A DULL, rainy day. The sky is completely covered with heavy clouds, and there is no prospect of the rain ceasing. —
一个阴沉、多雨的日子。天空被厚厚的云层完全覆盖，看不到雨停的迹象。 —

Outside sleet, puddles, and drenched jackdaws. —
外面是雨夹雪、水坑和湿透的寒鸦。 —

Indoors it is half dark, and so cold that one wants the stove heated.
室内半昏暗，冷得让人想要把火炉生起来。

Pavel Petrovitch Somov is pacing up and down his study, grumbling at the weather. —
帕维尔·彼得罗维奇·索莫夫在书房里来回踱步，抱怨着天气。 —

The tears of rain on the windows and the darkness of the room make him depressed. —
窗户上的雨滴和房间的黑暗让他沮丧。 —

He is insufferably bored and has nothing to do… . The newspapers have not been brought yet; —
他极其无聊，没什么事可做……还没有送来报纸； —

shooting is out of the question, and it is not nearly dinner-time … .
泼射是不可能的，离吃晚饭的时间还远……

Somov is not alone in his study. Madame Somov, a pretty little lady in a light blouse and pink stockings, is sitting at his writing table. —
索莫夫的书房里不只有他一人。玛德琳·索莫夫，一位穿着浅色衬衫和粉色长筒袜的漂亮女士，坐在他的写字桌前。 —

She is eagerly scribbling a letter. Every time he passes her as he strides up and down, Ivan Petrovitch looks over her shoulder at what she is writing. —
她在急切地写一封信。当他来回经过她时，伊万·彼得罗维奇会趁机看看她在写什么。 —

He sees big sprawling letters, thin and narrow, with all sorts of tails and flourishes. —
他看到一大串大大的字母，又细又窄，带着各种花招和装饰。 —

There are numbers of blots, smears, and finger- marks. —
有许多墨渍、污迹和手印。 —

Madame Somov does not like ruled paper, and every line runs downhill with horrid wriggles as it reaches the margin… .
玛德琳·索莫夫不喜欢格子纸，每行字都以可怕的蠕动向下流向边缘……

“Lidotchka, who is it you are writing such a lot to? —
“丽多卓，你写了这么多信给谁？” —

” Somov inquires, seeing that his wife is just beginning to scribble the sixth page.
“瓦利亚姐姐。”

“To sister Varya.”
看到妻子刚开始写第六页，索莫夫询问道。

“Hm … it’s a long letter! I’m so bored—let me read it!”
“Hm … it’s a long letter! I’m so bored—let me read it!” 1.“嗯…这是一封长信！我真无聊—让我读一下！”

“Here, you may read it, but there’s nothing interesting in it.”
“这里，你可以读一下，但里面没什么有趣的东西。”

Somov takes the written pages and, still pacing up and down, begins reading. —
索莫夫拿起写好的纸张，仍在屋里来回踱步，开始阅读。 —

Lidotchka leans her elbows on the back of her chair and watches the expression of his face… . —
莉多琪把手肘搁在椅背上，观察着他脸上的表情…… —

After the first page his face lengthens and an expression of something almost like panic comes into it. —
第一页读完后，他的脸变得长了，露出一种几乎像恐慌的表情。 —

… At the third page Somov frowns and scratches the back of his head. —
第三页时，索莫夫皱起眉头，挠了挠脑后。 —

At the fourth he pauses, looks with a scared face at his wife, and seems to ponder. —
到了第四页，他停住了，用一种害怕的表情看着自己的妻子，似乎在思考。 —

After thinking a little, he takes up the letter again with a sigh… . —
想了一会儿，他又带着叹息拿起信纸……。 —

His face betrays perplexity and even alarm… .”
他的脸露出困惑甚至惊慌的表情……。”

“Well, this is beyond anything!” he mutters, as he finishes reading the letter and flings the sheets on the table, “It’s positively incredible!”
“哎呀，这简直太过分了！”他读完信后把纸张甩到桌子上说，“这简直不可思议！”

“What’s the matter?” asks Lidotchka, flustered.
“怎么了？”莉多琪问道，有些慌乱。

“What’s the matter! You’ve covered six pages, wasted a good two hours scribbling, and there’s nothing in it at all! —
“怎么了！你写了整整六页，浪费了整整两个小时，结果里面什么也没有！ —

If there were one tiny idea! One reads on and on, and one’s brain is as muddled as though one were deciphering the Chinese wriggles on tea chests! Ough!”
如果里面有一个小点子！读来读去，脑袋里乱糟糟的，就像是在破译茶箱上的中文蠕动一样！哎呀！”

“Yes, that’s true, Vanya, …” says Lidotchka, reddening. “I wrote it carelessly… .”
“是的，瓦尼，……”莉多琪红着脸说，“我写得很马虎……”

“Queer sort of carelessness! In a careless letter there is some meaning and style—there is sense in it—while yours . —
“奇怪的马虎！在一个马虎的信件里还有一些意义和风格——里面有意思——而你的……对不起，但我不知道怎么形容！完全就是胡言乱语！ —

. . excuse me, but I don’t know what to call it! It’s absolute twaddle! —
“… ”，这简直是无稽之谈！ —

There are words and sentences, but not the slightest sense in them. —
有文字和句子，但其中没有丝毫意义。 —

Your whole letter is exactly like the conversation of two boys: ‘We had pancakes to-day! —
你整封信就像两个男孩的谈话一样：“我们今天吃了煎饼！ —

And we had a soldier come to see us!’ You say the same thing over and over again! —
今天有位士兵来看我们！”你一遍又一遍地说同样的事情！ —

You drag it out, repeat yourself … . The wretched ideas dance about like devils: —
你拖泥带水，重复不停…这些可怜的想法像魔鬼般飞舞： —

there’s no making out where anything begins, where anything ends. —
搞不清楚哪里开始，哪里结束。 —

… How can you write like that?”
…你怎么能写得这么糟糕呢？

“If I had been writing carefully,” Lidotchka says in self defence, “then there would not have been mistakes… .”
“如果我当时写得小心一点，就不会犯错误……”

“Oh, I’m not talking about mistakes! The awful grammatical howlers! —
“哦，我不是在说错误！糟糕的语法错误！ —

There’s not a line that’s not a personal insult to grammar! —
没有一行不是对语法的人身侮辱！ —

No stops nor commas—and the spelling … brrr! ‘Earth’ has an a in it!! And the writing! —
没有停顿也没有逗号——还有拼写……嗷！’Earth’里有个a！！还有写得怎么样！ —

It’s desperate! I’m not joking, Lida… . I’m surprised and appalled at your letter… . —
简直糟糕透顶！我不是在开玩笑，莉达……我对你的信感到吃惊和震惊…… —

You mustn’t be angry, darling, but, really, I had no idea you were such a duffer at grammar… —
亲爱的，你不要生气，但是，真的，我不知道你在语法方面如此拙劣…… —

. And yet you belong to a cultivated, well-educated circle: —
再说，你还是一个受过教育、有教养的圈子里的一员： —

you are the wife of a University man, and the daughter of a general! —
你是一个大学教授的妻子，一个将军的女儿！ —

Tell me, did you ever go to school?”
告诉我，你上过学吗？”

“What next! I finished at the Von Mebke’s boarding school… .”
“接下来呢！我在冯梅布克寄宿学校毕业了… .”

Somov shrugs his shoulders and continues to pace up and down, sighing. —
索莫夫耸耸肩，继续踱步，叹息着. —

Lidotchka, conscious of her ignorance and ashamed of it, sighs too and casts down her eyes. —
李多茨卡意识到自己的无知并感到羞愧，也跟着叹息，并低下了头。 —

… Ten minutes pass in silence.
… 十分钟的沉默过去了。

“You know, Lidotchka, it really is awful! —
“你知道，丽多琪，真是太糟糕了！ —

” says Somov, suddenly halting in front of her and looking into her face with horror. —
”索莫夫突然站在她面前停下来，目光中带着恐惧地望着她。 —

“You are a mother … do you understand? A mother! —
“你是一个母亲… 你明白吗？一个母亲！ —

How can you teach your children if you know nothing yourself? —
如果你自己一无所知，你怎么教育你的孩子？ —

You have a good brain, but what’s the use of it if you have never mastered the very rudiments of knowledge? —
你拥有优秀的头脑，但如果你连基础知识都没有掌握，有什么用？ —

There—never mind about knowledge … —
别担心知识的问题… —

the children will get that at school, but, you know, you are very shaky on the moral side too! —
孩子们在学校会学到的，但是，你知道，你的道德素养也很薄弱！ —

You sometimes use such language that it makes my ears tingle!”
你有时候说出这么粗俗的言语，让我的耳朵发痛！”

Somov shrugs his shoulders again, wraps himself in the folds of his dressing-gown and continues his pacing. —
索莫夫再次耸耸肩，裹着他的睡袍继续踱步。 —

… He feels vexed and injured, and at the same time sorry for Lidotchka, who does not protest, but merely blinks. —
… 他感到恼火又受委屈，同时对李多茨卡感到遗憾，李多茨卡没有抗议，只是眨眨眼睛。 —

… Both feel oppressed and miserable … . —
… 两人都感到压抑和悲惨… . —

Absorbed in their woes, they do not notice how time is passing and the dinner hour is approaching.
沉浸在他们的苦恼中，他们没有注意到时间在悄悄流逝，晚餐时间已经临近。

Sitting down to dinner, Somov, who is fond of good eating and of eating in peace, drinks a large glass of vodka and begins talking about something else. —
坐下吃晚饭时，喜欢好吃和安静吃饭的索莫夫喝了一大杯伏特加，开始谈论其他事情。 —

Lidotchka listens and assents, but suddenly over the soup her eyes fill with tears and she begins whimpering.
丽都卓卡听着并表示同意，但突然在喝汤时她眼泪盈满，开始啜泣。

“It’s all mother’s fault!” she says, wiping away her tears with her dinner napkin. —
“这全是母亲的错！”她边用餐巾纸擦泪边说。 —

“Everyone advised her to send me to the high school, and from the high school I should have been sure to go on to the University!”
“每个人都建议她送我去高中，然后我肯定会去上大学！”

“University … high school,” mutters Somov. “That’s running to extremes, my girl! —
“大学…高中，”索莫夫喃喃自语。“这是极端的表现，我的好孩子！ —

What’s the good of being a blue stocking! A blue stocking is the very deuce! —
成为女书呆子有什么好处！女书呆子真是麻烦！ —

Neither man nor woman, but just something midway: neither one thing nor another… —
既非男人亦非女人，而是处于中间状态：既非一种也非另一种… —

I hate blue stockings! I would never have married a learned woman… .”
我讨厌女书呆子！我永远不会娶一个学识渊博的女人…”

“There’s no making you out …”, says Lidotchka. —
“你真是让人琢磨不透…”，丽都卓卡说。 —

“You are angry because I am not learned, and at the same time you hate learned women; —
“你对我不学无术感到生气，同时你又讨厌学识渊博的女人； —

you are annoyed because I have no ideas in my letter, and yet you yourself are opposed to my studying… .”
你因为我的信中没有主意而恼火，但你又反对我学习。。。”

“You do catch me up at a word, my dear,” yawns Somov, pouring out a second glass of vodka in his boredom.
“你总是在赶时髦，亲爱的，”索莫夫打了一个打哈欠，倒第二杯伏特加以解闷。

Under the influence of vodka and a good dinner, Somov grows more good- humoured, lively, and soft. . —
在伏特加和美味晚餐的作用下，索莫夫变得更加好脾气、活泼和温柔。 —

. . He watches his pretty wife making the salad with an anxious face and a rush of affection for her, of indulgence and forgiveness comes over him.
他看着自己漂亮的妻子焦急地做沙拉，一股对她的情感、纵容和原谅之情油然而生。

“It was stupid of me to depress her, poor girl … ,” he thought. —
“我让她沮丧是多么愚蠢的行为，可怜的女孩……”他想。 —

“Why did I say such a lot of dreadful things? —
“我为什么说了那么多可怕的话呢？ —

She is silly, that’s true, uncivilised and narrow; but … —
她确实很愚蠢，粗俗而狭隘；但是…… —

there are two sides to the question, and audiatur et altera pars… . —
这个问题有两面，应该听取另一方的意见…… —

Perhaps people are perfectly right when they say that woman’s shallowness rests on her very vocation. —
或许人们说女人的肤浅正是根植于她们的天职，说得完全正确。 —

Granted that it is her vocation to love her husband, to bear children, and to mix salad, what the devil does she want with learning? No, indeed!”
假如她的天职是爱她的丈夫、生孩子、搅拌沙拉，那么她究竟需要什么样的学问呢？真是！

At that point he remembers that learned women are usually tedious, that they are exacting, strict, and unyielding; —
尤其是想起来，有学问的女人通常让人感到烦闷，她们苛刻、严厉而不易妥协； —

and, on the other hand, how easy it is to get on with silly Lidotchka, who never pokes her nose into anything, does not understand so much, and never obtrudes her criticism. —
反之，和愚蠢的丽多齐卡相处是多么轻松，她从不掺和他人的事务，不太懂，也从不唠叨。 —

There is peace and comfort with Lidotchka, and no risk of being interfered with.
和丽多齐卡在一起是那样的平和舒适，而且不会有被干扰的风险。

“Confound them, those clever and learned women! —
“该死，那些聪明而博学的女人！ —

It’s better and easier to live with simple ones,” he thinks, as he takes a plate of chicken from Lidotchka.
和简单的女人在一起更好更容易，”他想，当接过丽多齐卡递过来的盘子里的鸡肉。

He recollects that a civilised man sometimes feels a desire to talk and share his thoughts with a clever and well-educated woman. —
他记起，文明的男人有时渴望与聪明有教养的女人交谈并分享他的想法。 —

“What of it?” thinks Somov. “If I want to talk of intellectual subjects, I’ll go to Natalya Andreyevna . —
“那又怎样？”索莫夫想。“如果我想谈论知识性话题，我会去找纳塔莉娅·安德烈耶芙娜。 —

. . or to Marya Frantsovna… . It’s very simple! But no, I shan’t go. —
或者去找玛丽娅·弗兰佐夫娜……那很简单！但是不，我不会去。 —

One can discuss intellectual subjects with men,” he finally decides.
我可以和男人讨论知识性话题，”他最终决定。