小说原文
'Assuredly,' said Mrs Blimber.
“一定，”布林伯夫人说道。
The Apothecary bending down, looked closely into Paul's eyes, and felt his head, and his pulse, and his heart, with so much interest and care, that Paul said, 'Thank you, Sir.'
药剂师弯下身子，仔细地观察着保罗的眼睛，非常关切、非常细心地摸摸他的头、他的 脉搏、他的心脏，因此，保罗说，“谢谢您，先生。”
'Our little friend,' observed Doctor Blimber, 'has never complained.'
“我们的小朋友，”布林伯博士说道，“从来没有喊叫过痛苦。”
'Oh no!' replied the Apothecary. 'He was not likely to complain.'
“啊没有！”药剂师回答道。“他是不大可能喊叫痛苦的。”
'You find him greatly better?' said Doctor Blimber.
“您觉得他好多了吗？”布林伯博士问道。
'Oh! he is greatly better, Sir,' returned the Apothecary.
“啊，他好多了，先生，”药剂师回答道。
Paul had begun to speculate, in his own odd way, on the subject that might occupy the Apothecary's mind just at that moment; so musingly had he answered the two questions of Doctor Blimber. But the Apothecary happening to meet his little patient's eyes, as the latter set off on that mental expedition, and coming instantly out of his abstraction with a cheerful smile, Paul smiled in return and abandoned it.
保罗开始按照自己奇怪的方式来思考当时引起药剂师思考的问题；他是那么沉思地回答 了布林伯博士的两个问题。可是，当他的小病人正开始进行内心探索时，药剂师正巧碰 上了他的眼光，于是他就立刻用一个愉快的微笑停止了出神，保罗也用微笑回答他，不再思考了。
He lay in bed all that day, dozing and dreaming, and looking at Mr Toots; but got up on the next, and went downstairs. Lo and behold, there was something thematterwith the great clock; and a workman on a pair of steps had taken its face off, and was poking instruments into the works by the light of a candle! This was a great event for Paul, who sat down on the bottom stair, and watched the operation attentively: now and then glancing at the clock face, leaning all askew, against the wall hard by, and feeling a little confused by a suspicion that it was ogling him.
他整天躺在床上，昏昏沉沉地睡着，做着梦，看着图茨先生；但第二天他起来了，走下 楼去。哎哟，你看，大钟出了点什么事，一位站在梯子上的工人已把钟面卸下，现在正 借着一支烛光，把工具戳进机械中去！对保罗来说，这是一件大事；他在楼梯最低的一 级上坐下来，专心致志地看着正在进行的操作；有时向歪斜地靠在近旁墙上的钟面看一 眼，心中有些不安地猜疑，它正在向他送秋波吧。
The workman on the steps was very civil; and as he said, when he observed Paul, 'How do you do, Sir?' Paul got into conversation with him, and told him he hadn't been quite well lately. The ice being thus broken, Paul asked him a multitude of questions about chimes and clocks: as, whether people watched up in the lonely church steeples by night to make them strike, and how the bells were rung when people died, and whether those were different bells from wedding bells, or only sounded dismal in the fancies of the living. Finding that his new acquaintance was not very well informed on the subject of the Curfew Bell of ancient days, Paul gave him an account of that institution; and also asked him, as a practical man, what he thought about King Alfred's idea of measuring time by the burning of candles; to which the workman replied, that he thought it would be the ruin of the clock trade if it was to come up again. In fine, Paul looked on, until the clock had quiterecoveredits familiar aspect, and resumed its sedate inquiry; when the workman, putting away his tools in a long basket, bade him good day, and went away. Though not before he had whispered something, on the door—mat, to the footman, in which there was the phrase 'old—fashioned' — for Paul heard it. What could that old fashion be, that seemed to make the people sorry! What could it be!
梯子上的工人很有礼貌；当他看到保罗的时候，问他，“您好吗，先生？”于是保罗就跟 他攀谈起来，告诉他，他最近身体不十分好。这样消除隔阂之后，保罗向他问了许多关 于钟乐和时钟的问题；例如，人们是不是在寂寞的教堂尖塔里值夜，以便到时候敲响时 钟；人们死去的时候，钟是怎样敲的，它们跟结婚的钟声是不是不同，还是仅仅是在活 着的人们的幻想中听起来凄凉而已。当保罗发现他新结识的朋友对古代的熄灯晚钟①没 有很多知识的时候，他就向他叙述了那个风俗；保罗还问他，作为一个讲究实际的人， 他觉得艾尔弗雷德国王②用燃烧蜡烛的办法来计算时间的主意怎么样；工人回答说，他 认为现在重新采用这种办法，时钟行业就会破产了。最后，保罗继续看着，直到时钟完 全恢复了它平时的外貌，重新发出了它那沉着冷静的问题为止。这时候这位工人把工具 收拾到一个长篮子中去，向他告别之后，离开了。虽然在这之前他走到门口擦鞋的棕垫 那里时曾向男仆低声说了几句话，其中有“老气”这两个字——因为保罗听到了。
Having nothing to learn now, he thought of this frequently; though not so often as he might have done, if he had had fewer things to think of. But he had a great many; and was always thinking, all day long.
似乎使人们感到遗憾的“老气”究竟是什么呢？它究竟是什么呢？ 由于他现在不需要学习什么，所以他不时想到这一点；如果他要想的事情比现在少一些 ，那么他想到这一点的次数就会更多了。但是他有很多很多的事情要想；因此整天经常在想着。

注释：
①中世纪，根据一项特别法律，在欧洲的许多城市，夜间到了规定的熄灯时间，就敲钟发出通知。

②艾尔弗雷德国王（KingAlfred，849—899年），别称艾尔弗雷德大帝（AlfredtheGreat） ，是九世纪时英格兰西南部撒克逊－韦塞克斯（Saxon－Wessex）王朝的国王（在位时间 为871—899年）；他治国井井有条，善制订一部重要法典；用点蜡烛来计算时间的方法 就是他建议的。
重点解释

词语注释：mattern. 物质；原因；事件
vi. 有关系；要紧
词组短语 
no matter 不论怎样；不要紧
a matter of 大约；…的问题
no matter how 不管怎样
no matter what 不管什么，无论什么
organic matter 有机质；有机物；有机物质
subject matter 主题；主旨
doesn't matter 无所谓；无关紧要
matter of fact n. 事实
no matter where 无论哪里
for that matter 就此而言；至于那个；说到那一点
dry matter 干物质，固形物
no matter what happens 无论发生什么事；无论出现什么情况
no matter who conj. 不管是谁
on the matter 在这件事情上；对这个问题
no matter whether conj. 无论（不管是）
a matter of time 只是时间问题；某事肯定发生只是时间问题而已
in the matter of 就…而论，在…方面
in a matter of 左右；大约只不过在…之内
no matter which 无论哪一个
dark matter 暗物质
例句：
(1) This matter concerns all of us.
这件事与我们每个人都有关系。
(2) We must move at once in this matter.
对这件事我们必须立刻采取行动。
(3) He tends towards my opinion on this matter.
在这件事上他倾向于我的意见。
(4) They'll approach her on that matter.
他们要向她交涉那件事情。
(5) We have to ravel the matter out.
我们必须把事情弄个水落石出。
(6) They discussed an important matter with her.
他们跟她谈论一件重要事情。
(7) They will go behind this matter.
他们将彻底调查这件事。
(8) I saw some persons haunting around your house, what's the matter with you?
我看见有几个人常在你家周围转悠，你那里发生什么事了?
(9) I should like to arbitrate on this matter.
我想谈谈我对这件事的看法。
(10) In this matter we must place the common cause above all else.
在这件事情上， 我们必须把共同事业放在高于一切的位置上。

recovervt. 恢复；弥补；重新获得
vi. 恢复；胜诉；重新得球
n. 还原至预备姿势
短语
recover from 恢复；恢复知觉
recover possession收回管有
recover oneself恢复正常；恢复健康；清醒过来；镇定下来
recover investments投资成本回收
Recover Photographs得照片
File Recover易用的文件恢复软件
Recover Floppy紧急还原磁片
Recover passwords取回密码
Recover MP恢复MP
STATUS RECOVER恢复技能
词根：recover
adj. recoverable 可收回的；可恢复的；可补偿的
n.
recovery 恢复，复原；痊愈；重获
recoverer 回收器；财产收回取得者；追索财产者
(1) I sincerely hope you will soon recover.
我诚恳地盼望你早日康复。
(2) It is impossible for the client to recover.
该诉讼委托人不可能胜诉。
(3) But no one knows yet how well she might recover.
但现在无人知道她能恢复到什么程度。
(4) I thought, if I recover I have to do more for everyone.
我当时就想，如果我能恢复，我要为大家做更多的事。
(5) Then they treat them with drugs to help them recover.
然后，他们用药物治疗，以帮助他们恢复。
(6) How they recover is not just their problem, but Europe’s.
他们如何恢复不只是他们的问题，而是欧洲的问题。
(7) If I were told that I could recover my eyesight, I would refuse.
如果有人告诉我我可以恢复我的视力，我会拒绝。
(8) Short of replacing hardware, you cannot recover from this situation.
缺乏可替换硬件，将不能从这种情况中恢复。
(9) They vaccinate our children and help us to recover when we are sick.
他们对我们的儿童进行预防接种并帮助我们在患病时康复。
(10) In many parts of the world, it has yet to recover.
在很多地方，到目前为止，这种状况还没恢复。