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Amazing Artfulness of Captain Cuttle, and a new Pursuit for Walter Gay Walter could not, for several days, decide what to do in the Barbados business; and even cherished some faint hope that Mr Dombey might not have meant what he had said, or that he might change his mind, and tell him he was not to go. But as nothing occurred to give this idea (which was sufficiently improbable in itself) any touch of confirmation, and as time was slipping by, and he had none to lose, he felt that he must act, without hesitating any longer.
沃尔特好几天打不定主意，去巴巴多斯的事情该怎么办；甚至他还怀着几分微弱的希望：董贝先生也许说话并不当真，或者他也可能会改变主意，通知他不去了；可是他这种想法本身就是极不可能的，能证实这种想法的任何迹象也没有出现，而时间又在消逝，他不能再延误下去了，所以他觉得必须毫不迟疑地采取行动。
Walter's chief difficulty was, how to break the change in his affairs to Uncle Sol, to whom he was sensible it would he a terrible blow. He had the greater difficulty in dashing Uncle Sol's spirits with such an astounding piece of intelligence, because they had lately recovered very much, and the old man had become so cheerful, that the little back parlour was itself again. Uncle Sol had paid the first appointed portion of the debt to Mr Dombey, and was hopeful of working his way through the rest; and to cast him down afresh, when he had sprung up so manfully from his troubles, was a very distressing necessity.
沃尔特的主要困难在于怎样把他工作的变动情况透露给所尔舅舅；他知道这对他是一个可怕的打击。他感到尤其困难的是说出这个惊人的消息来摧毁所尔舅舅的情绪，因为老人最近情绪有了很大好转，有说有笑，小后客厅又恢复了往日欢乐的气氛。所尔舅舅已经把第一批债款归还给董贝先生，并满怀希望，能设法把其余的欠债还清。当他勇敢地从艰难中振作起来的时候，重新让他垂头丧气，这真是一件令人痛苦、迫不得已的事情。
Yet it would never do to run away from him. He must know of it beforehand; and how to tell him was the point. As to the question of going or not going, Walter did not consider that he had any power of choice in the matter. Mr Dombey had truly told him that he was young, and that his Uncle's circumstances were not good; and Mr Dombey had plainly expressed, in the glance with which he had accompanied that reminder, that if he declined to go he might stay at home if he chose, but not in his counting-house. His Uncle and he lay under a great obligation to Mr Dombey, which was of Walter's own soliciting. He might have begun in secret to despair of ever winning that gentleman's favour, and might have thought that he was now and then disposed to put a slight upon him, which was hardly just. But what would have been duty without that,was still duty with it—or Walter thought so—and duty must be done.
然而决不能背着他悄悄地溜走。应当事先让他知道这件事。问题是怎样告诉他。至于去或不去，沃尔特认为他丝毫没有选择的权力。董贝先生明白无误地跟他说过，他年轻，舅舅的境况又不好；董贝先生还在伴随的眼光中清楚地提醒他，如果他拒绝去的话，那么他可以待在家中，但却不能待在他的办公室里。他舅舅和他都欠董贝先生的恩情；这份恩情还是沃尔特亲自去恳求来的。他也许已开始暗暗感到，他永远没有希望博得那位先生的好感，他也许还想到，董贝先生还不时藐视他，而那是很不公正的。可是不论情况是否这样，职责毕竟是职责，而职责是必须履行的，沃尔特心里这样想。
When Mr Dombey had looked at him, and told him he was young, and that his Uncle's circumstances were not good, there had been an expression of disdain in his face; a contemptuous and disparaging assumption that he would be quite content to live idly on a reduced old man, which stung the boy's generous soul. Determined to assure Mr Dombey, in so far as it was possible to give him the assurance without expressing it in words, that indeed he mistook his nature, Walter had been anxious to show even more cheerfulness and activity after the West Indian interview than he had shown before: if that were possible, in one of his quick and zealous disposition. He was too young and inexperienced to think, that possibly this very quality in him was not agreeable to Mr Dombey, and that it was no stepping-stone to his good opinion to be elastic and hopeful of pleasing under the shadow of his powerful displeasure, whether it were right or wrong. But it may have been—it may have been—that the great man thought himself defied in this new exposition of an honest spirit, and purposed to bring it down.
当董贝先生看着他，跟他说，他年轻，他舅舅的境况又不好的时候，脸上曾经流露出一种轻蔑的神色，傲慢不恭地、对他贬损地认为，他乐意游手好闲地依靠一个穷困没落的老头子过活；这一点刺痛了这个孩子高尚的心灵。沃尔特决定不用言语表白，而尽可能使董贝先生相信，他确实把他的品格看错了，所以在那次有关去西印度群岛的谈话之后，他急切地表现出比先前更加愉快和活跃，就像一个像他那样机灵、热心的孩子所能表现的。他太年轻，太缺乏经验，没有想到，他这种性格本身就可能使董贝先生不喜欢；董贝先生强烈的不高兴不论是正确的还是错误的，反正在它那阴影之下，这孩子表现出应变自如，有希望依然快快活活的样子，是决不会使他产生好印象的。相反倒很可能，在那位大人物看来，这颗诚实的心灵的这种新的表露是对他的公然反抗，因此他决意把它压下去。
重点讲解
一.Amaze:vt.使吃惊, 使惊异 vi.惊讶 n.吃惊, 好奇vt.<古> 使困惑
【词义辨析】
surprise, amaze, astonish, astound, startle, stun
这些动词均含“使惊愕，使惊讶，使惊奇”之意。
surprise普通用词，多指因未预料或意外的事而引起的惊奇之感。
amaze语气较强，指因认为不可能或极少可能发生情况的出现而感到惊讶或迷惑不解。
astonish语气较强，指出乎预料，意外发生，但又无法解释而感到惊奇。
astound语气强，指由于事情令人难以置信或实在罕见而使人感到震惊。
startle指因突然的惊吓或意料不到的刺激等而使人惊跳或震惊。
stun语气最强，指极度惊讶而目瞪口呆，不知所措。
【例句用法】
I was amazed to find her there.
发现她在那，我感到很吃惊。
He amazed me by his audacity.
他的无理让我惊骇。
二.purpose：n.目的, 决心, 意图, 议题 v.打算, 决意
【语法用法】
purpose作名词指“目的”时，注意在for charitable purposes等词组中，使用复数形式purposes；
purpose作名词在for (the) purposes of travel等词组中也使用复数形式，且定冠词the通常略去；
purpose前面有物主代词时，注意后面跟介词in。
My purpose in writng the book purpose.
名词purpose的三种固定用法：be to the/little/no purpose，do something to some/much/no/little purpose，serve the/my purpose；
purpose作动词时，后面可跟不定式，动名词或that从句。
I purpose giving/to give the committee all the details.
我决定把细节都告诉委员会。
We purpose that such disasters shall not occur again.
我们决意不让悲剧重演。
【错句举例与错句分析】
错句: What is your purpose of going abroad?
订正: What is your purpose in going abroad?
翻译: 什么是你出国的目的？
分析: purpose作名字时，前面有物主代词时，后面跟介词in，而不是of。
【词义辨析】
aim, goal, purpose, end, target, object, objective
这些名词均有“目标、目的”之意。
aim从本义“靶子”引申而来，侧重比较具体而明确的目标，但常指短期目标。
goal指经过考虑和选择，需经坚持不懈的努力奋斗才能达到的最终目标。
purpose普通用词，既指以坚决、审慎的行动去达到的目的，又指心中渴望要实现的目标。
end指心目中怀着的某种目的，强调结果而非过程。较正式用词。
target指射击的靶，军事攻击目标。引申指被攻击、批评或嘲笑的目标。
object强调个人或需求而决定的目标、目的。
objective与object基本同义，但语义更广泛，指具体或很快能达到的目的，也可指军事目标。书面用词。
【例句用法】
She seems to do these things on purpose.
她似乎是有意地做这些事。
He purposed to visit South America.
他计划去南美。
Did you come to London for the purpose of seeing your family, or for business purposes?
你到伦敦来的目的是为了要看望家人还是为了公事？