I dare say it would have been more seemly to decline this proposal. —
我敢说拒绝这个提议更合适。 —

I think perhaps I should have made a show of the indignation I really felt, and I am sure that Colonel MacAndrew at least would have thought well of me if I had been able to report my stout refusal to sit at the same table with a man of such character. —
我认为也许我应该展示出我真正的愤怒，我确信如果我能报告我坚决拒绝与这样一个人同桌用餐，麦克安德鲁上校至少会对我印象深刻。 —

But the fear of not being able to carry it through effectively has always made me shy of assuming the moral attitude; —
但是对于无法有效执行这一点的担忧，一直让我羞于采取道德态度; —

and in this case the certainty that my sentiments would be lost on Strickland made it peculiarly embarrassing to utter them. —
而在这种情况下，我的观点会对斯特里克兰失效的确使我难以表达。 —

Only the poet or the saint can water an asphalt pavement in the confident anticipation that lilies will reward his labour.
只有诗人或圣人才能在有信心地期待百合花回报他的劳动时，撒水浇透柏油路面。

I paid for what we had drunk, and we made our way to a cheap restaurant, crowded and gay, where we dined with pleasure. —
我付账后，我们去了一家便宜的餐馆，人山人海，气氛愉快，我们享受了晚餐。 —

I had the appetite of youth and he of a hardened conscience. —
我有年轻人的食欲，他有一颗坚定的良心。 —

Then we went to a tavern to have coffee and liqueurs.
然后我们去了一家酒馆喝咖啡和利口酒。

I had said all I had to say on the subject that had brought me to Paris, and though I felt it in a manner treacherous to Mrs. Strickland not to pursue it, I could not struggle against his indifference. —
我已经说过我对带我来巴黎的这个主题的看法，虽然我觉得不继续追问是对斯特里克兰夫人有欺骗性，但我无法对抗他的冷漠。 —

It requires the feminine temperament to repeat the same thing three times with unabated zest. —
重复同一件事三次，仅女性气质才能保持不减的热情。 —

I solaced myself by thinking that it would be useful for me to find out what I could about Strickland’s state of mind. —
我安慰自己，认为找出斯特里克兰的思想状况对我会很有用。 —

It also interested me much more. But this was not an easy thing to do, for Strickland was not a fluent talker. —
这也更引起了我的兴趣。但要做到这一点并不容易，因为斯特里克兰并不是一个口才流利的人。 —

He seemed to express himself with difficulty, as though words were not the medium with which his mind worked; —
他似乎用困难表达自己，好像言辞不是他思维运作的媒介; —

and you had to guess the intentions of his soul by hackneyed phrases, slang, and vague, unfinished gestures. —
你必须通过陈词滥调、俚语和模糊、未完成的手势来猜测他灵魂的意图。 —

But though he said nothing of any consequence, there was something in his personality which prevented him from being dull. —
虽然他没说什么重要的事，但他的个性有着让他不乏味的东西。 —

Perhaps it was sincerity. He did not seem to care much about the Paris he was now seeing for the first time (I did not count the visit with his wife), and he accepted sights which must have been strange to him without any sense of astonishment. —
也许是真诚。他似乎并不在意他第一次看到的巴黎（我没有算上和他妻子的那次访问），他接受了对他来说一定很奇怪的景象，却没有感到任何惊讶。 —

I have been to Paris a hundred times, and it never fails to give me a thrill of excitement; —
我去过巴黎一百次，每次都让我兴奋不已； —

I can never walk its streets without feeling myself on the verge of adventure. —
我在这些街道上行走时总感觉自己随时可能踏上冒险之旅。 —

Strickland remained placid. Looking back, I think now that he was blind to everything but to some disturbing vision in his soul.
斯特里克兰德保持平静。回想起来，我现在认为他对除了灵魂中某种令人不安的幻象以外的一切都视而不见。

One rather absurd incident took place. There were a number of harlots in the tavern: —
有一件相当荒谬的事件发生了。酒馆里有一些妓女。 —

some were sitting with men, others by themselves; —
一些人与男人坐在一起，另一些人独自一人； —

and presently I noticed that one of these was looking at us. —
我注意到其中一只正在看着我们。 —

When she caught Strickland’s eye she smiled. I do not think he saw her. —
当她抓住 Strickland 的目光时，她微笑了。我觉得他没有看见她。 —

In a little while she went out, but in a minute returned and, passing our table, very politely asked us to buy her something to drink. —
过了一会儿，她走出去，但一会儿又回来了，经过我们的桌子时，非常礼貌地请我们买点喝的东西。 —

She sat down and I began to chat with her; but, it was plain that her interest was in Strickland. —
她坐下来，我开始和她聊天；但显而易见她对斯特里克兰感兴趣。 —

I explained that he knew no more than two words of French. —
我解释说，他不会超过两个法语单词。 —

She tried to talk to him, partly by signs, partly in pidgin French, which, for some reason, she thought would be more comprehensible to him, and she had half a dozen phrases of English. —
她试图和他交流，一部分通过手势，一部分用混杂的法语，出于某种原因，她认为这样他更容易理解，而且她还会几句英语。 —

She made me translate what she could only express in her own tongue, and eagerly asked for the meaning of his replies. —
她让我翻译她只能用自己的语言表达的内容，迫不及待地询问他的回复的含义。 —

He was quite good-tempered, a little amused, but his indifference was obvious.
他相当性情温和，有点感到好笑，但他的冷漠显而易见。

“I think you’ve made a conquest, ” I laughed.
“我觉得你已经征服了他，”我笑着说。

“I’m not flattered. “
“我并不感到受宠若惊。”

In his place I should have been more embarrassed and less calm. —
在他的位置上，我应该更为尴尬，而非冷静。 —

She had laughing eyes and a most charming mouth. She was young. —
她有笑眼和一张非常迷人的嘴。她还年轻。 —

I wondered what she found so attractive in Strickland. —
我想知道她觉得斯特里克兰有什么吸引之处。 —

She made no secret of her desires, and I was bidden to translate.
她毫不掩饰她的欲望，而我被委托翻译。

“She wants you to go home with her. “
“She wants you to go home with her.” 1, “她希望你跟她回家。”

“I’m not taking any, ” he replied.
“我不要任何,” 他回答道。

I put his answer as pleasantly as I could. —
我尽可能愉快地表达了他的回答。 —

It seemed to me a little ungracious to decline an invitation of that sort, and I ascribed his refusal to lack of money.
我觉得拒绝这样的邀请有点不太礼貌，而且我认为他的拒绝是因为缺钱。

“But I like him, ” she said. “Tell him it’s for love. “
“但我喜欢他,” 她说。“告诉他这是出于爱。”

When I translated this, Strickland shrugged his shoulders impatiently.
当我翻译这句话时，斯特里克兰急不可耐地耸耸肩膀。

“Tell her to go to hell, ” he said.
“告诉她滚蛋，”他说。

His manner made his answer quite plain, and the girl threw back her head with a sudden gesture. —
他的态度表明了他的回答，女孩突然抬起头。 —

Perhaps she reddened under her paint. She rose to her feet.
或许她在化妆下有些脸红。她站起来。

“Monsieur n’est pas poli, ” she said.
“先生不礼貌，”她说。

She walked out of the inn. I was slightly vexed.
她走出了酒店。我稍感恼火。

“There wasn’t any need to insult her that I can see, ” I said. —
“我没看出有必要侮辱她，”我说。 —

“After all, it was rather a compliment she was paying you. “
“毕竟，她是在夸你。”

“That sort of thing makes me sick, ” he said roughly.
“这种事让我恶心，”他粗鲁地说。

I looked at him curiously. There was a real distaste in his face, and yet it was the face of a coarse and sensual man. —
我好奇地看着他。他的脸上真的写着厌恶之情，但却是一个粗俗而肉欲的人的脸。 —

I suppose the girl had been attracted by a certain brutality in it.
我想那女孩可能被他的某种蛮横所吸引。

I could have got all the women I wanted in London. I didn’t come here for that. “
我在伦敦可以得到想要的女人。我来这里不是为了那个。