1705006202
● He laughed后面跟一个逗点，这表示that pleasant, hearty laugh并不是laughed的宾语，（没有那个逗点，laugh就成了laughed的宾语）。现在这样标点法，that pleasant, hearty laugh该是一个补充说明（parenthetical）的短语，说明laughed的。
1705006203
1705006204
● the less said：关于艺术家本人，愈少讲起他愈好。艺术家的贡献是他的艺术，我们只须注意他的艺术，不必注意他的本人。
1705006205
1705006206
All but breathless, thrilled to her fingertips, Alice Harvey was only able to ask: “Why do you say that?”
1705006207
1705006208
“Well, I don’t mean to hold the floor too much, but the artist is both scoundrel and angel.” He’s gifted and cursed, happy and in despair, parasitic and productive, neurotic and brilliant, antisocial and socially aware to the very heart of him—and always intensely interesting, because there’s a little of the artist in us all. Biddy used to say “Give me the man of talent to act with, but the mediocrity to live with—every time.”
1705006209
1705006210
● All but：差不多，几乎（作副词用）。breathless：透不过气来。她并没有真的透不过气来的，但是除此以外，一切透不过气来的现象都有了。又例：all but drowned（几乎淹死）。
1705006211
1705006212
● thrilled：激动。前面那个伶人的一段话，在她是闻所未闻，她听见了全身颤动，一直到手指尖都有一种异样的感觉。她开不出口，只能问这么一句话。
1705006213
1705006214
● floor：国会里发表议论的地方。take the floor：发言，参加讨论。hold the floor：老是一个人在讲，不让别人发言。scoundrel：坏人。注意：scoundrel和angel连用，因此前面没有冠词a。在两个或两个以上的noun连用时，通常不用a或an，例如：We are brother and sister.
1705006215
1705006216
● 艺术家（the artist中的冠词the并不表示某一个艺术家，而是表示这一类的人）是有矛盾的性格的，说他可恨（scoundrel）固然可以，说他可爱（angel）也可以。
1705006217
1705006218
● gifted和cursed二字都是从过去分词转化而成的形容词。假如问：By whom is he gifted and cursed? 我看是by God。gifted：天赋独厚的。cursed：受诅咒的，上帝规定艺术家不得过好日子。
1705006219
1705006220
● 艺术家是幸福的人，也是没有希望的人；他是社会的寄生虫，同时也是有创造天才的人；他神经失常，可是又是才华出众；他离群索居，不喜社交，可是心底里决丢不掉社会。socially aware：有“社会意识”；明白个人对于社会的责任等等。
1705006221
1705006222
● interesting：艺术家总是可以引起人家很大的兴趣，因为我们谁都有一点儿“艺术家的气质”（a little of the artist）。
1705006223
1705006224
● Biddy那句话可以这么译：“同我一起演戏的，我希望是一个天才；和我共同生活的，我希望是个庸人。”艺术家或天才固然有趣，但是平常是很难处的。mediocrity=a person of but moderate ability：才艺平庸之人。
1705006225
1705006226
“Biddy? Was she your wife?”
1705006227
1705006228
“Good heavens no! Biddy was the glamorous, the beauteous Constance Hope. Juliet herself.”
1705006229
1705006230
“But—why Biddy? Was that really her nickname?”
1705006231
1705006232
“It’s what I called her. You see, Biddy was fifteen years older than I. Forty-seven when we played Shakespeare.”
1705006233
1705006234
● 这位伶人脱口而出地说起了Biddy这个名字。这是个昵称，又像是个女人的名字，无怪听的人以为是他太太的名字了。
1705006235
1705006236
● glamorous：美得迷人的。glamorous原义是“有魔力的”，有些出版较早的字典，恐怕还只列这样一个解释。近年来这个字似乎专指“惑阳城，迷下蔡”的那种“妖艳”，和“魔法，妖法”已经脱离关系了。beauteous用作“美”解，则古人诗中常见，是一个比较有书卷气的字眼。总之，glamorous（作这个解释）是个通俗的新字，beauteous是个古雅的老字，这位伶人是这两种字都喜欢用。
1705006237
1705006238
Alice Harvey shook her head in bewilderment, and then, in spite of herself, she laughed; but only because it was also fantastic, beyond belief. “About that business of make-believe,” she managed to say, “do you really, Mr. Douglas, do you actually expect me to take you seriously when—” She flushed, trying to find an illustration for what she meant. “Well, for instance, the thrilling scene where Juliet comes on alone and launches that long speech that ends with something like
1705006239
1705006240
Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,
1705006241
1705006242
Take him and cut him out in little stars,…
1705006243
1705006244
I mean, do you actually mean to sit there and tell us, Mr. Douglas, that—that Constance Hope wasn’t moved when she spoke those lines? Wasn’t carried away?”
1705006245
1705006246
● 舞台上的朱丽叶，事实上已经是四十七岁的中年妇人了，难怪我们这位女主人摇摇她的头，不知所措了。
1705006247
1705006248
● in spite of herself：不能控制自己。
1705006249
1705006250
● 四十七岁的妇人能演十四岁的朱丽叶，而且演得非常之好，看戏的人大受感动，现在想想，未免好笑。但是另外还有一点可笑之处（because…also）：虽然这位伶人不会骗人，但事情毕竟荒唐（fantastic），令人难以置信。
1705006251
[
上一页 ]
[ :1.705006202e+09 ]
[
下一页 ]