精读《傲慢与偏见》⑨：十二位女士变两位，舞会阵容来了

这是《Pride and Prejudice / 傲慢与偏见》英文原著精读系列第 9 篇，继续读第三章。

上一段里，宾利先生回访了贝内特先生，却没有见到几位小姐。这一段，贝内特家立刻发出晚宴邀请，贝内特太太甚至已经安排好菜品，准备展示自己的持家本领。

偏偏回信来了：宾利先生第二天必须进城，不能赴宴。对贝内特太太来说，这不是一个普通行程变动，而是婚姻希望忽然变得不稳定。于是，“去伦敦”很快变成“为了给舞会召集同伴”，再变成“十二位女士和七位绅士要来”的热闹传闻。

English Text: Mr. Bingley's Party and the Ball

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards despatched; and already had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all. Mr. Bingley was obliged to be in town the following day, and consequently unable to accept the honour of their invitation, etc. Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted. She could not imagine what business he could have in town so soon after his arrival in Hertfordshire; and she began to fear that he might always be flying about from one place to another, and never settled at Netherfield as he ought to be. Lady Lucas quieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to get a large party for the ball; and a report soon followed that Mr. Bingley was to bring twelve ladies and seven gentlemen with him to the assembly. The girls grieved over such a number of ladies; but were comforted the day before the ball by hearing that, instead of twelve, he had brought only six with him from London, his five sisters and a cousin. And when the party entered the assembly-room, it consisted of only five altogether: Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of the eldest, and another young man.

中文翻译：宾利先生的聚会与舞会

不久，一封晚宴请柬便送了出去；贝内特太太甚至已经把菜品都安排好了，准备让这一餐为她的持家本领增光。可这时回信来了，把一切都推迟了。宾利先生说自己第二天必须进城，因此无法接受他们这份盛情邀请，等等。贝内特太太相当受挫。她想不出他刚到赫特福德郡不久，城里会有什么要紧事；于是开始担心他会总是从一个地方飞到另一个地方去，永远不像他本该做的那样在内瑟菲尔德安顿下来。

卢卡斯夫人提出一个说法，稍稍平息了她的担忧：他去伦敦，也许只是为了给舞会召集一大群同伴。很快又有传言说，宾利先生要带十二位女士和七位绅士一起来参加舞会。姑娘们一听有这么多女士，便很发愁；不过到了舞会前一天，她们又听说他从伦敦带来的不是十二位女士，而只有六个人——他的五个姐妹和一个表兄，于是安心了些。等这一行人进入舞厅时，实际上总共只有五个人：宾利先生、他的两个姐妹、大姐的丈夫，以及另一位年轻男子。

阅读提示：传闻为什么会越传越具体？

这一段表面写宾利先生不能赴宴，实际写的是贝内特一家对“机会”的敏感。对贝内特太太来说，宾利先生若安顿在内瑟菲尔德，女儿们就多了一种可能；如果他总是外出，可能性就悬了。

所以 Lady Lucas 的解释很有效：他不是要离开，而是去伦敦给舞会找人。这个解释未必可靠，却刚好安抚了贝内特太太的焦虑。

奥斯汀接着写传闻的膨胀和缩水：先说十二位女士、七位绅士，后来变成六个人从伦敦来，最后真正进入舞厅的只有五个人。社交场还没正式开始，人物的期待、竞争感和想象力已经全都动起来了。

重点词汇

despatch /dɪˈspætʃ/ v. — 发送；派遣
这是较旧的拼法，现代英语更常写作 dispatch。An invitation was despatched 就是“请柬被送出”。

do credit to /duː ˈkredɪt tuː/ phrase — 为……增光；显示……的好处
courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping 指这些菜肴会体现贝内特太太的持家能力。

defer /dɪˈfɜːr/ v. — 推迟；延期
which deferred it all 中的 it all 指前面那顿已经计划好的晚宴安排。

disconcerted /ˌdɪskənˈsɜːrtɪd/ adj. — 不安的；受挫的；尴尬的
Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted，不是单纯“伤心”，而是计划被打乱后的慌乱和沮丧。

assembly /əˈsembli/ n. — 聚会；舞会
在这类摄政时期小说语境里，assembly 常指地方社交舞会，是年轻男女见面、观察和被观察的重要场合。

consist of /kənˈsɪst əv/ phr. v. — 由……组成
it consisted of only five altogether 表示“这一行人总共只有五个”。

长难句解析

1. An invitation to dinner...

原句：

An invitation to dinner was soon afterwards despatched; and already had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all.

这句话用分号连接两个动作：请柬送出；贝内特太太已经计划好菜品。第二个分句里 already had Mrs. Bennet planned... 带一点倒装感，强调“她已经早早安排好了”。后面的 when an answer arrived 表示“就在这时回信来了”。

结构可以拆成：

被动句(An invitation...was despatched) ; already + had + 主语 + 过去分词 + when 引导的时间从句 + which 定语从句

重点不是菜单本身，而是“期待刚搭好，就被一封回信推迟了”。这正好解释了 Mrs. Bennet 为什么会 disconcerted。

2. Lady Lucas quieted her fears...

原句：

Lady Lucas quieted her fears a little by starting the idea of his being gone to London only to get a large party for the ball.

主干是 Lady Lucas quieted her fears。后面的 by starting the idea of... 表示“通过提出一个想法”。介词 of 后接 his being gone，这是动名词复合结构，可以理解为“他去了伦敦这件事”。

结构可以拆成：

主语(Lady Lucas) + 谓语(quieted) + 宾语(her fears) + 方式状语(by starting...) + of + 动名词复合结构(his being gone...)

这句话里的 quieted her fears 很有意思：真正让贝内特太太安心的，不是事实，而是一个听起来合她心意的解释。

阅读测验

Q1. How many people actually entered the assembly room with Mr. Bingley?

A. Twelve ladies and seven gentlemen
B. Six people (five sisters and a cousin)
C. Five people in total
D. Only Mr. Bingley himself

想看答案和解析？

这篇的自测编号是 GEKVF。

微信扫码关注公众号 喜乐成长路，回复：

• GEKVF：查看本篇完整答案解析
• GEKVF 1:B：提交第 1 题答案（1=第 1 题，B=你的选项；示例不是答案）

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。}