精读《傲慢与偏见》⑤：原来贝内特先生早就去了！
贝内特先生嘴上说不去，实际早已拜访宾利先生。逐段读懂这场“惊喜揭晓”、朗格太太的引荐悬念、5 个关键表达和 2 个长难句。
这是《Pride and Prejudice / 傲慢与偏见》英文原著精读系列第 5 篇，也从这里进入第二章。上一段里，贝内特太太还在抱怨自己的 nerves，因为她认定丈夫不会去拜访宾利先生。
这一段，奥斯汀直接给了一个小反转：贝内特先生不但去了，而且还是最早去拜访的人之一。他没有马上告诉太太，而是在晚上一句看似随意的话里，把这个消息突然抛出来。
这段最值得看的，是贝内特先生怎样用“装作不经意”制造喜剧效果，也顺手把全家的期待、焦虑和小心思都带出来。
English Text: Mr. Bennet's Surprise Visit
Mr. Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Mr. Bingley. He had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife that he should not go; and till the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it. It was then disclosed in the following manner. Observing his second daughter employed in trimming a hat, he suddenly addressed her with,--
“I hope Mr. Bingley will like it, Lizzy.”
“We are not in a way to know what Mr. Bingley likes,” said her mother, resentfully, “since we are not to visit.”
“But you forget, mamma,” said Elizabeth, “that we shall meet him at the assemblies, and that Mrs. Long has promised to introduce him.”
“I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She has two nieces of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinion of her.”
“No more have I,” said Mr. Bennet; “and I am glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you.”
Mrs. Bennet deigned not to make any reply; but, unable to contain herself, began scolding one of her daughters.
“Don’t keep coughing so, Kitty, for heaven’s sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces.”
“Kitty has no discretion in her coughs,” said her father; “she times them ill.”
“I do not cough for my own amusement,” replied Kitty, fretfully. “When is your next ball to be, Lizzy?”
“To-morrow fortnight.”
“Ay, so it is,” cried her mother, “and Mrs. Long does not come back till the day before; so, it will be impossible for her to introduce him, for she will not know him herself.”
中文翻译：贝内特先生的惊喜拜访
贝内特先生是最早去拜访宾利先生的人之一。他其实一直打算去拜访，只是直到最后还一直向太太保证自己不会去；直到拜访结束后的那个晚上，她对此还一无所知。这个消息是这样透露出来的：他看见二女儿正在修饰一顶帽子，忽然对她说——
“我希望宾利先生会喜欢它，丽萃。”
“我们可没法知道宾利先生喜欢什么，”她母亲怨气十足地说，“既然我们又不去拜访他。”
“可是妈妈，你忘了，”伊丽莎白说，“我们会在舞会上见到他，而且朗格太太也答应过要介绍他给我们认识。”
“我才不相信朗格太太会做这种事。她自己还有两个侄女呢。她是个自私、虚伪的女人，我对她一点好感都没有。”
“我也没有，”贝内特先生说，“而且我很高兴发现你并不指望她来帮你们。”
贝内特太太不屑于回答；但她又按捺不住，便开始数落起另一个女儿来。
“看在老天的份上，吉蒂，别老这么咳嗽！稍微体谅一下我的神经吧。你要把它们撕碎了。”
“吉蒂咳嗽也太不懂分寸了，”她父亲说，“她挑的时机不对。”
“我咳嗽又不是为了自己开心，”吉蒂烦躁地回答。“丽萃，你们下一次舞会是什么时候？”
“两个星期后的明天。”
“哎，对，正是这样，”她母亲叫道，“朗格太太要到前一天才回来；所以她根本不可能介绍他给我们认识，因为她自己也还不认识他呢。”
阅读提示：贝内特先生真的“不去”吗？
这一段的喜剧效果来自“反转”。前面几段里，贝内特先生一直装作不愿意拜访宾利先生，贝内特太太因此焦虑、抱怨、催促。结果叙述者一开头就告诉我们：他其实早就打算去了，而且已经去了。
更有趣的是，他没有直接宣布“我已经拜访过宾利先生了”，而是故意看着丽萃修帽子，说了一句：“希望宾利先生会喜欢它。”这句话只有在他已经见过宾利、全家有机会认识宾利的前提下才有意义，所以它像一枚小小的“信息炸弹”。
后半段继续写贝内特太太的焦虑。她先怀疑朗格太太自私虚伪，又因为吉蒂咳嗽迁怒女儿。奥斯汀不是在写大事件，而是在用家庭客厅里的几句话，把婚姻市场里的紧张感写得又好笑又真实。
重点词汇
wait on /weɪt ɑːn/ phr. — 拜访；正式探望
这里不是“等待”，而是旧式用法，表示去拜访某人。waited on Mr. Bingley 就是“去拜访宾利先生”。
resentfully /rɪˈzentfəli/ adv. — 怨恨地；愤愤不平地
Mrs. Bennet 说话时 resentfully，说明她还在为丈夫“不去拜访”这件事生气。
hypocritical /ˌhɪpəˈkrɪtɪkl/ adj. — 虚伪的；伪善的
Mrs. Bennet 说 Mrs. Long 是 a selfish, hypocritical woman，其实也暴露了她自己的竞争心。
deign /deɪn/ v. — 屈尊；降低身份去做某事
deigned not to make any reply 可以理解为“不屑于回答”。这个词很有戏剧感。
fortnight /ˈfɔːrtnaɪt/ n. — 两星期；十四天
To-morrow fortnight 是旧式说法，意思是“两个星期后的明天”。
长难句解析
1. He had always intended to visit him...
原句：
He had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife that he should not go.
主干是 He had always intended to visit him。过去完成时 had intended 表示这个打算早已存在。后面的 though... 引出让步：虽然他一直向妻子保证不会去。
结构可以拆成：
主句 (He had intended...) + though 让步补充 + 分词短语 (assuring his wife...) + that 宾语从句
读懂这句，就能看出贝内特先生一直在“演”：他不是没打算去，而是故意不让太太知道。
2. depend on her serving you
原句：
I am glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you.
这里的 depend on 后面接动名词结构 her serving you。其中 her 是动名词 serving 的逻辑主语，可以理解为“她来帮助你们这件事”。
结构可以拆成：
I am glad + to find + that 宾语从句 + depend on + her serving you
贝内特先生表面赞同妻子“不指望朗格太太”，其实仍然是在逗她。
阅读测验
Q1. How did Mr. Bennet reveal that he had actually visited Mr. Bingley?
A. He announced it loudly to everyone at dinner.
B. He casually mentioned it while talking to Elizabeth about her hat.
C. He wrote a formal letter to his wife.
D. He waited for Mrs. Long to tell them.
Q2. Why does Mrs. Bennet say Mrs. Long cannot introduce Mr. Bingley?
A. Because Mrs. Long hates Mr. Bingley.
B. Because Mrs. Long will not return until the day before the ball and will not know him herself.
C. Because Mr. Bingley refuses to attend assemblies.
D. Because Kitty has been coughing too much.
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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。
