DAY 9

3 Mr. Collins visits Longbourn （3-2）

1. Mary，the middle daughter， who spent most of her time reading and who seldom joined in family conversations， now remarked that in her opinion his letter was well expressed．But Kitty and Lydia did not show any interest in the letter or its writer．As it was highly unlikely that their cousin would arrive in a regimental uniform（军装）， they could not imagine having any pleasure in meeting him． Their mother， however， had changed her attitude towards Mr. Collins after his letter， and was now preparing to meet him with such calmness that it astonished her husband and daughters．

2. Mr. Collins arrived punctually(准时地)， and was received with great politeness by the whole family． Mr. Bennet indeed said little，but the ladies were ready enough to talk， and Mr. Collins did not seem in need of encouragement．He was a tall， heavy-looking young man of twenty-five．His expression was serious，and his manners very formal．Soon after his arrival， he said to Mrs. Bennet，‘Madam， I must compliment (恭维，奉承) you on having such a fine family of daughters． I had heard much of their beauty， but I find them even more beautiful than reports have stated．I do not doubt you will see them all well married quite soon．’

3. Mrs. Bennet never quarreled with compliments，and she answered，‘You're very kind，sir，and indeed I do hope so，because otherwise they’ll have nothing at all to live on．’

‘You refer perhaps to my inheriting the Bennet property？’

‘Ah，yes，sir，I do！You must confess（坦白） it is a sad business for my poor girls．’

‘I am very aware，madam，of the hardship to your lovely daughters—and could say more about this，but I am cautious of saying too much too soon．But I would like to say that I have come prepared to admire the young ladies．And perhaps when we know each other better—’

4. The bell rang for dinner，and the family moved into the dining-room with their guest．The girls smiled secretly at each other，as Mr. Collins praised the hall，the dining-room and all the furniture．Mrs. Bennet would normally have been delighted with such praise，but she could not help thinking that he was perhaps admiring it all as his future property．The dinner，too， he considered excellent，and he asked which of his charming cousins was responsible for it．But Mrs. Bennet explained quite sharply to him that they were very well able to afford a good cook，and that her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen． He begged her pardon immediately for offending(冒犯) her，and continued to apologize for about a quarter of an hour．

5. Mr. Bennet had hardly spoken up to now，but he thought it was time to enter the conversation．‘You seem very fortunate in your patron(赞助人，资助者), Mr. Collins，’he said．

6. He could not have chosen a better opening remark．Mr. Collins spoke enthusiastically for several minutes in praise of Lady Catherine．‘Never in my life have I witnessed such considerate behaviour in a person of high birth！Although she is such a great lady，she has never treated me with disdain蔑视．She talks to me almost as an equal，and gives me advice．For example，she has recommended me to marry as soon as possible．And do you know，she has asked me to dinner twice at her house！ Some people consider her proud，but she has only ever been kind to me．She even took the trouble to visit my small house， and was thoughtful enough to suggest one or two improvements—some shelves upstairs．’

‘That is very correct and polite，I'm sure，’said Mrs. Bennet．‘Does she live near you，sir？’

‘Only a small country road separates my poor house from Rosings Park，her ladyship's home．’

‘I think you said she is a widow？Has she any family？’

7. ‘She has only one daughter，who will inherit Rosings and all Lady Catherine's property．A most charming young lady，unfortunately in weak health．I often pay her some little compliment on her appearance or her accomplishments when I visit Rosings．Lady Catherine appreciates these compliments to her daughter，and I see it as my duty to please her ladyship．’

 

                                                  （自卑又自负的Mr. Collins )

NOTES:

1. compliment sb. on sth. 恭维sb

You can do no harm by paying a woman compliments...对女人说些恭维话没有坏处。

She's always ready to pay a compliment. 她随时准备恭维别人。

2. He could not have chosen a better opening remark．没有比这更好的开场白了。

3. a person of high birth出生高贵的人

4. I have come prepared to admire the young ladies．And perhaps when we know each other better—’。Mr. Colins这句话被午饭的铃声打断了。他究竟想说什么呢？

5. ‘She has only one daughter，who will inherit Rosings and all Lady Catherine's property．

根据前面我们讲过的“限制继承法”，Mr. Collins的这番话有什么破绽吗？

6. Her/Your Ladyship （对贵族的称呼）夫人，小姐 a title used when talking to or about a woman who is a member of the nobility 

Does Your Ladyship require anything?夫人你需要点什么？

7. 英语后缀suffix: -ship 
 （1）表示某种关系或状态 

friendship   n 友谊（friend朋友）

hardship   n 苦难（hard艰难的）

dictatorship   n 独裁专政（dictator独裁者）

partnership   n 合伙关系（partner合伙人）

relationship   n （亲属）关系（relation关系）

citizenship   n 公民身份（citizen公民）

membership   n 成员资格（member成员）

professorship n 高校教授职位
 

（2）表示某种技能 

airmanship   n 飞行技术（airman飞行员）

salesmanship   n 推销术（salesman推销员）

horsemanship   n 骑马术（horseman骑手）