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● indulged in：任性而为。用了indulge in以后，所做的事情大约并不是一件好事；即使并不是坏事，至少也应该加以节制而少去做它的。照毛姆的意思，讲学的时候多做手势一事并不可取，但是康德很少有这个毛病。enlivened：使活泼有趣。discourse：讲演。illustrations：实例，用以说明理论者。
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● he did not like it之it指学生勤记笔记这种情形。quills：鸟羽笔。
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● scratch原意是“扒，搔”，转作“像扒搔似的写字”：乱写，急写。
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● oracle：代表天神发言之人。这种人的话才是值得一字不漏地记下来的。
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It was his custom to fix his eyes on a student who sat close to him and judge by the look on his face whether or not he understood what he said. But a very small thing distracted him. On one occasion he lost the thread of his discourse because a button was wanting on the coat of one of the students, and on another, when a sleepy youth persistently yawned, he broke off to say:
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“If one cannot avoid yawning, good manners require that the hand should be placed before the mouth.”
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● custom：习惯。judge：判断（前面的to省去），它的宾语是“whether”clause。
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● distracted him：分他的心。
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● thread：线索。lost the thread of his discourse：演讲断了线索，讲不下去了。a button was wanting on the coat：上衣上面少了一个钮扣。注意：中文说法用“上衣”做主语，英文常用“钮扣”做主语。
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● persistently：（坚持）不断的。yawned：打呵欠。broke off to say：打断了话锋，改讲另外一件事情。
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● avoid：避免。good manners：礼貌。“假如呵欠非打不可的话，照规矩手也得捂在嘴上的。”这是一句幽默的话，幽默之所以为幽默，这里也不妨试一试探求其原因：一、康德看见那人不断地打呵欠，心里也许很不高兴，但是他宽恕他的打呵欠，只是批评他不该不把嘴捂上。他的宽容也许是勉强的，他的批评只是避重就轻。但是这种勉强的宽容精神和避重就轻的批评，假如表现得好的话，往往就成了幽默。二、这句话本来是专指某一个人说的，可是康德并不讲明是谁，先用的是one（任何人），后面连one都不用了，只是说good manners require that the hand…根本没有提什么人。这样把“专指”化为“泛指”，就显得更为气度雍容。假如改说“…one should place one’s hand…”，就似乎带点声色俱厉的样子，还不足以言幽默也。
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At nine o’clock Kant returned to his room, once more put on his dressing-gown, his night-cap, his three-cornered hat and his slippers and studied till exactly a quarter to one. Then he called down to his cook, told her the hour, dressed and went back to his study to await the guests he expected to dinner.
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● called down to his cook：他的厨子可能在楼下。he expected to dinner是定语从句，关系代名词whom省却。dinner：一天中主要的一餐。
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He could not bear to eat alone, and there were always guests, never less than two nor more than five. As soon as they were assembled Kant told his servant to bring the dinner and himself went to fetch the silver spoons which he kept locked up with his money in a bureau in the parlour.
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● bear：忍受。
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● assembled：到齐了。bureau：有抽屉之写字台（英国用法；此字在美国作“衣柜”解，毛姆为英人，故此外采用英国解释）。parlour：普通住宅之起居室，兼作会客之用。（正式会客室为drawing room，大抵华丽住宅中始有之。）
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The party seated themselves in the dining-room and with the words: “Now, gentlemen,” Kant set to. The meal was substantial. It was the only one he ate in the day, and consisted of soup, dried pulse with fish, roast, cheese to end with and fruit when in season. Before each guest was placed a pint bottle of red wine and a pint bottle of white so that he could drink whichever he liked.
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● set to：开始，发动。这里当然是开始用膳，相当于中文的“动筷”。
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● the only one=the only meal：一天就吃这么一顿。早晨他单喝淡茶抽板烟，前面已经说过了。
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● pulse：豆类（黄豆、豌豆、蚕豆等，凡是可当饭菜吃的豆都可用这个字）。roast：烤肉。cheese to end with：末道菜是干酪。in season：时鲜的。pint bottle：可容一品脱之瓶。（按pint之i读长音/ai/，为液体之容量，中国人饮牛奶常以“磅”为单位，其实所谓半磅牛奶即是半pint。）wine：葡萄酒。客人面前红白葡萄酒各置一瓶，听凭自择。
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Kant was fond of talking, but preferred to talk alone, and if interrupted or contradicted was apt to show displeasure; his conversation, however, was so agreeable that none minded if he monopolized it. He would also tell humorous stories, of which he had a rich supply and which he told uncommonly well, so, he said, “that the repast may end with laughter, which is calculated to promote digestion.”
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● if interrupted or contradicted：他的话假如给人打断了，或是给人驳回去了。was apt to的主语是句首的Kant。displeasure：不悦之色。
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● agreeable：可喜，有趣。monopolized：独占；后随的it代表conversation。即使他一个人发言，不容别人插嘴，别人也不会见怪（minded）。
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● of which he had a rich supply：他的笑话储藏很多。
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● so, he said, “that…“中之he said是插句，so跟着后面的that一起走。repast=meal。calculated：预计可以（有某种结果）。to promote digestion：帮助消化。
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