Mr. Heathcliff and his man climbed the cellar steps with vexatious phlegm: I don't think they moved one second faster than usual, though the hearth was an absolute tempest of worrying and yelping. Happily, an inhabitant of the kitchen made more despatch: a lusty dame, with tucked-up gown, bare arms, and fire-flushed cheeks, rushed into the midst of us flourishing a frying-pan: and used that weapon, and her tongue, to such purpose, that the storm subsided magically, and she only remained, heaving like a sea after a high wind, when her master entered on the scene.
希斯克利夫先生和他的仆人爬出地窖,他们的速度真是让人头疼,我觉得他们没有比平时快一秒钟,尽管屋子是绝对的惊惶和犬吠。幸亏厨房里的人出来了的比较快,一位健壮的女士,长袍的袖子卷着,露出胳膊,双颊被火烤的红红的,她冲到我们中间,挥舞着她的煎锅,用她的武器和呵斥驱赶狗群,暴乱奇迹般的平息了。但是当她的主人进来的时候,她仍然挥动着她的锅,就像刚刚经过大风的海面一样。
'What the devil is the matter?' he asked, eyeing me in a manner that I could ill endure after this inhospitable treatment.
“见什么鬼了?”见我在他不友善的对待后,处于一种无法忍受的状态下,他问道。
'What the devil, indeed!' I muttered. 'The herd of possessed swine could have had no worse spirits in them than those animals of yours, sir. You might as well leave a stranger with a brood of tigers!'
“是的,见鬼!”我嘀咕道,“那群着了魔的猪也不可能比你的这些动物更恶毒,先生。你也可让一个陌生人和一窝老虎待在一起。”
'They won't meddle with persons who touch nothing,' he remarked, putting the bottle before me, and restoring the displaced table. 'The dogs do right to be vigilant. Take a glass of wine?'
“它们不会对这些不碰东西的人乱来的。”他说,把一个瓶子放到我的面前,又把移位的桌子复原。“狗保持警惕是对的。喝杯酒吗?”
'No, thank you.'
“不了,谢谢.”
'Not bitten, are you?'
“没被咬着吧?对吧?”
'If I had been, I would have set my signet on the biter.'
“如果我被咬了,我会在咬我的狗上留下印章的。”
Heathcliff's countenance relaxed into a grin.
希斯克利夫先生面部放松,露出了笑容。
'Come, come,' he said, 'you are flurried, Mr. Lockwood. Here, take a little wine. Guests are so exceedingly rare in this house that I and my dogs, I am willing to own, hardly know how to receive them. Your health, sir?'
“行啦,行啦。”他说,“你受惊了。洛克伍德先生。来,喝一杯酒。这个房子鲜有访客,这也是我养狗德原因。我很乐意拥有,却不知道怎么欢迎他们。祝你健康,先生。”
I bowed and returned the pledge; beginning to perceive that it would be foolish to sit sulking for the misbehaviour of a pack of curs; besides, I felt loth to yield the fellow further amusement at my expense; since his humour took that turn.
我点头接受并回敬了他,当他的幽默上场的时候,我觉得如果因为一群恶狗的行为而坐在那边生闷气实在是太不明智了;另外,我觉得也让他继续在我的代价上寻开心实在是厌恶。
He - probably swayed by prudential consideration of the folly of offending a good tenant - relaxed a little in the laconic style of chipping off his pronouns and auxiliary verbs, and introduced what he supposed would be a subject of interest to me, - a discourse on the advantages and disadvantages of my present place of retirement.
他肯定是谨慎考虑了惹恼一个好的房客是很蠢的事情,他开始略微改变他的谈话简洁的风格,比如省掉代词和辅助动词,并开始开始谈他认为我会感兴趣的话题,关于我现在要住的地方的有点和缺点的谈话。
I found him very intelligent on the topics we touched; and before I went home, I was encouraged so far as to volunteer another visit to-morrow.
我发现,在我们谈到的话题上他表现得非常得睿智;以至于我在走之前,有勇气提出明天再来拜访。
He evidently wished no repetition of my intrusion. I shall go, notwithstanding. It is astonishing how sociable I feel myself compared with him.
很显然,他不希望我再来,尽管我得走了。我觉得与他相比我是多么的热衷于社交啊。
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