精读《傲慢与偏见》①：英语文学最著名的开场白

这是《Pride and Prejudice / 傲慢与偏见》英文原著精读系列第 1 篇。这个系列会把原著拆成一小段一小段来读：先看英文原文，再看中文翻译、阅读提示、重点词汇和长难句拆解。

《傲慢与偏见》的开篇非常有名。简·奥斯汀没有先介绍人物，也没有先铺陈风景，而是直接抛出一句看似“真理”的话：凡是有钱的单身汉，总想娶位太太。

这句话妙就妙在：它表面上像社会共识，实际上是在反讽周围家庭的婚姻想象。我们先读原文。

English Text: News of a Wealthy Bachelor

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

“But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

“Do not you want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife, impatiently.

“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

This was invitation enough.

“Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”

中文翻译：富家单身汉的消息

凡是有钱的单身汉，总想娶位太太，这已经成了一条举世公认的真理。

这样的单身汉，每逢新搬到一个地方，尽管邻居们对他本人的性情见解一无所知，但这条真理在他们心目中却是根深蒂固，早已把他视为自己某位女儿理所应得的财产。

“亲爱的贝内特先生，”有一天他的太太对他说，“你听说内瑟菲尔德庄园终于租出去了吗？”

贝内特先生回答说没有。

“确实租出去了，”她说，“朗格太太刚才来过，把这事儿全告诉我了。”

贝内特先生没有吭声。

“难道你就不想知道是谁租的吗？”他的太太不耐烦地叫道。

“既然你想告诉我，我听听也无妨。”

这句话就足够引得她说下去了。

“哎呀，亲爱的，你得知道，朗格太太说，租下内瑟菲尔德的是一位非常有钱的年轻人，来自英格兰北部；他是星期一坐着四匹马拉的马车来看房子的，看后非常满意，当下就和莫里斯先生谈妥了；他在圣米迦勒节以前就要搬进来，下周末他的几个仆人就会先住进这屋里了。”

阅读提示：这句开场白为什么厉害？

第一句表面上说的是“有钱单身汉需要太太”，但真正被奥斯汀讽刺的，是周围家庭已经把这个单身汉当成了女儿们的潜在财产。也就是说，不是他“必须想结婚”，而是别人已经替他安排好了婚姻意义。

第二段进一步把反讽说透：大家还不知道这位男子的感情和想法，却已经默认他属于某位女儿。奥斯汀用一本正经的语气写荒唐事，这就是开篇的幽默。

贝内特夫妇的对话也立刻建立了人物关系：贝内特太太急着说，贝内特先生故意不接话。一个急，一个冷，后面许多喜剧效果都从这里开始。

重点词汇

universally /ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːrsəli/ adv. — 普遍地；人人都
universally acknowledged 是“被普遍承认的”。这句话听起来很庄重，正是反讽效果的一部分。

acknowledge /əkˈnɒlɪdʒ/ v. — 承认；公认
比 admit 更正式。开篇用 acknowledged，像是在宣布一条严肃真理。

possession /pəˈzeʃn/ n. — 拥有；财产
in possession of a good fortune 指“拥有一大笔财产”。

chaise /ʃeɪz/ n. — 轻便马车
a chaise and four 是“四匹马拉的轻便马车”，说明来人经济条件不错。

impatiently /ɪmˈpeɪʃntli/ adv. — 不耐烦地
Mrs. Bennet 迫不及待想把消息说出来，所以她是 cried ... impatiently。

长难句解析

1. It is a truth universally acknowledged...

原句：

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

这是一个 形式主语 结构：It 先占住主语位置，真正的内容放在后面的 that 从句里。英语常这样处理长主语，让句子开头更轻。

结构可以拆成：

It + is + a truth + universally acknowledged + that 从句

其中 in possession of a good fortune 修饰 a single man，意思是“拥有一大笔财产的单身男子”；be in want of 是“需要、缺少”。

2. However little known the feelings or views...

原句：

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

这个句子由一个让步状语从句和一个结果状语从句组成。

结构可以拆成：

However + adj. + 主语 + may be（无论多么……） + 主句 + so ... that ...（如此……以至于……）

意思是：无论大家对这个男子的想法多么不了解，只要他来了，周围家庭就已经把他视为某位女儿理所应得的对象。

阅读测验

Q1. What is the "truth" mentioned in the first paragraph?

A. Rich men prefer to live in the north of England.

B. A wealthy single man must be looking for a wife.

C. Netherfield Park is the best estate in the neighborhood.

D. Mrs. Long is a reliable source of information.

Q2. How did Mr. Bennet initially react to his wife's news?

A. He was very excited and asked many questions.

B. He immediately agreed to visit the new neighbor.

C. He was indifferent and made no answer at first.

D. He told her he already knew about it.

想看答案和解析？

这篇的自测编号是 GGXES。

微信扫码关注公众号 喜乐成长路，回复：

• GGXES：查看本篇完整答案解析
• GGXES 1:B：提交第 1 题答案
• GGXES 1:B 2:A 或 GGXES BA：一次提交两题

扫不了码的话，可以在微信里搜索 「喜乐成长路」，或搜索微信号 xilechengzhanglu。

我会继续把《傲慢与偏见》拆成一小段一小段来读：原文、翻译、词汇、长难句和自测都会发在公众号里。适合想读英文原著，但又不想被长句和生词劝退的读者。

📖 Text from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
_{本文内容由 AI 辅助生成，并经过人工整理与审校。}