評論
打印
'Louisa,' said Mr Dombey, one day, to his sister, 'I really think I must present your friend with some little token, on the occasion of Paul's christening. She has exerted herself so warmly in the child's behalf from the first, and seems to understand her position so thoroughly (a very rare merit in this world, I am sorry to say), that it would really be agreeable to me to notice her.'Let it be no detraction from the merits of Miss Tox, to hint that in Mr Dombey's eyes, as in some others that occasionally see the light, they only achieved that mighty piece of knowledge, the understanding of their own position, who showed a fitting reverence for his. It was not so much their merit that they knew themselves, as that they knew him, and bowed low before him.
我們在這里并不是想要貶損托克斯小姐的美德，但需要提一下，在董貝先生的眼中——就像在那些有時能體察事理的其他人的眼中一樣——，只有對他的地位表示適當尊敬的人，才能稱得上具有明白自己身份的那份非凡的理解力。他們了解自己的美德并不比他們了解他在他面前卑躬屈節(jié)的美德更為重要。
'My dear Paul,' returned his sister, 'you do Miss Tox but justice, as a man of your penetration was sure, I knew, to do. I believe if there are three words in the English language for which she has a respect amounting almost to veneration, those words are, Dombey and Son.'
“我親愛的保羅，”他的妹妹回答道，“你對待托克斯小姐完全公道；我知道，像你這樣洞察一切的人一定會這樣做。我相信，在我國的語言中，如有四個字她尊敬得幾乎達到了崇拜的地步的話，那么這四個字就是董貝父子。”
'Well,' said Mr Dombey, 'I believe it. It does Miss Tox credit.'
“唔，”董貝先生說道，“我相信這一點。這會給托克斯小姐增光。”
'And as to anything in the shape of a token, my dear Paul,' pursued his sister, 'all I can say is that anything you give Miss Tox will be hoarded and prized, I am sure, like a relic. But there is a way, my dear Paul, of showing your sense of Miss Tox's friendliness in a still more flattering and acceptable manner, if you should be so inclined.'
“至于說到紀念品，我親愛的保羅，”他的妹妹繼續(xù)說道，“我只想說一句話，就是，你給托克斯小姐不論什么東西，我相信她都會把它當作圣物一樣珍視和收藏起來的。不過，親愛的保羅，如果你愿意的話，那么你還可以用一種更使她高興、更使她滿意的方式來表示你對托克斯小姐的友好情誼的謝意。”
注釋：penetration n. 滲透；突破；侵入；洞察力
例句：
1. He writes with penetration.
他寫的文章尖銳深刻。
2. Resistant to penetration by water but not entirely waterproof.
抗水的能抵抗水的滲透但不完全防水的
