I AM a serious person and my mind is of a philosophic bent. My vocation is the study of finance. —-
我是一个认真的人，我的思维是哲学的倾向。我的职业是研究金融。 —-

I am a student of financial law and I have chosen as the subject of my dissertation—the Past and Future of the Dog Licence. —-
我是金融法的学生，我选择了我的论文课题——狗牌的过去和未来。 —-

I need hardly point out that young ladies, songs, moonlight, and all that sort of silliness are entirely out of my line.
我不需要指出，年轻女士、歌曲、月光以及所有那些愚蠢的事情与我毫不相关。

Morning. Ten o’clock. My maman pours me out a cup of coffee. —-
早上，十点钟。我的妈妈给我倒了一杯咖啡。 —-

I drink it and go out on the little balcony to set to work on my dissertation. —-
我喝完咖啡，走出小阳台，开始写我的论文。 —-

I take a clean sheet of paper, dip the pen into the ink, and write out the title: —-
我拿起一张干净的纸，把笔蘸入墨水，写下了标题： —-

“The Past and Future of the Dog Licence.”
“狗牌的过去和未来”。

After thinking a little I write: “Historical Survey. —-
思考片刻后，我写道：“历史回顾。 —-

We may deduce from some allusions in Herodotus and Xenophon that the origin of the tax on dogs goes back to . . . .”
我们可以从希罗多德和克西诺真的一些提及中推断出征养狗税的起源可以追溯到……”

But at that point I hear footsteps that strike me as highly suspicious. —-
但是这时我听到了一些非常可疑的脚步声。 —-

I look down from the balcony and see below a young lady with a long face and a long waist. —-
我从阳台上往下看，看到一个长脸长腰的年轻女士。 —-

Her name, I believe, is Nadenka or Varenka, it really does not matter which. —-
她的名字，我相信，是娜丁卡或瓦伦卡，实际上无所谓。 —-

She is looking for something, pretends not to have noticed me, and is humming to herself:
她正在找什么东西，假装没有注意到我，自己哼着小曲儿：

“Dost thou remember that song full of tenderness?”
“你还记得那首充满柔情的歌吗？”

I read through what I have written and want to continue, but the young lady pretends to have just caught sight of me, and says in a mournful voice:
我阅读了我写的内容，想继续写，但是这位年轻女士假装刚刚注意到我，用悲伤的声音说道：

“Good morning, Nikolay Andreitch. Only fancy what a misfortune I have had! —-
“早上好，尼古拉·安德烈奇。想象一下我遭遇了多么不幸的事情！” —-

I went for a walk yesterday and lost the little ball off my bracelet!”
昨天我去散了个步，结果手链上的小球丢了！

I read through once more the opening of my dissertation, I trim up the tail of the letter “g” and mean to go on, but the young lady persists.
我又读了一遍我的论文开篇，修整了一下字母”g”的尾巴，本想继续写下去，但这位年轻女士还在纠缠不休。

“Nikolay Andreitch,” she says, “won’t you see me home? —-
“尼古拉·安德烈奇，”她说，”你能陪我回家吗？ —-

The Karelins have such a huge dog that I simply daren’t pass it alone.”
卡雷林家有一只很大的狗，我一个人根本不敢过去。

There is no getting out of it. I lay down my pen and go down to her. —-
无法回避，我放下笔，陪她走下楼。 —-

Nadenka (or Varenka) takes my arm and we set off in the direction of her villa.
Nadenka（或者Varenka）挽起我的胳膊，我们朝她的别墅走去。

When the duty of walking arm-in-arm with a lady falls to my lot, for some reason or other I always feel like a peg with a heavy cloak hanging on it. —-
当我与女士挽手散步时，不知为何我总觉得自己像个插着一个沉重披风的木钉。 —-

Nadenka (or Varenka), between ourselves, of an ardent temperament (her grandfather was an Armenian), has a peculiar art of throwing her whole weight on one’s arm and clinging to one’s side like a leech. —-
Nadenka（或者Varenka），咱们私下说，是个热情洋溢的人（她的祖父是亚美尼亚人），她有一种特殊的技巧，可以借助我的胳膊全身的重量，像一只吸血鬼一样紧贴在我身边。 —-

And so we walk along.
于是我们一起走着。

As we pass the Karelins’, I see a huge dog, who reminds me of the dog licence. I think with despair of the work I have begun and sigh.
当我们经过卡雷林家时，我看到了一只巨大的狗，它让我想起了狗牌。我绝望地想到自己已经开始的工作，然后叹了口气。

“What are you sighing for?” asks Nadenka (or Varenka), and heaves a sigh herself.
“你为什么叹气？” Nadenka（或者Varenka）问道，并也叹了口气。

Here I must digress for a moment to explain that Nadenka or Varenka (now I come to think of it, I believe I have heard her called Mashenka) imagines, I can’t guess why, that I am in love with her, and therefore thinks it her duty as a humane person always to look at me with compassion and to soothe my wound with words.
在这里我必须稍作解释，Nadenka或Varenka（我突然想起来，我想我曾听人称她为Mashenka）想象不出为什么，认为我爱上了她，并且觉得作为一个有人情味的人，她必须始终同情地看着我，并用言语来安抚我的伤口。

“Listen,” said she, stopping. “I know why you are sighing. You are in love, yes; —-
“听着，”她停下来说，”我知道你为什么叹气。你是爱上了人，没错； —-

but I beg you for the sake of our friendship to believe that the girl you love has the deepest respect for you. —-
但是为了我们的友谊，请你相信你所爱的女孩对你存有最深的尊重。 —-

She cannot return your love; but is it her fault that her heart has long been another’s?”
她无法回应你的爱；但是她长久以来的心已经属于别人，这难道是她的错吗？”

Mashenka’s nose begins to swell and turn red, her eyes fill with tears: —-
玛申卡的鼻子开始肿胀并变红，眼睛里充满了泪水。 —-

she evidently expects some answer from me, but, fortunately, at this moment we arrive. —-
她显然期待着我给出一些答案，但幸运的是，此刻我们到达了。 —-

Mashenka’s mamma, a good-natured woman but full of conventional ideas, is sitting on the terrace: —-
玛申卡的妈妈，一个善良但充满传统观念的女人，坐在露台上。 —-

glancing at her daughter’s agitated face, she looks intently at me and sighs, as though saying to herself: —-
她注视着女儿激动的脸，盯着我看了一会儿，叹了口气，似乎在自言自语： —-

“Ah, these young people! they don’t even know how to keep their secrets to themselves!”
“啊，这些年轻人！他们甚至不知道如何守住自己的秘密！”

On the terrace with her are several young ladies of various colours and a retired officer who is staying in the villa next to ours. —-
在露台上有几位不同肤色的年轻女士和一位住在我们别墅旁边的退休军官。 —-

He was wounded during the last war in the left temple and the right hip. —-
他在上次战争中受伤，左太阳穴和右臀部都中弹了。 —-

This unfortunate man is, like myself, proposing to devote the summer to literary work. —-
这个不幸的男人和我一样，打算把夏天献给文学创作。 —-

He is writing the “Memoirs of a Military Man.” Like me, he begins his honourable labours every morning, but before he has written more than “I was born in . —-
他正在写《一个军人的回忆录》。像我一样，他每天早上开始光荣的努力，但在写了“我出生在……”之后，某个瓦伦卡或玛申卡肯定会出现在他的阳台下，这位负伤的英雄就被战胜。 —-

. .” some Varenka or Mashenka is sure to appear under his balcony, and the wounded hero is borne off under guard.
所有坐在露台上的人都在准备一些可怜的水果做果酱。

All the party sitting on the terrace are engaged in preparing some miserable fruit for jam. —-
我鞠了一躬，准备离开，但不同肤色的年轻女士们尖叫着抢走了我的帽子，并坚持我留下来。 —-

I make my bows and am about to beat a retreat, but the young ladies of various colours seize my hat with a squeal and insist on my staying. —-
我坐下。她们给我一盘水果和一个发夹。 —-

I sit down. They give me a plate of fruit and a hairpin. —-
我开始取出种子。 —-

I begin taking the seeds out.
不同肤色的年轻女士们谈论男人。

The young ladies of various colours talk about men: —-
—-

they say that So- and-So is nice-looking, that So-and-So is handsome but not nice, that somebody else is nice but ugly, and that a fourth would not have been bad-looking if his nose were not like a thimble, and so on.
他们说某某人长得漂亮，某某人英俊但不好看，还说另一个人长得不好看但是善良，还有一个人如果鼻子不那么像顶针儿的话就算长得还行，等等。

“And you, Monsieur Nicolas,” says Varenka’s mamma, turning to me, “are not handsome, but you are attractive. —-
“而你，尼古拉先生，”瓦伦卡的妈妈转向我说，“虽然你不帅，但你很有魅力。” —-

. . . There is something about your face. . . . —-
有些东西体现在你脸上…… —-

In men, though, it’s not beauty but intelligence that matters,” she adds, sighing.
在男人身上，不是美貌，而是智慧更加重要，”她叹了口气后补充道。

The young ladies sigh, too, and drop their eyes . . . —-
年轻的女士们也叹了口气，垂下了眼睛…… —-

they agree that the great thing in men is not beauty but intelligence. —-
她们一致认为男人最重要的不是美貌而是智慧。 —-

I steal a glance sideways at a looking-glass to ascertain whether I really am attractive. —-
我偷偷瞥了一眼旁边的镜子，想确定自己真的有魅力。 —-

I see a shaggy head, a bushy beard, moustaches, eyebrows, hair on my cheeks, hair up to my eyes, a perfect thicket with a solid nose sticking up out of it like a watch-tower. Attractive! h’m!
我看到一头长发，一把浓密的胡子和胡须，浓密的眉毛，颧骨上长满了汗毛，一头眼睛到额头的头发，形成一片密集的灌木丛，其中凸起一只像一个守望塔一样的鼻子。有魅力！哼！

“But it’s by the qualities of your soul, after all, that you will make your way, Nicolas,” sighs Nadenka’s mamma, as though affirming some secret and original idea of her own.
“但毕竟是通过你的灵魂品质来取得成功的，尼古拉，”娜丁卡的妈妈叹息着，仿佛在肯定着自己的某个秘密而独特的想法。

And Nadenka is sympathetically distressed on my account, but the conviction that a man passionately in love with her is sitting opposite is obviously a source of the greatest enjoyment to her.
娜丁卡为我感到同情不安，但对坐在对面热情追求她的男人的信心显然是她最大的享受来源。

When they have done with men, the young ladies begin talking about love. —-
当她们谈论完男人后，年轻女士们开始谈论爱情。 —-

After a long conversation about love, one of the young ladies gets up and goes away. —-
经过一番关于爱情的长谈后，其中一位年轻女士起身离开了。 —-

Those that remain begin to pick her to pieces. —-
留下的人们开始批评她。 —-

Everyone agrees that she is stupid, unbearable, ugly, and that one of her shoulder-blades sticks out in a shocking way.
大家都认为她愚蠢、令人无法忍受、丑陋，而且她的一只肩胛骨突出得相当露骨。

But at last, thank goodness! I see our maid. My maman has sent her to call me in to dinner. —-
但好在，谢天谢地！我看到了我们的女佣。我妈妈派她来喊我去吃饭。 —-

Now I can make my escape from this uncongenial company and go back to my work. —-
现在我可以离开这个不合意的公司，回到我的工作中去。 —-

I get up and make my bows.
我起床并系好我的弓。

Varenka’s maman, Varenka herself, and the variegated young ladies surround me, and declare that I cannot possibly go, because I promised yesterday to dine with them and go to the woods to look for mushrooms. —-
瓦连卡的妈妈，瓦连卡本人和那些身穿各色服饰的年轻女士们围着我，宣布我不可能去，因为我昨天答应要和她们共进晚餐，并一起去树林里寻找蘑菇。 —-

I bow and sit down again. My soul is boiling with rage, and I feel that in another moment I may not be able to answer for myself, that there may be an explosion, but gentlemanly feeling and the fear of committing a breach of good manners compels me to obey the ladies. And I obey them.
我鞠了个躬，又坐了下来。我的心灵正在热血沸腾，我感觉再过一会儿我就控制不住自己了，可能会发生爆炸，但是绅士的情感和对破坏良好礼仪的担忧迫使我顺从女士们。于是，我服从了她们。

We sit down to dinner. The wounded officer, whose wound in the temple has affected the muscles of the left cheek, eats as though he had a bit in his mouth. —-
我们坐下来吃晚饭。受伤的军官，他太阳穴的伤影响了左脸的肌肉，吃饭的样子就像嘴里含着东西一样。 —-

I roll up little balls of bread, think about the dog licence, and, knowing the ungovernable violence of my temper, try to avoid speaking. —-
我揉起面包屑，想着狗证，也知道我脾气不可遏制的暴力，所以试着避免说话。 —-

Nadenka looks at me sympathetically.
娜丁卡同情地看着我。

Soup, tongue and peas, roast fowl, and compôte. I have no appetite, but eat from politeness.
汤、牛舌和豌豆、烤鸡和蜜饯。我没有胃口，但出于礼貌而吃。

After dinner, while I am standing alone on the terrace, smoking, Nadenka’s mamma comes up to me, presses my hand, and says breathlessly:
晚饭后，当我独自站在露台上抽烟时，娜丁卡的妈妈走过来，握着我的手，喘不过气地说道：

“Don’t despair, Nicolas! She has such a heart, . . . such a heart! . . .”
“别绝望，尼古拉斯！她有那么一颗心……那样一颗心！”

We go towards the wood to gather mushrooms. —-
我们朝着树林走去采集蘑菇。 —-

Varenka hangs on my arm and clings to my side. —-
瓦连卡搂着我的胳膊，紧紧贴在我身边。 —-

My sufferings are indescribable, but I bear them in patience.
我的痛苦难以言述，但我耐心忍受着。

We enter the wood.
我们进入了树林。

“Listen, Monsieur Nicolas,” says Nadenka, sighing. —-
“听着，尼古拉斯先生，”娜丁卡叹了口气说。 —-

“Why are you so melancholy? And why are you so silent?”
“你为什么这么忧郁？为什么这么沉默？”

Extraordinary girl she is, really! What can I talk to her about? What have we in common?
她真是个非凡的女孩！我能和她聊些什么呢？我们有什么共同点呢？

“Oh, do say something!” she begs me.
“哦，说点什么吧！”她恳求着我。

I begin trying to think of something popular, something within the range of her understanding. —-
我开始设法想出一些受欢迎的话题，一些她理解范围内的内容。 —-

After a moment’s thought I say:
经过片刻的思考，我说：

“The cutting down of forests has been greatly detrimental to the prosperity of Russia. . . .”
“砍伐森林对俄罗斯的繁荣产生了极大的危害……”

“Nicolas,” sighs Nadenka, and her nose begins to turn red, “Nicolas, I see you are trying to avoid being open with me. —-
“尼古拉斯，”纳德玛叹了口气，她的鼻子开始发红，“尼古拉斯，我看得出你在试图避免对我敞开心扉。 —-

. . . You seem to wish to punish me by your silence. —-
……你似乎想通过沉默来惩罚我。 —-

Your feeling is not returned, and you wish to suffer in silence, in solitude . . . —-
你的感受没有得到回报，你想独自默默忍受、独自以苦痛为伴…… —-

it is too awful, Nicolas!” she cries impulsively seizing my hand, and I see her nose beginning to swell. —-
太可怕了，尼古拉斯！”她冲动地抓住我的手，我看到她的鼻子开始肿胀。 —-

“What would you say if the girl you love were to offer you her eternal friendship?”
“如果你爱的女孩愿意为你提供永远的友谊，你会怎么说？”

I mutter something incoherent, for I really can’t think what to say to her.
我咕哝着说了一些听不清的话，因为我真的不知道该对她说什么。

In the first place, I’m not in love with any girl at all; —-
首先，我根本不爱任何女孩； —-

in the second, what could I possibly want her eternal friendship for? —-
其次，我到底需要她的永远友谊吗？ —-

and, thirdly, I have a violent temper.
第三，我有暴躁的脾气。

Mashenka (or Varenka) hides her face in her hands and murmurs, as though to herself:
玛申卡（或瓦仁卡）把脸藏在手中喃喃自语，仿佛对自己说道：

“He will not speak; . . . it is clear that he will have me make the sacrifice! —-
“他不会说话……很明显他要我作出牺牲！ —-

I cannot love him, if my heart is still another’s . . . but . . . I will think of it. . . . —-
如果我心中依然有别人，我就无法爱他……但……我会考虑的…… —-

Very good, I will think of it . . . I will prove the strength of my soul, and perhaps, at the cost of my own happiness, I will save this man from suffering!” . . .
非常好，我会仔细考虑的……我会证明我灵魂的力量，也许以我自己的幸福为代价，我能拯救这个人免受痛苦！……

I can make nothing out of all this. It seems some special sort of puzzle.
我对这一切一无所知。这似乎是一种特殊的谜题。

We go farther into the wood and begin picking mushrooms. We are perfectly silent the whole time. —-
我们进入森林更深处，开始采摘蘑菇。整个过程中我们都保持沉默。 —-

Nadenka’s face shows signs of inward struggle. I hear the bark of dogs; —-
Nadenka的脸上显示出内心的挣扎迹象。我听到了狗的吠声； —-

it reminds me of my dissertation, and I sigh heavily. —-
这让我想起我的论文，我沉重地叹了口气。 —-

Between the trees I catch sight of the wounded officer limping painfully along. —-
在树林之间，我瞥见了一位受伤的军官痛苦地跛行。 —-

The poor fellow’s right leg is lame from his wound, and on his left arm he has one of the variegated young ladies. —-
这个可怜的家伙的右腿因伤而瘸，并且他的左臂上有一个花斑年轻女子。 —-

His face expresses resignation to destiny.
他的脸上表达出对命运的顺从。

We go back to the house to drink tea, after which we play croquet and listen to one of the variegated young ladies singing a song: —-
我们回到屋子里喝茶，之后玩槌球，并且听一个花斑年轻女子唱歌： —-

“No, no, thou lovest not, no, no.” At the word “no” she twists her mouth till it almost touches one ear.
“不，不，你不爱我，不，不。”说到“不”这个字时，她扭曲着嘴巴几乎碰到了一只耳朵。

“Charmant!” wail the other young ladies, “Charmant!”
“迷人！”其他年轻女子哭叫道，“迷人！”

The evening comes on. A detestable moon creeps up behind the bushes. —-
晚上来临了。一轮令人讨厌的月亮从灌木丛后面爬起来。 —-

There is perfect stillness in the air, and an unpleasant smell of freshly cut hay. —-
空气中一片寂静，还有一股不愉快的新鲜干草的气味。 —-

I take up my hat and try to get away.
我拿起我的帽子，试图离开。

“I have something I must say to you!” Mashenka whispers to me significantly, “don’t go away!”
“我有些事情要对你说！”Mashenka有意味地对我低声说，“别走！”

I have a foreboding of evil, but politeness obliges me to remain. —-
我有一种不祥的预感，但礼貌使我不得不留下。 —-

Mashenka takes my arm and leads me away to a garden walk. —-
玛什卡拉着我的手臂，带我走向花园。 —-

By this time her whole figure expresses conflict. —-
此时她整个身体都表达出内心的冲突。 —-

She is pale and gasping for breath, and she seems absolutely set on pulling my right arm out of the socket. —-
她苍白而喘不过气来，似乎非常想把我的右臂给扯脱出来。 —-

What can be the matter with her?
她到底怎么了？

“Listen!” she mutters. “No, I cannot! No! . . .” She tries to say something, but hesitates. —-
“听着！”她嘟囔着。“不，我不能！不！……”她试图说些什么，但犹豫不决。 —-

Now I see from her face that she has come to some decision. —-
现在我从她的脸上看出她已经做出了某种决定。 —-

With gleaming eyes and swollen nose she snatches my hand, and says hurriedly, “Nicolas, I am yours! —-
她眼中闪烁着光芒，鼻子肿胀，抓住我的手，急忙说道：“尼古拉斯，我是你的！ —-

Love you I cannot, but I promise to be true to you!”
爱你我做不到，但我承诺对你忠诚！”

Then she squeezes herself to my breast, and at once springs away.
然后她紧紧地贴在我的胸口上，随即又跳开。

“Someone is coming,” she whispers. “Farewell! . . . —-
“有人来了，”她低声说。“再见！……明天十一点我会在凉亭里等你。……再见！” —-

To-morrow at eleven o’clock I will be in the arbour. . . . Farewell!”
她消失了。完全搞不懂她的行为，心脏还有一种痛苦的悸动，我回到家里。

And she vanishes. Completely at a loss for an explanation of her conduct and suffering from a painful palpitation of the heart, I make my way home. —-
那里有《狗牌的过去和未来》等着我，但我完全无法工作。 —-

There the “Past and Future of the Dog Licence” is awaiting me, but I am quite unable to work. —-
我愤怒了……可以说，我的愤怒是可怕的。见鬼！ —-

I am furious. . . . I may say, my anger is terrible. Damn it all! —-
我不允许任何人把我当孩子看待，我是个脾气暴躁的人，惹我真不是个明智的选择！ —-

I allow no one to treat me like a boy, I am a man of violent temper, and it is not safe to trifle with me!
我将不会让这个发生！不管她想怎么样，我不会上她的当！

When the maid comes in to call me to supper, I shout to her: —-
当女仆走进来叫我吃晚饭时，我对她大喊：“出去！”如此急躁预示着不好的事情。 —-

“Go out of the room!” Such hastiness augurs nothing good.
“出房间！”这样匆忙的举动意味着不祥。

Next morning. Typical holiday weather. Temperature below freezing, a cutting wind, rain, mud, and a smell of naphthaline, because my maman has taken all her wraps out of her trunks. —-
第二天早上，典型的假日天气。温度低于冰点，刺骨的风，雨水，泥浆和一股萘的气味，因为我妈妈把所有的外套都从箱子里拿出来了。 —-

A devilish morning! It is the 7th of August, 1887, the date of the solar eclipse. —-
真是个糟糕的早晨！这是1887年8月7日，也就是日食的日期。 —-

I may here remark that at the time of an eclipse every one of us may, without special astronomical knowledge, be of the greatest service. —-
我可以在此指出，在日食时，即使没有特殊的天文知识，我们每个人都可以做出最大的贡献。 —-

Thus, for example, anyone of us can (1) take the measurement of the diameters of the sun and the moon; —-
例如，我们每个人都可以（1）测量太阳和月亮的直径； —-

(2) sketch the corona of the sun; (3) take the temperature; —-
（2）描绘太阳的日冕；（3）测量温度。 —-

(4) take observations of plants and animals during the eclipse; —-
（4）在日食期间观察植物和动物； —-

(5) note down his own impressions, and so on.
（5）记录下自己的印象等等。

It is a matter of such exceptional importance that I lay aside the “Past and Future of the Dog Licence” and make up my mind to observe the eclipse.
这是如此重要的一件事，我搁置了《狗牌的过去和未来》这篇文章，决定观察日食。

We all get up very early, and I divide the work as follows: —-
我们都起得很早，我将工作分配如下： —-

I am to measure the diameter of the sun and moon; the wounded officer is to sketch the corona; —-
我要测量太阳和月亮的直径，受伤的军官要勾画光环； —-

and the other observations are undertaken by Mashenka and the variegated young ladies.
其他的观测由玛申卡和那些多彩的年轻女士们负责。

We all meet together and wait.
我们都聚在一起等待。

“What is the cause of the eclipse?” asks Mashenka.
“日食的原因是什么？”玛申卡问道。

I reply: “A solar eclipse occurs when the moon, moving in the plane of the ecliptic, crosses the line joining the centres of the sun and the earth.”
我回答：“当月球在黄道面运动时，穿越连接太阳和地球中心的线时，就会发生日食。”

“And what does the ecliptic mean?”
“黄道面是什么意思？”

I explain. Mashenka listens attentively.
我解释。玛申卡专心地听着。

“Can one see through the smoked glass the line joining the centres of the sun and the earth?” she enquires.
“透过熏黑的玻璃能看到连接太阳和地球中心的那条线吗？”她询问道。

I reply that this is only an imaginary line, drawn theoretically.
我回答说，这只是一个在理论上画出来的想象线。

“If it is only an imaginary line, how can the moon cross it?” Varenka says, wondering.
“如果这只是一条想象线，月球怎么会穿过它呢？”瓦伦卡好奇地问道。

I make no reply. I feel my spleen rising at this naïve question.
我没有回答。听到这个天真的问题，我感到脾气上涌。

“It’s all nonsense,” says Mashenka’s maman. “Impossible to tell what’s going to happen. —-
“这都是胡说八道，”马申卡的妈妈说。“根本没法预测会发生什么。” —-

You’ve never been in the sky, so what can you know of what is to happen with the sun and moon? —-
“你从没上过天空，你怎么能知道太阳和月亮会发生什么事情呢？ —-

It’s all fancy.”
这都是一派胡言。”

At that moment a black patch begins to move over the sun. General confusion follows. —-
就在那时，一个黑色的斑点开始遮挡住太阳。随之而来的是一片混乱。 —-

The sheep and horses and cows run bellowing about the fields with their tails in the air. —-
绵羊、马匹和牛头们尾巴翘得高高的在田野上狂奔叫喊。 —-

The dogs howl. The bugs, thinking night has come on, creep out of the cracks in the walls and bite the people who are still in bed.
狗们嚎叫。虫子们以为天黑了，从墙缝里爬出来咬正在床上的人们。

The deacon, who was engaged in bringing some cucumbers from the market garden, jumped out of his cart and hid under the bridge; —-
正好有个执事正在从市场花园里运来一些黄瓜，他赶紧从马车里跳出来躲到桥下； —-

while his horse walked off into somebody else’s yard, where the pigs ate up all the cucumbers. —-
而他的马却走进了别人家的院子，被猪们吃掉了所有的黄瓜。 —-

The excise officer, who had not slept at home that night, but at a lady friend’s, dashed out with nothing on but his nightshirt, and running into the crowd shouted frantically: —-
那位没在家里睡过觉，而是在一个女性朋友家的税收官员，只穿着睡衣冲出去，跑进人群中疯狂地喊道： —-

“Save yourself, if you can!”
“自己保命吧，如果你能的话！”

Numbers of the lady visitors, even young and pretty ones, run out of their villas without even putting their slippers on. —-
很多女性访客，甚至包括年轻漂亮的女士们，都光着脚从别墅里跑了出来。 —-

Scenes occur which I hesitate to describe.
发生了一些场面，我不敢形容。

“Oh, how dreadful!” shriek the variegated young ladies. “It’s really too awful!”
“哦，太可怕了！”各种各样的年轻女士尖叫道。“真的太可怕了！”

“Mesdames, watch!” I cry. “Time is precious!”
“女士们，看着！”我大声说。“时间宝贵！”

And I hasten to measure the diameters. I remember the corona, and look towards the wounded officer. —-
我匆忙测量直径。我想起了光环，望向受伤的军官。 —-

He stands doing nothing.
他站在那里无所事事。

“What’s the matter?” I shout. “How about the corona?”
“怎么了？”我喊道，“冠状病毒怎么样？”

He shrugs his shoulders and looks helplessly towards his arms. —-
他耸耸肩，无助地望向他的手臂。 —-

The poor fellow has variegated young ladies on both sides of him, clinging to him in terror and preventing him from working. —-
可怜的家伙身边有两个年轻姑娘，他们各自紧紧依偎着他，恐惧地阻止他工作。 —-

I seize a pencil and note down the time to a second. That is of great importance. —-
我拿起一支铅笔，准确地记下时间，这非常重要。 —-

I note down the geographical position of the point of observation. That, too, is of importance. —-
我记录下观测点的地理位置，这也很重要。 —-

I am just about to measure the diameter when Mashenka seizes my hand, and says:
我正要测量直径，但玛申卡抓住了我的手，说道：

“Do not forget to-day, eleven o’clock.”
“不要忘记今天早上11点。”

I withdraw my hand, feeling every second precious, try to continue my observations, but Varenka clutches my arm and clings to me. —-
我收回手，感到每一秒都非常珍贵，试图继续观测，但瓦伦卡紧紧抓住我的胳膊，依附着我。 —-

Pencil, pieces of glass, drawings—all are scattered on the grass. Hang it! —-
铅笔、玻璃碎片、绘画，都散落在草地上，真烦人！ —-

It’s high time the girl realized that I am a man of violent temper, and when I am roused my fury knows no bounds, I cannot answer for myself.
这个女孩该认识到我是个脾气暴躁的人，一旦我被惹怒，我的愤怒无法控制，我不能为自己负责。

I try to continue, but the eclipse is over.
我试着继续，但日食已经结束了。

“Look at me!” she whispers tenderly.
“看着我！”她温柔地低声说道。

Oh, that is the last straw! Trying a man’s patience like that can but have a fatal ending. —-
哦，这真是压垮骆驼的最后一根稻草！试探一个人的耐心迟早要有个致命的结局。 —-

I am not to blame if something terrible happens. —-
如果发生可怕的事情，我不应该为此负责。 —-

I allow no one to make a laughing stock of me, and, God knows, when I am furious, I advise nobody to come near me, damn it all! —-
我不允许任何人取笑我，上帝都知道，当我暴怒的时候，我警告任何人都不要靠近我，该死！ —-

There’s nothing I might not do! One of the young ladies, probably noticing from my face what a rage I am in, and anxious to propitiate me, says:
没有我做不到的事情！其中一位年轻女士可能从我的脸上看出我很愤怒，并且想要安抚我，她说：

“I did exactly what you told me, Nikolay Andreitch; I watched the animals. —-
“尼古拉·安德列耶维奇，我按照你的要求做了，我看着那些动物。 —-

I saw the grey dog chasing the cat just before the eclipse, and wagging his tail for a long while afterwards.”
我看到灰色的狗在日食之前追逐着那只猫，日食后还摇着尾巴。

So nothing came of the eclipse after all.
所以这次日食毫无结果。

I go home. Thanks to the rain, I work indoors instead of on the balcony. —-
我回家了。多亏了雨，我在室内工作，而不是在阳台上。 —-

The wounded officer has risked it, and has again got as far as “I was born in . . . —-
那位受伤的军官冒险来到了“我出生于……”这个地方，这时我看到其中一位花枝招展的年轻女士扑下去把他带到了她的别墅。 —-

” when I see one of the variegated young ladies pounce down on him and bear him off to her villa.
我无法工作，因为我还在愤怒中，心脏在悸动。

I cannot work, for I am still in a fury and suffering from palpitation of the heart. —-
我没有去凉亭。不去是不礼貌的，但毕竟下雨我不能去。 —-

I do not go to the arbour. It is impolite not to, but, after all, I can’t be expected to go in the rain.
十二点的时候，我收到了玛申卡的一封信，信中充满了责备和恳求我去凉亭，称呼我为“你”。

At twelve o’clock I receive a letter from Mashenka, a letter full of reproaches and entreaties to go to the arbour, addressing me as “thou. —-
一点钟的时候，我收到了第二封信，两点钟又收到了第三封……我必须去…… —-

” At one o’clock I get a second letter, and at two, a third . . . . I must go. . . . —-
但在去之前，我必须考虑我要对她说什么。我要表现得像个绅士。 —-

But before going I must consider what I am to say to her. I will behave like a gentleman.
首先，我会告诉她，她误解了我对她的爱。

To begin with, I will tell her that she is mistaken in supposing that I am in love with her. —-
一般来说，对妇女说这样的话是不合适的。 —-

That’s a thing one does not say to a lady as a rule, though. —-
不过，我会保持风度。 —-

To tell a lady that one’s not in love with her, is almost as rude as to tell an author he can’t write.
告诉一个女士自己不爱她，几乎和告诉一个作家他不会写一样粗鲁。

The best thing will be to explain my views of marriage.
最好的办法是解释我对婚姻的看法。

I put on my winter overcoat, take an umbrella, and walk to the arbour.
我穿上冬季大衣，拿起伞，走向凉亭。

Knowing the hastiness of my temper, I am afraid I may be led into speaking too strongly; —-
知道自己脾气急躁，我担心可能会说得太过激了； —-

I will try to restrain myself.
我会尽量克制自己。

I find Nadenka still waiting for me. She is pale and in tears. —-
我发现娜德娜卡还在等我。她面色苍白，眼含泪水。 —-

On seeing me she utters a cry of joy, flings herself on my neck, and says:
看到我，她发出一声欢呼，扑到我怀里，说道：

“At last! You are trying my patience. . . . Listen, I have not slept all night. . . . —-
“终于！你让我等得不耐烦……听着，我整晚都没睡……我一直在思考……” —-

I have been thinking and thinking. . . . —-
我相信，当我更加了解你时，我会学会爱你……” —-

I believe that when I come to know you better I shall learn to love you. . . .”
我坐下来，开始阐述我对婚姻的看法。

I sit down, and begin to unfold my views of marriage. —-
首先，为了清理杂念，尽可能简洁，我开始进行简短的历史回顾。 —-

To begin with, to clear the ground of digressions and to be as brief as possible, I open with a short historical survey. —-
我谈到了古埃及和印度的婚姻，然后转向更近代的时代，引用了一些叔本华的思想。 —-

I speak of marriage in ancient Egypt and India, then pass to more recent times, a few ideas from Schopenhauer. —-
玛申卡专心倾听，但突然之间，由于思维的一些奇怪的不连贯，她觉得有必要打断我： —-

Mashenka listens attentively, but all of a sudden, through some strange incoherence of ideas, thinks fit to interrupt me:
“尼古拉，吻我！”她说道。

“Nicolas, kiss me!” she says.

I am embarrassed and don’t know what to say to her. She repeats her request. —-
我感到尴尬，不知道该对她说什么。她再次重复她的请求。 —-

There seems no avoiding it. I get up and bend over her long face, feeling as I do so just as I did in my childhood when I was lifted up to kiss my grandmother in her coffin. —-
似乎无法避免。我站起身，弯下身子，感觉就像小时候被举起来亲吻祖母的棺材一样。 —-

Not content with the kiss, Mashenka leaps up and impulsively embraces me. —-
曼什卡不满足于亲吻，她跳了起来，冲动地拥抱着我。 —-

At that instant, Mashenka’s maman appears in the doorway of the arbour. . . . —-
就在那一刹那，曼什卡的妈妈出现在凉亭的门口…… —-

She makes a face as though in alarm, and saying “sh-sh” to someone with her, vanishes like Mephistopheles through the trapdoor.
她面露惊慌的表情，对身边的某人说了声“嘘”后，像魔术师梅菲斯特费勒一样消失了。

Confused and enraged, I return to our villa. —-
我感到困惑与愤怒，回到了我们的别墅。 —-

At home I find Varenka’s maman embracing my maman with tears in her eyes. —-
回到家，我看到了瓦伦卡的妈妈紧紧拥抱着我妈妈，眼中含着泪水。 —-

And my maman weeps and says:
我的妈妈哭了，说道：

“I always hoped for it!”
“我一直都期待。”

And then, if you please, Nadenka’s maman comes up to me, embraces me, and says:
然后，如果你愿意，娜德卡的妈妈走到我面前，拥抱我，说道：

“May God bless you! . . . Mind you love her well. . . . —-
“愿上帝保佑你！别忘了要好好爱她……” —-

Remember the sacrifice she is making for your sake!”
“记住她为了你而做出的牺牲！”

And here I am at my wedding. At the moment I write these last words, my best man is at my side, urging me to make haste. —-
“此刻，我正站在我的婚礼上。在我写下这些字的时候，我的伴郎在我身边催促我加快速度。” —-

These people have no idea of my character! —-
“这些人对我的本性一无所知！” —-

I have a violent temper, I cannot always answer for myself! Hang it all! —-
“我脾气暴躁，不能总是对自己负责！唉！” —-

God knows what will come of it! To lead a violent, desperate man to the altar is as unwise as to thrust one’s hand into the cage of a ferocious tiger. —-
“天知道会发生什么！把一个暴躁、绝望的人带上圣坛，就像把手伸进猛虎的笼子一样愚蠢。” —-

We shall see, we shall see!
“我们会看到的，我们会看到的！”

And so, I am married. Everybody congratulates me and Varenka keeps clinging to me and saying:
“那么，我结婚了。每个人都向我祝贺，瓦伦卡紧紧地依偎在我身边，说道：”

“Now you are mine, mine; do you understand that? —-
“现在你是我的了，我的；你明白吗？ —-

Tell me that you love me!” And her nose swells as she says it.
告诉我你爱我！”她说话时鼻子涨红了。

I learn from my best man that the wounded officer has very cleverly escaped the snares of Hymen. He showed the variegated young lady a medical certificate that owing to the wound in his temple he was at times mentally deranged and incapable of contracting a valid marriage. —-
“我从我伴郎那里得知，那个受伤的军官聪明地逃过了爱神的陷阱。他向那个花花公子展示了一张医疗证明书，证明由于他太阳穴的伤口，他有时精神错乱，无法签订有效婚约。” —-

An inspiration! I might have got a certificate too. —-
“灵感啊！我也可以弄到一张证明书。” —-

An uncle of mine drank himself to death, another uncle was extremely absent-minded (on one occasion he put a lady’s muff on his head in mistake for his hat), an aunt of mine played a great deal on the piano, and used to put out her tongue at gentlemen she did not like. —-
“我有一个叔叔是喝酒喝死的，另一个叔叔注意力极其不集中（有一次他把一个女士的手套当作帽子戴在头上），还有一个姑姑经常弹钢琴，不喜欢的男士就会吐舌头。” —-

And my ungovernable temper is a very suspicious symptom.
“而我无法控制的脾气是一个很可疑的症状。”

But why do these great ideas always come too late? Why?
“但为什么这些伟大的想法总是太迟了呢？为什么？”