OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE, not reckoning the countess’s elder daughter (who was four years older than her sister and behaved quite like a grown-up person) and the young lady visitor, there were left in the drawing-room Nikolay and Sonya, the niece. —
那些年轻人中，在不计算伯爵夫人的大女儿（她比她妹妹大四岁，行为举止像个成年人）和年轻女访客的情况下，画室里只剩下尼古拉和索尼娅这个侄女。 —

Sonya was a slender, miniature brunette, with soft eyes shaded by long lashes, thick black hair twisted in two coils round her head, and a skin of a somewhat sallow tint, particularly marked on her bare, thin, but shapely, muscular arms and neck. —
索尼娅是一个苗条的小巧的深色头发，长长的睫毛遮住柔软眼睛的微缩褐色小女人。她的黑色头发在头上盘着两个圈，皮肤有些黄色，尤其是在她纤细但适当发达的手臂和脖子上。 —

The smoothness of her movements, the softness and flexibility of her little limbs, and something of slyness and reserve in her manner, suggested a lovely half-grown kitten, which would one day be a charming cat. —
她的动作流畅，小肢体的柔软和灵活，以及她态度中的一点狡猾和保留，给人一种可爱的半大猫的感觉，它将来会变成一只迷人的猫。 —

Apparently she thought it only proper to show an interest in the general conversation and to smile. —
显然她觉得在整个谈话中表现出兴趣并微笑是合适的。 —

But against her own will, her eyes turned under their thick, long lashes to her cousin, who was going away into the army, with such girlish, passionate adoration, that her smile could not for one moment impose upon any one, and it was clear that the kitten had only perched there to skip off more energetically than ever and to play with her cousin as soon as they could, like Boris and Natasha, get out of the drawing-room.
但是她的眼睛违背她自己的意愿，从她浓密的长睫毛下转向了她的表兄，他带着如此少女般的热爱离开参军，以至于她的微笑无法欺骗任何人，很明显小猫只是停留在那里，为了比以往更有活力地离开，并与她的表兄玩耍，就像鲍里斯和娜塔莎一样，离开客厅。

“Yes, ma chère,” said the old count, addressing the visitor and pointing to his Nikolay; —
“是的，亲爱的，”老伯爵说着，对着客人指着自己的尼古拉说： —

“here his friend Boris has received his commission as an officer, and he’s so fond of him he doesn’t want to be left behind, and is giving up the university and his poor old father to go into the army, ma chère. —
“这里他的朋友鲍里斯已经得到了军官的职位，他非常喜欢他，不想被落下，他放弃了大学和他可怜的老父亲去参军，亲爱的。 —

And there was a place all ready for him in the archives department, and all. —
档案部门已经为他准备了一个职位，全部都准备好了。 —

Isn’t that friendship now?” said the count interrogatively.
“这就是友谊了吧？”伯爵疑问地说。

“But they do say that war has been declared, you know,” said the visitor.
“但是他们说已经宣战了，你知道吗，”客人说。

“They’ve been saying so a long while,” said the count. —
“他们已经这么说很久了，”伯爵说。 —

“They’ll say so again and again, and so it will remain. —
“他们会一再如此说，事情就会保持不变。 —

There’s friendship for you, ma chère!” he repeated. —
这就是你的朋友啊，我的亲爱的！”他重复道。 —

“He’s going into the hussars.”
“他要去轻骑兵团。”

The visitor, not knowing what to say, shook her head.
请客人不知道该说什么，只能摇头。

“It’s not from friendship at all,” answered Nikolay, flushing hotly, and denying it as though it were some disgraceful imputation. —
“这根本就不是因为友谊，” 尼古拉回答道，脸红得厉害，极力否认，好像这是一种可耻的指控。 —

“Not friendship at all, but simply I feel drawn to the military service.”
“根本不是出于友谊，只是我对军队有一种内心的吸引。”

He looked round at his cousin and the young lady visitor; —
他环视了一下他的表弟和那个年轻的女访客； —

both looked at him with a smile of approval.
两人都对他微笑着表示赞赏。

“Schubert’s dining with us to-night, the colonel of the Pavologradsky regiment of hussars. —
“休伯特今晚跟我们一起吃饭，他是轻骑兵团的团长。 —

He has been here on leave, and is taking him with him. —
他休假回来，带着他一起来的。 —

There’s no help for it,” said the count, shrugging his shoulder and speaking playfully of what evidently was a source of much distress to him.
“没办法，”伯爵耸耸肩，戏谑地谈论着明显给他带来很多痛苦的事情。

“I’ve told you already, papa,” said his son, “that if you’re unwilling to let me go, I’ll stay. But I know I’m no good for anything except in the army. —
“爸爸，我已经告诉过你了，”他的儿子说，“如果你不愿意让我去，我就留下来。但是我知道除了当兵，我什么都做不了。” —

I’m not a diplomatist, or a government clerk. —
我不是外交家，也不是政府职员。 —

I’m not clever at disguising my feelings,” he said, glancing repeatedly with the coquetry of handsome youth at Sonya and the young lady.
我不善于掩饰自己的情感，”他望了索尼娅和那位年轻女士一眼，带着年轻帅气的媚态说道。

The kitten, her eyes riveted on him, seemed on the point of breaking into frolic, and showing her cat-like nature.
那只小猫眼睛注视着他，似乎要欢快地嬉戏，展现出她猫一般的本性。

“Well, well, it’s all-right!” said the old count; “he always gets so hot. —
“好了，好了，没关系！”老伯爵说，“他总是这么容易激动。 —

Bonaparte’s turned all their heads; they’re all dreaming of how he rose from a lieutenant to be an emperor. —
拿破仑让他们都迷了头，他们都在梦想着他是如何从中尉晋升为皇帝的。 —

Well, and so may it turn out again, please God,” he added, not noticing the visitor’s sarcastic smile.
好吧，愿上帝保佑，希望事情能再次变得这样，”他补充道，没有注意到来访者讽刺的微笑。

While their elders began talking about Bonaparte, Julie, Madame Karagin’s daughter, turned to young Rostov.
当长辈们开始谈论拿破仑时，卡拉金夫人的女儿朱莉转向了年轻的罗斯托夫。

“What a pity you weren’t at the Arharovs’ on Thursday. —
“可惜你星期四没去阿尔哈罗夫家。 —

I was so dull without you,” she said, giving him a tender smile. —
没有你我觉得好无聊，”她温柔地笑着说。 —

The youth, highly flattered, moved with a coquettish smile nearer her, and entered into a conversation apart with the smiling Julie, entirely unaware that his unconscious smile had dealt a jealous stab to the heart of Sonya, who was flushing crimson and assuming a forced smile. —
这个年轻人非常得意，带着媚人的笑容向她靠近，与微笑的朱莉搭讪，完全没有意识到他无意识的笑容刺激了索尼娅的嫉妒之心，她脸红了，勉强笑了笑。 —

In the middle of his talk with Julie he glanced round at her. —
在与朱莉交谈的时候，他瞥了她一眼。 —

Sonya gave him an intensely furious look, and, hardly able to restrain her tears, though there was still a constrained smile on her lips, she got up and went out of the room. —
索尼娅怒视着他，几乎忍不住眼泪，尽管她嘴角还挂着勉强的微笑，她站起来离开了房间。 —

All Nikolay’s animation was gone. He waited for the first break in the conversation, and, with a face of distress, walked out of the room to look for Sonya.
尼古拉的兴致全无，他等待着谈话中的第一个间断，苦恼地走出房间去找索尼娅。

“How all the young things wear their hearts on their sleeves! —
“年轻人真是把心放在袖子上！” —

” said Anna Mihalovna, pointing to Nikolay’s retreating figure. —
“尼古拉走开了，”安娜·米哈洛夫娜指着尼古拉的背影说道。 —

“Cousinage, dangereux voisinage,” she added.
“表亲关系，危险的邻居，”她补充道。

“Yes,” said the countess, when the sunshine that had come into the drawing-room with the young people had vanished. —
“是的，”女伯爵说道，当与年轻人一同进入客厅的阳光消失时。 —

She was, as it were, replying to a question which no one had put to her, but which was always in her thoughts: —
她好像是在回答一个没有人问过的问题，但这个问题总是在她的思绪中： —

“What miseries, what anxieties one has gone through for the happiness one has in them now! —
“为了现在拥有的幸福，我们承受了多少痛苦、多少焦虑！ —

And even now one feels really more dread than joy over them. One’s always in terror! —
现在甚至感到的恐惧远胜于喜悦。我们总是处于恐慌中！ —

At this age particularly when there are so many dangers both for girls and boys.”
尤其是在这个年龄，女孩和男孩都会面临许多危险。”

“Everything depends on bringing up,” said the visitor.
“一切都取决于教养，”访客说道。

“Yes, you are right,” the countess went on. —
“是的，你说得对，”女伯爵继续说道。 —

“So far I have been, thank God, my children’s friend and have enjoyed their full confidence,” said the countess, repeating the error of so many parents, who imagine their children have no secrets from them. —
“感谢上帝，迄今为止我一直是孩子们的朋友，并享受到他们的全部信任，”女伯爵说道，重复了许多父母的错误，他们以为自己的孩子对他们没有秘密。 —

“I know I shall always be first in my children’s confidence, and that Nikolay, if, with his impulsive character, he does get into mischief (boys will be boys) it won’t be like these Petersburg young gentlemen.”
“我知道我在孩子们的信任中永远是第一位的，尽管尼古拉有点冲动（毕竟男孩就是男孩），但他不会像这些彼得堡的年轻绅士们那样惹麻烦。”

“Yes, they’re capital children, capital children,” assented the count, who always solved all perplexing questions by deciding that everything was capital. —
“是的，他们是非常出色的孩子，非常出色的孩子，”伯爵赞同地说道，他总是通过断定一切都很出色来解决一切令人困惑的问题。 —

“Fancy now, his taking it into his head to be an hussar! —
“想象一下，他突然想要当个胡斯骑兵！ —

But what can one expect, ma chère?”
但是，亲爱的，我们能期望什么呢？”

“What a sweet little thing your younger girl is! —
“你的小女儿真是个可爱的小东西！ —

” said the visitor. “Full of fun and mischief!”
”访客说道，“满脑子都是玩乐和淘气！”

“Yes, that she is,” said the count. “She takes after me! And such a voice; —
“是的，她就像我一样！”伯爵说道。“而且声音也很好听； —

though she’s my daughter, it’s the truth I’m telling you, she’ll be a singer, another Salomini. —
虽然她是我的女儿，但我告诉你，她将成为一位歌手，另一个萨洛米尼。 —

We’ve engaged an Italian to give her lessons.”
我们聘请了一个意大利人给她上课。

“Isn’t it too early? They say it injures the voice to train it at that age.”
现在开始训练是不是太早了？他们说这样做会损害声音。

“Oh, no! Too early!” said the count. “Why, our mothers used to be married at twelve and thirteen.”
哦，不，太早了！，”伯爵说。“为什么呢，我们母亲在十二、十三岁时就结婚了。”

“Well, she’s in love with Boris already! What do you say to that? —
“她已经爱上鲍里斯了！你对此有何看法？ —

” said the countess, smiling softly and looking at Boris’s mother. —
”伯爵夫人温柔地笑着看着鲍里斯的母亲。 —

And apparently in reply to the question that was always in her mind, she went on: —
显然在回答始终挂在她心头的问题时，她接着说道： —

“Why, you know, if I were strict with her, if I were to forbid her…God knows what they might not be doing in secret” (the countess meant that they might kiss each other), “but as it is I know every word she utters. —
“为什么，你知道，如果我对她严厉，如果我禁止她……天知道他们私下会做些什么”（伯爵夫人指的是他们可能会亲吻对方），“但现在我知道她说的每个字。 —

She’ll come to me this evening and tell me everything of herself. —
她今晚会来找我，并告诉我她自己的一切。 —

I spoil her, perhaps, but I really believe it’s the best way. —
也许我宠坏了她，但我真的认为这是最好的办法。 —

I brought my elder girl up more strictly.”
我把我的大女儿教育得更加严格。”

“Yes, I was brought up quite differently,” said the elder girl, the handsome young Countess Vera; and she smiled. —
“是的，我从小的教育确实与众不同，”年长的女孩，英俊的伯爵夫人维拉说着，她微笑了。 —

But the smile did not improve Vera’s face; —
但是这个微笑并没有改善维拉的脸庞； —

on the contrary her face looked unnatural, and therefore unpleasing. Vera was good-looking; —
相反，她的脸看起来不自然，因此不讨人喜欢。维拉很漂亮； —

she was not stupid, was clever at her lessons, and well educated; —
她并不愚蠢，擅长功课，接受过良好的教育； —

she had a pleasant voice, and what she said was true and appropriate. —
她声音悦耳，说话也准确得体。 —

But, strange to say, every one—both the visitor and the countess—looked at her, as though wondering why she had said it, and conscious of a certain awkwardness.
然而，奇怪的是，每个人-无论是来访者还是伯爵夫人-都望着她，仿佛想知道她为什么会说出这样的话，同时又有一种尴尬感。

“People are always too clever with their elder children; —
“人们总是对他们的长子长女过于聪明； —

they try to do something exceptional with them,” said the visitor.
他们试图对他们做一些异常的事情，”来访者说道。

“We won’t conceal our errors, ma chère! —
“我们不会掩饰我们的错误，ma chère！我的亲爱的伯爵夫人对维拉过于聪明了，”伯爵说。“但又有什么？她还是非常出色地发展了起来，”他补充道，对维拉挤眉弄眼表示赞许。 —

My dear countess was too clever with Vera,” said the count. “But what of it? —
客人们站起身离开，并答应晚宴的时候再来。 —

she has turned out capitally all the same,” he added, with a wink of approval to Vera.
“是的，我从小的教育确实与众不同，”年长的女孩，英俊的伯爵夫人维拉说着，她微笑了。

The guests got up and went away, promising to come to dinner.
但是这个微笑并没有改善维拉的脸庞。

“What manners! Staying on and on!” said the countess, when she had seen her guests out.
“好个没有礼貌的人！一直留着不走！”贵妇人在送客后说道。