🔊 As he neared Petersburg, Alexey Alexandrovitch not only adhered entirely to his decision, but was even composing in his head the letter he would write to his wife. Going into the porter’s room, Alexey Alexandrovitch glanced at the letters and papers brought from his office, and directed that they should be brought to him in his study.

当他临近彼得堡时,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇不仅完全坚持自己的决定,甚至在心里构想着要写给妻子的信。走进门房,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇瞥了一眼从办公室送来的信件和文件,吩咐将它们拿到他的书房去。

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adhered /ədˈhɪəd/

v. 坚持；粘附➕

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composing /kəmˈpəʊzɪŋ/

v. 创作；构成➕

🔊 “The horses can be taken out and I will see no one,” he said in answer to the porter, with a certain pleasure, indicative of his agreeable frame of mind, emphasizing the words, “see no one.”

“马匹可以卸下,我不见任何人,”他对门房说,带着某种愉快,表明他心情舒畅,特意强调了“不见任何人”这几个字。

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indicative /ɪnˈdɪkətɪv/

adj. 指示的；表明的➕

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agreeable /əˈɡriːəbl/

adj. 令人愉快的；合意的➕

🔊 In his study Alexey Alexandrovitch walked up and down twice, and stopped at an immense writing-table, on which six candles had already been lighted by the valet who had preceded him. He cracked his knuckles and sat down, sorting out his writing appurtenances. Putting his elbows on the table, he bent his head on one side, thought a minute, and began to write, without pausing for a second. He wrote without using any form of address to her, and wrote in French, making use of the plural “vous,” which has not the same note of coldness as the corresponding Russian form.

在书房里,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇来回踱了两步,停在一张大写字台前,台上六支蜡烛已被先到的仆人点燃。他扳了扳手指关节,坐下来,整理好文具。他将胳膊肘支在桌上,歪着头想了想,然后开始不停地写。他没有用任何称呼,而是用法语写,使用了复数形式的“您”,这在法语中没有俄语相应形式那种冷冰冰的意味。

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immense /ɪˈmens/

adj. 巨大的；无限的➕

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appurtenances /əˈpɜːtɪnənsɪz/

n. 附属物；配件➕

🔊 At our last conversation, I notified you of my intention to communicate to you my decision in regard to the subject of that conversation. Having carefully considered everything, I am writing now with the object of fulfilling that promise. My decision is as follows. Whatever your conduct may have been, I do not consider myself justified in breaking the ties in which we are bound by a Higher Power. The family cannot be broken up by a whim, a caprice, or even by the sin of one of the partners in the marriage, and our life must go on as it has done in the past. This is essential for me, for you, and for our son. I am fully persuaded that you have repented and do repent of what has called forth the present letter, and that you will cooperate with me in eradicating the cause of our estrangement, and forgetting the past. In the contrary event, you can conjecture what awaits you and your son. All this I hope to discuss more in detail in a personal interview. As the season is drawing to a close, I would beg you to return to Petersburg as quickly as possible, not later than Tuesday. All necessary preparations shall be made for your arrival here. I beg you to note that I attach particular significance to compliance with this request.

上次谈话时,我曾告知您,我将就谈话主题向您传达我的决定。经过仔细考虑,我现在写信正是为了履行这一承诺。我的决定如下:无论您的行为如何,我不认为自己有权打破更高力量所缔结的纽带。家庭不能因一时的任性、反复无常、甚至婚姻一方的罪而破裂,我们的生活必须像过去一样继续下去。这对您、对我、对我们的儿子都至关重要。我完全相信,您已经并且正在为引发这封信的行为感到悔过,您将与我合作,消除我们疏远的根源,并忘记过去。反之,您可以想象等待您和您儿子的将是什么。所有这一切,我希望在面谈时更详细地讨论。由于社交季即将结束,我恳请您尽快返回彼得堡,最迟不晚于星期二。您抵达这里所需的一切准备都将做好。我请您注意,我特别重视您遵守这一请求。

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whim /wɪm/

n. 一时的兴致；突发奇想➕

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caprice /kəˈpriːs/

n. 反复无常；任性➕

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eradicating /ɪˈrædɪkeɪtɪŋ/

v. 根除；消灭➕

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estrangement /ɪˈstreɪndʒmənt/

n. 疏远；不和➕

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conjecture /kənˈdʒektʃər/

v. 推测；猜测➕

🔊 A. Karenin

阿·卡列宁

🔊 P.S.-I enclose the money which may be needed for your expenses.

附言:随信附上您可能需要支付开销的钱。

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enclose /ɪnˈkləʊz/

v. 随信附上；围住➕

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expenses /ɪkˈspensɪz/

n. 费用；开支➕

🔊 He read the letter through and felt pleased with it, and especially that he had remembered to enclose money: there was not a harsh word, not a reproach in it, nor was there undue indulgence. Most of all, it was a golden bridge for return. Folding the letter and smoothing it with a massive ivory knife, and putting it in an envelope with the money, he rang the bell with the gratification it always afforded him to use the well arranged appointments of his writing-table.

他把信读了一遍,感到很满意,尤其满意自己还记得附上了钱:信中没有一句严厉的话,没有责备,也没有过分的宽容。最重要的是,这是一座供她回归的金桥。他把信折好,用一把沉甸甸的象牙裁纸刀压平,连同钱一起装进信封,然后拉了拉铃,他每次使用写字台上摆放整齐的文具时都感到一种满足。

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harsh /hɑːʃ/

adj. 严厉的；刺耳的➕

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reproach /rɪˈprəʊtʃ/

n. 责备；耻辱➕

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indulgence /ɪnˈdʌldʒəns/

n. 放纵；宽容➕

🔊 “Give this to the courier to be delivered to Anna Arkadyevna tomorrow at the summer villa,” he said, getting up.

“把这个交给信使,明天送到别墅交给安娜·阿尔卡季耶夫娜,”他站起身来说。

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courier /ˈkʊriər/

n. 信使；快递员➕

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villa /ˈvɪlə/

n. 别墅；乡间别墅➕

🔊 “Certainly, your excellency; tea to be served in the study?”

“遵命,大人。茶要送到书房吗？”

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excellency /ˈeksələnsi/

n. 阁下（尊称）➕

阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇吩咐把茶送到书房,手里把玩着那把沉甸甸的裁纸刀,走向扶手椅,旁边已经为他准备好了台灯和他开始阅读的那本法文著作《埃及象形文字》。扶手椅上方,一个金色画框里挂着安娜的椭圆形肖像,是一位著名画家的杰作。阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇瞥了一眼。那双深邃的眼睛带着嘲讽和无礼的神情看着他。在阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇眼中,画家精妙勾勒的黑蕾丝头饰、乌黑的头发和戴着戒指、竖起一根手指的雪白纤手,显得令人难以忍受的无礼和挑衅。他看了肖像片刻,猛地打了个寒颤,嘴唇颤抖起来,发出“噗”的一声,随即转过脸去。他赶紧坐到扶手椅上,翻开书。他试图读下去,却无法重新唤起之前对埃及象形文字那种强烈的兴趣。他看着书,心里却想着别的事。他想的不是妻子,而是公务上出现的一个复杂问题,这问题当时正是他公务兴趣之所在。他觉得,自己比以往更深入地洞察了这个错综复杂的事件,并且想出了一个主导性想法--他可以毫不自夸地说--这个想法旨在澄清整个问题,巩固他的官场地位,挫败他的敌人,从而为政府带来最大的利益。仆人刚摆好茶点、离开房间,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇就站起身,走到写字台前。他将一叠文件移到桌子中央,带着几乎难以察觉的自满微笑,从笔架上拿起一支铅笔,埋头研读一份与当前复杂问题相关的复杂报告。这个复杂问题的性质是这样的:作为一位政治家,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇的独特品质--每一位冉冉升起的官员所具备的那种特殊个人素质,正是这种素质,加上他永不满足的雄心、他的谨慎、他的诚实和他的自信,成就了他的仕途--就是他对官僚文牍主义的蔑视、对通信往来的精简、以及在可能情况下直接接触实际情况的作风,以及他的节约。恰好著名的六月二日委员会已着手调查扎赖斯克省的土地灌溉问题,该问题属于阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇的部门管辖,是一个徒然耗费财力、纸上谈兵的典型例子。阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇深知这一点。

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portrait /ˈpɔːtrɪt/

n. 肖像；画像➕

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celebrated /ˈselɪbreɪtɪd/

adj. 著名的；驰名的➕

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unfathomable /ʌnˈfæðəməbl/

adj. 深不可测的；难以理解的➕

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intricate /ˈɪntrɪkət/

adj. 错综复杂的；精细的➕

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discomfit /dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/

v. 使窘迫；使为难➕

🔊 The irrigation of these lands in the Zaraisky province had been initiated by the predecessor of Alexey Alexandrovitch’s predecessor. And vast sums of money had actually been spent and were still being spent on this business, and utterly unproductively, and the whole business could obviously lead to nothing whatever. Alexey Alexandrovitch had perceived this at once on entering office, and would have liked to lay hands on the Board of Irrigation. But at first, when he did not yet feel secure in his position, he knew it would affect too many interests, and would be injudicious. Later on he had been engrossed in other questions, and had simply forgotten the Board of Irrigation. It went of itself, like all such boards, by the mere force of inertia. (Many people gained their livelihood by the Board of Irrigation, especially one highly conscientious and musical family: all the daughters played on stringed instruments, and Alexey Alexandrovitch knew the family and had stood godfather to one of the elder daughters.) The raising of this question by a hostile department was in Alexey Alexandrovitch’s opinion a dishonorable proceeding, seeing that in every department there were things similar and worse, which no one inquired into, for well-known reasons of official etiquette. However, now that the glove had been thrown down to him, he had boldly picked it up and demanded the appointment of a special commission to investigate and verify the working of the Board of Irrigation of the lands in the Zaraisky province. But in compensation he gave no quarter to the enemy either. He demanded the appointment of another special commission to inquire into the question of the Native Tribes Organization Committee. The question of the Native Tribes had been brought up incidentally in the Commission of the 2nd of June, and had been pressed forward actively by Alexey Alexandrovitch as one admitting of no delay on account of the deplorable condition of the native tribes. In the commission this question had been a ground of contention between several departments. The department hostile to Alexey Alexandrovitch proved that the condition of the native tribes was exceedingly flourishing, that the proposed reconstruction might be the ruin of their prosperity, and that if there were anything wrong, it arose mainly from the failure on the part of Alexey Alexandrovitch’s department to carry out the measures prescribed by law.

扎赖斯克省的土地灌溉工作是由阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇前任的前任发起的。大量资金实际上已经并且仍在耗费在这项工作上,却毫无成效,整个项目显然不会有任何结果。阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇一上任就意识到了这一点,本想对灌溉局采取行动。但起初,当他觉得自己的地位还不够稳固时,他知道这会影响太多利益,不够明智。后来,他忙于其他问题,便把灌溉局的事忘了。就像所有这类委员会一样,它仅仅凭借惯性自行运转。（许多人靠灌溉局谋生,尤其是一个极其认真、爱好音乐的家庭:所有女儿都弹弦乐器,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇认识这家人,还做了大女儿的教父。）在阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇看来,敌对部门提出这个问题是一种不光彩的行为,因为每个部门都有类似甚至更糟的问题,但出于众所周知的官场礼节,没有人去调查。然而,既然挑战已向他抛出,他勇敢地捡起了手套,要求任命一个特别委员会来调查和核实扎赖斯克省土地灌溉局的工作情况。但作为补偿,他对敌人也毫不手软。他要求任命另一个特别委员会来调查土著部落组织委员会的问题。土著问题在六月二日委员会中被偶然提起,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇积极推动,认为鉴于土著部落的悲惨状况,此事刻不容缓。在委员会中,这个问题成了几个部门之间的争论点。敌对阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇的部门证明,土著部落的状况极其繁荣,拟议的改革可能毁掉他们的福祉,而且如果有什么问题,主要源于阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇的部门未能执行法律规定的措施。

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predecessor /ˈpriːdɪsesər/

n. 前任；前辈➕

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initiated /ɪˈnɪʃieɪtɪd/

v. 开始；发起➕

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injudicious /ˌɪndʒuˈdɪʃəs/

adj. 不明智的；欠考虑的➕

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inertia /ɪˈnɜːʃə/

n. 惯性；惰性➕

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conscientious /ˌkɒnʃiˈenʃəs/

adj. 认真负责的；一丝不苟的➕

🔊 Now Alexey Alexandrovitch intended to demand: First, that a new commission should be formed which should be empowered to investigate the condition of the native tribes on the spot; secondly, if it should appear that the condition of the native tribes actually was such as it appeared to be from the official documents in the hands of the committee, that another new scientific commission should be appointed to investigate the deplorable condition of the native tribes from the (1) political, (2) administrative, (3) economic, (4) ethnographical, (5) material, and (6) religious points of view; thirdly, that evidence should be required from the rival department of the measures that had been taken during the last ten years by that department for averting the disastrous conditions in which the native tribes were now placed; and fourthly and finally, that that department explain why it had, as appeared from the evidence before the committee, from No. 17,015 and 18,038, from December 5, 1863, and June 7, 1864, acted in direct contravention of the intent of the law T... Act 18, and the note to Act 36. A flash of eagerness suffused the face of Alexey Alexandrovitch as he rapidly wrote out a synopsis of these ideas for his own benefit. Having filled a sheet of paper, he got up, rang, and sent a note to the chief secretary of his department to look up certain necessary facts for him. Getting up and walking about the room, he glanced again at the portrait, frowned, and smiled contemptuously. After reading a little more of the book on Egyptian hieroglyphics, and renewing his interest in it, Alexey Alexandrovitch went to bed at eleven o’clock, and recollecting as he lay in bed the incident with his wife, he saw it now in by no means such a gloomy light.

现在,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇打算要求:第一,成立一个新的委员会,授权实地调查土著部落的状况；第二,如果土著部落的状况果然如委员会掌握的官方文件所示,则任命另一个新的科学委员会,从（1）政治、（2）行政、（3）经济、（4）民族志、（5）物质和（6）宗教角度调查土著部落的悲惨状况；第三,要求敌对部门提供证据,说明该部门在过去十年中为防止土著部落目前所处的灾难性状况所采取的措施；第四点也是最后一点,要求该部门解释为何根据委员会掌握的证据（1863年12月5日第17,015号文件和1864年6月7日第18,038号文件）,其行为直接违反了法律第18号法令及第36号法令附注的意图。阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇迅速为自己写下这些想法的概要,脸上掠过一丝迫切的热忱。写完一页纸,他站起身,拉了拉铃,给部门的首席秘书送去一张便条,让他查找某些必要的事实。他站起来在房间里踱步,再次看了一眼肖像,皱起眉头,轻蔑地笑了笑。他又读了一会儿那本关于埃及象形文字的书,重新燃起了兴趣,阿列克谢·亚历山德罗维奇在十一点上床睡觉,躺在床上回想与妻子之间的事,此时他看到的景象已远非那般黯淡。

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empowered /ɪmˈpaʊəd/

adj. 被授权的；能够的➕

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contravention /ˌkɒntrəˈvenʃn/

n. 违反；抵触➕

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synopsis /sɪˈnɒpsɪs/

n. 摘要；大纲➕

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gloomy /ˈɡluːmi/

adj. 阴暗的；忧郁的➕

Part Three – Chapter fourteen (第十四章)

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