《傲慢与偏见》中伊丽莎白和达西的精彩对话（二）

 "I am not afraid of you," said he, smilingly.

“我可不怕你，”达西微笑着说。
"Pray let me hear what you have to accuse him of," cried Colonel Fitzwilliam. "I should like to know how he behaves among strangers."
“请让我听听，你要指责他什么事，”费茨威廉上校嚷道，“我倒想知道，他在陌生人中间是怎样表现的。”
"You shall hear then -- but prepare yourself for something very dreadful. The first time of my ever seeing him in Hertfordshire, you must know, was at a ball -- and at this ball, what do you think he did? He danced only four dances! I am sorry to pain you -- but so it was. He danced only four dances, though gentlemen were scarce; and, to my certain knowledge, more than one young lady was sitting down in want of a partner. Mr. Darcy, you cannot deny the fact."
“那我就告诉你吧——不过你得做好准备，有些事情是很吓人的。你得知道，我在哈福德郡第一次见到他，是在一次舞会上——你知道他在这个舞会上干什么了吗？他只跳了四曲舞。我很抱歉，让你感到难受——不过事实就是如此。他只跳了四曲，尽管男宾很少，而且就我所知，不止一位年轻小姐当时没有舞伴，只好坐在一旁。达西先生，你无法否认这个事实吧。”
"I had not at that time the honour of knowing any lady in the assembly beyond my own party."
“当时，除了我们自己那一伙人以外，我还没有荣幸认识舞会上任何别的女士。”
"True; and nobody can ever be introduced in a ball room. Well, Colonel Fitzwilliam, what do I play next? My fingers wait your orders."
“不错；可是在舞场上是谁都不用着介绍的。好了，费茨威廉上校，下一曲我弹什么呢？我的手指在恭候你的吩咐呢。”
"Perhaps," said Darcy, "I should have judged better, had I sought an introduction, but I am ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers."
“也许，”达西说，“如果我当时找个人介绍一下，那我也会作出更好的判断；不过我这个人不擅长在陌生人面前自荐。”
"Shall we ask your cousin the reason of this?" said Elizabeth, still addressing Colonel Fitzwilliam. "Shall we ask him why a man of sense and education, and who has lived in the world, is ill qualified to recommend himself to strangers?"
“我们是不是要问问你表弟，这是什么原因呢？”伊丽莎白还是对着费茨威廉上校说，“我们是不是要问问他，一个通情达理，受过教育，见多识广的人，居然不擅长在陌生人面前自荐？”
"I can answer your question," said Fitzwilliam, "without applying to him. It is because he will not give himself the trouble."
“用不着问他，”费茨威廉说，“我可以答复你这个问题。那是因为他懒得惹麻烦。”
"I certainly have not the talent which some people possess," said Darcy, "of conversing easily with those I have never seen before. I cannot catch their tone of conversation, or appear interested in their concerns, as I often see done."
“我的确不像有些人那样天生就有那种本事，”达西说，“能同素不相识的人轻松自如的交谈。我不像我常常见到的有些人那样，听得出别人话里的弦外之音，显得对对方关心的事情感兴趣。”
"My fingers," said Elizabeth, "do not move over this instrument in the masterly manner which I see so many women's do. They have not the same force or rapidity, and do not produce the same expression. But then I have always supposed it to be my own fault -- because I would not take the trouble of practising. It is not that I do not believe my fingers as capable as any other woman's of superior execution."
“我的手指，”伊丽莎白说，“不像我见到的许多女士那样，弹起琴来熟练自如。它们没有她们的那种力度和速度，就不能产生同样的表现力。不过我总是把这看作是我自己的过错——因为我不愿意花费时间去练习。我就不相信，和弹的美妙绝伦的其他任何女人相比，我的手指没有她们的手指能干。”
Darcy smiled, and said, "You are perfectly right. You have employed your time much better. No one admitted to the privilege of hearing you, can think any thing wanting. We neither of us perform to strangers."

达西微笑着说：“你说的完全正确。你的时间比别人利用的好得多，任何人只要有幸听过你的演奏，都不会认为你的演奏还有什么欠缺。我们俩都不在陌生人面前表演。”