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死魂灵|Dead Souls

第一部 第五章|PART I CHAPTER V

属类： 双语小说 【分类】世界名著 -[作者: 果戈里] 阅读：[24072]
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我们的主人公可吓得魂飞魄散.虽然马车在不要命地跑,诺兹德廖夫的村子也早已被田野.丘陵.山岗遮得看不到了,但他仍然心惊胆战地不断回头张望,总担心马上会有追兵赶来.他喘气都感到困难;他试着把手放到心口上,感到心跳得就象笼子里的鹌鹑似的.

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Certainly Chichikov was a thorough coward, for, although the britchka pursued its headlong course until Nozdrev’s establishment had disappeared behind hillocks and hedgerows, our hero continued to glance nervously behind him, as though every moment expecting to see a stern chase begin. His breath came with difficulty, and when he tried his heart with his hands he could feel it fluttering like a quail caught in a net.

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"唉,简直折磨死我了!这家伙真狠!"接着便恶狠狠地诅咒起诺兹德廖夫来;甚至还用了几个不高雅的字眼儿.有什么办法呢?俄国人嘛,而且还在气头上.而且方才的事情可真不是儿戏.他自言自语地说:"不管怎么说,要不是县警官来得巧,或者再也无法欣赏上帝造的这个世界了!我会象水里的气泡一样消失得无影无踪,既没有留下后代,也没有给未来的子孙留下财产.留下诚实的名声!"我们的主人公是非常关心子孙后代的.

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“What a sweat the fellow has thrown me into!” he thought to himself, while many a dire and forceful aspiration passed through his mind. Indeed, the expressions to which he gave vent were most inelegant in their nature. But what was to be done next? He was a Russian and thoroughly aroused. The affair had been no joke. “But for the Superintendent,” he reflected, “I might never again have looked upon God’s daylight—I might have vanished like a bubble on a pool, and left neither trace nor posterity nor property nor an honourable name for my future offspring to inherit!” (it seemed that our hero was particularly anxious with regard to his possible issue).

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这时谢利凡想着:"这个老爷太差劲!这种老爷真是少见.真应该唾他一口!你不给人吃可以,马可得喂饱,马是爱吃燕麦的呀.燕麦是马的饭:就象我们离不开粮食一样,马离不开燕麦,燕麦是马的粮食呀."

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“What a scurvy barin!” mused Selifan as he drove along. “Never have I seen such a barin. I should like to spit in his face. ‘Tis better to allow a man nothing to eat than to refuse to feed a horse properly. A horse needs his oats—they are his proper fare. Even if you make a man procure a meal at his own expense, don’t deny a horse his oats, for he ought always to have them.”

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马看来对诺兹德廖夫也心存不满:不仅枣红马和税务官,就连那花斑马也不太高兴.花斑马虽然总是得到一份较差的燕麦,而且谢利凡给它往槽子里撒的时候,总想先说一句"给你,坏蛋!"可是那终归是燕麦,不只是干草啊,它总是高兴地嚼着燕麦,还要不时地把那大长嘴伸到同伴的槽子里去,尝尝人家的口粮是什么味儿,尤其是当谢利凡不在马厩的时候;但这次却是一色的干草不好;三匹马都不痛快.

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An equally poor opinion of Nozdrev seemed to be cherished also by the steeds, for not only were the bay and the Assessor clearly out of spirits, but even the skewbald was wearing a dejected air. True, at home the skewbald got none but the poorer sorts of oats to eat, and Selifan never filled his trough without having first called him a villain; but at least they WERE oats, and not hay—they were stuff which could be chewed with a certain amount of relish. Also, there was the fact that at intervals he could intrude his long nose into his companions’ troughs (especially when Selifan happened to be absent from the stable) and ascertain what THEIR provender was like. But at Nozdrev’s there had been nothing but hay! That was not right. All three horses felt greatly discontented.

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但大家这种闷闷不乐的心绪不久就被一件突如其来的事打断了.大家,包括马车夫本人在内,都是在一辆套着六匹马的马车撞到他们车上的时候才如梦方醒.坐在车里的女眷们的喊叫声和马车夫的辱骂恐吓声差不多就像在他们头上爆发的炸雷.那车夫骂道:"哎呀,你这个混蛋;我一直在对你喊:’往右拐呀,迷糊,往右拐!,你喝醉了,怎的?"谢利凡已觉得了自己理亏,但是俄国人是不喜欢公开认错的,所以便拉开架式回骂道:"你怎么赶的车?眼睛押在酒馆里啦?"说完便开始向后倒车,想从人家的车套里挣脱出来,但白费事,车套全都搅缠到一起了.花斑马好奇地闻着两边的新朋友它插到对方的两匹马中间.这时车里的女眷惊慌失色地在注视着这一切.女眷中一位是老太婆,另一位是年龄在二八的妙龄女郎,一头金黄色的秀发梳得精巧而可爱.椭圆的脸蛋儿红中透白,鲜艳娇嫩就象一个新下的鲜蛋拿在管家婆黢黑的手里对着太阳看的时候阳光透射过来的那种颜色.她那两只小巧玲珑的耳朵好像被明亮的阳光照射得通明透亮.这时她吃惊地张着嘴唇,眼里含着眼泪这一切在她身上显得那样可爱,以致我们的主人公足足呆看了她好几分钟,丝毫没有理会两家的马匹和车夫之间发生的纠缠.

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But presently the malcontents had their reflections cut short in a very rude and unexpected manner. That is to say, they were brought back to practicalities by coming into violent collision with a six-horsed vehicle, while upon their heads descended both a babel of cries from the ladies inside and a storm of curses and abuse from the coachman. “Ah, you damned fool!” he vociferated. “I shouted to you loud enough! Draw out, you old raven, and keep to the right! Are you drunk?” Selifan himself felt conscious that he had been careless, but since a Russian does not care to admit a fault in the presence of strangers, he retorted with dignity: “Why have you run into US? Did you leave your eyes behind you at the last tavern that you stopped at?” With that he started to back the britchka, in the hope that it might get clear of the other’s harness; but this would not do, for the pair were too hopelessly intertwined. Meanwhile the skewbald snuffed curiously at his new acquaintances as they stood planted on either side of him; while the ladies in the vehicle regarded the scene with an expression of terror. One of them was an old woman, and the other a damsel of about sixteen. A mass of golden hair fell daintily from a small head, and the oval of her comely face was as shapely as an egg, and white with the transparent whiteness seen when the hands of a housewife hold a new-laid egg to the light to let the sun’s rays filter through its shell. The same tint marked the maiden’s ears where they glowed in the sunshine, and, in short, what with the tears in her wide-open, arresting eyes, she presented so attractive a picture that our hero bestowed upon it more than a passing glance before he turned his attention to the hubbub which was being raised among the horses and the coachmen.

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赶开呀,你这个新城的迷糊!对方的车夫喊着.谢利凡向后拽了拽套绳,对方也往后拽了拽套绳,两边的马都朝后退了几步,但又凑到一起了,原来两边的车套绞成一团.这时,花斑马对它的新朋友已经产生了深厚的感情,无论如何也不肯从意外陷进去的车辙里退出来.它把大长嘴放到新朋友的脖颈上,好似在对着人家的耳朵说悄悄话呢,大概说的是一些不堪入耳的混话吧,因为那位新朋友在不停地扇动着耳朵嘛.

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“Back out, you rook of Nizhni Novgorod!” the strangers’ coachman shouted. Selifan tightened his reins, and the other driver did the same. The horses stepped back a little, and then came together again—this time getting a leg or two over the traces. In fact, so pleased did the skewbald seem with his new friends that he refused to stir from the melee into which an unforeseen chance had plunged him. Laying his muzzle lovingly upon the neck of one of his recently-acquired acquaintances, he seemed to be whispering something in that acquaintance’s ear—and whispering pretty nonsense, too, to judge from the way in which that confidant kept shaking his ears.

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见有这种热闹,村里的农夫都赶来了村子幸亏离的不远.这种热闹对农夫可以说是千载难逢的盛事,就象德国人看到了报纸或俱乐部似的.不一会儿马车旁边便挤得人山人海.村里就只剩下老太婆和小孩子了.绞到一起的车套解开了.花斑马长脸被打了几下,后退了几步.可那几匹外来的马呢,弄不明白是因为舍不得同新朋友分手呢,还是仅仅由于犯了糊涂,总之,不管车夫如何鞭打,它们总是寸步难行,象钉在那里一样.农夫们的关切心已达到了不可思议的程度.人人争先恐后地出谋划策:"去,安德留什卡,去牵右边的帮套,米佳伊大叔骑到辕马上!骑上去呀,米佳伊大叔!"米佳伊大叔留着火红的胡子,又高又瘦,骑到了辕马上,好象村里的那个钟楼,或者更象井边打水用的吊杆.车夫抽了几鞭子,可是无济于事,米佳伊大叔什么作用也没有起."停下,停下!"乡下人说道."米佳伊大叔骑到帮套上去,让米纳伊大叔骑到辕马上!"米纳伊大叔膀阔腰圆,胡子漆黑,象墨一样,肚子大得就象一只足够供全集市冻得发抖的人喝热蜜水用的大茶炊.他高高兴兴地骑上了辕马,辕马被压得差不多要趴到地上了."这回行啦!"乡下人喊着."打呀,打它!给那个黄骠马一鞭子,它象只懒蚊子站在那里支棱着腿儿!"米佳伊大叔和米纳伊大叔看到不管怎么打也无济于事,便两人都骑到辕马上,让安德留什卡骑到帮套上.车夫最后失去了耐性,把米佳伊大叔和米纳伊大叔都赶了下来.他这样做算对了,由于马身上已经热气腾腾,好象一口气赶了一站路似的.他让马休息了一会儿,马就自动架着车走了.

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At length peasants from a village which happened to be near the scene of the accident tackled the mess; and since a spectacle of that kind is to the Russian muzhik what a newspaper or a club-meeting is to the German, the vehicles soon became the centre of a crowd, and the village denuded even of its old women and children. The traces were disentangled, and a few slaps on the nose forced the skewbald to draw back a little; after which the teams were straightened out and separated. Nevertheless, either sheer obstinacy or vexation at being parted from their new friends caused the strange team absolutely to refuse to move a leg. Their driver laid the whip about them, but still they stood as though rooted to the spot. At length the participatory efforts of the peasants rose to an unprecedented degree of enthusiasm, and they shouted in an intermittent chorus the advice, “Do you, Andrusha, take the head of the trace horse on the right, while Uncle Mitai mounts the shaft horse. Get up, Uncle Mitai.” Upon that the lean, long, and red-bearded Uncle Mitai mounted the shaft horse; in which position he looked like a village steeple or the winder which is used to raise water from wells. The coachman whipped up his steeds afresh, but nothing came of it, and Uncle Mitai had proved useless. “Hold on, hold on!” shouted the peasants again. “Do you, Uncle Mitai, mount the trace horse, while Uncle Minai mounts the shaft horse.” Whereupon Uncle Minai—a peasant with a pair of broad shoulders, a beard as black as charcoal, and a belly like the huge samovar in which sbiten is brewed for all attending a local market—hastened to seat himself upon the shaft horse, which almost sank to the ground beneath his weight. “NOW they will go all right!” the muzhiks exclaimed. “Lay it on hot, lay it on hot! Give that sorrel horse the whip, and make him squirm like a koramora 22.” Nevertheless, the affair in no way progressed; wherefore, seeing that flogging was of no use, Uncles Mitai and Minai BOTH mounted the sorrel, while Andrusha seated himself upon the trace horse. Then the coachman himself lost patience, and sent the two Uncles about their business—and not before it was time, seeing that the horses were steaming in a way that made it clear that, unless they were first winded, they would never reach the next posthouse. So they were given a moment’s rest. That done, they moved off of their own accord!

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在这整个过程中,乞乞科夫一直全神贯注地注视着那个陌生的姑娘.他有几次想跟她谈谈,但是没有找到机会.女眷那辆马车终于驶去了,容貌清秀.体态轻盈的姑娘如梦幻般地消失了,剩下的又只是一条大道,一辆马车,读者熟悉的那三匹马,谢利凡,乞乞科夫和一片平坦空旷的田野了.在人生的道路上,不管是在粗鲁.贫苦和龌龊的社会底层还是在冷漠无情.衣冠楚楚的上流人士中间,每个人都可能碰到一种他从未见过的景象,这景象足以激起一种同他命中注定要体验一生的那种感情迥然不同的感情,虽然这种事情或许只有一次.不管我们生活中充满着怎样的悲哀烦恼,都可能有一丝灿烂的喜悦快活地一闪而过,正象一个偏远穷苦的村庄有时也突然会有一辆漂亮的马车驶过一样,那金碧辉煌的挽具.膘肥体壮的骏马和闪闪发光的车窗玻璃,使得除了农家大车以外再无所见的乡下人张着嘴,拿着帽子,久久地呆立在那里,尽管那辆奇异的马车已经飞驶而去,早就渺无踪迹了.那位金发女郎也是这样,突然出现在我们的小说里,又马上消失了.那时的乞乞科夫要是换上个二十岁的小伙子,无论这小伙子是个骠骑兵,是个大学生,还是个初入仕途的青年,天哪!他心里什么样的深情不会被唤醒,不会被触动,不会激荡起来呀!他会怅然若失,久久地呆立在那里,两眼直勾勾地盯着远方,忘记了赶路,忘记了耽搁误事会受到责备和控诉,忘记了自己,忘记了使命,忘记了世界,忘记了宇宙中的一切.

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Throughout, Chichikov had been gazing at the young unknown with great attention, and had even made one or two attempts to enter into conversation with her: but without success. Indeed, when the ladies departed, it was as in a dream that he saw the girl’s comely presence, the delicate features of her face, and the slender outline of her form vanish from his sight; it was as in a dream that once more he saw only the road, the britchka, the three horses, Selifan, and the bare, empty fields. Everywhere in life—yes, even in the plainest, the dingiest ranks of society, as much as in those which are uniformly bright and presentable—a man may happen upon some phenomenon which is so entirely different from those which have hitherto fallen to his lot. Everywhere through the web of sorrow of which our lives are woven there may suddenly break a clear, radiant thread of joy; even as suddenly along the street of some poor, poverty-stricken village which, ordinarily, sees nought but a farm waggon there may came bowling a gorgeous coach with plated harness, picturesque horses, and a glitter of glass, so that the peasants stand gaping, and do not resume their caps until long after the strange equipage has become lost to sight. Thus the golden-haired maiden makes a sudden, unexpected appearance in our story, and as suddenly, as unexpectedly, disappears. Indeed, had it not been that the person concerned was Chichikov, and not some youth of twenty summers—a hussar or a student or, in general, a man standing on the threshold of life—what thoughts would not have sprung to birth, and stirred and spoken, within him; for what a length of time would he not have stood entranced as he stared into the distance and forgot alike his journey, the business still to be done, the possibility of incurring loss through lingering—himself, his vocation, the world, and everything else that the world contains!

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然而我们的主人公已届不惑之年,而且为人冷静谨慎.但连他也产生奇思异想,而且想了很久,不过他的想法是慎重的,并不是漫无边际的,有些想法甚至可以说很实际."小妞儿不错!"他打开鼻烟盒嗅了一下鼻烟自言自语地说."但她身上主要是什么地方好呢?好就好在她看来是刚刚从寄宿学校或贵族女中毕业出来,她身上还丝毫没有常言所说的婆娘气,总之,没有婆娘们身上那种令人讨厌的东西,她如今仍是个孩子,身上的一切都是质朴的:想说就说,爱笑就笑.她现在还没有定型,可以出息成一个完美的人,也可以变成一个废物,而且准会变成一个废物!只要她的妈妈和婶子大娘们一插手,不用一年的工夫她就会变得婆娘气十足,变得连她的亲爹都认不出她来.哪儿来的傲慢与做作呢;她会按照谆谆教诲行事,开始冥思苦想,苦苦思索:该跟什么人说话,怎样说,说多少,该看谁,怎样看;她无时无刻不在提心吊胆地怕多说了话;终于连自己也糊涂了,结果便开始一辈子说起谎话来.真是鬼知道会出脱成一个什么样的人!"说到这里,他略停片刻,又接下去:"应该打听一下她是谁家的闺秀,她的父亲是什么人?是个品德高尚的殷实地主还是个做官捞了一把的正人君子?这个姑娘如果能有二十万卢布嫁妆,那可真是一块令人垂涎的肥肉呀.这可是一个体面人的好福气呀."

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But in the present case the hero was a man of middle-age, and of cautious and frigid temperament. True, he pondered over the incident, but in more deliberate fashion than a younger man would have done. That is to say, his reflections were not so irresponsible and unsteady. “She was a comely DAMSEL,” he said to himself as he opened his snuff-box and took a pinch. “But the important point is: Is she also a NICE DAMSEL? One thing she has in her favour—and that is that she appears only just to have left school, and not to have had time to become womanly in the worser sense. At present, therefore, she is like a child. Everything in her is simple, and she says just what she thinks, and laughs merely when she feels inclined. Such a damsel might be made into anything—or she might be turned into worthless rubbish. The latter, I surmise, for trudging after her she will have a fond mother and a bevy of aunts, and so forth—persons who, within a year, will have filled her with womanishness to the point where her own father wouldn’t know her. And to that there will be added pride and affectation, and she will begin to observe established rules, and to rack her brains as to how, and how much, she ought to talk, and to whom, and where, and so forth. Every moment will see her growing timorous and confused lest she be saying too much. Finally, she will develop into a confirmed prevaricator, and end by marrying the devil knows whom!” Chichikov paused awhile. Then he went on: “Yet I should like to know who she is, and who her father is, and whether he is a rich landowner of good standing, or merely a respectable man who has acquired a fortune in the service of the Government. Should he allow her, on marriage, a dowry of, say, two hundred thousand roubles, she will be a very nice catch indeed. She might even, so to speak, make a man of good breeding happy.”

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那二十万卢布诱人地在脑海里闪烁着,使他不由得暗自责怪自己为什么在排解马车纠纷的时候没有趁机向马夫或前导马御手探听一下车上的女眷是谁家的.但是,索巴克维奇的村庄不久就展现在眼前,驱散了他的胡思乱想,使他开始考虑起他所关注的那件大事来.

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Indeed, so attractively did the idea of the two hundred thousand roubles begin to dance before his imagination that he felt a twinge of self-reproach because, during the hubbub, he had not inquired of the postillion or the coachman who the travellers might be. But soon the sight of Sobakevitch’s country house dissipated his thoughts, and forced him to return to his stock subject of reflection.

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他觉得这个村子很大.两片树林一片桦树林,一片松树林,颜色一深一浅,象两只翅膀伸展在村子的左右两侧.村子中央可以发现一座带阁楼的木造住宅,红色的房盖,深灰色或者说炉灰色的墙壁,如同我国军屯区和德国移民区所盖的那种房子.能看得出来,在建造这座房子的时候,建筑师曾同房主的喜好进行过不懈的斗争.建筑师是个一丝不苟的人,主张对称;房主呢却喜欢舒服,显然因此才把一边儿的窗户全砌死了,在这些窗户所在的地方只开了一个小窗,那大概为的是照亮暗淡的贮藏室.正面三角门饰虽经建筑师力争,但终究未能筑在房子的正中间,因为主人吩咐把边上的一根圆柱撤掉,最后原来设计的四根圆柱便只剩了三根.院子是用特别粗的原木栅栏围起来的,极为坚韧.可见,这位地主对坚固性颇为关注.马厩.仓库.厨房也都是又重又粗的原木盖的,千秋万代不会倒塌.农民住的房舍建造得也很精致:墙壁的木头没有刨光,也没有雕花和其他装饰,但是活儿却做得牢固结实,无可指责.就连水井也是用一般只有建水磨或造船舶才用的那种结实的槲木构架的.总之,乞乞科夫所见到的一切都坚实牢靠.马车到大门口的时候,他看到一个窗口差不多同时探出两张脸来:一张是戴着包发帽的女人脸,又窄又长,象根黄瓜!另一张是男人脸,又圆又大,象俄国做巴拉莱卡琴用的那种葫芦,顺便说说,这种琴轻便,两根弦,二十来岁的机灵小伙子常常用它装装门面,对聚拢来听他拨弄琴弦的那些白胸脯白脖颈的姑娘们,挤眉弄眼,打打口哨.闲话少说.且说那两张脸张望了一下又同时缩了回去.一个仆人从门里走出,穿着灰色的短上衣,浅蓝色的立领.他把乞乞科夫领进穿堂,主人也从屋里迎了出来.他一看到客人,便简洁地说了一声"请!"就把他领进屋里去了.

11
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Sobakevitch’s country house and estate were of very fair size, and on each side of the mansion were expanses of birch and pine forest in two shades of green. The wooden edifice itself had dark-grey walls and a red-gabled roof, for it was a mansion of the kind which Russia builds for her military settlers and for German colonists. A noticeable circumstance was the fact that the taste of the architect had differed from that of the proprietor—the former having manifestly been a pedant and desirous of symmetry, and the latter having wished only for comfort. Consequently he (the proprietor) had dispensed with all windows on one side of the mansion, and had caused to be inserted, in their place, only a small aperture which, doubtless, was intended to light an otherwise dark lumber-room. Likewise, the architect’s best efforts had failed to cause the pediment to stand in the centre of the building, since the proprietor had had one of its four original columns removed. Evidently durability had been considered throughout, for the courtyard was enclosed by a strong and very high wooden fence, and both the stables, the coach-house, and the culinary premises were partially constructed of beams warranted to last for centuries. Nay, even the wooden huts of the peasantry were wonderful in the solidity of their construction, and not a clay wall or a carved pattern or other device was to be seen. Everything fitted exactly into its right place, and even the draw-well of the mansion was fashioned of the oakwood usually thought suitable only for mills or ships. In short, wherever Chichikov’s eye turned he saw nothing that was not free from shoddy make and well and skilfully arranged. As he approached the entrance steps he caught sight of two faces peering from a window. One of them was that of a woman in a mobcap with features as long and as narrow as a cucumber, and the other that of a man with features as broad and as short as the Moldavian pumpkins (known as gorlianki) whereof balallaiki—the species of light, two-stringed instrument which constitutes the pride and the joy of the gay young fellow of twenty as he sits winking and smiling at the white-necked, white-bosomed maidens who have gathered to listen to his low-pitched tinkling—are fashioned. This scrutiny made, both faces withdrew, and there came out on to the entrance steps a lacquey clad in a grey jacket and a stiff blue collar. This functionary conducted Chichikov into the hall, where he was met by the master of the house himself, who requested his guest to enter, and then led him into the inner part of the mansion.

12
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乞乞科夫看了索巴克维奇一眼,觉得索巴克维奇这次极象一只中等个头儿的熊.而且他身上穿的燕尾服也是地地道道的熊皮色,衣袖长,裤腿长,两脚迈起步来歪歪斜斜的,时常踩到别人的脚上.脸色火红,象铜钱的颜色.大家明白,世界上有许多脸造物主并没有肯费许多工夫去精雕细琢过;对这种脸,造物主没有肯用锉呀凿子呀之类的小工具,只是抡起斧子就砍:一斧子砍出个鼻子,另一斧子砍出两片嘴唇,再拿大钻钻出两只眼,没有再仔细推敲,说了声"活!"就打发他到这个世界上来了.索巴克维奇就是用这种方式造出来的一个最坚固的美妙的形象:他的上半身比下半身更有特点:脖颈丝毫不转动,因而他很少看谈话的对方,谈话时总是看着壁炉角儿或者房间门.他们穿过餐厅的时候,乞乞科夫又看了索巴克维奇一眼:是个熊!地地道道的熊!真是再巧不过了:连他的名字米哈伊尔.谢苗诺维奇都使人联想到熊.乞乞科夫知道他有踩人脚的习惯,所以落脚时便很小心,并且让他走在前边.主人好象自己也感觉到有这么一个缺点,所以马上问道:"我没有骚扰您吗?"乞乞科夫道了谢,说暂时还没有受到任何骚扰.

12
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A covert glance at Sobakevitch showed our hero that his host exactly resembled a moderate-sized bear. To complete the resemblance, Sobakevitch’s long frockcoat and baggy trousers were of the precise colour of a bear’s hide, while, when shuffling across the floor, he made a criss-cross motion of the legs, and had, in addition, a constant habit of treading upon his companion’s toes. As for his face, it was of the warm, ardent tint of a piatok 23. Persons of this kind—persons to whose designing nature has devoted not much thought, and in the fashioning of whose frames she has used no instruments so delicate as a file or a gimlet and so forth—are not uncommon. Such persons she merely roughhews. One cut with a hatchet, and there results a nose; another such cut with a hatchet, and there materialises a pair of lips; two thrusts with a drill, and there issues a pair of eyes. Lastly, scorning to plane down the roughness, she sends out that person into the world, saying: “There is another live creature.” Sobakevitch was just such a ragged, curiously put together figure—though the above model would seem to have been followed more in his upper portion than in his lower. One result was that he seldom turned his head to look at the person with whom he was speaking, but, rather, directed his eyes towards, say, the stove corner or the doorway. As host and guest crossed the dining-room Chichikov directed a second glance at his companion. “He is a bear, and nothing but a bear,” he thought to himself. And, indeed, the strange comparison was inevitable. Incidentally, Sobakevitch’s Christian name and patronymic were Michael Semenovitch. Of his habit of treading upon other people’s toes Chichikov had become fully aware; wherefore he stepped cautiously, and, throughout, allowed his host to take the lead. As a matter of fact, Sobakevitch himself seemed conscious of his failing, for at intervals he would inquire: “I hope I have not hurt you?” and Chichikov, with a word of thanks, would reply that as yet he had sustained no injury.

13
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进了客厅,索巴克维奇指了一下圈椅,又简洁地说了声:"请!"乞乞科夫落座的时候,看了一眼墙和墙上的画儿.画上是一色的英雄好汉,都是些希腊将领的全身像:有穿着红军裤绿军服.鼻上戴着眼镜的马弗罗科尔达托,还有科洛科特罗尼.米阿乌利.卡纳里.这些英雄好汉都是大粗腿.大胡子,让人看了不禁要心惊胆颤.在这些希腊彪形大汉中间,不知由于什么原因和出于什么企图,也挂了一张瘦小的俄国将领巴格拉季翁的画像(画的下部是一些小军旗和小炮),而且镶在一个最狭小的镜框里.接下去的是希腊女英雄波别利娜,她的腿要比充斥于现代社交场合的那些花花公子的腰还粗.主人自己是个健壮的人,因此他好象也想用一些强壮的人来装饰自己的房间.波别利娜旁边,紧挨着窗口,挂着一只鸟笼,里面是一只毛色灰暗带白斑点的鸫鸟,样子非常象索巴克维奇.主客两人刚刚沉默了两分钟,客厅的门就开了,走进来一位女主人.这位太太身材很高,头戴包发帽,帽带儿是家制染料改染的.她稳步走了进来,直直地挺着头,象一株棕榈.

13
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At length they reached the drawing-room, where Sobakevitch pointed to an armchair, and invited his guest to be seated. Chichikov gazed with interest at the walls and the pictures. In every such picture there were portrayed either young men or Greek generals of the type of Movrogordato (clad in a red uniform and breaches), Kanaris, and others; and all these heroes were depicted with a solidity of thigh and a wealth of moustache which made the beholder simply shudder with awe. Among them there were placed also, according to some unknown system, and for some unknown reason, firstly, Bagration 24—tall and thin, and with a cluster of small flags and cannon beneath him, and the whole set in the narrowest of frames—and, secondly, the Greek heroine, Bobelina, whose legs looked larger than do the whole bodies of the drawing-room dandies of the present day. Apparently the master of the house was himself a man of health and strength, and therefore liked to have his apartments adorned with none but folk of equal vigour and robustness. Lastly, in the window, and suspended cheek by jowl with Bobelina, there hung a cage whence at intervals there peered forth a white-spotted blackbird. Like everything else in the apartment, it bore a strong resemblance to Sobakevitch. When host and guest had been conversing for two minutes or so the door opened, and there entered the hostess—a tall lady in a cap adorned with ribands of domestic colouring and manufacture. She entered deliberately, and held her head as erect as a palm.

14
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这是我的费奥杜利娅.伊万诺夫娜!索巴克维奇说.

14
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“This is my wife, Theodulia Ivanovna,” said Sobakevitch.

15
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乞乞科夫走过去吻费奥杜利娅.伊万诺夫娜的手,费奥杜利娅.伊万诺夫娜几乎是把手径直塞到他的嘴唇上去的.这一刹那间乞乞科夫留意到她的手是用腌黄瓜的水洗干净的.

15
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Chichikov approached and took her hand. The fact that she raised it nearly to the level of his lips apprised him of the circumstance that it had just been rinsed in cucumber oil.

16
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亲爱的,给你介绍一下,索巴克维奇补充说:"这位是帕维尔.伊万诺维奇.乞乞科夫!是我在省长和邮政局长家里有幸认识的."

16
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“My dear, allow me to introduce Paul Ivanovitch Chichikov,” added Sobakevitch. “He has the honour of being acquainted both with our Governor and with our Postmaster.”

17
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费奥杜利娅.伊万诺夫娜也简洁地说了声"请",头象扮演女王的女演员似的摇了一下,请乞乞科夫落座.她接着也坐到长沙发上,戴上细羊毛围巾,就再一动也不动了,甚至连眼睛和眉毛也没有动一下.

17
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Upon this Theodulia Ivanovna requested her guest to be seated, and accompanied the invitation with the kind of bow usually employed only by actresses who are playing the role of queens. Next, she took a seat upon the sofa, drew around her her merino gown, and sat thereafter without moving an eyelid or an eyebrow.

18
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乞乞科夫又扬起头来,又看到了大粗腿.大胡子的卡纳里以及波别利娜和笼中的鸫鸟.

18
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As for Chichikov, he glanced upwards, and once more caught sight of Kanaris with his fat thighs and interminable moustache, and of Bobelina and the blackbird.

19
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足足有五分钟的光景,大家都保持沉默,仅有鸫鸟看到木笼子底儿上有粮粒,去啄食,嘴触到木板上发出了咚咚声.乞乞科夫又看了一下屋里的陈设,屋里所有的东西都是高度坚固.极其笨重的,同屋子的主人有出奇相似之处;客厅的一角放着一张胡桃木大肚子写字台,四条怪诞的桌腿又矮又粗:活象一只熊.桌子,圈椅.靠背椅,一切都带有种笨手笨脚.令人吃惊的特性,一言概之,每件东西,每把椅子都好象在说:"我也是索巴克维奇!"或者:"我也很象索巴克维奇!"

19
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For fully five minutes all present preserved a complete silence—the only sound audible being that of the blackbird’s beak against the wooden floor of the cage as the creature fished for grains of corn. Meanwhile Chichikov again surveyed the room, and saw that everything in it was massive and clumsy in the highest degree; as also that everything was curiously in keeping with the master of the house. For example, in one corner of the apartment there stood a hazelwood bureau with a bulging body on four grotesque legs—the perfect image of a bear. Also, the tables and the chairs were of the same ponderous, unrestful order, and every single article in the room appeared to be saying either, “I, too, am a Sobakevitch,” or “I am exactly like Sobakevitch.”

20
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我们在公证处长伊万.格里戈里耶维奇家里曾念叨过您,乞乞科夫看到谁也不愿说话便先开了口,"那是上个星期四.大家在那里玩得非常愉快."

20
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“I heard speak of you one day when I was visiting the President of the Council,” said Chichikov, on perceiving that no one else had a mind to begin a conversation. “That was on Thursday last. We had a very pleasant evening.”

21
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是的,我那次没到处长府上去,索巴克维奇说.

21
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“Yes, on that occasion I was not there,” replied Sobakevitch.

22
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真是个好人!

22
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“What a nice man he is!”

23
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谁?索巴克维奇看着壁炉角儿说道.

23
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“Who is?” inquired Sobakevitch, gazing into the corner by the stove.

24
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处长呗.

24
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“The President of the Local Council.”

25
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也许这是您的错觉:这样的混蛋世界上还从来没有过呢.

25
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“Did he seem so to you? True, he is a mason, but he is also the greatest fool that the world ever saw.”

26
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这种颇为偏激的评价使乞乞科夫感到有些不高兴,可是他恢复常态以后便接着说:

26
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Chichikov started a little at this mordant criticism, but soon pulled himself together again, and continued:

27
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当然,人都不是没有缺点的,不过省长却是一个少有的好人哪!

27
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“Of course, every man has his weakness. Yet the President seems to be an excellent fellow.”

28
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省长是少有的好人?

28
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“And do you think the same of the Governor?”

29
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是的,不对吗?

29
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“Yes. Why not?”

30
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世界上头号贼!

30
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“Because there exists no greater rogue than he.”

31
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怎么,省长是贼?乞乞科夫说,他丝毫理解不了省长怎么会成了强盗."坦率地说,我怎么也没有想到这一点,"他补充说."不过,请恕我直言:他的言谈举止完全不像呀;相反,他的性格里倒是太多了点温柔."因此他把省长亲手绣钱包儿的事也拿出来作论据,而且把他脸上的那副慈祥神情赞扬了一番.

31
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“What? The Governor a rogue?” ejaculated Chichikov, at a loss to understand how the official in question could come to be numbered with thieves. “Let me say that I should never have guessed it. Permit me also to remark that his conduct would hardly seem to bear out your opinion—he seems so gentle a man.” And in proof of this Chichikov cited the purses which the Governor knitted, and also expatiated on the mildness of his features.

32
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脸上的神情也是一副强盗相!索巴克维奇说."给他一把刀子,让他到大道上去他会杀人的,为了一个铜板就能把人杀了!他和副省长都是一路货暴君虐主."

32
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“He has the face of a robber,” said Sobakevitch. “Were you to give him a knife, and to turn him loose on a turnpike, he would cut your throat for two kopecks. And the same with the Vice-Governor. The pair are just Gog and Magog.”

33
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乞乞科夫心想:"噢,他跟他们不和.跟他谈谈警察局长看看怎样?警察局长好象是他的好朋友."因此便说:

33
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“Evidently he is not on good terms with them,” thought Chichikov to himself. “I had better pass to the Chief of Police, which whom he DOES seem to be friendly.” Accordingly he added aloud:

34
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不过,至于我呢,直说吧,警察局长是我最喜欢的.他的性格那么耿直.开朗;脸上也显露着一种憨厚的神情.

34
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“For my own part, I should give the preference to the Head of the Gendarmery. What a frank, outspoken nature he has! And what an element of simplicity does his expression contain!”

35
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那是个骗子!索巴克维奇很冷峭地说."他出卖了你,骗了你,还会跟你坐到一起吃饭哩!我清楚他们这些人:都是些骗子;全市都是这样:骗子骑在骗子身上,还用骗子来赶.全是些出卖基督的坏蛋.那里只有一个正经人:检察长;可那家伙呢,真的,却是一头蠢猪."

35
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“He is mean to the core,” remarked Sobakevitch coldly. “He will sell you and cheat you, and then dine at your table. Yes, I know them all, and every one of them is a swindler, and the town a nest of rascals engaged in robbing one another. Not a man of the lot is there but would sell Christ. Yet stay: ONE decent fellow there is—the Public Prosecutor; though even HE, if the truth be told, is little better than a pig.”

36
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听了这些歌功颂德的评论尽管略嫌简略一些,乞乞科夫看明白:其他官员就不必再提了;他也想起来:索巴克维奇是不喜欢说任何人好话的.

36
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After these eulogia Chichikov saw that it would be useless to continue running through the list of officials—more especially since suddenly he had remembered that Sobakevitch was not at any time given to commending his fellow man.

37
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怎样,亲爱的,吃饭去吧,夫人对索巴克维奇说.

37
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“Let us go to luncheon, my dear,” put in Theodulia Ivanovna to her spouse.

38
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索巴克维奇说."请!"随后,主人和客人走到放着冷盘儿的小桌旁,照例各自喝了一杯伏特加酒,吃了一点儿冷食,冷食同辽阔的俄国城乡各地一样,就是各种盐渍的能开胃的东西.接着,大家就向餐厅走去.女主人慢悠悠地走在最前头,象一只举止文雅的母鹅.一张窄小的餐桌,摆了四份餐具.第四个位置上很快就出现了一位女士,很难推断出她是何许人:是太太还是姑娘,是亲戚,管家婆,还是寄居在别人家的普通食客;她没有戴包发帽,三十岁上下,包着花头巾.有些人在这个世界上是不作为独立实体存在的,而是作为无关大雅的斑点附着在其他实体上.她们总是坐在同样的位置上,头总是保持着同样的不动的姿势,你差不多要把她们当成屋里的摆设了,你心里会想,她们的嘴生来就没有说过一句话;但是一到使女室或者贮藏室,她们就判若两人啦!

38
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“Yes; pray come to table,” said Sobakevitch to his guest; whereupon they consumed the customary glass of vodka (accompanied by sundry snacks of salted cucumber and other dainties) with which Russians, both in town and country, preface a meal. Then they filed into the dining-room in the wake of the hostess, who sailed on ahead like a goose swimming across a pond. The small dining-table was found to be laid for four persons—the fourth place being occupied by a lady or a young girl (it would have been difficult to say which exactly) who might have been either a relative, the housekeeper, or a casual visitor. Certain persons in the world exist, not as personalities in themselves, but as spots or specks on the personalities of others. Always they are to be seen sitting in the same place, and holding their heads at exactly the same angle, so that one comes within an ace of mistaking them for furniture, and thinks to oneself that never since the day of their birth can they have spoken a single word.

39
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亲爱的,今天的青菜汤很好!索巴克维奇说,他喝了一口菜汤,从盘里拿了一大块杂馅包子这是配汤吃的名菜点,是羊肚儿里楦上荞麦饭.牛脑子和蘑菇茎做的."这样的包子,"他转身对着乞乞科夫说道:"您在市里是吃不到的,鬼知道他们会塞给您什么!"

39
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“My dear,” said Sobakevitch, “the cabbage soup is excellent.” With that he finished his portion, and helped himself to a generous measure of niania 25—the dish which follows shtchi and consists of a sheep’s stomach stuffed with black porridge, brains, and other things. “What niania this is!” he added to Chichikov. “Never would you get such stuff in a town, where one is given the devil knows what.”

40
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可是省长公馆的饭菜不错呀,乞乞科夫说.

40
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“Nevertheless the Governor keeps a fair table,” said Chichikov.

41
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您知道那是用些什么东西做的吗?您知道就不会吃啦.

41
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“Yes, but do you know what all the stuff is MADE OF?” retorted Sobakevitch. “If you DID know you would never touch it.”

42
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怎样做的我说不出,不能随意论断,可是那猪排和炖鱼却是极好的.

42
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“Of course I am not in a position to say how it is prepared, but at least the pork cutlets and the boiled fish seemed excellent.”

43
-

这是您的错觉.我可明白他们在市场上买些什么东西.那个坏蛋厨子,跟法国人学,到市场上买一只公猫,剥掉皮,就送到桌上来充兔子.

43
-

“Ah, it might have been thought so; yet I know the way in which such things are bought in the market-place. They are bought by some rascal of a cook whom a Frenchman has taught how to skin a tomcat and then serve it up as hare.”

44
-

哎!你怎么说这么恶心的事,索巴克维奇太太说.

44
-

“Ugh! What horrible things you say!” put in Madame.

45
-

怎么办呢,亲爱的,他们就是这么做的嘛;不能抱怨我,他们都是这样做的呀.不管是什么废物,要是咱们家的阿库利卡早就扔到请原谅扔到泔水桶里去了,但是他们却拿它煮汤!往汤里放!放到汤里去!

45
-

“Well, my dear, that is how things are done, and it is no fault of mine that it is so. Moreover, everything that is left over—everything that WE (pardon me for mentioning it) cast into the slop-pail—is used by such folk for making soup.”

46
-

你在吃饭的时候总爱说这类令人作呕事儿!索巴克维奇太太又指责了一句.

46
-

“Always at table you begin talking like this!” objected his helpmeet.

47
-

亲爱的,有什么办法呢,索巴克维奇说:"又不是我这样干的,但我要当面对你说:我决不吃乌七八糟的东西.青蛙就是用糖包起来,我也不往嘴里放,牡蛎也不吃:我知道牡蛎的样子象什么.请吃点儿羊肉,"他又转身对乞乞科夫说:"这是羊肋配米饭,不是城里老爷们厨房里做的那种羊肉,他们用的肉都在市场上放了四五天了!这都是德国博士和法国博士们想出来的:为了这个,我真想全绞死他们!他们想出了什么饮食疗法,用少吃挨饿的办法来治病!他们德国人文弱,不吃东西行,他们以为俄国人的胃也受得了!不,全是他们的无稽之谈,全是"说到这里,索巴克维奇甚至气愤地摇了一下头."他们高谈文明.文明,但是这种文明呸!真想用个别的词,但是吃饭时说不合适.我家里不这样.我是吃猪肉就来只整猪;吃羊肉,就来只全羊;吃鹅,就把整鹅端上来!我宁愿吃两样菜,但要吃得心满意足."

47
-

“And why not?” said Sobakevitch. “I tell you straight that I would not eat such nastiness, even had I made it myself. Sugar a frog as much as you like, but never shall it pass MY lips. Nor would I swallow an oyster, for I know only too well what an oyster may resemble. But have some mutton, friend Chichikov. It is shoulder of mutton, and very different stuff from the mutton which they cook in noble kitchens—mutton which has been kicking about the market-place four days or more. All that sort of cookery has been invented by French and German doctors, and I should like to hang them for having done so. They go and prescribe diets and a hunger cure as though what suits their flaccid German systems will agree with a Russian stomach! Such devices are no good at all.” Sobakevitch shook his head wrathfully. “Fellows like those are for ever talking of civilisation. As if THAT sort of thing was civilisation! Phew!” (Perhaps the speaker’s concluding exclamation would have been even stronger had he not been seated at table.) “For myself, I will have none of it. When I eat pork at a meal, give me the WHOLE pig; when mutton, the WHOLE sheep; when goose, the WHOLE of the bird. Two dishes are better than a thousand, provided that one can eat of them as much as one wants.”

48
-

索巴克维奇用行动证明了自己的话:他把半拉羊肋扒到自己的盘子里,肉吃光了,骨头也啃了,还把每块骨头嘬了一遍.

48
-

And he proceeded to put precept into practice by taking half the shoulder of mutton on to his plate, and then devouring it down to the last morsel of gristle and bone.

49
-

这家伙倒挺会吃.乞乞科夫心想.

49
-

“My word!” reflected Chichikov. “The fellow has a pretty good holding capacity!”

50
-

我家里不这样,索巴克维奇用餐巾擦着油手说,"我家里不这样,不象普柳什金:有八百个农奴,吃住还不如我家放牲口的!"

50
-

“None of it for me,” repeated Sobakevitch as he wiped his hands on his napkin. “I don’t intend to be like a fellow named Plushkin, who owns eight hundred souls, yet dines worse than does my shepherd.”

51
-

乞乞科夫问道."这普柳什金是什么人?"

51
-

“Who is Plushkin?” asked Chichikov.

52
-

混蛋一个,索巴克维奇答道."小气得难以想象.监狱里带镣铐的犯人也比他生活得好:人全叫他给饿死了!"

52
-

“A miser,” replied Sobakevitch. “Such a miser as never you could imagine. Even convicts in prison live better than he does. And he starves his servants as well.”

53
-

真的!乞乞科夫殷勤地接过话茬说,"您是说他家的农奴死的多吗?"

53
-

“Really?” ejaculated Chichikov, greatly interested. “Should you, then, say that he has lost many peasants by death?”

54
-

大批大批地,象死苍蝇似的.

54
-

“Certainly. They keep dying like flies.”

55
-

真象死苍蝇似的?请问他住得离您这里有多远?

55
-

“Then how far from here does he reside?”

56
-

五俄里.

56
-

“About five versts.”

57
-

乞乞科夫喊了一声,"五俄里!"他甚至感到了微微的心跳."那么从您家大门出去,是往右拐呢还是往左拐?"

57
-

“Only five versts?” exclaimed Chichikov, feeling his heart beating joyously. “Ought one, when leaving your gates, to turn to the right or to the left?”

58
-

索巴克维奇说."我劝您不要打听去这条老狗家的路!到任何一个下贱地方去也比到他家去更能得到宽恕."

58
-

“I should be sorry to tell you the way to the house of such a cur,” said Sobakevitch. “A man had far better go to hell than to Plushkin’s.”

59
-

不,我打听并无任何目的,不过是想了解一下各地情况,乞乞科夫答道.

59
-

“Quite so,” responded Chichikov. “My only reason for asking you is that it interests me to become acquainted with any and every sort of locality.”

60
-

羊肋之后,端上了奶渣饼,每个都比盘子大得多;不久又端上了大火鸡,个头儿赛牛犊,里面塞满了馅:鸡蛋啦,大米饭啦,猪肝啦,以及说不上来的什么东西,都是塞在鸡肚子里.午餐至此结束.离开餐桌的时候,乞乞科夫觉得自己的体重增加了足足一英镑.主客一块儿来到客厅,客厅里已摆好了一小碟果酱,不是梨酱,不是李子酱,也不是什么别的野果酱,但客人和主人都没有动它一下.女主人出去往别的小碟里盛果酱去了.

60
-

To the shoulder of mutton there succeeded, in turn, cutlets (each one larger than a plate), a turkey of about the size of a calf, eggs, rice, pastry, and every conceivable thing which could possibly be put into a stomach. There the meal ended. When he rose from table Chichikov felt as though a pood’s weight were inside him. In the drawing-room the company found dessert awaiting them in the shape of pears, plums, and apples; but since neither host nor guest could tackle these particular dainties the hostess removed them to another room.

61
-

趁她不在,乞乞科夫打算跟索巴克维奇谈正事,索巴克维奇在饱餐之后,嘴里咕咕噜噜,发出一些含混不清的声音,躺在圈椅上,手一会儿划划十字,一会儿捂着嘴.乞乞科夫对他说道:我想同您谈一件小事.

61
-

Taking advantage of her absence, Chichikov turned to Sobakevitch (who, prone in an armchair, seemed, after his ponderous meal, to be capable of doing little beyond belching and grunting—each such grunt or belch necessitating a subsequent signing of the cross over the mouth), and intimated to him a desire to have a little private conversation concerning a certain matter. At this moment the hostess returned.

62
-

又拿来一碟儿蜜糖!女主人端着一个小碟儿进来了."蜜糖煮萝卜!"

62
-

“Here is more dessert,” she said. “Pray have a few radishes stewed in honey.”

63
-

索巴克维奇说."我们等会儿再吃!""你先回屋去吧,我要帮帕维尔.伊万诺维奇脱掉燕尾服,稍稍休息一会儿!"

63
-

“Later, later,” replied Sobakevitch. “Do you go to your room, and Paul Ivanovitch and I will take off our coats and have a nap.”

64
-

女主人要吩咐人送鸭绒被子和枕头来,男主人说:"不用啦,我们坐在圈椅里休息一下就可以了."因此女主人就走了.

64
-

Upon this the good lady expressed her readiness to send for feather beds and cushions, but her husband expressed a preference for slumbering in an armchair, and she therefore departed.

65
-

索巴克维奇把头微微低下,准备聆听事情的内容.

65
-

When she had gone Sobakevitch inclined his head in an attitude of willingness to listen to Chichikov’s business. Our hero began in a sort of detached manner—touching lightly upon the subject of the Russian Empire, and expatiating upon the immensity of the same, and saying that even the Empire of Ancient Rome had been of considerably smaller dimensions. Meanwhile Sobakevitch sat with his head drooping.

66
-

乞乞科夫不知为什么,兜了个大圈子,话题拉得很远,先谈了一下整个俄国的概况,大大赞扬了一番它的辽阔广大,说甚至古代罗马帝国也没有这么辽阔广大,外国人的惊讶是不足为怪的索巴克维奇一直低头听着.乞乞科夫接着说,这个国家的光荣是无与伦比的,但是根据这个国家目前的规定,那些已经结束了生存活动的农奴,在新的农奴丁口登记之前,依然跟活着的农奴一样计数,为的是不以大量繁琐而无用的手续增加官署的负担,不使本已极为复杂的国家机构更加复杂索巴克维奇仍在低头听着这种做法虽然是正确的,但由于需要象替活农奴那样为他们纳税而使许多农奴主感到负担过重,他个人对索巴克维奇心怀敬意,甘愿承担部分确属沉重的负担.主要的意图,乞乞科夫表述得极为审慎:尽量没有把死农奴说成死农奴,但只是说成不复存在的农奴.

66
-

From that Chichikov went on to remark that, according to the statutes of the said Russian Empire (which yielded to none in glory—so much so that foreigners marvelled at it), peasants on the census lists who had ended their earthly careers were nevertheless, on the rendering of new lists, returned equally with the living, to the end that the courts might be relieved of a multitude of trifling, useless emendations which might complicate the already sufficiently complex mechanism of the State. Nevertheless, said Chichikov, the general equity of this measure did not obviate a certain amount of annoyance to landowners, since it forced them to pay upon a non-living article the tax due upon a living. Hence (our hero concluded) he (Chichikov) was prepared, owing to the personal respect which he felt for Sobakevitch, to relieve him, in part, of the irksome obligation referred to (in passing, it may be said that Chichikov referred to his principal point only guardedly, for he called the souls which he was seeking not “dead,” but “non-existent”).

67
-

索巴克维奇仍然是低头倾听着,脸上没有显出一丝儿其他表情的东西.好象这具躯壳里没有灵魂,换句话说,他的心灵,却根本不在它应该在的地方,就象民间故事讲的那个长生不老.为富不仁的干瘪老头子似的,把灵魂埋在深山里,上边又罩上一层厚厚的外壳,因此不管灵魂深处如何翻腾,表面上却毫无震荡的踪迹.

67
-

Meanwhile Sobakevitch listened with bent head; though something like a trace of expression dawned in his face as he did so. Ordinarily his body lacked a soul—or, if he did possess a soul, he seemed to keep it elsewhere than where it ought to have been; so that, buried beneath mountains (as it were) or enclosed within a massive shell, its movements produced no sort of agitation on the surface.

68
-

怎样?乞乞科夫说完,期待着回答,怀着不无焦虑的心情.

68
-

“Well?” said Chichikov—though not without a certain tremor of diffidence as to the possible response.

69
-

您需要死农奴?索巴克维奇问道,他的语调极为平淡,毫无惊奇的表示,好象谈的是粮食.

69
-

“You are after dead souls?” were Sobakevitch’s perfectly simple words. He spoke without the least surprise in his tone, and much as though the conversation had been turning on grain.

70
-

是的,乞乞科夫答道,为了表达得隐瞒一些,他加了一句:"不复存在的农奴."

70
-

“Yes,” replied Chichikov, and then, as before, softened down the expression “dead souls.”

71
-

有啊,为什么没有呢索巴克维奇说.

71
-

“They are to be found,” said Sobakevitch. “Why should they not be?”

72
-

既然有,那您无疑将愿意摆脱他们罗?

72
-

“Then of course you will be glad to get rid of any that you may chance to have?”

73
-

请原谅,我愿意卖,索巴克维奇说着,他稍稍地抬起了头,因为他已经看到买主在这笔交易里定有利可图.

73
-

“Yes, I shall have no objection to SELLING them.” At this point the speaker raised his head a little, for it had struck him that surely the would-be buyer must have some advantage in view.

74
-

乞乞科夫暗想:"妈的,这家伙没等我张嘴就先张罗卖了!"于是出声地问道:

74
-

“The devil!” thought Chichikov to himself. “Here is he selling the goods before I have even had time to utter a word!”

75
-

比方说,卖多少钱呢,其实讲金钱,对这种东西倒有点少见哩

75
-

“And what about the price?” he added aloud. “Of course, the articles are not of a kind very easy to appraise.”

76
-

为了不跟您耍谎,一百卢布一个吧!索巴克维奇说.

76
-

“I should be sorry to ask too much,” said Sobakevitch. “How would a hundred roubles per head suit you?”

77
-

一百一个!乞乞科夫叫了起来,他瞪着对方的眼睛,张着嘴,摸不清是自己听错了,还是索巴克维奇笨拙的舌头转动不灵,把一个数字说成了另一个数字.

77
-

“What, a hundred roubles per head?” Chichikov stared open-mouthed at his host—doubting whether he had heard aright, or whether his host’s slow-moving tongue might not have inadvertently substituted one word for another.

78
-

怎么,难道你觉得贵吗?索巴克维奇问道,"您给个什么价呢?"接着又继续说道

78
-

“Yes. Is that too much for you?” said Sobakevitch. Then he added: “What is your own price?”

79
-

我给价!我们大概是没有听懂对方的话,忘记谈的是什么东西啦.也许是搞错了,说实话,我觉得八十戈比一个,就是最好的价钱啦!

79
-

“My own price? I think that we cannot properly have understood one another—that you must have forgotten of what the goods consist. With my hand on my heart do I submit that eight grivni per soul would be a handsome, a VERY handsome, offer.”

80
-

八十戈比这算什么价!

80
-

“What? Eight grivni?”

81
-

据我看,我想,不能再多了.

81
-

“In my opinion, a higher offer would be impossible.”

82
-

我可不是在卖草鞋呀.

82
-

“But I am not a seller of boots.”

83
-

但是这可也不是活人哪.您也得承认.

83
-

“No; yet you, for your part, will agree that these souls are not live human beings?”

84
-

您认为能找到一个傻瓜把一个注册农奴用几个戈比就卖给您吗?

84
-

“I suppose you hope to find fools ready to sell you souls on the census list for a couple of groats apiece?”

85
-

但是请问:您为什么把他们说成是注册农奴?这些农奴早就死啦,留下的不过是一个不可捉摸的空名罢了.但是为了不多费口舌,每个给一个半卢布,再多是办不到了.

85
-

“Pardon me, but why do you use the term ‘on the census list’? The souls themselves have long since passed away, and have left behind them only their names. Not to trouble you with any further discussion of the subject, I can offer you a rouble and a half per head, but no more.”

86
-

这样的价钱亏您能说得出口!要买就给个价钱吧!

86
-

“You should be ashamed even to mention such a sum! Since you deal in articles of this kind, quote me a genuine price.”

87
-

办不到啊,米哈伊尔.谢苗诺维奇,办不到啊:请相信我的良心,办不到的事情就是办不到.乞乞科夫嘴里虽然这样说,但是毕竟又给加了半个卢布.

87
-

“I cannot, Michael Semenovitch. Believe me, I cannot. What a man cannot do, that he cannot do.” The speaker ended by advancing another half-rouble per head.

88
-

您何必这样吝啬呢?索巴克维奇说."不贵,确实!别人会骗您,卖给您一些废物而不是农奴;我卖给您的却象又大又好的核桃,个个都是好货:不是结实的庄稼汉就是手艺人.您考虑一下,比方说马车匠米赫耶夫吧!他专做弹簧马车从来不做别的马车.并且不象莫斯科做的用一个小时就坏,他做的可结实啦,自己又能钉又能漆!"

88
-

“But why hang back with your money?” said Sobakevitch. “Of a truth I am not asking much of you. Any other rascal than myself would have cheated you by selling you old rubbish instead of good, genuine souls, whereas I should be ready to give you of my best, even were you buying only nut-kernels. For instance, look at wheelwright Michiev. Never was there such a one to build spring carts! And his handiwork was not like your Moscow handiwork—good only for an hour. No, he did it all himself, even down to the varnishing.”

89
-

乞乞科夫本想开口指出米赫耶夫早就不在人世了,但是索巴克维奇,正如俗话所云,口若悬河,谈兴大发,(他从哪儿来的一股善于辞令的劲儿呢):

89
-

Chichikov opened his mouth to remark that, nevertheless, the said Michiev had long since departed this world; but Sobakevitch’s eloquence had got too thoroughly into its stride to admit of any interruption.

90
-

那个木匠软木塞斯捷潘呢?我拿脑袋押注,您在哪里也找不到这样的庄稼汉.他的力气可大啦!身高三俄尺零一俄寸!他要是到近卫军当兵,上帝知道会给他个什么衔.

90
-

“And look, too, at Probka Stepan, the carpenter,” his host went on. “I will wager my head that nowhere else would you find such a workman. What a strong fellow he was! He had served in the Guards, and the Lord only knows what they had given for him, seeing that he was over three arshins in height.”

91
-

乞乞科夫又想开口指出"软木塞"也已不在人世了;但是索巴克维奇话语滔滔不绝看来是停不下了,他也只好听下去.

91
-

Again Chichikov tried to remark that Probka was dead, but Sobakevitch’s tongue was borne on the torrent of its own verbiage, and the only thing to be done was to listen.

92
-

米卢什金这个砌炉匠!他能在随便什么房子里砌炉子.马克西姆.捷利亚特尼科夫是鞋匠:攮一锥子就做出一双皮靴来,他滴酒不沾,您说声谢谢就行了!再说叶列梅.索罗科普廖欣!这个庄稼汉一个能顶所有的农奴:他到莫斯科去做买卖,每回仅代役租一项就交给我五百卢布.瞧瞧这是一些多么心灵手巧的人!这可跟普柳什金卖给您的不同.

92
-

“And Milushkin, the bricklayer! He could build a stove in any house you liked! And Maksim Teliatnikov, the bootmaker! Anything that he drove his awl into became a pair of boots—and boots for which you would be thankful, although he WAS a bit foul of the mouth. And Eremi Sorokoplechin, too! He was the best of the lot, and used to work at his trade in Moscow, where he paid a tax of five hundred roubles. Well, THERE’S an assortment of serfs for you!—a very different assortment from what Plushkin would sell you!”

93
-

可是对不起,乞乞科夫终于插上嘴了,他对这种看来永无止境滔滔不绝的高谈阔论很是感惊讶:"您何必要列数他们的本事呢,再有本事也没有用了.都是些死人嘛.正象俗语所说的那样,死人连支撑篱笆也用不上啊."

93
-

“But permit me,” at length put in Chichikov, astounded at this flood of eloquence to which there appeared to be no end. “Permit me, I say, to inquire why you enumerate the talents of the deceased, seeing that they are all of them dead, and that therefore there can be no sense in doing so. ‘A dead body is only good to prop a fence with,’ says the proverb.”

94
-

死当然是死啦,索巴克维奇好象记起来这些农奴真的已经死了,恍然大悟,但是又补充了一句:"不过话又说回来啦:现在被认为是活着的那些人又怎样呢?算得了什么呢?是些苍蝇,哪里是人."

94
-

“Of course they are dead,” replied Sobakevitch, but rather as though the idea had only just occurred to him, and was giving him food for thought. “But tell me, now: what is the use of listing them as still alive? And what is the use of them themselves? They are flies, not human beings.”

95
-

可是他们总还是实实在在的活人哪,可您说的那些已经是幻影了.

95
-

“Well,” said Chichikov, “they exist, though only in idea.”

96
-

不对,不是幻影!我可以对您说,象米赫耶夫这样的人,那大块头,这个房间是进不来的;您是找不到的:不,他可决不是幻影!两只膀子力大无穷,一匹马都没有他的劲儿大;我想请教一下,您在另外什么地方能找到这样的影幻!后边这段话,他已是对着墙上挂的巴格拉季翁和科洛科特罗尼的画像说的了,人们谈话时常有这种情况:谈话的一方突然间不知道为什么向偶然来到的第三者说而不是向对方说,尽管这个第三者可能是不曾相识的,而且说话者也明知道从他嘴里是既听不清回答.也听不到什么意见和赞同,却硬是要把目光投向他,好象希望他能来评评理;而那陌生人呢,一时会微感困惑,不知道是遵守必要的礼仪站一会儿就走开好还是就他丝毫没听到的问题发表意见好呢.

96
-

“But no—NOT only in idea. I tell you that nowhere else would you find such a fellow for working heavy tools as was Michiev. He had the strength of a horse in his shoulders.” And, with the words, Sobakevitch turned, as though for corroboration, to the portrait of Bagration, as is frequently done by one of the parties in a dispute when he purports to appeal to an extraneous individual who is not only unknown to him, but wholly unconnected with the subject in hand; with the result that the individual is left in doubt whether to make a reply, or whether to betake himself elsewhere.

97
-

不,不能超过两个卢布,我不能给了,乞乞科夫说.

97
-

“Nevertheless, I CANNOT give you more than two roubles per head,” said Chichikov.

98
-

那么,为了使您不抱怨我要价高,而且我也不愿意让您占多大的便宜,那就七十五个卢布一个吧,真的,不过要给钞票,由于是熟人嘛!

98
-

“Well, as I don’t want you to swear that I have asked too much of you and won’t meet you halfway, suppose, for friendship’s sake, that you pay me seventy-five roubles in assignats?”

99
-

乞乞科夫心想:"他怎么,真把我当成傻瓜啦."继续说道:我真觉得奇怪:我们俩好象,在演一场喜剧,否则我无法理解您好象是一个相当聪明的人,有修养.本来是不足挂齿的东西.这种东西值什么钱呢?有什么用呢?

99
-

“Good heavens!” thought Chichikov to himself. “Does the man take me for a fool?” Then he added aloud: “The situation seems to me a strange one, for it is as though we were performing a stage comedy. No other explanation would meet the case. Yet you appear to be a man of sense, and possessed of some education. The matter is a very simple one. The question is: what is a dead soul worth, and is it of any use to any one?”

100
-

您现在想买,可见是有用的.

100
-

“It is of use to YOU, or you would not be buying such articles.”

101
-

听了这话,乞乞科夫只有咬住嘴唇,找不出话语来答对.他刚一开口说了点个人的家庭原因,索巴克维奇就直截了当地说:

101
-

Chichikov bit his lip, and stood at a loss for a retort. He tried to saying something about “family and domestic circumstances,” but Sobakevitch cut him short with:

102
-

我不需要知道您家里的人事关系:我不过问别人的家务事,这是您的事.您需要的是农奴,我就卖给您,您买不成会悔恨的.

102
-

“I don’t want to know your private affairs, for I never poke my nose into such things. You need the souls, and I am ready to sell them. Should you not buy them, I think you will repent it.”

103
-

乞乞科夫说."两卢布一个,"

103
-

“Two roubles is my price,” repeated Chichikov.

104
-

唉,您真象俗话说的雅科夫养的喜鹊,学会一句话,应付万般事;看上了两个卢布,跨上就不肯下来了.您给个价钱吧!

104
-

“Come, come! As you have named that sum, I can understand your not liking to go back upon it; but quote me a bona fide figure.”

105
-

乞乞科夫心想:"妈的,让这条狗买核桃吃去吧!再给他加半个卢布."那么,我再加半个卢布.

105
-

“The devil fly away with him!” mused Chichikov. “However, I will add another half-rouble.” And he did so.

106
-

那么,我也说个最后的价儿:五十卢布!说实话,再贱您在什么地方也买不到这么好的人手啦!我赔本卖.

106
-

“Indeed!” said Sobakevitch. “Well, my last word upon it is—fifty roubles in assignats. That will mean a sheer loss to me, for nowhere else in the world could you buy better souls than mine.”

107
-

贪婪鬼!乞乞科夫暗自骂了一句,接着就带着几分惭愧的神情说:实际上有什么我在别处不花钱就能拿到手.好象是惹不起的东西;任何人都会高高兴兴地推给我,只图尽快摆脱负担.只有傻瓜才会攒在手里为他们纳税呢!

107
-

“The old skinflint!” muttered Chichikov. Then he added aloud, with irritation in his tone: “See here. This is a serious matter. Any one but you would be thankful to get rid of the souls. Only a fool would stick to them, and continue to pay the tax.”

108
-

但是您知道吗,这种买卖我只对您说说,因为我们有交情一般是不允许的,我或是别人一讲出去,这种人就会信誉扫地,没有人再会跟他打交易,办事情啦.

108
-

“Yes, but remember (and I say it wholly in a friendly way) that transactions of this kind are not generally allowed, and that any one would say that a man who engages in them must have some rather doubtful advantage in view.”

109
-

好家伙,来这一着儿啦!乞乞科夫仔细想了一下,摆出一副颇为严肃的态度说:您愿意怎么想,请便,我买他们可不是象您猜测的那样有什么用途,而是由于我有这种癖好.两个半卢布不愿卖,那就再会啦!

109
-

“Have it your own away,” said Chichikov, with assumed indifference. “As a matter of fact, I am not purchasing for profit, as you suppose, but to humour a certain whim of mine. Two and a half roubles is the most that I can offer.”

110
-

索巴克维奇心想:"一毛不拔,他还颇有主意!"好啦,不跟您争了,三十卢布一个,拿去吧!

110
-

“Bless your heart!” retorted the host. “At least give me thirty roubles in assignats, and take the lot.”

111
-

不,再会吧!我看您不愿意卖,

111
-

“No, for I see that you are unwilling to sell. I must say good-day to you.”

112
-

别急,别急!索巴克维奇说,握着乞乞科夫的手不放,还踢了他的脚一下.因为我们的主人公忘记了提防,只好受到惩罚:用一只脚跳起来,哎哟哎哟地叫着.

112
-

“Hold on, hold on!” exclaimed Sobakevitch, retaining his guest’s hand, and at the same moment treading heavily upon his toes—so heavily, indeed, that Chichikov gasped and danced with the pain.

113
-

请原谅!我好象骚扰了您.请,坐到这儿!请!说完,他把乞乞科夫安置在圈椅里,他的动作竟然相当灵巧,很象一只经过训练的熊会打滚,并且在听到"狗熊,学学小孩子怎样偷豆子!"或者"狗熊,学学娘儿们怎样洗澡!"便会做出各种把戏来一样.

113
-

“I BEG your pardon!” said Sobakevitch hastily. “Evidently I have hurt you. Pray sit down again.”

114
-

真的,我白浪费时间,我有急事.

114
-

“No,” retorted Chichikov. “I am merely wasting my time, and must be off.”

115
-

坐一会儿,我立刻对您说一句您喜欢听的话.说完,索巴克维奇便凑到乞乞科夫跟前,好象要告诉他一件秘密似地对着他的耳朵小声说:"降到四分之一怎么样?"

115
-

“Oh, sit down just for a moment. I have something more agreeable to say.” And, drawing closer to his guest, Sobakevitch whispered in his ear, as though communicating to him a secret: “How about twenty-five roubles?”

116
-

您是说二十五卢布?不行,不行,即使四分之一的四分之一都不给,一个钱不加了.

116
-

“No, no, no!” exclaimed Chichikov. “I won’t give you even a QUARTER of that. I won’t advance another kopeck.”

117
-

索巴克维奇不吭声了.乞乞科夫也不吱声了.沉默持续了约摸两分钟.鹰钩鼻子的巴格拉季翁从墙壁上聚精会神地看着这场交易.

117
-

For a while Sobakevitch remained silent, and Chichikov did the same. This lasted for a couple of minutes, and, meanwhile, the aquiline-nosed Bagration gazed from the wall as though much interested in the bargaining.

118
-

索巴克维奇最后问道."您最后的价儿是多少?"

118
-

“What is your outside price?” at length said Sobakevitch.

119
-

两个半卢布.

119
-

“Two and a half roubles.”

120
-

真够呛,哪怕一个给三卢布呢!您把一个人的价值看得跟一个蒸萝卜一样.

120
-

“Then you seem to rate a human soul at about the same value as a boiled turnip. At least give me THREE roubles.”

121
-

办不到.

121
-

“No, I cannot.”

122
-

唉,拿您真没办法,吃亏就吃亏吧,好吧!谁让我有这么个怪脾气呢:我不能让亲近的人伤心.为了事情办得妥贴,我想还得去办个契约吧.

122
-

“Pardon me, but you are an impossible man to deal with. However, even though it will mean a dead loss to me, and you have not shown a very nice spirit about it, I cannot well refuse to please a friend. I suppose a purchase deed had better be made out in order to have everything in order?”

123
-

当然.

123
-

“Of course.”

124
-

您瞧,果然还得进城一趟.

124
-

“Then for that purpose let us repair to the town.”

125
-

买卖就这样讲妥了.两人决定明天就到城里办买卖契约.乞乞科夫要求开一份农奴名单.索巴克维奇欣然同意,并且马上走近写字台亲手写起来,他不仅写下了人名,而且还附注上了每人的长处.

125
-

The affair ended in their deciding to do this on the morrow, and to arrange for the signing of a deed of purchase. Next, Chichikov requested a list of the peasants; to which Sobakevitch readily agreed. Indeed, he went to his writing-desk then and there, and started to indite a list which gave not only the peasants’ names, but also their late qualifications.

126
-

乞乞科夫因无事可做,便站在背后端详起他那魁梧的身躯来.他的后背,象维亚特卡种矮马那样宽;两条腿,宛如摆在人行道边儿上的铁桩子那样粗.乞乞科夫不由得暗自感叹:

126
-

Meanwhile Chichikov, having nothing else to do, stood looking at the spacious form of his host; and as he gazed at his back as broad as that of a cart horse, and at the legs as massive as the iron standards which adorn a street, he could not help inwardly ejaculating:

127
-

"哎,你真是得天独厚啊!真象俗语所说的:样子裁得虽不好,针线却地道!你生来就象一只熊,或是乡僻生活.耕田种地.同乡下人打交道把你变成了一只熊,使你成了一个贪婪鬼?但是,我认为,即使你受到了时髦的教育,飞黄腾达,住在彼得堡而不是在穷乡僻壤,你依然会是现在这个样子.全部差别仅仅在于:现在尝完了一个盘子的大奶渣饼,还能就着米饭塞下半扇羊肋,而那时你也许只会吃点地蕈煎肉排.而且,现在你掌握的农奴:你跟他们和睦相处,当然不会欺侮他们,因为他们是属于你的,否则于你自己不利;那时在你手下的是官吏,由于你感到他们不是你的农奴,你就会狠狠地毒打他们,或者你会假公济私!不,一个贪婪鬼一旦把钱攒到手心里,是决不肯把手松开的!如果把他的手硬掰开一两个手指头,那结果会更糟.假如他懂了点儿哪一门科学的皮毛的话,在他占据了比较显要的地位以后,会使真正懂得这门科学的人尝到厉害.他会说:’让我露一手!,他会杜撰出那么聪明的办法来,使许多人身受其苦唉,如果这些贪婪鬼全死光了,那该多好!"

127
-

“Truly God has endowed you with much! Though not adjusted with nicety, at least you are strongly built. I wonder whether you were born a bear or whether you have come to it through your rustic life, with its tilling of crops and its trading with peasants? Yet no; I believe that, even if you had received a fashionable education, and had mixed with society, and had lived in St. Petersburg, you would still have been just the kulak 26 that you are. The only difference is that circumstances, as they stand, permit of your polishing off a stuffed shoulder of mutton at a meal; whereas in St. Petersburg you would have been unable to do so. Also, as circumstances stand, you have under you a number of peasants, whom you treat well for the reason that they are your property; whereas, otherwise, you would have had under you tchinovniks 27: whom you would have bullied because they were NOT your property. Also, you would have robbed the Treasury, since a kulak always remains a money-grubber.”

128
-

索巴克维奇转过身来说."名单写好了."

128
-

“The list is ready,” said Sobakevitch, turning round.

129
-

写好啦?给我看看!乞乞科夫草草一看,名单清楚明白地使他惊奇:那上边不仅详尽地写明了每人的手艺.称呼.年龄和家庭状况,而且在页边上还特别标了每人的嗜酒程度,品性一句话,看着都令人高兴.

129
-

“Indeed! Then please let me look at it.” Chichikov ran his eye over the document, and could not but marvel at its neatness and accuracy. Not only were there set forth in it the trade, the age, and the pedigree of every serf, but on the margin of the sheet were jotted remarks concerning each serf’s conduct and sobriety. Truly it was a pleasure to look at it.

130
-

现在请给定钱吧!

130
-

“And do you mind handing me the earnest money?” said Sobakevitch.

131
-

到城里我会一次付清的.给定钱干什么?

131
-

“Yes, I do. Why need that be done? You can receive the money in a lump sum as soon as we visit the town.”

132
-

这是规矩嘛,您知道,索巴克维奇答道.

132
-

“But it is always the custom, you know,” asserted Sobakevitch.

133
-

我不知道怎么给您.我身边没有带钱.噢,只有十卢布.

133
-

“Then I cannot follow it, for I have no money with me. However, here are ten roubles.”

134
-

十卢布算什么!起码应该给五十呀?

134
-

“Ten roubles, indeed? You might as well hand me fifty while you are about it.”

135
-

乞乞科夫推托起来,说身边没有钱;但索巴克维奇却一口咬定他带了钱,他只好又掏出一张钞票来,说:

135
-

Once more Chichikov started to deny that he had any money upon him, but Sobakevitch insisted so strongly that this was not so that at length the guest pulled out another fifteen roubles, and added them to the ten already produced.

136
-

好吧,一共是二十五.再给您十五,不过要请您列个收据.

136
-

“Kindly give me a receipt for the money,” he added.

137
-

唉,要收据干什么?

137
-

“A receipt? Why should I give you a receipt?”

138
-

最好还是有个收据.您知道,这年头什么事情都会发生.

138
-

“Because it is better to do so, in order to guard against mistakes.”

139
-

好吧,把钱拿过来呀!

139
-

“Very well; but first hand me over the money.”

140
-

钱就在我手里!拿过去干什么?写好了收据,您立刻就可以拿到.

140
-

“The money? I have it here. Do you write out the receipt, and then the money shall be yours.”

141
-

请原谅,这样我怎么能写收据呢?我得先拿到才行.

141
-

“Pardon me, but how am I to write out the receipt before I have seen the cash?”

142
-

乞乞科夫松了手,把钱给了索巴克维奇.索巴克维奇走到桌子跟前,左手拿着钞票,右手在一张纸条上写道:出卖注册农奴预收定金二十五卢布钞票,此据.写完收据,他又检查了一遍钞票.

142
-

Chichikov placed the notes in Sobakevitch’s hand; whereupon the host moved nearer to the table, and added to the list of serfs a note that he had received for the peasants, therewith sold, the sum of twenty-five roubles, as earnest money. This done, he counted the notes once more.

143
-

票子是旧了一些!他拿起一张钞票对着光亮看着说,"也破了一点儿,不过既然是朋友办事就不要计较这个了."

143
-

“This is a very OLD note,” he remarked, holding one up to the light. “Also, it is a trifle torn. However, in a friendly transaction one must not be too particular.”

144
-

贪婪鬼,贪婪鬼!乞乞科夫心想."外加老奸巨滑!"

144
-

“What a kulak!” thought Chichikov to himself. “And what a brute beast!”

145
-

不要女的吗?

145
-

“Then you do not want any WOMEN souls?” queried Sobakevitch.

146
-

谢谢,不要.

146
-

“I thank you, no.”

147
-

我要价不高.看面子,一卢布一个.

147
-

“I could let you have some cheap—say, as between friends, at a rouble a head?”

148
-

不需要女的,不要.

148
-

“No, I should have no use for them.”

149
-

好吧,既然不要,那就没有什么可说的了.不能强求口味一致,正如俗语所说,有人喜欢神甫,有人钟情于神甫的老婆各有所好嘛.

149
-

“Then, that being so, there is no more to be said. There is no accounting for tastes. ‘One man loves the priest, and another the priest’s wife,’ says the proverb.”

150
-

乞乞科夫告别时说."我还想请求您一件事:这桩交易只能你我知道,"

150
-

Chichikov rose to take his leave. “Once more I would request of you,” he said, “that the bargain be left as it is.”

151
-

当然.第三者没有必要搀和进来;知己朋友之间办事,那就永远应当够意思.再会!枉驾来访,多谢;今后也请记住:要是有空闲时间,请来吃顿饭,坐一坐.要么在什么事情上我们还能彼此效劳呢.

151
-

“Of course, of course. What is done between friends holds good because of their mutual friendship. Good-bye, and thank you for your visit. In advance I would beg that, whenever you should have an hour or two to spare, you will come and lunch with us again. Perhaps we might be able to do one another further service?”

152
-

乞乞科夫坐上马车,心中骂道."可别这么效劳了!""一个死农奴竟敲了我两个半卢布,真他妈的贪婪!"

152
-

“Not if I know it!” reflected Chichikov as he mounted his britchka. “Not I, seeing that I have had two and a half roubles per soul squeezed out of me by a brute of a kulak!”

153
-

他对索巴克维奇的做法颇为不满.无论如何,毕竟是熟人,在省长家里和警察局长家里都见过,但是办起事来竟完全跟陌生人一样,一些废物还要钱!马车驶出大门,他回头看了一下,看到索巴克维奇还站在台阶上,好象在等着看看客人朝那儿走.

153
-

Altogether he felt dissatisfied with Sobakevitch’s behaviour. In spite of the man being a friend of the Governor and the Chief of Police, he had acted like an outsider in taking money for what was worthless rubbish. As the britchka left the courtyard Chichikov glanced back and saw Sobakevitch still standing on the verandah—apparently for the purpose of watching to see which way the guest’s carriage would turn.

154
-

现在还站在那里!坏蛋,他咬着牙说了一句,吩咐谢利凡先拐到农舍那边去,以便索巴克维奇从大院里看不到马车的去向.他想去找普柳什金,因为索巴克维奇说过,普柳什金家里农奴象苍蝇似地一批一批地死,但是他又不愿意让索巴克维奇知道.马车走到村边,他看见一个乡下人扛着路上拾到的一根粗大的原木象一只不知疲倦的蚂蚁似地往家里拉,他就把这个乡下人叫住了.

154
-

“The old villain, to be still standing there!” muttered Chichikov through his teeth; after which he ordered Selifan to proceed so that the vehicle’s progress should be invisible from the mansion—the truth being that he had a mind next to visit Plushkin (whose serfs, to quote Sobakevitch, had a habit of dying like flies), but not to let his late host learn of his intention. Accordingly, on reaching the further end of the village, he hailed the first peasant whom he saw—a man who was in the act of hoisting a ponderous beam on to his shoulder before setting off with it, ant-like, to his hut.

155
-

喂,要是不走主人家大院门口,还有哪条路能去普柳什金家?大胡子!

155
-

“Hi!” shouted Chichikov. “How can I reach landowner Plushkin’s place without first going past the mansion here?”

156
-

乡下人好似被这个问题难住了.

156
-

The peasant seemed nonplussed by the question.

157
-

不知道吗?

157
-

“Don’t you know?” queried Chichikov.

158
-

不知道,老爷.

158
-

“No, barin,” replied the peasant.

159
-

哎呀,你呀!头发都白了,不晓得那个不让农奴吃饱饭的吝啬鬼普柳什金?

159
-

“What? You don’t know skinflint Plushkin who feeds his people so badly?”

序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

thorough

[’θʌrə]

adj.彻底的;完全的;详尽的;细致深入的

hillock

[’hɪlək]

n.小丘;土堆

hedgerow

[’hedʒrəʊ]

n.矮木树篱

stern

[stɜːn]

adj.严厉的;严峻的;苛刻的;坚决的

forceful

[’fɔːsfl]

adj.有力的;强烈的

vent

[vent]

n.排气口;火山口;发泄;表达

arouse

[ə’raʊz]

v.叫醒;唤醒;激起;睡醒

Superintendent

[ˌsuːpərɪn’tendənt]

n.监督人;管理人;所长

honorable

[’ɒnərəbl]

adj.光荣的;可敬的;体面的.

offspring

[’ɒfsprɪŋ]

n.后代;子孙;产物

procure

[prə’kjʊə(r)]

v.获得;采办;拉皮条

cherish

[’tʃerɪʃ]

vt.珍爱;抱有;抚育

steed

[stiːd]

n.马

felted

[’feltɪd]

v. 把 ... 制成毡(使 ... 粘结)

discontent

[ˌdɪskən’tent]

n.不满

rude

[ruːd]

adj.粗鲁无礼的;原始的;未加工的;粗糙的;猛烈的

collision

[kə’lɪʒn]

n.碰撞;冲突

curse

[kɜːs]

n.诅咒;咒骂;祸端

coachman

[’kəʊtʃmən]

n.赶马车人

retort

[rɪ’tɔːt]

v.反驳;回嘴;反击

hopeless

[’həʊpləs]

adj.没有希望的;绝望的;无可救药的

intertwine

[ˌɪntə’twaɪn]

v.纠缠;缠绕;编结

transparent

[træns’pærənt]

adj.透明的;明显的;清晰的

ray

[reɪ]

n.光线;射线;辐射

tint

[tɪnt]

n. 色彩; 浅色; 染发剂

bestow

[bɪ’stəʊ]

v.授予;给予;使用;放置

rein

[reɪn]

n.缰绳;驾驭;控制

acquaintance

[ə’kweɪntəns]

n.熟人;相识;了解

spectacle

[’spektəkl]

n.景象;场面;奇观;壮观;公开展示;表相，假相

denude

[dɪ’njuːd]

vt.剥光;剥蚀

disentangle

[ˌdɪsɪn’tæŋɡl]

v.解开;松开;摆脱;解决(纠纷等)

intermittent

[ˌɪntə’mɪtənt]

adj.间歇的;断断续续的

chorus

[’kɔːrəs]

n.合唱队;歌舞队;齐声说道;副歌部分

shaft

[ʃɑːft]

n.轴;柄;竖井;杆状物;

charcoal

[’tʃɑːkəʊl]

n.木炭;炭笔

brew

[bruː]

v.酿造;泡(茶);酝酿;策划

hasten

[’heɪsn]

v.催促;赶快;加速

grind

[ɡraɪnd]

v.磨;压迫;碾碎;磨得吱吱响;逐渐停顿

flogging

[’flɒɡɪŋ]

n.鞭打

conversation

[ˌkɒnvə’seɪʃn]

n.谈话;会话

dingily

[’dɪndʒi]

adj.肮脏的;昏暗的

phenomenon

[fə’nɒmɪnən]

n.现象

hitherto

[ˌhɪðə’tuː]

adv.到目前为止;迄今

gape

[ɡeɪp]

n.裂口;张嘴;打哈欠

maiden

[’meɪdn]

n.未婚女子;少女;断头机;从未赢过的赛马

incur

[ɪn’kɜː(r)]

vt.招致;遭受;惹起

linger

[’lɪŋɡə(r)]

vi.徘徊;逗留;消磨;漫步

temperament

[’temprəmənt]

n.气质;性情

ponder

[’pɒndə(r)]

v.沉思;考虑

deliberate

[dɪ’lɪbərət]

adj.深思熟虑的;故意的;从容不迫的

irresponsible

[ˌɪrɪ’spɒnsəbl]

adj.不负责任的;不可靠的;没有承担能力的

unsteady

[ʌn’stedi]

adj.不稳定的;易变的;颤动的;不规则的;不一致的

rubbish

[’rʌbɪʃ]

n.垃圾

landowner

[’lændəʊnə(r)]

n.地主

traveller

[ˈtrævlə]

n.旅客;旅行家

dissipate

[’dɪsɪpeɪt]

v.驱散;消散;散去;浪费;挥霍;放荡

expanse

[ɪk’spæns]

n.宽阔的区域

birch

[bɜːtʃ]

n.桦树;桦木;用桦条抽打

settler

[’setlə(r)]

n.【C】移居者;定居者

colonist

[’kɒlənɪst]

n.殖民地居民;殖民者

manifest

[’mænɪfest]

vt.显示;证实;表露

aperture

[’æpətʃə(r)]

n.孔;孔径

enclose

[ɪn’kləʊz]

vt.圈起;围住;附上;封入

coach-house

[’kəʊtʃh’aʊs]

n.马车房

warrant

[’wɒrənt]

n.委任状;凭证;根据;正当理由

cucumber

[’kjuːkʌmbə(r)]

n.黄瓜

wink

[wɪŋk]

n.眨眼;使眼色;瞬间

scrutiny

[’skruːtəni]

n.监视;细看;周密的调查

shuffle

[’ʃʌfl]

v.拖曳;搅乱;推诿;洗牌;移来移去

tread

[tred]

n.步法

uncommon

[ʌn’kɒmən]

adj.不寻常的;不常见的;极度的

thrust

[θrʌst]

v.刺;插入;推挤

scorn

[skɔːn]

n.轻蔑;奚落;笑柄

rag

[ræɡ]

n.破布;碎布;破衣服;(低劣的)报纸

Michael

[’maɪkəl]

n.迈克尔(男子名)

armchair

[’ɑːmtʃeə(r)]

n.扶手椅;单人沙发;安乐椅

breach

[briːtʃ]

n.破坏;违背;决裂;裂口;(浪的)冲击

cannon

[’kænən]

n.大炮;机关炮

adorn

[ə’dɔːn]

v.装饰;佩戴

converse

[kən’vɜːs]

n.相反的事物;逆命题

manufacture

[ˌmænju’fæktʃə(r)]

v.(手工)制造

rinse

[rɪns]

v.清洗;冲洗

honour

[ˈɒnə]

n.光荣;

acquaint

[ə’kweɪnt]

vt.使了解;使熟知;告知

gown

[ɡaʊn]

n.长袍;长外衣

eyelid

[’aɪlɪd]

n.眼皮;眼睑

blackbird

[’blækbɜːd]

n.画眉;黑鸟;黑鹂;燕八哥

audible

[’ɔːdəbl]

adj.听得见的

clumsy

[’klʌmzi]

adj.笨拙的;不得体的;笨重的

bulge

[bʌldʒ]

n.膨胀;暴增

mason

[’meɪsn]

n.石匠;泥瓦匠

mordant

[’mɔːdnt]

adj.尖酸的;有腐蚀性的

rogue

[rəʊɡ]

恶棍， 流氓， 小淘气;

knit

[nɪt]

v.编织;密接;结合;皱眉

expatiate

[ɪk’speɪʃieɪt]

v.详述;细说;漫游

Vice-Governor

[’vaɪs’gʌvənə]

n.副总督;副省长

frank

[fræŋk]

a. 坦白；率直;

dine

[daɪn]

v.用正餐;进餐

rascal

[’rɑːskl]

n.淘气鬼;流氓;坏蛋

commend

[kə’mend]

v.推荐;称赞;嘉奖;把 ... 托付给

luncheon

[’lʌntʃən]

n.午宴;正式的午餐

customary

[’kʌstəməri]

adj.习惯的;惯例的

dainty

[’deɪnti]

adj.小巧精致的;优美的;讲究的;可口的

preface

[’prefəs]

n. 序文; 绪言; 前言

speck

[spek]

n.斑点;灰尘;污点;少量

porridge

[’pɒrɪdʒ]

n.粥;麦片粥

cutlet

[’kʌtlət]

n.肉片;炸肉排

hare

[heə(r)]

n.野兔

Madame

[’mædəm]

n.夫人

casting

[’kɑːstɪŋ]

n.铸造

helpmeet

[’helpmiːt]

n.合作者;伙伴

oyster

[’ɔɪstə(r)]

n.牡蛎

devour

[dɪ’vaʊə(r)]

v.吞食;毁灭;贪婪地阅读

starve

[stɑːv]

vi.挨饿;受饿;极度匮乏

ejaculate

[i’dʒækjuleɪt]

v.射精;射出;突然说出

reside

[rɪ’zaɪd]

vi.居住;属于;存在

verst

[vɜːst]

n.俄里

joyous

[’dʒɔɪəs]

adj.充满快乐的;使人高兴的

locality

[ləʊ’kæləti]

n.地区;位置;地点;方位

calf

[kɑːf]

n.小牛;幼崽;愚蠢的年轻人;小牛皮;小腿肚

prone

[prəʊn]

adj.易于 ... 的;有 ... 倾向的;俯卧的

belch

[beltʃ]

v.打嗝;喷出

grunt

[ɡrʌnt]

v.咕哝;(猪等)打呼噜

radish

[’rædɪʃ]

n.(小)萝卜

stew

[stjuː]

n.炖汤;焖;烦恼

readiness

[’redinəs]

n.准备就绪;预备;欣然;敏捷

cushion

[’kʊʃn]

n.垫子

slumber

[’slʌmbə(r)]

n.睡眠;微睡;休止状态

detach

[dɪ’tætʃ]

vt.使分离;拆卸;派遣【计算机】 脱离.

dimension

[daɪ’menʃn]

①尺寸(长、宽、厚)；(空间的)度(数);

droop

[druːp]

v.低垂;下垂;(草木)枯萎;(精神)萎靡

marvel

[’mɑːvl]

n.奇异的事物;令人吃惊的人

census

[’sensəs]

n.人口普查;户口普查;统计

emendation

[ˌiːmen’deɪʃn]

n.校订;修改

agitation

[ˌædʒɪ’teɪʃn]

n.激动;鼓动;搅动

tremor

[’tremə(r)]

n.震动;颤动;战栗;兴奋;地震

utter

[’ʌtə(r)]

adj.完全的;全然的;绝对的

appraise

[ə’preɪz]

vt.评价;估价;鉴定

rouble

[’ruːbl]

n.卢布.

inadvertent

[ˌɪnəd’vɜːtənt]

adj.不注意的;疏忽的;非故意的

whereas

[ˌweər’æz]

conj.然而;鉴于

varnish

[’vɑːnɪʃ]

n.油漆;掩饰;光泽面;指甲油

eloquence

[’eləkwəns]

n.雄辩;口才

verbiage

[’vɜːbiɪdʒ]

n.废话;冗长;措辞

thankful

[’θæŋkfl]

adj.感谢的;感激的

prop

[prɒp]

n.支柱;支持者;倚靠人

purport

[pə’pɔːt]

v.意味着;声称;意图

appeal

[ə’piːl]

①[U][C]呼吁，要求;

extraneous

[ɪk’streɪniəs]

adj.外来的;无关的

wholly

[’həʊlli]

adv.完全地;全部地;一概

assignat

[æ’sɪnjɑː]

n.法国革命时代发行的纸币

repent

[rɪ’pent]

v.后悔;悔悟;忏悔

Muse

[mjuːz]

v.沉思;冥想

irritation

[ˌɪrɪ’teɪʃn]

n.刺激;烦恼;刺激物

indifference

[ɪn’dɪfrəns]

n.不重视;无兴趣;漠不关心

unwilling

[ʌn’wɪlɪŋ]

adj.不愿意的

hastily

[’heɪstɪli]

adv.匆忙地;急速地

kopeck

[’kəʊpek]

n.苏联小铜板;货币单位

bargaining

[ˈbɑːgɪnɪŋ]

议价, 讨价, 商讨, 商谈, 交易, 交涉

qualification

[ˌkwɒlɪfɪ’keɪʃn]

n.资格

endow

[ɪn’daʊ]

vt.捐助;赋予;使具有某种品质

bully

[’bʊli]

n.欺凌弱小者;开球

jot

[dʒɒt]

n.少量

Kindly

[’kaɪndli]

adj.和蔼的;温和的;爽快的

receipt

[rɪ’siːt]

n.收据

serf

[sɜːf]

n.农奴;奴隶

brute

[bruːt]

n.畜生;残忍的人

query

[’kwɪəri]

n.疑问;质问;疑问号

proverb

[’prɒvɜːb]

n.谚语;格言;众所周知的人

Good-bye

[’gʊd’baɪ]

int.再见

kulak

[kuː’lɑːk]

n.富农

dissatisfy

[dɪs’sætɪsfaɪ]

vt.使不满

behaviour

[bɪˈheɪvɪə]

n.行为

veranda

[və’rændə]

n.阳台;游廊

carriage

[’kærɪdʒ]

n.四轮马车

hail

[heɪl]

n.冰雹

hoist

[hɔɪst]

v.升起;升高;举起

past

[pɑːst]

a. 过去的;

nonplussed

[ˌnɒn’plʌs]

使困惑的;使为难的

skinflint

[’skɪnflɪnt]

n.吝啬鬼

skinflint

[’skɪnflɪnt]

n.吝啬鬼

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