LAUGHTER, 1920. part 5

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LAUGHTER, 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

Nor does it seem to me to matter one jot how such laughter is achieved. Humour may rollick on high planes of fantasy or in depths of silliness. To many people it appeals only from those depths. If it appeal to them irresistibly, they are more enviable than those who are sensitive only to the finer kind of joke and not so sensitive as to be mastered and dissolved by it. Laughter is a thing to be rated according to its own intensity.

至於此類大笑如何可得我亦毫不在乎。幽默能遨遊在高等幻想或低級愚蠢之中。對很多人來說，只能從低級的那種而得。但若他們因此而樂得不可遏抑，倒挺叫人羨慕，相較於只對較精細笑話有感覺，而且又不至敏感到被該笑話所征服與感動的人們來說。大笑是一種依據其自身強度而分高下的事情。

Many years ago I wrote an essay in which I poured scorn on the fun purveyed by the music halls, and on the great public for which that fun was quite good enough. I take that callow scorn back. I fancy that the fun itself was better than it seemed to me, and might not have displeased me if it had been wafted to me in private, in presence of a few friends. A public crowd, because of a lack of broad impersonal humanity in me, rather insulates than absorbs me. Amidst the guffaws of a thousand strangers I become unnaturally grave. If these people were the entertainment, and I the audience, I should be sympathetic enough. But to be one of them is a position that drives me spiritually aloof. Also, there is to me something rather dreary in the notion of going anywhere for the specific purpose of being amused. I prefer that laughter shall take me unawares. Only so can it master and dissolve me. And in this respect, at any rate, I am not peculiar. In music halls and such places, you may hear loud laughter, but — not see silent laughter, not see strong men weak, helpless, suffering, gradually convalescent, dangerously relapsing. Laughter at its greatest and best is not there.

多年前，我寫了篇蔑視歌廳所供應的娛樂的文章，這些娛樂對大眾來說相當足夠。我要收回那不成熟的輕蔑。我想，那些娛樂比我以為的好些，若是在私底下，與三五好友聚在一起，耳邊傳來這些，我也不以為忤。由於性格太有個人色彩，社會大眾不是包容我而是與我隔絕。在千名陌生人的哄笑聲中我顯得嚴肅地不自然。若這些人是娛樂者，而我為觀眾，我應該可以表現出足夠的同情。然而身為他們其中之一員，使我心志孤高。同時，那種為娛樂而專程到某處的想法令我覺得乏味。我寧可大笑是不經意的。惟如此，我才能讓大笑所征服與感動。從這個角度看，我不管怎麼看都不獨特。在歌廳之類的場所，或許你能看到大聲爆笑，但看不到笑到閉氣，使強壯的人變得虛弱，無助，痛苦，漸漸平息又危險的復發。大笑之最大最佳者不在此。

jot [記憶法] [dʒɑt; dʒɔt] 絲毫 (不…) ,一點也 (不…)
rollick [記憶法] [`rɑlɪk; 'rɔlik] 嬉戲; 歡鬧
appeal [記憶法] [ə`pil; ə'pi:l] 有吸引力
enviable [記憶法] [`ɛnvɪəbl; 'ɛnviəbl] 令人羨慕的
master [記憶法] [`mæstɚ; 'mɑ:stə] 支配; 征服
dissolve [記憶法] [dɪ`zɑlv; di'zɔlv] 溶解
intensity [記憶法] [ɪn`tɛnsətɪ; in'tɛnsəti] 強度
pour [記憶法] [por, pɔr, pʊr; pɔ:] 倒出<液體等>
scorn [記憶法] [skɔrn; skɔ:n] 輕蔑,蔑視,嘲笑
purvey [記憶法] [pɚ`vɛ; pə'vɛi] 供應,供給
callow [記憶法] [`kælo; 'kælou] 年輕無經驗的
displeased [記憶法] 不高興的,生氣的
waft [記憶法] [wæft, wɑft; wɑ:ft, wɔft] 使 <東西、氣味等> (隨風) 飄蕩
impersonal [記憶法] [ɪm`pɝsnl; im'pə:snl] 不摻雜個人感情的
insulate [記憶法] [`ɪnsəˌlɛt, `ɪnsjʊ-; 'insjulɛit] 使… 隔絕
guffaw [記憶法] [gʌ`fɔ, gə`fɔ; gʌ'fɔ:] 大笑; 哄笑
aloof [記憶法] [ə`luf; ə'lu:f] 冷漠的,疏遠的
dreary [記憶法] [`drɪrɪ; 'driəri] 無聊的,乏味的
notion [記憶法] [`noʃən; 'nouʃn] 想法,意見
amused [記憶法] 感到有趣的,好玩的
unawares [記憶法] [ˌʌnə`wɛrz; ˌʌnə'wɛəz] 出乎意料地,冷不防地
peculiar [記憶法] [pɪ`kjuljɚ; pi'kju:ljə] 獨特的,專有的
convalescent [記憶法] [ˌkɑnvə`lɛsnt; ˌkɔnvə'lɛsnt] 復原期的,病剛好的
relapsing [記憶法] [醫] 復發的, 回歸的

LAUGHTER, 1920. part 4

網路摘錄文章:

LAUGHTER, 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

But (it seems that I must begin every paragraph by questioning the sincerity of what I have just said) has the gift of laughter been withdrawn from me? I protest that I do still, at the age of forty-seven, laugh often and loud and long. But not, I believe, so long and loud and often as in my less smiling youth. And I am proud, nowadays, of laughing, and grateful to any one who makes me laugh. That is a bad sign. I no longer take laughter as a matter of course. I realise, even after reading M. Bergson on it, how good a thing it is. I am qualified to praise it.

LAUGHTER, 1920. part 3

網路摘錄文章:

LAUGHTER, 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

At least, I say I do so. In point of fact, I have merely smiled. Twenty years ago, ten years ago, I should have laughed, and have professed to you that I had merely smiled. A very young man is not content to be very young, nor even a young man to be young: he wants to share the dignity of his elders. There is no dignity in laughter, there is much of it in smiles. Laughter is but a joyous surrender, smiles give token of mature criticism. It may be that in the early ages of this world there was far more laughter than is to be heard now, and that aeons hence laughter will be obsolete, and smiles universal — every one, always, mildly, slightly, smiling. But it is less useful to speculate as to mankind's past and future than to observe men. And you will have observed with me in the club-room that young men at most times look solemn, whereas old men or men of middle age mostly smile; and also that those young men do often laugh loud and long among themselves, while we others — the gayest and best of us in the most favourable circumstances — seldom achieve more than our habitual act of smiling. Does the sound of that laughter jar on us? Do we liken it to the crackling of thorns under a pot? Let us do so. There is no cheerier sound. But let us not assume it to be the laughter of fools because we sit quiet. It is absurd to disapprove of what one envies, or to wish a good thing were no more because it has passed out of our possession.

LAUGHTER, 1920. part 2

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LAUGHTER, 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

It distresses me, this failure to keep pace with the leaders of thought as they pass into oblivion. It makes me wonder whether I am, after all, an absolute fool. Yet surely I am not that. Tell me of a man or a woman, a place or an event, real or fictitious: surely you will find me a fairly intelligent listener. Any such narrative will present to me some image, and will stir me to not altogether fatuous thoughts. Come to me in some grievous difficulty: I will talk to you like a father, even like a lawyer. I'll be hanged if I haven't a certain mellow wisdom. But if you are by way of weaving theories as to the nature of things in general, and if you want to try those theories on some one who will luminously confirm them or powerfully rend them, I must, with a hang-dog air, warn you that I am not your man. I suffer from a strong suspicion that things in general cannot be accounted for through any formula or set of formulae, and that any one philosophy, howsoever new, is no better than another. That is in itself a sort of philosophy, and I suspect it accordingly; but it has for me the merit of being the only one I can make head or tail of. If you try to expound any other philosophic system to me, you will find not merely that I can detect no flaw in it ( except the one great flaw just suggested), but also that I haven't, after a minute or two, the vaguest notion of what you are driving at. 'Very well,' you say, 'instead of trying to explain all things all at once, I will explain some little, simple, single thing.' It was for sake of such shorn lambs as myself, doubtless, that M. Bergson sat down and wrote about — Laughter. But I have profited by his kindness no more than if he had been treating of the Cosmos. I cannot tread even a limited space of air. I have a gross satisfaction in the crude fact of being on hard ground again, and I utter a coarse peal of — Laughter.

想跟上思想領袖的步調，卻一直到他們都已被遺忘時，尚不可得，真令我苦惱。令我不禁懷疑自己是個不折不扣的笨蛋。然後我當然不是。跟我講一個男人或女人，一個地方或事情，實事或杜撰，你一定能發現，我是個領悟力相當好的聽眾。那些描述能給我帶來些景象，激發我一些不至愚蠢的想法。你帶著重大的困難來找我，我能用像父親，甚至像律師的方式跟你講話。我怎麼可能沒有相當的成熟智慧。但是如果你對事理的自然通則創造理論，而想找人輕易地確認或有力的推翻那些理論，我必須卑微的提醒你，別找我。我受一種強烈的疑心所苦，懷疑通常事情不能被任何公式所解釋。任何一種哲學，即使是新的，都不會好過其他哲學。這本身也是一種哲學，所以我因此也懷疑它。但至少這個哲學，有個優點就是我還能了解。若你想跟我解釋其他任何哲學體系，你將發現我不僅不能察覺任何漏洞（除非是一個極大的漏洞），而且不出一兩分鐘，我就完全不能了解你想引導任何概念。「很好，」你說，「那我就不要試著一次解釋全部，而只解釋簡易微小單一的事情。」無疑地，Bergson先生坐下來寫像笑聲（Laughter）這樣的文章，就是特別為了對像我這樣的弱者而作。我因其仁慈所得到的益處並不多於他在論述宇宙。我無法飄飄然似踩在空中，我很高興踩回實地上，而發出一陣粗啞的笑聲。

distress [記憶法] [dɪ`strɛs; di'strɛs] 使<人>痛苦,使…苦惱,使…悲傷
pace [記憶法] [pɛs; pɛis] 步調; 步伐; 速度
oblivion [記憶法] [ə`blɪvɪən; ə'bliviən] 遺忘 (的狀態) ; 埋沒
fictitious [記憶法] [fɪk`tɪʃəs; fik'tiʃəs] 虛構的,想像的; 創作的,小說的
intelligent [記憶法] [ɪn`tɛlədʒənt; in'tɛlidʒənt] 聰明的,領悟力強的;
stir [記憶法] [stɝ; stə:] 激發;引起
fatuous [記憶法] ['fætʃuəs] 愚昧的；癡呆的
grievous [記憶法] [`grivəs; 'gri:vəs] 嚴重的；重大的
mellow [記憶法] [`mɛlo; 'mɛlou] 成熟的,老練的
luminous [記憶法] [`lumənəs; 'lu:minəs] 明晰的,易懂的
rend [記憶法] [rɛnd; rɛnd] 撕裂；扯破
hang-dog ['hæŋdɑg] 憂愁的；悲哀的；沮喪的；低賤 的
suspicion [記憶法] [sə`spɪʃən; sə'spiʃn] 嫌疑,疑心,懷疑,猜疑
merit [記憶法] [`mɛrɪt; 'mɛrit] 長處,好處,優點
expound [記憶法] [ɪk'spaund] 解釋;闡述
detect [記憶法] [dɪ`tɛkt; di'tɛkt] 發現,查出; 看穿; 探獲
flaw [flɔ; flɔ:] 瑕疵,裂縫,裂痕
vague [記憶法] [vɛg; vɛig] 含糊的,曖昧的; 不明確的
shorn [記憶法] [ʃorn, ʃɔrn; ʃɔ:n] shear 的過去分詞 剪過頭髮 [毛] 的 God tempers the wind to the ~ lamb. ( 諺)上帝對剪過毛的羔羊(弱者)會緩和風力(比喻不再受更多的麻煩)
lamb [記憶法] [læm; læm] 羔羊
tread [記憶法] [trɛd] 踩踏
crude [記憶法] [krud; kru:d] 粗糙的；未成熟的
utter [記憶法] [`ʌtɚ; 'ʌtə] 發出聲音
coarse [記憶法] [kɔrs; kɔs] 粗糙的
peal [記憶法] [pil; pi:l] (雷、大炮的) 隆隆聲, (笑聲、拍手聲的) 響聲

LAUGHTER, 1920. part 1

網路摘錄文章:

LAUGHTER, 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

M. Bergson, in his well-known essay on this theme, says...well, he says many things; but none of these, though I have just read them, do I clearly remember, nor am I sure that in the act of reading I understood any of them. That is the worst of these fashionable philosophers — or rather, the worst of me. Somehow I never manage to read them till they are just going out of fashion, and even then I don't seem able to cope with them. About twelve years ago, when every one suddenly talked to me about Pragmatism and William James, I found myself moved by a dull but irresistible impulse to try Schopenhauer, of whom, years before that, I had heard that he was the easiest reading in the world, and the most exciting and amusing. I wrestled with Schopenhauer for a day or so, in vain. Time passed; M. Bergson appeared and for his hour was lord of the ascendant; I tardily tackled William James. I bore in mind, as I approached him, the testimonials that had been lavished on him by all my friends. Alas, I was insensible to his thrillingness. His gaiety did not make me gay. His crystal clarity confused me dreadfully. I could make nothing of William James. And now, in the fullness of time, I have been floored by M. Bergson.

Bergson先生，在其與此篇同題目的著名小品文中說到，...呃，他說了很多事；但即使我才剛讀過，沒有一點我能清楚記得，在讀時，我也不確定有任何一部分讀懂了。此事對這些流行哲學家中最糟的，或更準確地說，對我是最糟的。不知何故，我一直到它們不再時尚風行，我才有辦法開始拜讀，即使那時，我似乎也沒能力搞懂。約當十二年前，每個人突然跟我談到實用主義和William James，我發現內心有股隱隱然卻不可抗拒的衝動趨使，想試著讀叔本華的作品。早在更多年之前，我就聽說那是世界上最易讀且最令人興奮而有趣的哲學作品。我與其奮戰了一兩天，徒勞無功。時間過去，當Bergson先生出現，獨領風騷時，我正在遲緩地閱讀William James的作品。當我拜讀時，所有朋友對其佳評如潮的見證我都謹記。唉！我對他所激動的情緒毫無所感。他所歡愉的事並未叫我歡愉。他澄徹明晰思想令我頭昏的可怕。我對William James全讀不懂。而此時，我徹底被Bergson先生的作品擊敗。

essay [記憶法] [`ɛsɪ, `ɛsɛ; 'ɛsɛi, 'ɛsi] 隨筆,小品文
theme [記憶法] [θim; θi:m] 主題,題目
fashionable [記憶法] [`fæʃnəbl; 'fæʃnəbl] 流行的,時尚的
philosopher [記憶法] [fə`lɑsəfɚ; fi'lɔsəfə] 哲學家
cope [記憶法] [kop; koup] 妥善地處理
ascendant [記憶法] [ə`sɛndənt; ə'sɛndənt] <地位、權勢等> 如旭日昇天的,優越的,優勢的
tardily [記憶法] [`tɑrdɪlɪ; 'tɑ:dili] 緩慢地; 緩緩地
tackle [記憶法] [`tækl; tækl] 解決,處理 (問題)
testimonial [記憶法] [ˌtɛstə`monɪəl; ˌtɛsti'mounjəl] 證明書,推薦書
lavish [記憶法] [`lævɪʃ; 'læviʃ] 不吝嗇的,慷慨的
alas [記憶法] [ə`læs; ə'læs] 唉!哎!呀!
insensible [記憶法] [ɪn`sɛnsəbl; in'sɛnsəbl] 無知覺的,無感覺的
thrillingness [記憶法] n.毛骨悚然, 震顫
gaiety [記憶法] [`gɛətɪ; 'gɛiəti] 歡樂,愉快,興高采烈
gay [記憶法] [gɛ; gɛi] 歡欣的,快活的,快樂的
crystal [記憶法] [`krɪstl; 'kristl] 水晶似的,清澈的,晶瑩透明的
clarity [記憶法] [`klærətɪ; 'klærəti] 明確,明晰
dreadfully [記憶法] [-fəlɪ; -fuli] 可怕地,恐怖地
floor [flor, flɔr; flɔ:] 徹底打敗

[短文閱讀] 罪行 part 4 (完)

網路摘錄文章:

THE CRIME 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

These were quickly devoured. But it seemed to me that whenever I left the fire to forage for itself it made little headway. I pushed the book over on its side. The flames closed on it, but presently, licking their lips, fell back, as though they had had enough. I took the tongs and put the book upright again, and raked it fore and aft. It seemed almost as thick as ever. With poker and tongs I carved it into two, three sections — the inner pages flashing white as when they were sent to the binders. Strange! Aforetime, a book was burnt now and again in the market-place by the common hangman. Was he, I wondered, paid by the hour? I had always supposed the thing quite easy for him — a bright little, brisk little conflagration, and so home. Perhaps other books were less resistant than this one? I began to feel that the critics were more right than they knew. Here was a book that had indeed an intense vitality, and an immense vitality. It was a book that would live — do what one might. I vowed it should not. I subdivided it, spread it, redistributed it. Ever and anon my eye would be caught by some sentence or fragment of a sentence in the midst of a charred page before the flames crept over it. Always loathed you, but, I remember; and think Tolstoi was right. Who had always loathed whom? And what, what, had Tolstoi been right about? I had an absurd but genuine desire to know. Too late! Confound the woman! — she was scoring again. I furiously drove her pages into the yawning crimson jaws of the coals. Those jaws had lately been golden. Soon, to my horror, they seemed to be growing grey. They seemed to be closing — on nothing. Flakes of black paper, full-sized layers of paper brown and white, began to hide them from me altogether. I sprinkled a boxful of wax matches. I resumed the bellows. I lunged with the poker. I held a newspaper over the whole grate. I did all that inspiration could suggest, or skill accomplish. Vainly. The fire went out — darkly, dismally, gradually, quite out.

火焰迅速將其吞沒。然後，似乎每當我任由火苗自行搜索食糧時，就甚少進展。我將書推到它那兒。火焰將之包圍，卻隨即舔舔舌頭後退，一副吃飽模樣。我拿起鉗子把書再立了起來，前後拖動。書似厚無止盡，我用撥火棒和鉗子，將書切成兩三份。內頁亮白猶似初送至裝訂廠時一般。奇哉！以前，有些禁書三不五時也會在市集裡由劊子手焚燒。他該不會是按時計酬的吧？我總以為此事對他相當簡單，一場小小光亮，小小輕快的燃燒，然後收工回家。該不會其他書不像此書頑強？我開始覺得，那些評論比他們所知的還要正確。這裡有本確實充滿活力，且是巨大活力的書。它似具有生命似地作為。我發誓它不該有。我把它再一步拆開，攤開，散開。偶爾我眼睛在燒黑頁面間，在火舌爬到前，讀到幾句片段。始終厭惡你，但，我記得；並認為托爾斯泰是對的。到底誰厭惡誰？又到底托爾斯泰對什麼，什麼事上的看法是對的？我有股荒謬卻真實的慾望想知道。太遲了！該死的女人！她又得分了。我火大將她那些書頁塞進那些木炭裂開的火紅隙縫。那些才呈金黃的隙縫。不久，令我恐懼地，它們似乎轉成灰色。隙縫似乎閉合。焦紙的裂片，全本的書頁或褐或白，一起將隙縫擋住。我佈灑了一整盒的火柴。我重拾風箱。我再用撥火棒刺戳。我把報紙擺滿整個爐架。我做了一切靈感所建議的事項，或我技能所及。全是白費。火熄了，黑暗地，悲涼地，熄了。

How she had scored again! But she did not know it. I felt no bitterness against her as I lay back in my chair, inert, listening to the storm that was still raging. I blamed only myself. I had done wrong. The small room became very cold. Whose fault was that but my own? I had done wrong hastily, but had done it and been glad of it. I had not remembered the words a wise king wrote long ago, that the lamp of the wicked shall be put out, and that the way of transgressors is hard.

她是如何地再次得勝！而她卻不知道。當我遲緩地躺回椅子，聽著暴雨依舊在肆虐，我對她對無怨恨，只怪我自己。我做錯了。小屋子變得很冷，除了我又有誰錯？我草率地做錯，事卻已成，而我亦快哉！我不甚記得很久以前一個睿智王者曾說過，邪惡之燈將撲滅，罪人之路必艱困。

devour [記憶法] [dɪ`vaʊr; di'vauə] 吞噬
forage [記憶法] [`fɔrɪdʒ; 'fɔridʒ] 搜尋糧草
headway [記憶法] ['hɛdwɛɪ] 進展
tongs [記憶法] [tɔŋz; tɔŋz] 鉗子
rake [記憶法] [rɛik] (用耙子)耙
fore [記憶法] [for, fɔr; fɔ:] 前方 [前面] 的
aft [記憶法] [æft; ɑ:ft] 在後方
carve [記憶法] [kɑrv; kɑ:v] 切成薄片
aforetime [記憶法] 從前
hangman [記憶法] [ˋhæŋmən] 絞刑吏, 劊子手
brisk [記憶法] [brɪsk; brisk] 輕快的,敏捷的
conflagration [記憶法] [ˌkɑnflə`grɛʃən; ˌkɔnflə'grɛiʃn] 大火災,大火
resistant [記憶法] [rɪ`zɪstənt; ri'zistənt] 耐…的,有…抵抗力的
vow [記憶法] [vaʊ; vau] 立誓,誓言
subdivide [記憶法] 把…再分[為…],細分[into]
spread [記憶法] [sprɛd; sprɛd] 打開,攤開
redistribute [ˌridɪ`strɪbjʊt; ˌri:di'stribju:t] 重新分配
anon [ə`nɑn; ə'nɔn] ever [now] and anon (古.詩) 不時地,經常
fragment [記憶法] [`frægmənt; 'frægmənt] 片斷
midst [記憶法] [mɪdst; midst] 中間,中央,正當中
char [記憶法] [tʃɑr; tʃɑ:] 燒成炭,燒焦,變焦
loathe [記憶法] [loð; louð] 極厭惡
Tolstoi 托爾斯泰
absurd [記憶法] [əb`sʊd; əb'sə:d] 荒謬的,可笑的
genuine [記憶法] [`dʒɛnjʊɪn; 'dʒɛnjuin] 真正的,真實的
desire [記憶法] [dɪ`zaɪr; di'zaiə]盼望; 願望
confound [記憶法] [kɑn`faʊnd, kən-; kən'faund] 詛咒,咒罵
yawn [記憶法] [jɔn; jɔ:n] 裂開
crimson [記憶法] [`krɪmzn; 'krimzn] 深紅色
jaw [記憶法] [dʒɔ; dʒɔ:] (山谷或海峽之) 狹窄的入口
sprinkle [`sprɪŋkl; 'spriŋkl] 散佈於
boxful [記憶法] [`bɑksˌfʊl; 'bɔksful] 一盒 (之量) [of]
wax [記憶法] [wæks; wæks] 蠟
match [記憶法] [mætʃ; mætʃ] 火柴
resume [rɪ`zum, -`zjum; ri'zju:m] (在中斷之後) 再開始
lunge [記憶法] [lʌndʒ; lʌndʒ] 刺,戳; 擊
inspiration [記憶法] [ˌɪnspə`rɛʃən; ˌinspə'rɛiʃn] 靈感,啟示
vainly [記憶法] [`vɛnlɪ; 'vɛinli] 徒然,白費地
dismally [記憶法] [`dɪzməlɪ; dizməli] 陰暗地, 沉悶地
bitterness [記憶法] [`bɪtɚnɪs; 'bitənis] 痛苦,悲痛
inert [記憶法] [ɪn`ɝt; i'nə:t] 遲鈍的,緩慢的
rage [記憶法] [rɛdʒ; rɛidʒ] 盛怒,震怒; 狂暴
blame [記憶法] [blɛm; blɛim] 責難,責備
hasty [記憶法] [`hɛstɪ; 'hɛisti] 貿然的,冒失的,輕率的,草率的
lamp [記憶法] [læmp; læmp] 燈
wicked [記憶法] [`wɪkɪd; 'wikid] 邪惡的,極惡的,不道德的,不正的
transgressor [記憶法] [trænsˋgrɛsɚ] 違犯者; (宗教、道德上的) 罪人

[短文閱讀] 罪行 part 4

網路摘錄文章:

THE CRIME 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

Nobody could have been more surprised than I was at what I had done — done so neatly, so quietly and gently. The book stood closed, upright, with its back to me, just as on a book-shelf, behind the bars of the grate. There it was. And it gave forth, as the flames crept up the blue cloth sides of it, a pleasant though acrid smell. My astonishment had passed, giving place to an exquisite satisfaction. How pottering and fumbling a thing was even the best kind of written criticism! I understood the contempt felt by the man of action for the man of words. But what pleased me most was that at last, actually, I, at my age, I of all people, had committed a crime — was guilty of a crime. I had power to revoke it. I might write to my bookseller for an unburnt copy, and place it on the shelf where this one had stood — this gloriously glowing one. I would do nothing of the sort. What I had done I had done. I would wear forever on my conscience the white rose of theft and the red rose of arson. If hereafter the owner of this cottage happened to miss that volume — let him! If he were fool enough to write to me about it, would I share my grand secret with him? No. Gently, with his poker, I prodded that volume further among the coals. The all-but-consumed binding shot forth little tongues of bright colour — flamelets of sapphire, amethyst, emerald. Charming! Could even the author herself not admire them? Perhaps. Poor woman! — I had scored now, scored so perfectly that I felt myself to be almost a brute while I poked off the loosened black outer pages and led the fire on to pages that were but pale brown.

沒人比我更訝於我所做的事－－幹得如此俐落，安靜而優雅。書背朝我，筆直地閤著，正如在書櫃裡一般，站在火爐的柵架上，就是那兒。當火焰爬上它藍色外衣時，一股令人愉快卻刺鼻的氣味散發出來。我的震驚己過，取而代之的是劇烈的滿足感。即使是最好的書面評論與此相比也顯得懶散而笨拙！我了解起而行的人對坐而言的人之蔑視。然而最叫我高興的是終於，我，在這年紀，在所有人群中，確確實實地犯了罪－－在這罪案裡亳不清白。我有能力撤消它。我可以寫信給我的書商給我一本沒燒掉的，把它擺回這本光輝火紅的書在架上的位子。我才不這樣幹。做了就做了。我將永遠帶著自覺，在竊盜上的純潔與對縱火的愛。若之後，別墅主人發現書不見了，由他去！若他傻到寫信來問我，我會跟他分享這偉大秘密嗎？不會。我用他的撥火鉗溫柔地刺戳那書到木炭裡。被吞噬殆盡的書本縫線燃著明亮火舌－像藍寶石，紫水晶和祖母綠般的小火苗。太美了！難道作者自己不會愛上此光景。可能吧！可憐的女人！－－我現在得分了，完美得勝。當我刺撥散開而外邊焦黑的書頁，引導火焰到那還只是暗褐的部分時，我覺得自己簡直是個畜牲。

surprised [記憶法] [sə`praɪzd, sɚ-; sə'praizd] 吃驚的,驚訝的
neatly [記憶法] ['ni:tli] 整潔地, 乾淨地, 勻稱地
upright [記憶法] [`ʌpˌraɪt; 'ʌprait] 筆直的,直立的
grate [記憶法] [grɛt; grɛit] (暖爐等的) 爐格子,爐架 (其上擺置柴薪、煤等)
give forth 產生；發生
creep [記憶法] [krip; kri:p] 爬行,匍匐
acrid [記憶法] [`ækrɪd; 'ækrid] 嗆人的氣味 [煙霧]
astonishment [記憶法] [ə`stɑnɪʃmənt; ə'stɔniʃmənt] 驚訝,驚駭,驚愕
give place to 讓位於, 被...所替代
exquisite [記憶法] [`ɛkskwɪzɪt; 'ɛkskwizit] 劇烈的
potter [記憶法] [`pɑtɚ; 'pɔtə] (= putter) 閒蕩
fumble [記憶法] ['f mbl] 笨拙的處理
contempt [記憶法] [k n'tɛmpt] 輕視, 輕蔑
revoke [記憶法] [rɪ`vok; ri'vouk] 解除,使…無效
bookseller [記憶法] 書商
unburnt [記憶法] [ʌn`bɝnt; 'ʌn`bə:nt] =unburned 未燃的
glorious [記憶法] [`glorɪəs, `glɔr-; 'glɔ:riəs] 光榮的,輝煌的,光輝的
glowing [記憶法] ['gləuɪŋ] 耀眼的,鮮明的
wear [記憶法] [wɛr; wɛə] 帶著
theft [記憶法] [θɛft; θɛft] 竊盜行為
arson [記憶法] ['a:sən] 縱火，放火
hereafter [記憶法] [thɛ ~,a ~] 此後,今後,將來
grand [記憶法] [grænd; grænd] 偉大的, 雄偉的
poker [記憶法] [`pokɚ; 'poukə] 撥火棍
prod [記憶法] [prɑd] 戳，刺
shoot forth v.抽芽
flamelet [記憶法] 小火苗
sapphire [記憶法] [`sæfaɪr; 'sæfaiə] 藍寶石
amethyst [記憶法] [`æməθɪst; 'æmiθist]紫水晶
emerald [記憶法] [`ɛmərəld, `ɛmrəld; 'ɛmərəld, 'ɛmrəld] 綠寶石,祖母綠
charming [記憶法] ['tʃa:mɪŋ] 迷人的; 令人高興的
author [記憶法] [`ɔθɚ; 'ɔ:θə] 作家
brute [記憶法] [brut; bru:t] 獸類,畜生
pale [記憶法] [pɛil] 蒼白的, 暗淡的

[短文閱讀] 罪行 part 3

網路摘錄文章:

THE CRIME 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

Has a profound knowledge of human character, and an essentially sane outlook' said one of the critics quoted at the end of the book that I had chosen. The wind and the rain in the chimney had not abated, but the fire was bearing up bravely. So would I. I would read cheerfully and without prejudice. I poked the fire and, pushing my chair slightly back, lest the heat should warp the book's covers, began Chapter I. A woman sat writing in a summer-house at the end of a small garden that overlooked a great valley in Surrey. The description of her was calculated to make her very admirable — a thorough woman, not strictly beautiful, but likely to be thought beautiful by those who knew her well; not dressed as though she gave much heed to her clothes, but dressed in a fashion that exactly harmonised with her special type. Her pen 'travelled' rapidly across the foolscap, and while it did so she was described in more and more detail.

「具有對人物角色的深刻知識，且有本質上神智清醒的外貎」在該書末所載的其中一則評語如是說。由煙囪而下的風兩不曾稍歇，不過爐火尚能勇於承受。我亦然。一個女人坐在Surrey一個小花園盡頭的夏日小屋裡寫作，屋後面是一座大山谷。經過計算安排的描寫使她非常可愛討喜－一絲不苟的女人，不全然的美麗，但對她認識久的人可能都會覺得她美麗；穿著不似花很多心思在衣服上，但風格恰恰與其特有形態相配。她的筆在foolscap紙上快速遊走，而她的更多細節一一被描寫呈現。

But at length she came to a ' knotty point' in what she was writing. She paused, she pushed back the hair from her temples, she looked forth at the valley; and now the landscape was described, but not at all exhaustively, it, for the writer soon overcame her difficulty, and her pen travelled faster than ever, till suddenly there was a cry of 'Mammy!' and in rushed a seven-year-old child, in conjunction with whom she was more than ever admirable; after which the narrative skipped back across eight years, and the woman became a girl, giving as yet no token of future eminence in literature but — I had an impulse which I obeyed almost before I was, conscious of it.

時間一久，她在寫作上遇到「困難點」。她停筆，將頭髮由兩旁太陽穴向後推，凝望山谷；此時描寫景色卻不急於徹底寫盡。作家很快地克服難關，下筆敏捷更勝從前，直到忽然一聲「媽媽！」一個七歲小孩跑進來喊著，與此連結，她顯得更加討人喜歡。之後，故事跳回八年前，當女人還是個小女生，在文學上，還沒有任何徵兆能獲得未來的盛名，不過－我遵循著一股衝動甚至在我察覺之前。

profound [記憶法] [prə`faʊnd; prə'faund] 思考深刻的
essentially [記憶法] [ə`sɛnʃəlɪ; i'sɛnʃəli] 本質上
abate [記憶法] [ə`bɛt; ə'bɛit] 減輕
bear [記憶法] [bɛr; bɛə] 耐得住
cheerfully [`tʃɪrfəli] ad. 高高興興地
prejudice [記憶法] [`prɛdʒədɪs; 'prɛdʒudis] 偏見,歧視,成見
warp [記憶法] [wɔrp; wɔ:p] 使…彎曲
overlook [記憶法] [ˌovɚ`lʊk; ˌouvə'luk] 俯瞰,環視
calculated [記憶法] 有計畫的
admirable [記憶法] [`ædmərəbl; 'ædmərəbl] 令人驚歎的
thorough [記憶法] [`θɝo; 'θʌrə] 一絲不苟的
strictly [記憶法] [`strɪktlɪ; 'striktli] 完全,全然,斷然
heed [記憶法] [hid; hi:d] 注意,留心,留意
harmonize [記憶法] [`hɑrməˌnaɪz; 'hɑ:mənaiz] 融洽, 相配
foolscap [記憶法] [`fulˌskæp; 'fu:lskæp] 大頁書寫紙(大約 43 公分*34 公分)
knotty [記憶法] [`nɑtɪ; 'nɔti] <問題等>紛亂的,困難的
temple [記憶法] [`tɛmpl; 'tɛmpl] 太陽穴
landscape [記憶法] [`lænskɛp, `lænd-; 'lændskɛip] (田園風景等可以一眼眺望的) 景色,風景
exhaustive [記憶法] [ɪg'zɔ:stɪv]徹底的，無遺漏的
conjunction [記憶法] [kən`dʒʌŋkʃən; kən'dʒʌŋkʃn] 與…結合在一起
narrative [記憶法] [`nærətɪv; 'nærətiv] 敘述手法, 故事
token [記憶法] [`tokən; 'toukən] 表徵,象徵,記號, 證據
eminence [記憶法] [`ɛmənəns; 'ɛminəns] 卓越; 聞名; 著名
literature [記憶法] [`lɪtərətʃɚ; 'litərətʃə] 文學
impulse [記憶法] [`ɪmpʌls; 'impʌls] 衝動
conscious [記憶法] [`kɑnʃəs; 'kɔnʃəs] 意識到<…>的

[短文閱讀] 罪行 part 2

網路摘錄文章:

THE CRIME 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

出處

I sat down before that blaze. Despair had been warded off. Gloom, however, remained; and gloom grew. I felt that I should prefer any one's thoughts to mine. I rose, I returned to the books. A dozen or so of those which were on the lowest of the three shelves were full-sized, were octavo, looked as though they had been bought to be read. I would exercise my undoubted right to read one of them. Which of them? I gradually decided on a novel by a well-known writer whose works, though I had several times had the honour of meeting her, were known to me only by repute.

我坐在那堆火焰前。縱然避開了絕望心境，但陰鬱難免，且有增無減。我覺得任何人的想法都好過我的，所以起身回到書櫃前。最下三層書架擺放了約莫十二本標準八開本的書，看似買來供人閱讀之用。我打算挑一本來實行無庸置疑的閱讀權利，但該哪一本？我費了點時間決定讀一本知名作家寫的小說，雖我甚有榮幸見過她幾次，但對其作品的了解僅止於名氣。

I knew nothing of them that was not good. The lady's 'output' had not been at all huge, and it was agreed that her 'level' was high. I had always gathered that the chief characteristic of her work was its great ' vitality.' The book in my hand was a third edition of her latest novel, and at the end of it were numerous press-notices, at which I glanced for confirmation. ' Immense vitality,' yes, said one critic. 'Full,' said another, 'of an intense vitality.' 'A book that will live,' said a third. How on earth did he know that? I was, however, very willing to believe in the vitality of this writer for all present purposes. Vitality was a thing in which she herself, her talk, her glance, her gestures, abounded. She and they had been, I remembered, rather too much for me. The first time I met her, she said something that I lightly and mildly disputed. On no future occasion did I stem any opinion of hers. Not that she had been rude. Far from it.

對於那些作品，我沒聽過任何不好的。這女士的「產出」絲毫算不得大量。她的「程度」公認很高。對於她的作品主要的特色，我得知評價多在其偉大「活力」。我手中的是她最近一本小說的第三版，書末附有許多的報紙評介，我略瞥一眼而得證。「巨大的活力，」没錯，其中一位如是評論。「充滿」另一位說，「一種強烈的活力。」「一本有生命的書，」第三位說。究竟他如何得知？然而此刻的我非常樂見此作者真能創造活力。活力充滿在她本人的話語，眼神，手勢中。在我們初次的會面，她談到某事時我略有小小的異議。但在那之後，我就再不敢對她的任何意見做抵抗。這並不是因為她無禮，完全不是。

She had but in a sisterly, brotherly way, and yet in a way that was filially eager too, asked me to explain my point. I did my best. She was all attention. But I was conscious that my best, under her eye, was not good. She was quick to help me: she said for me just what I had tried to say, and proceeded to show me just why it was wrong. I smiled the gallant smile of a man who regards women as all the more adorable because logic is not their strong point, bless them! She asked — not aggressively, but strenuously, as one who dearly loves a joke — what I was smiling at. Altogether, a chastening encounter; and my memory of it was tinged with a feeble resentment. How she had scored! No man likes to be worsted in argument by a woman. And I fancy that to be vanquished by a feminine writer is the kind of defeat least of all agreeable to a man who writes.

她只是用一種兄弟姊妹般的方式，甚或是如晚輩般地期盼我解釋我的看法。我盡最大努力而為，她也全神貫注。但我自覺我的最大努力在她眼中遠遠不夠。她很快地開始幫我，講出我試著想說的，接著指出其謬所在。我帶著男人勇敢的微笑，視女人之所以可愛是因為邏輯非其強項，願天保佑她們！她用一種並無侵略性，卻非常努力的方式，如同一個人深深地喜愛一個笑話似地問我，我在笑什麼。一切成了折磨的遭遇；而我記憶裡那還帶著些微憤恨的氣息。她大獲全勝！沒有男人喜歡在與女人的爭論中失利。在我的想像中，被女性作家打敗，跟輸給男性作家相比，是最不愉快的。

A 'sex war,' we are often told is to be one of the features of the world's future — women demanding the right to do men's work, and men refusing, resisting, counter-attacking. It seems likely enough. One can believe anything of the world's future. Yet one conceives that not all men, if this particular evil come to pass, will stand packed shoulder to shoulder against all women. One does not feel that the dockers will be very bitter against such women as want to be miners, or the plumbers frown much upon the would-be steeple-jills. I myself have never had my sense of fitness jarred, nor a spark of animosity roused in me, by a woman practising any of the fine arts — except the art of writing. That she should write a few little poems or pensées, or some impressions of a trip in a dahabieh as far as (say) Biskra, or even a short story or two, seems to me not wholly amiss, even though she do such things for publication.

我們常聽到的「性別之戰」是將來世界的一樣特色－女人要求做男人工作的權利而男人拒絕，抗拒，反擊。這看似足夠。一個人可以相信未來世界的任何事。然而他知道，不是所有男人，當此特別之罪惡真的來臨時，會擠成一團併肩對抗女人。有人不覺得對想當礦工的女人來講，碼頭工人會太辛苦；就像對想當高空女作業工人的女人，去做水管工，眉頭也不會皺一下。我本人從未有因為女生練習任何精緻藝術而刺激到我的適宜感或喚起我內心的憤慨－除了寫作的藝術。若她只是寫幾首小詩，或随想，或搭乘小船旅行，最遠不超過Biskra，而寫些遊記印象，甚至一兩個小故事，對我都不算太不妥，就算付梓也行。

But that she should be an habitual, professional author, with a passion for her art, and a fountain-pen and an agent, and sums down in advance of royalties on sales in Canada and Australia, and a profound knowledge of human character, and an essentially sane outlook, is somehow incongruous with my notions — my mistaken notions, if you will — of what she ought to be.

可是她竟然是個持之有恆的專業作家，擁有對她作品的熱情，一支鋼筆和經紀人，預支在加拿大和澳洲銷售的版稅，對人物角色有深刻認識，基本上神智清楚的長相，在在跟我對她應有的形象理解不一致，我錯誤的理解，若你想這麼講。

despair [記憶法] [dɪ`spɛr; di'spɛə] 絕望
octavo [記憶法] [ɑk`tɛvo; ɔk'tɛivou] 八開本
exercise [記憶法] [`ɛksɚˌsaɪz; 'ɛksəsaiz] 行使權力
undoubted [記憶法] [ʌn`daʊtɪd; ʌn'dautid] 無庸置疑的
repute [記憶法] [rɪ`pjut; ri'pjut] 名氣
characteristic [記憶法] [ˌkærɪktə`rɪstɪk; ˌkærəktə'ristik] 特質,特性,特色
vitality [記憶法] [vaɪ`tælətɪ; vai'tæləti] 活力
immense [記憶法] [ɪ`mɛns; i'mɛns] 無限的, 巨大的
critic [記憶法] [`krɪtɪk; 'kritik] 評論家
abound [記憶法] [ə`baʊnd; ə'baund] 豐富,大量存在
lightly [`laɪtlɪ; 'laitli] 輕輕地,輕微地
dispute [記憶法] [dɪ`spjut; di'spju:t] 有異議,爭論
stem [記憶法] [stɛm; stɛm] 抵抗 <時代潮流等>
rude [記憶法] [rud; ru:d] 不禮貌的
filial [記憶法] [`fɪlɪəl; 'filiəl] (作為) 子女的
gallant [記憶法] [`gælənt; 'gælənt] 英勇的
adorable [記憶法] [ə`dorəbl, ə`dɔr-; ə'dɔ:rəbl] 可愛的; 迷人的
strenuously [記憶法] adv.奮發地, 費力地
dearly [記憶法] [`dɪrlɪ; 'diəli] 由衷地,深切地,深深地
chasten [記憶法] ['tʃɛɪsən] 改正, 磨練
tinged [記憶法] 淡色的
feeble [記憶法] ['fɪ:bəl] 微弱的
resentment [記憶法] [ rɪ'zɛntmənt ] 憤恨,惱怒
fancy [記憶法] [`fænsɪ; 'fænsi] 幻想
vanquished [記憶法] [`væŋkwɪʃt; 'væŋkwiʃt] 被征服的; 被擊敗的
feminine [記憶法] [`fɛmənɪn; 'fɛminin] 女的,婦女的
defeat [記憶法] [dɪ`fit; di'fi:t] 打敗
packed [記憶法] [pækt] 擠得滿滿的,擁擠的
docker dock.er 《源自 dock》<<可數名詞>> 碼頭工人,船塢工人 (longshoreman)
steeple [記憶法] ['stɪ:pəl] 尖塔,尖閣
fitness [記憶法] n. 適合, 合宜, 合理, 恰當, 健康 [醫] 適合性, 適應性
jar [記憶法] [dʒɑr; dʒɑ:] 震動, 刺激
animosity [記憶法] [ˌænə`mɑsətɪ; ˌæni'mɔsəti] 敵意,憎惡; 仇恨
rouse [記憶法] [raʊz; rauz] 激起, 挑動, 惹起
practice [記憶法] [`præktɪs; 'præktis] 練習
poem [記憶法] [`po.ɪm; 'pouim] 詩; 韻文
habitual [記憶法] [hə`bɪtʃʊəl, -tʃʊl; hə'bitjuəl, -tʃul]習慣性的,慣常的
sane [記憶法] [sɛn; sɛin] 神志清明的,頭腦清醒的

[短文閱讀] 罪行 part 1

網路摘錄文章:

THE CRIME 1920.

By Max Beerbohm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1956/1956-h/1956-h.htm#2H_4_0017

On a bleak wet stormy afternoon at the outset of last year's Spring, I was in a cottage, all alone, and knowing that I must be all alone till evening. It was a remote cottage, in a remote county, and had been 'let furnished' by its owner. My spirits are easily affected by weather, and I hate solitude. And I dislike to be master of things that are not mine. 'Be careful not to break us,' say the glass and china. 'You'd better not spill ink on me,' growls the carpet. 'None of your dog's-earing, thumb-marking, back-breaking tricks here!' snarl the books.

去年春天之初，在一個寒冷潮溼，有暴風雨的的午後，我待在一幢別墅裡，獨自一人，而且知道我得一人待到傍晚。這是在遙遠地方附傢俱的遙遠別墅。我的心神甚易受天氣左右，且恨獨處。我不喜歡使用不屬於我的東西。「當心別把我們給砸了，」玻璃杯和瓷器說。「你最好別把墨水灑在我身上，」地毯吼著。「你那些把書頁像狗耳朶般地折角，髒手在書上留下指印，或把書背拆了的技倆都不准用在此，」群書咆哮著。

The books in this cottage looked particularly disagreeable — horrid little upstarts of this and that scarlet or cerulean 'series' of 'standard' authors. Having gloomily surveyed them, I turned my back on them, and watched the rain streaming down the latticed window, whose panes seemed likely to be shattered at any moment by the wind. I have known men who constantly visit the Central Criminal Court, visit also the scenes where famous crimes were committed, form their own theories of those crimes, collect souvenirs of those crimes, and call themselves Criminologists. As for me, my interest in crime is, alas, merely morbid. I did not know, as those others would doubtless have known, that the situation in which I found myself was precisely of the kind most conducive to the darkest deeds. I did but bemoan it, and think of Lear in the hovel on the heath.

別墅裡的書看來特別討厭－這個那個的「標準」作者的深紅或深藍「系列」可怕而自命不凡的小傢伙。我心情低落地瀏覽一下，轉身背對它們，看著大雨奔流似地落在格子窗上，玻璃好似隨時會被大風吹破成碎片。我認識些人，常去光臨中央刑事法庭，又常去知名犯罪現場，就那些犯罪推斷自己的理論，自稱犯罪學家。至於我，對犯罪所感興趣的，唉，只是病態的。我當時不知道，其他人肯定知道，我的處境正是最有助於最黑暗行為的。我只是悲嘆，並想著在荒地茅棚的李爾王。

The wind howled in the chimney, and the rain had begun to sputter right down it, so that the fire was beginning to hiss in a very sinister manner. Suppose the fire went out! It looked as if it meant to. I snatched the pair of bellows that hung beside it. I plied them vigorously. 'Now mind! — not too vigorously. We aren't yours!' they wheezed. I handled them more gently. But I did not release them till they had secured me a steady blaze.

狂風嗥叫地吹入煙囪，雨也開始飛濺進來，所以火開始發出不祥的嘶嘶聲，好像要熄滅了！看來是當真如此。我抓起掛在一旁的風箱，使勁地鼓動著。「注意點！別太用力。我可不是你的！」風箱喘著氣說。我較溫和地使用它，但我沒放下它，直到確保我得到穩定的烈火。

outset [記憶法] ['autsɛt] 著手, 開頭, 最初
cottage [記憶法] [`kɑtɪdʒ; 'kɔtidʒ] 小別墅
furnished [記憶法] 附有傢俱的
solitude [記憶法] [`sɑləˌtud, -ˌtjud; 'sɔlitju:d] 獨處,獨居
growl [記憶法] [graʊl; graul] 咆哮吼叫
carpet [記憶法] [`kɑrpɪt; 'kɑ:pit] 地毯; 毛毯
snarl [記憶法] [snɑrl; snɑ:l] 吠叫,咆哮
horrid [記憶法] [`hɔrɪd; 'hɔrid] 恐怖的,令人驚恐的,可怕的
upstart [記憶法] ['ʌpsta:t] 暴發戶, 自命不凡者
scarlet [記憶法] [`skɑrlɪt; 'skɑ:lət, -lit] 緋色,深紅色
cerulean [記憶法] [sə`rulɪən; si'ru:ljən] 深藍色的,天藍色的
gloomy [記憶法] [`glumɪ; 'glu:mi] 憂鬱的,悶悶不樂的,情緒低落的
survey [記憶法] [sɚ`vɛ; sə'vɛi, sə:-] 仔細打量
latticed [記憶法] 裝有格子的
pane [記憶法] [pɛn; pɛin] 窗玻璃 (的一片)
souvenir [記憶法] [ˌsuvə`nɪr; ˌsu:və'niə] 紀念品,特產
criminologist [ˌkrɪmə`nɑlədʒɪst; ˌkrimi'nɔlədʒist] 犯罪學家
alas [ə`læs; ə'læs] 唉!哎!呀!
morbid [記憶法] [`mɔrbɪd; 'mɔ:bid] 病態的,不健康的;
conducive [記憶法] [kən`djusɪv; kən'dju:siv] 有助益於的
deed [記憶法] [did; di:d] 行為,行動
bemoan [記憶法] [bɪ`mon; bi'moun] 悲嘆
hovel [記憶法] [`hʌvl; 'hʌvl, 'hɔvl] 簡陋的房屋
howl [記憶法] [haul] 嗥叫
chimney [記憶法] [`tʃɪmnɪ; 'tʃimni] 煙囪
sputter [記憶法] [`spʌtɚ; 'spʌtə] 發出劈啪 [茲茲] 聲
hiss [記憶法] [hɪs; his] 嗤嗤聲; 噓噓聲; 嘶嘶聲
sinister [記憶法] [`sɪnɪstɚ; 'sinistə] 不吉利的,不祥的
snatch [記憶法] [snætʃ; snætʃ] 奪去,抓住,搶去
bellows [記憶法] [`bɛloz; 'bɛlouz] 風箱
wheeze [記憶法] [hwiz, wiz; wi:z, hwi:z] 喘著氣說
blaze [記憶法] [blɛz; blɛiz] 烈火

[短文閱讀] 一件紀念品 part 8

網路摘錄文章:

A RELIC

By Max Beerbohm

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1956/1956-h/1956-h.htm#2H_4_0001

Down below, the sea rustled to and fro over the shingle.'

「在其下，海水沙沙作響地來回拍打著岸石。」

I decided that I must choose the first of these two ways. It was the less chivalrous as well as the less lurid way, but clearly it was the more artistic as well as the easier. The 'chose vue,' the 'tranche de la vie' — this was the thing to aim at. Honesty was the best policy. I must be nothing if not merciless. Maupassant was nothing if not merciless. He would not have spared Mlle. Ange'lique. Besides, why should I libel M. Joumand? Poor — no, not poor M. Joumand! I warned myself against pitying him. One touch of ' sentimentality,' and I should be lost. M. Joumand was ridiculous. I must keep him so. But — what was his position in life? Was he a lawyer perhaps? — or the proprietor of a shop in the Rue de Rivoli? I toyed with the possibility that he kept a fan shop — that the business had once been a prosperous one, but had gone down, down, because of his infatuation for this woman to whom he was always giving fans — which she always smashed.... '"Ah monsieur, cruel and ungrateful to me though she is, I swear to you that if I had anything left to give, it should be hers; but," he stared at me with his old hopeless eyes, "the fan she broke to-night was the last — the last, monsieur — of my stock." Down below,' — but I pulled myself together, and asked pardon of my Muse.

我決定只能採用前者。即或較缺敬重女性的態度，亦少激昂炫麗筆調，卻顯然較具藝術性，也較易處理。 'chose vue' 和 'tranche de la vie'是行文的目標。誠實為上策。若不能不帶個人感情的描述事實，我將什麼也不是。就算莫泊桑亦是如此。他不會饒過Ange'lique小姐。此外，我又何必詆譭Joumand先生？可憐的－不，不可憐的Joumand先生！我警告自己不要同情他。一丁點的感情用事，都會讓我迷失。Joumand先生真是可笑，我得叫他維持那個樣子。但是他在生活中是什麼地位？是個律師或是？在Rue De Rivoli的一家小店老闆？我隨意的假想，也許他開了一家扇子店，由於他迷戀這女人，經常送扇子給她，而她也常折毁，曾經興隆的生意卻每況愈下。「先生，她是個對我冷酷無情又不知感恩的女人，然而，我向您發誓，若我尚有任何餘物可送，絕對是給她，可是，」他用蒼老無助的眼睛望著我，「今晚她折斷的那扇子已是最後一把，我僅存的最後一把，先生。」「在其下，」－我回神整理思緒，向我的靈感謬思致歉。

chivalrous [記憶法] [`ʃɪvlrəs; 'ʃivlrəs] (對婦女) 敬重的
lurid [記憶法] ['ljuərɪd]炫麗的
merciless [記憶法] ['mə:sɪləs]無情的，冷酷的
libel [記憶法] [`laɪbl; 'laibl] 『法律』文字譭謗 (罪) (藉文字、繪畫的侮辱
pity [記憶法] [`pɪtɪ; 'piti] 憐憫,同情
sentimentality [記憶法] [ˌsɛntəmɛn`tælətɪ; ˌsɛntimɛn'tæləti] 傷感,溺於感情,多愁善感,感傷性
ridiculous [記憶法] [rɪ`dɪkjələs; ri'dikjuləs] 荒謬的,荒唐的,可笑的
proprietor [記憶法] [prə`praɪətɚ; prə'praiətə] 經營者,業主
toy [記憶法] [tɔɪ; tɔi] [對…]不慎重,不認真考慮,隨便想想,[將…]視為兒戲 [不重要的事] [with]
prosperous [記憶法] [`prɑspərəs; 'prɔspərəs] 繁榮的,富裕的; (經濟上) 成功的
infatuation [記憶法] [ɪnˌfætʃʊ`ɛʃən; inˌfætju'ɛiʃn] 入迷,迷戀,醉心 [for,with]
smash [記憶法] [smæʃ; smæʃ] 打碎,粉碎
cruel [記憶法] [`kruəl; 'kru:əl, 'kruəl] 殘酷的, 冷酷的,殘忍的,心狠的; 刻毒傷人的
ungrateful [記憶法] [ʌn`grɛtfəl; ʌn'grɛitful] 不感恩的,忘恩負義的
pardon [記憶法] [`pɑrdn; 'pɑ:dn] 原諒,寬恕,赦免