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'No thank you,' said the Manager, standing, perhaps from the force of winter habit, with his back against the chimney-piece, and looking down upon the Captain with an eye in every tooth and gum. 'You have taken the liberty, you were going to say - though it's none—'
“不，谢谢您，”经理说道；也许是由于冬天养成的习惯，他还继续站着；他的背靠着壁炉架，并往下望着船长，好像他每个牙齿和牙床中都长着一只眼睛似的。“您刚才说，您冒昧地——其实并没有什么冒昧。”
'Thank'ee kindly, my lad,' returned the Captain: 'of coming here, on account of my friend Wal'r. Sol Gills, his Uncle, is a man of science, and in science he may be considered a clipper; but he ain't what I should altogether call a able seaman - not man of practice. Wal'r is as trim a lad as ever stepped; but he's a little down by the head in one respect, and that is, modesty. Now what I should wish to put to you,' said the Captain, lowering his voice, and speaking in a kind of confidential growl, 'in a friendly way, entirely between you and me, and for my own private reckoning, 'till your head Governor has wore round a bit, and I can come alongside of him, is this - Is everything right and comfortable here, and is Wal'r out'ard bound with a pretty fair wind?'
“非常感谢您，我的朋友，”船长回答道，“我是为了我的朋友沃尔冒昧地到这里来的，他的舅舅所尔·吉尔斯是一位搞科学的人，在科学上他可以算得上是一只快速帆船。可是，我不能把他称为能干的船员——他不是个注重实际的人。沃尔是个难得的棒小伙子；不过他也有缺点，那就是谦虚。现在，在你们老板心情没有稍稍恢复，我可以来跟他一起交谈之前，”船长压低了声音，以极为信任的低沉的粗声说道，“我希望以友好的方式，完全在您与我之间，也为了我个人有个正确的估量，向您提个问题，就是：这里是不是一切都很完善妥贴，沃尔出航是否顺风？”
'What do you think now, Captain Cuttle?' returned Carker, gathering up his skirts and settling himself in his position. 'You are a practical man; what do you think?'
“您现在怎么想，卡特尔船长？”卡克提起衣服下摆，站好姿势，回答道，“您是个注重实际的人，您怎么想呢？”
The acuteness and the significance of the Captain's eye as he cocked it in reply, no words short of those unutterable Chinese words before referred to could describe.
船长的眼睛向上一瞟作为回答，那眼光的锐利与意味深长，除了前面提到的不能发音的中国语言外，其他语言都不能形容。
'Come!' said the Captain, unspeakably encouraged, 'what do you say? Am I right or wrong?'
“好啦！”船长受到难以表述的鼓舞，说道，“请您说说，我对了还是错了？”
重点讲解
一.habit:n.习惯, 习性 n.骑装, 宗教服装 vt.给…穿衣服
【词义辨析】
habit, practice, custom, convention
这组名词一般含义为“习惯”。
habit指个人的“习惯”，通常用于表示做事、思考问题或行为举止的不自觉的方式方法。
That proved to be my undoing, for I soon got back to my old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen.
这证明是我的失败，因为我不久就回到在电视屏幕前打瞌睡的坏习惯去了。
practice既可表示个人的也可表示社会的“习惯”，这种“习惯”从性质上看是一种反复不断的或是有选择性的行为或者方法。
On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat——the normally accepted practice in many northern countries.
在另一方面，一想到用动物油煎马铃薯，你便会作呕。然而在许多北欧国家里，这是为大家接受的通常习惯。
She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open,yet following her general practice she had shut them before going out.
她慢慢地走进厅堂，并且立刻发现所有的房门都是开着的。但是按照她自己的一般习惯，她在外出前总是把门全部关好的。
custom具有 habit 和 practice 的一切含义，此外，custom 还包含这样一层意思：长期而广泛采用的行为或方法，即风俗习惯，按照某地区人们共同生活及其行为的准则或规范，它不仅有指导意义，而且具有必须遵循的意义。
Don't be a slave to custom.
不要做风俗习惯的奴隶。
From the moment of his birth the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behaviour.
一个人从诞生的那一时刻起，他降生后所处的风俗习惯便给他的阅历和行为定型。
convention其实是其他3个词的近义词，它的含义为：固定的或公众一致承认的行事或表达思想的方法。
They disregard social conventions without being conscious that they are doing anything extraordinary.
他们不顾社会习俗，并未意识到自己在做些与众不同的事。
【例句用法】
He is in the habit of rising early.
他有早起的习惯。
My colleague has broken off the habit of smoking.
我的同事已经戒掉了吸烟的习惯。
二.reply:v.回答, 答复, 回应 n.回答, 答复
【语法用法】
当reply指“回答”时，是及物动词。
He did not know what to reply.
他不知应该回答什么。
当reply指“答复”时，是不及物动词，如有宾语应加介词to，宾语应该是答复的具体对象。
He did not know how to reply to my question.
他对我的问题不知应如何作答。
reply后不可接人和that从句；
answer与reply有区别：
answer是及物动词，可以直接跟宾语，也可以用answer to的结构，前者更常用。而reply作“答复”解时，是不及物动词，必须用to。
answer有具体回答问题的意思，而reply仅仅是回复。
He replied to her letter, but he did not answer her questions.
他回复了她的信，但是没有回答她的问题。
【词义辨析】
answer, reply, respond, retort, return
这些动词均有“回答”之意。
answer常用词，指用书面、口头或行动对他人的请求、询问、质问等作出回答或反应。
reply较正式用词，较少用于口语。侧重经过考虑的较正式答复。
respond正式用词，指即刻的，以口头或行动对外来的号召、请求或刺激等作出回答或响应。
retort指对不同意见、批评或控诉作出迅速、有力的回答，即“反驳”。
return正式用词，从本义“归来，回去”引申作“回答、答辨”讲时，含反驳或反唇相讥之意。
【例句用法】
What a sage reply you gave!
多聪明的回答啊！
He did not vouchsafe a reply.
他未予答复。
【短语词组】
New Reply回复；回；最新回复；您
reply to回答；答复；回复；回应
A Reply一封回信；一封复书
Information Reply信息应答
Fast Reply快速回复
Reply Date回应日期
Suggestion Reply读者回覆；意见回覆