名著阅读

"It would be impossible, I know, " replied Elinor, "to convince you that a woman of seven and twenty could feel for a man of thirty-five anything near enough to love, to make him a desirable companion to her. But I must object to your dooming Colonel Brandon and his wife to the constant confinement of a sick chamber, merely because he chanced to complain yesterday (a very cold damp day) of a slight rheumatic feel in one of his shoulders. "

“我知道，”埃丽诺回答说，“不可能让你相信，一个二十七岁的女人可以对一个三十五岁的男人产生一定的爱情，使他成为自己的理想伴侣。但是我不赞成你把布兰登上校看死了，仅仅因为他昨天（一个潮湿的大冷天）偶尔抱怨了一声，说一只肩膀略有点风湿病的感觉，便认为他和他妻子注定要永远关在病室里。”

"But he talked of flannel waistcoats, " said Marianne; "and with me a flannel waistcoat is invariably connected with aches, cramps, rheumatisms, and every species of ailment that can afflict the old and the feeble. "

“可他说起了法兰绒马甲，”玛丽安说，“在我看来，法兰绒马甲总是与疼痛、痉挛、风湿以及老年体弱人所患的种种病症联系在一起的。”

"Had he been only in a violent fever, you would not have despised him half so much. Confess, Marianne, is not there something interesting to you in the flushed cheek, hollow eye, and quick pulse of a fever?"

“他只要发一场高烧，你就不会这么瞧不起他了。坦白地说，玛丽安，你不感到发烧时的红脸颊、眍眼睛、快脉搏也很有趣吗？”

Soon after this, upon Elinor's leaving the room, "Mamma, " said Marianne, "I have an alarm on the subject of illness which I cannot conceal from you. I am sure Edward Ferrars is not well. We have now been here almost a fortnight, and yet he does not come. Nothing but real indisposition could occasion this extraordinary delay. What else can detain him at Norland?"

说完这话，埃丽诺便走出了房间。“妈妈，”玛丽安说道，“我对疾病抱有一股恐惧感，没法向你隐瞒。我敢肯定，爱德华．费拉斯身体不好。我们来这儿都快两个星期了，可他还不来。只有身体不好，才会使他拖延这么许久。还有什么事情能把他耽搁在诺兰庄园呢？”
　　
词汇释义

1.confinement n. 拘禁，限制，分娩

He has been put in solitary confinement for attacking another prisoner.
他因伤害另一囚犯而被隔离监禁。

2.rheumatic[ru:'mætik] adj. 风湿症的，患风湿症的，引起风湿症的 n. 风湿症患者

3.waistcoat n. 背心，马甲

His waistcoat is beneath his coat.
他的背心穿在外套里面。

4.feeble[fi:bl] adj. 虚弱的，无力的

This was his fatal defect; he was of feeble will.
这是他致命的弱点，他意志薄弱。

5.hollow n. 洞，窟窿，山谷 adj. 空的，虚伪的，空腹的

This tree looks high and strong but actually its trunk is hollow.
这棵树看起来又高又壮，实际上树干是空的。

6.pulse n. 脉冲，脉波，脉搏 v. 跳动，脉跳

His pulse is not very regular.
他的脉搏不很规则。

7.indisposition n. 小病，不舒服，厌恶

I felt a certain indisposition to face reality.
我多少有些不愿意面对现实。