DAY 14; Mar 11

4 Elizabeth meets Mr. Wickham （4-4）

1. ‘Now you must say something，Mr. Darcy．You could remark on the size of the room，or the number of couples．’

2. He smiled．‘I’ll say whatever you wish me to say．’

3. ‘Very well．That reply will do for the moment．Perhaps soon I’ll observe that private balls are much pleasanter than public ones．But now we can be silent．Conversation needs to be arranged in this way so that those people who don't enjoy talking are not required to make any effort．’

4. ‘Are you referring to yourself，or are you thinking of me？’

5. ‘Both，’said Elizabeth，smiling，‘because I think you and I are similar．We're both unsociable and unwilling to speak，unless we can astonish and impress the whole room．’

6. ‘I am sure you aren't like that，’he answered．‘I cannot say whether I am，or not．You obviously think so．’

7. She said nothing．

8. ‘Do you and your sisters often go to Meryton？’he continued．

9. ‘We do，’she replied，and，unable to resist the temptation （抵制诱惑）， she added，‘When you met us there last week，we had just been introduced to someone．’

10. The effect was immediate．There was a new coldness in Darcy's expression．After a moment he said，with difficulty，‘Mr. Wickham is so agreeable that he makes friends easily．Whether he can keep them is less certain．’

11. ‘He has been unlucky enough to lose your friendship，’ replied Elizabeth sharply，‘and in a way which will cause him hardship all his life．’Darcy did not reply to this，and there was only time for a little more conversation before the dance ended．

12. Elizabeth went to find Jane，and listened with delight as she described her feelings for Bingley，and her confidence in his affection （喜爱） for her．But apart from Jane，it seemed to Elizabeth that if her family had made an agreement to appear as stupid as possible during the ball，they could not have been more successful． First Mr. Collins insisted on going to introduce himself to Mr. Darcy，the nephew of his respected patron，and was received very coldly．Then，during supper，Mrs. Bennet could not be prevented from talking very loudly to Lady Lucas about her great hopes of Jane's marriage to Bingley．Elizabeth blushed in embarrassment when she realized that the Bingley sisters and Mr. Darcy were able to hear．Finally，when some music was required，Mary Bennet went confidently to the piano，and sang and played several songs，all rather badly．

13. The rest of the evening brought Elizabeth little amusement． She could not even go and talk to people she knew，as Mr. Collins seemed determined to stay close by her side all evening． Fortunately，her good friend Charlotte Lucas occasionally gave her some relief，by kindly listening to some of Mr. Collins’ long speeches．At least Elizabeth did not have to talk to Mr. Darcy any more．He often stood near her，quite alone，but did not come close enough to speak．

14. At the end of the evening it was obvious to Elizabeth that although her family had greatly enjoyed the ball，the Bingley sisters were eager for these particular guests to leave．Mr. Collins， however，was enthusiastic in his praise of the Bingleys’ hospitality (热情好客)，and Mrs. Bennet invited the whole Bingley family to visit Longbourn as soon as possible．She was feeling very satisfied， convinced that in three or four months Jane would be married to Bingley．She was also sure that Elizabeth would marry Mr. Collins．This was a good enough marriage for Elizabeth，who was her least favourite daughter，but not nearly as impressive as Jane's marriage to Bingley．

Task for Pride and Prejudice 14

 

NOTES: 

• 1. We're both unsociable and unwilling to speak，unless we can astonish and impress the whole room．

• 我们都不合群，不愿讲话，除非能语惊四座.

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• 2. ‘Mr. Wickham is so agreeable that he makes friends easily．Whether he can keep them is less certain．韦翰先生十分随和，结交朋友自然容易。至于能不能和朋友长久相处，那就很难说了。”

• 3. Fortunately，her good friend Charlotte Lucas occasionally gave her some relief，by kindly listening to some of Mr. Collins’ long speeches．幸运的是，她的好友夏洛特·卢卡斯偶尔让她松了口气，十分和善地听听柯林斯先生的某些长篇大论。

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• 4. But apart from Jane，it seemed to Elizabeth that if her family had made an agreement to appear as stupid as possible during the ball，they could not have been more successful．假如当初她们全家已达成一致，认为在舞会上出洋相越多越好的话，那么，他们这次表演是再成功不过的了，只有简是个例外。

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短语：

remark on:评论；谈论；议论

private ball:私人舞会

To be arranged in this way：以这种方式安排

unsociable：adj. 不爱交际的；不与人亲近的；不和气的

unwilling to speak：寡言

resist the temptation：抵制诱惑；抵挡住诱惑

be introduced to：被引见给

The effect is immediate：效果很立竿见影

confidence in:对……信任

affection for:对……的感情;对……的喜爱

make an agreement:达成协议；达成共识

be received coldly：遭冷遇

in embarrassment：尴尬地 窘迫的

went confidently to：自信地去

stay close：跟紧

by one's side：在某人旁边

eager for：渴望，迫切要

be enthusiastic in：热衷于

praise of：对……的赞美

hospitality：n. 好客；殷勤

a good enough marriage：一个足够好的婚姻

least favourite：最不喜欢的

not nearly：adv. 远非