was full of noblemen. The excitement grew more intense, and every face betrayed some uneasiness. The excitement was specially keen for the leaders of each party, who knew every detail, and had reckoned up every vote. They were the generals organizing the approaching battle. The rest, like the rank and file before an engagement, though they were getting ready for the fight, sought for other distractions in the interval. Some were lunching, standing at the bar, or sitting at the table; others were walking up and down the long room, smoking cigarettes, and talking with friends whom they had not seen for a long while.

他们抽烟、吃点心的那间狭小房间里,挤满了贵族。激动情绪愈演愈烈,每张脸上都透出几分不安。对于知道每个细节、算准了每张选票的各派领袖们来说,这种激动尤其强烈。他们就像是即将发起战斗的将军。其余的人则像战前的普通士兵,虽然也在准备战斗,却在这间隙里找些别的事来分心。有的站在柜台前或坐在桌旁吃午饭,有的在长长的房间里来回踱步,抽着烟,和久未见面的朋友聊天。

🔊

intense /ɪnˈtens/

adj. 强烈的,剧烈的➕

🔊

betrayed /bɪˈtreɪd/

v. 泄露,显露；背叛➕

🔊

uneasiness /ʌnˈiːzinəs/

n. 不安,忧虑➕

🔊

keen /kiːn/

adj. 热衷的,强烈的；敏锐的➕

🔊

engagement /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒmənt/

n. 交战；约会；承诺➕

🔊

sought /sɔːt/

v. 寻找,寻求（seek的过去式）➕

🔊

distractions /dɪˈstrækʃənz/

n. 分心的事物,娱乐,消遣➕

🔊

interval /ˈɪntərvəl/

n. 间隔,间歇；幕间休息➕

🔊

rank and file /ræŋk ænd faɪl/

phr. 普通成员,普通士兵➕

🔊

reckoned /ˈrekənd/

v. 计算；认为；估计➕

🔊 Levin did not care to eat, and he was not smoking; he did not want to join his own friends, that is Sergey Ivanovitch, Stepan Arkadyevitch, Sviazhsky and the rest, because Vronsky in his equerry's uniform was standing with them in eager conversation. Levin had seen him already at the meeting on the previous day, and he had studiously avoided him, not caring to greet him. He went to the window and sat down, scanning the groups, and listening to what was being said around him. He felt depressed, especially because everyone else was, as he saw, eager, anxious, and interested, and he alone, with an old, toothless little man with mumbling lips wearing a naval uniform, sitting beside him, had no interest in it and nothing to do.

列文不想吃东西,也不抽烟；他不想去找自己的朋友,也就是谢尔盖·伊万诺维奇、斯捷潘·阿尔卡季耶维奇、斯维亚日斯基那帮人,因为弗龙斯基穿着近侍武官制服,正和他们站在一起热烈交谈。列文昨天开会时就见过他,故意躲着他,不愿跟他打招呼。他走到窗边坐下,扫视着人群,听着周围的谈话。他感到沮丧,尤其是因为他看到所有人都那么急切、焦虑、兴致勃勃,只有他自己,和身边一个穿着海军制服、瘪着没牙的嘴喃喃自语的老头一样,对这一切毫无兴趣,无事可做。

🔊

studiously /ˈstjuːdiəsli/

adv. 刻意地,专心致志地➕

🔊

mumbling /ˈmʌmblɪŋ/

adj. 含糊不清的,咕哝的➕

🔊

naval /ˈneɪvəl/

adj. 海军的➕

🔊

scanning /ˈskænɪŋ/

v. 细看,审视；扫描➕

🔊 "He's such a blackguard! I have told him so, but it makes no difference. Only think of it! He couldn't collect it in three years!" he heard vigorously uttered by a round-shouldered, short, country gentleman, who had pomaded hair hanging on his embroidered collar, and new boots obviously put on for the occasion, with heels that tapped energetically as he spoke. Casting a displeased glance at Levin, this gentleman sharply turned his back.

“他真是个无赖！我跟他说过,但没用。想想看！他三年都收不回来！”一个弓着背、个子矮小的乡绅大声说。他头发抹了发油,垂在绣花领子上,脚上穿着显然是为此场合新擦亮的皮靴,说话时脚跟有力地跺着地。他不满地瞥了列文一眼,猛地转过身去。

🔊

blackguard /ˈblæɡɑːrd/

n. 恶棍,无赖➕

🔊

vigorously /ˈvɪɡərəsli/

adv. 有力地,精力充沛地➕

🔊

embroidered /ɪmˈbrɔɪdərd/

adj. 绣花的,刺绣的➕

🔊

displeased /dɪsˈpliːzd/

adj. 不悦的,不满的➕

🔊 "Yes, it's a dirty business, there's no denying," a small gentleman assented in a high voice. Next, a whole crowd of country gentlemen, surrounding a stout general, hurriedly came near Levin. These persons were unmistakably seeking a place where they could talk without being overheard.

“是啊,这勾当真肮脏,没法否认。”一个小个子先生尖声附和。接着,一大群乡绅簇拥着一个胖胖的将军,匆匆走近列文。这些人显然在找一个没人听得见的地方说话。

🔊

assented /əˈsentɪd/

v. 同意,赞成➕

🔊

unmistakably /ˌʌnmɪˈsteɪkəbli/

adv. 明确无误地, unmistakably➕

🔊

seeking /ˈsiːkɪŋ/

v. 寻找,寻求➕

🔊

overheard /ˌoʊvərˈhɜːrd/

v. 偷听,无意中听到➕

🔊 "How dare he say I had his breeches stolen! Pawned them for drink, I expect. Damn the fellow, prince indeed! He'd better not say it, the beast!" "But excuse me! They take their stand on the act," was being said in another group; "the wife must be registered as noble." "Oh, damn your acts! I speak from my heart. We're all gentlemen, aren't we? Above suspicion."

“他竟敢说他的马裤被人偷了！八成是当掉换酒喝了吧。该死的家伙,什么公爵！他最好别乱说,畜生！”“可是对不起！他们是根据法令来的,”另一群人里有人说道,“妻子必须登记为贵族。”“哼,去你的法令！我凭良心说话。我们都是绅士,对吧？不容怀疑。”

🔊

Pawned /pɔːnd/

v. 典当,抵押➕

🔊

suspicion /səˈspɪʃn/

n. 怀疑,嫌疑➕

🔊 "Shall we go on, your excellency, fine champagne?" Another group was following a nobleman, who was shouting something in a loud voice; it was one of the three intoxicated gentlemen.

“大人,我们继续喝香槟吧？”另一群人跟着一个高声叫嚷着什么的贵族；那是三个醉醺醺的绅士之一。

🔊

intoxicated /ɪnˈtɒksɪkeɪtɪd/

adj. 喝醉的；陶醉的➕

🔊 "I always advised Marya Semyonovna to let for a fair rent, for she can never save a profit," he heard a pleasant voice say. The speaker was a country gentleman with grey whiskers, wearing the regimental uniform of an old general staff-officer. It was the very landowner Levin had met at Sviazhsky's. He knew him at once. The landowner too stared at Levin, and they exchanged greetings.

“我一直劝玛丽亚·谢苗诺夫娜按合理租金出租,因为她永远赚不到利润,”一个愉快的声音说道。说话的是一个留着灰白络腮胡的乡绅,穿着旧参谋军官的团级制服。这正是列文在斯维亚日斯基家见过的那位地主。他立刻认出了他。那位地主也盯着列文,两人互相问候。

🔊

regimental /ˌredʒɪˈmentl/

adj. 团队的；军团的；严格的➕

🔊

staff-officer /ˈstɑːf ˌɒfɪsər/

n. 参谋军官➕

🔊 "Very glad to see you! To be sure! I remember you very well. Last year at our district marshal, Nikolay Ivanovitch's." "Well, and how is your land doing?" asked Levin. "Oh, still just the same, always at a loss," the landowner answered with a resigned smile, but with an expression of serenity and conviction that so it must be. "And how do you come to be in our province?" he asked. "Come to take part in our coup d'état?" he said, confidently pronouncing the French words with a bad accent. "All Russia's here--gentlemen of the bedchamber, and everything short of the ministry." He pointed to the imposing figure of Stepan Arkadyevitch in white trousers and his court uniform, walking by with a general.

“很高兴见到您！当然！我记得很清楚。去年在我们县首席贵族尼古拉·伊万诺维奇家里。”“哦,您的庄园怎么样了？”列文问道。“唉,还是老样子,总是亏本,”地主带着无奈的微笑答道,但神情平静而笃定,仿佛这是理所当然的。“您怎么到我们省里来了？”他问道。“是来参加我们的政变吗？”他自信地用法语词念得不准的音调说。“全俄罗斯都在这里了--从内侍到各部大臣以下的所有人。”他指了指穿着白裤子和宫廷制服、与一位将军一同走过的斯捷潘·阿尔卡季耶维奇那气派的身影。

🔊

marshal /ˈmɑːrʃl/

n. 元帅；地方法官；司仪➕

🔊

resigned /rɪˈzaɪnd/

adj. 顺从的；辞任的➕

🔊

serenity /səˈrenəti/

n. 宁静,沉着➕

🔊

conviction /kənˈvɪkʃn/

n. 信念,确信；定罪➕

🔊

coup d'état /kuː deɪˈtɑː/

n. 政变➕

🔊

imposing /ɪmˈpoʊzɪŋ/

adj. 壮观的,令人印象深刻的➕

🔊

bedchamber /ˈbedtʃeɪmbər/

n. 卧室；（宫廷）内侍➕

🔊

court uniform /kɔːrt ˈjuːnɪfɔːrm/

n. 宫廷制服➕

🔊 "I ought to own that I don't very well understand the drift of the provincial elections," said Levin. The landowner looked at him. "Why, what is there to understand? There's no meaning in it at all. It's a decaying institution that goes on running only by the force of inertia. Just look, the very uniforms tell you that it's an assembly of justices of the peace, permanent members of the court, and so on, but not of noblemen." "Then why do you come?" asked Levin. "From habit, nothing else. Then, too, one must keep up connections. It's a moral obligation of a sort. And then, to tell the truth, there's one's own interests. My son-in-law wants to stand as a permanent member; they're not rich people, and he must be brought forward. These gentlemen, now, what do they come for?" he said, pointing to the malignant gentleman, who was talking at the high table. "That's the new generation of nobility." "New it may be, but nobility it isn't. They're proprietors of a sort, but we're the landowners. As noblemen, they're cutting their own throats." "But you say it's an institution that's served its time." "That it may be, but still it ought to be treated a little more respectfully. Snetkov, now... We may be of use, or we may not, but we're the growth of a thousand years. If we're laying out a garden, planning one before the house, you know, and there you've a tree that's stood for centuries in the very spot... Old and gnarled it may be, and yet you don't cut down the old fellow to make room for the flowerbeds, but lay out your beds so as to take advantage of the tree. You won't grow him again in a year," he said cautiously, and he immediately changed the conversation. "Well, and how is your land doing?" "Oh, not very well. I make five per cent." "Yes, but you don't reckon your own work. Aren't you worth something too? I'll tell you my own case. Before I took to seeing after the land, I had a salary of three hundred pounds from the service. Now I do more work than I did in the service, and like you I get five per cent. on the land, and thank God for that. But one's work is thrown in for nothing." "Then why do you do it, if it's a clear loss?" "Oh, well, one does it! What would you have? It's habit, and one knows it's how it should be. And what's more," the landowner went on, leaning his elbows on the window and chatting on, "my son, I must tell you, has no taste for it. There's no doubt he'll be a scientific man. So there'll be no one to keep it up. And yet one does it. Here this year I've planted an orchard."

“我得承认,我不太明白这次省选举的用意。”列文说道。地主看着他。“呃,有什么不明白的？根本没什么意义。这是个日渐衰败的体制,全靠惯性在维持。你看,光那制服就告诉你,这是个治安法官、常任法院成员之类的集会,而不是贵族的集会。”“那您为什么来呢？”列文问道。“出于习惯,没别的。还有,得保持联系。算是一种道德义务吧。而且,说实话,也有自己的利益在里面。我女婿想竞选常任委员；他们家不富裕,得帮他一把。至于这些先生,他们又是来干什么的呢？”他指着那位在高桌前慷慨激昂的恶狠狠绅士说。“那是新派贵族。”“新或许是新的,但算不上贵族。他们算是某种产业主,而我们才是地主。作为贵族,他们这是在自取灭亡。”“可您说这是个过时的体制。”“也许吧,但还是应该对它尊重些。就说斯涅特科夫吧……我们也许有用,也许没用,但我们是千年生长的结果。好比你在宅前规划一个花园,那地方有棵长了几个世纪的老树……也许它又老又歪,可你不会为了给花坛腾地方而砍掉这老家伙,而是会利用这棵树来布置花坛。这树可不是一年就能再长出来的。”他谨慎地说,然后立刻改变了话题。“哦,您的庄园怎么样了？”“唉,不太好。我只有百分之五的收益。”“是啊,可你没算上自己的劳动。你自己难道不值钱吗？我跟你说说我的情况。在我打理庄园之前,我在公职上有三百英镑的年薪。现在我比当公务员时干得还多,却和你一样,在土地上只得到百分之五的收益,还要感谢上帝。但自己的劳动是白送的。”“那如果明显亏本,您为什么还要干呢？”“唉,总得干啊！有什么办法？是习惯,而且知道就该这么做。再说了,”地主靠着窗台,肘部撑在上面,继续聊着,“我儿子,我得告诉你,对这不感兴趣。他毫无疑问会成为一个科学家。所以将来没人继承这产业。可我还是在干。今年我还在果园里栽了树。”

🔊

drift /drɪft/

n. 主旨,趋势；漂流➕

🔊

provincial /prəˈvɪnʃl/

adj. 省的；地方的；偏狭的➕

🔊

decaying /dɪˈkeɪɪŋ/

adj. 衰败的,腐烂的➕

🔊

inertia /ɪˈnɜːrʃə/

n. 惯性；惰性➕

🔊

malignant /məˈlɪɡnənt/

adj. 恶意的；恶性的（疾病）➕

🔊

gnarled /nɑːrld/

adj. 多节瘤的；粗糙的➕

🔊

cautiously /ˈkɔːʃəsli/

adv. 谨慎地➕

🔊

obligation /ˌɒblɪˈɡeɪʃn/

n. 义务,责任➕

🔊

proprietors /prəˈpraɪətərz/

n. 所有者,业主➕

🔊

justices of the peace /ˈdʒʌstɪsɪz ʌv ðə piːs/

n. 治安法官➕

🔊 "Yes, yes," said Levin, "that's perfectly true. I always feel there's no real balance of gain in my work on the land, and yet one does it... It's a sort of duty one feels to the land." "But I tell you what," the landowner pursued; "a neighbor of mine, a merchant, was at my place. We walked about the fields and the garden. 'No,' said he, 'Stepan Vassilievitch, everything's well looked after, but your garden's neglected.' But, as a fact, it's well kept up. 'To my thinking, I'd cut down that lime-tree. Here you've thousands of limes, and each would make two good bundles of bark. And nowadays that bark's worth something. I'd cut down the lot.'" "And with what he made he'd increase his stock, or buy some land for a trifle, and let it out in lots to the peasants," Levin added, smiling. He had evidently more than once come across those commercial calculations. "And he'd make his fortune. But you and I must thank God if we keep what we've got and leave it to our children." "You're married, I've heard?" said the landowner. "Yes," Levin answered, with proud satisfaction. "Yes, it's rather strange," he went on. "So we live without making anything, as though we were ancient vestals set to keep in a fire." The landowner chuckled under his white moustaches. "There are some among us, too, like our friend Nikolay Ivanovitch, or Count Vronsky, that's settled here lately, who try to carry on their husbandry as though it were a factory; but so far it leads to nothing but making away with capital on it." "But why is it we don't do like the merchants? Why don't we cut down our parks for timber?" said Levin, returning to a thought that had struck him. "Why, as you said, to keep the fire in. Besides that's not work for a nobleman. And our work as noblemen isn't done here at the elections, but yonder, each in our corner. There's a class instinct, too, of what one ought and oughtn't to do. There's the peasants, too, I wonder at them sometimes; any good peasant tries to take all the land he can. However bad the land is, he'll work it. Without a return too. At a simple loss." "Just as we do," said Levin. "Very, very glad to have met you," he added, seeing Sviazhsky approaching him. "And here we've met for the first time since we met at your place," said the landowner to Sviazhsky, "and we've had a good talk too." "Well, have you been attacking the new order of things?" said Sviazhsky with a smile. "That we're bound to do." "You've relieved your feelings?"

“是啊,是啊,”列文说,“确实如此。我总觉得我在庄园上的劳动没有真正的收益平衡,可我还是在干……好像是对土地的一种责任感。”“不过我告诉你,”地主接着说,“我有个邻居,是个商人,到我这儿来过。我们在地里和花园里散步。他说:‘不,斯捷潘·瓦西里耶维奇,一切都打理得很好,就是您的花园荒废了。’可事实上,它维护得很好。‘依我看,我会砍掉那棵椴树。您这里有几千棵椴树,每棵能做两捆好树皮。如今树皮可值钱了。我会把它们全砍光。’”“然后用赚来的钱增加牲畜,或者低价买些地,再分租给农民。”列文微笑着补充道。他显然不止一次遇到过这种商业算计。“然后他就会发财。可我们得感谢上帝,只要能保住现有的,留给孩子们就满足了。”“我听说您结婚了？”地主说道。“是的,”列文带着自豪的满足回答。“是啊,真有点奇怪,”他继续说,“我们就这样不赚钱地活着,就像古代的贞女,被派去看守圣火。”地主在白胡子下面笑起来。“我们中间有些人,比如我们的朋友尼古拉·伊万诺维奇,或者最近定居在这里的弗龙斯基伯爵,想把自己的农事搞得像工厂一样,但到目前为止,除了把本钱赔进去,什么也没得到。”“可是我们为什么不学那些商人呢？为什么不砍掉我们的公园当木材？”列文又回到那个让他感触的想法上。“呃,正如你所说,为了看守圣火。再说,那不是贵族该干的活儿。我们贵族的活儿不是在这里的选举上干的,而是在那边,各人回到自己的角落。也还有一种阶级本能,知道什么该做什么不该做。还有那些农民,有时我真觉得奇怪；任何一个好农民都会尽量多弄些地。不管地多差,他都会去种。也是没有回报。纯粹是亏本。”“就像我们一样。”列文说。“非常非常高兴见到您。”他看到斯维亚日斯基走近,补充道。“自从在您家见过之后,这是我们第一次见面,”地主对斯维亚日斯基说,“我们聊得不错。”“怎么,您又在攻击新秩序了？”斯维亚日斯基微笑着说。“那是我们必做的事。”“您心里舒服了吧？”

🔊

pursued /pərˈsjuːd/

v. 继续；追求；追赶➕

🔊

neglected /nɪˈɡlektɪd/

adj. 被忽视的,荒芜的➕

🔊

bundles /ˈbʌndlz/

n. 捆,束➕

🔊

trifle /ˈtraɪfl/

n. 少量,琐事；不重要的东西➕

🔊

chuckled /ˈtʃʌkld/

v. 轻笑,低声笑➕

🔊

husbandry /ˈhʌzbəndri/

n. 农业,畜牧业；管理➕

🔊

timber /ˈtɪmbər/

n. 木材,木料➕

🔊

instinct /ˈɪnstɪŋkt/

n. 本能,直觉➕

🔊

bound /baʊnd/

adj. 必然的；受约束的➕

🔊

relieved /rɪˈliːvd/

v. 缓解,使放心➕

Part Six – Chapter 29 (第二十九章)

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