It showed an eagerness for adventure, a readiness for the hand-to-mouth, which the care she took of her home and her love of good housewifery made not a little remarkable. She must be a woman of complicated character, and there was something dramatic in the contrast of that with her demure appearance.
這說明了她喜歡追求冒險,肯于忍饑耐勞;后一種性格從她過去辛勤操理家務、熱心家庭主婦的職責看來倒也不足為奇??磥硭欢ㄊ且粋€性格非常復雜的女人,這同她那端莊嫻靜的外表倒構成了極富于戲劇性的對比。
I was excited by the encounter, and my fancy worked busily while I sought to concentrate myself on the game I was playing. I always tried my best to beat Strickland, because he was a player who despised the opponent he vanquished; his exultation in victory made defeat more difficult to bear. On the other hand, if he was beaten he took it with complete good-humour. He was a bad winner and a good loser. Those who think that a man betrays his character nowhere more clearly than when he is playing a game might on this draw subtle inferences.
這次與思特里克蘭德和勃朗什不期而遇使我非常激動,勾起我無數(shù)奇思遐想。但是我還是拼命把精神集中在走棋上,使出全副本領,一定要把思特里克蘭德?lián)魯?。他非??床黄鹉切≡谒窒碌娜?;如果叫他取勝,他那種洋洋自得的樣子簡直叫你無地自容。但是在另一方面,如果他下輸了,他倒也從來不發(fā)脾氣。換言之,思特里克蘭德只能輸棋,不能贏棋。有人認為只有下棋的時候才能最清楚地觀察一個人的性格,這倒是可以從思特里克蘭德這人的例子取得一些微妙的推論。
When he had finished I called the waiter to pay for the drinks, and left them. The meeting had been devoid of incident. No word had been said to give me anything to think about, and any surmises I might make were unwarranted. I was intrigued. I could not tell how they were getting on. I would have given much to be a disembodied spirit so that I could see them in the privacy of the studio and hear what they talked about. I had not the smallest indication on which to let my imagination work.
下完棋以后,我把侍者叫來,付了酒賬,便離開了他們。這次會面實在沒有什么值得記述的地方,沒有一句話可以使我追思、玩味,如果我有任何臆測,也毫無事實根據(jù)。但這反而更引起了我的好奇心。我實在摸不透這兩人的關系。如果靈魂真能出竅的話,不論出什么代價我也得試一次;只有這樣我才能在畫室里看到他倆私下如何過活,才能聽到他們交談些什么。總之一句話,我沒有可以供我的幻想力發(fā)揮作用的最小依據(jù)。