精读《傲慢与偏见》12：一场舞会，贝内特一家全员满意

上一段里，达西用一句 She is tolerable 怠慢了伊丽莎白。到了这一段，舞会结束，贝内特一家回到浪博恩。叙述者一开头就说：The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family.

这句话看似只是“大家都很开心”，但奥斯汀真正写的是：同一场舞会，每个人得到的东西并不一样。贝内特太太得到婚姻希望，简得到被欣赏的快乐，玛丽得到才艺名声，凯瑟琳和莉迪亚得到舞伴，贝内特先生则得到一场不太合他心意的热闹汇报。

English Text: The Bennets Return from the Ball

The evening altogether passed off pleasantly to the whole family. Mrs. Bennet had seen her eldest daughter much admired by the Netherfield party. Mr. Bingley had danced with her twice, and she had been distinguished by his sisters. Jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way. Elizabeth felt Jane’s pleasure. Mary had heard herself mentioned to Miss Bingley as the most accomplished girl in the neighbourhood; and Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough to be never without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball. They returned, therefore, in good spirits to Longbourn, the village where they lived, and of which they were the principal inhabitants. They found Mr. Bennet still up. With a book, he was regardless of time; and on the present occasion he had a good deal of curiosity as to the event of an evening which had raised such splendid expectations. He had rather hoped that all his wife’s views on the stranger would be disappointed; but he soon found that he had a very different story to hear.

中文翻译：贝内特一家舞会归来

整个晚上，对全家来说都过得相当愉快。贝内特太太看到自己的大女儿受到内瑟菲尔德一行人的赞赏。宾利先生和简跳了两支舞，他的姐妹们也对她格外礼遇。简对此感到十分欣慰，程度并不比母亲少，只是表现得更安静一些。伊丽莎白也感受到了简的快乐。

玛丽听见有人把她介绍给宾利小姐，说她是这一带最多才多艺的姑娘；凯瑟琳和莉迪亚也幸运地一直不缺舞伴，而这正是她们目前在舞会上唯一学会在乎的事情。

因此，她们兴致很好地回到了浪博恩。浪博恩是她们居住的村庄，贝内特一家也是那里的主要人家。她们发现贝内特先生还没有睡。只要手里有书，他就不在意时间；而这一次，对于这个承载了如此辉煌期待的晚上究竟结果如何，他也确实很有些好奇。他本来还颇希望妻子对那位陌生人的所有打算都会落空；但他很快发现，自己要听到的是完全不同的故事。

阅读提示：一场舞会里的五种满足

passed off pleasantly 给了这一段一个整体判断：晚上过得不错。但奥斯汀没有停在这个总体评价上，而是立刻展开每个人的“满意点”。

贝内特太太看见简被欣赏，所以她满意；简也高兴，但 in a quieter way，这和她温和克制的性格相配。玛丽听到自己被说成 the most accomplished girl，这符合她对“有学问、有才艺”的追求。凯瑟琳和莉迪亚的标准更简单：一直有舞伴就够了。

这个顺序很轻巧，却很有效。奥斯汀不是用人物介绍告诉你“她们分别是什么性格”，而是让每个人在舞会结束后的满足感里自己暴露出来。

贝内特先生的出现又带来一点反讽。他本来希望妻子对宾利的期待落空，结果等来的却是全家兴高采烈的汇报。别人听到的是好消息，他听到的却可能是妻子下一轮兴奋和盘算。

重点词汇

pass off /pæs ɔːf/ phr. — 进行；结束
The evening passed off pleasantly 可以理解为“这个晚上顺利愉快地过去了”。注意这里不是“冒充”的意思。

gratified /ˈɡrætɪfaɪd/ adj. — 感到满意的；欣慰的
Jane was as much gratified... 写出简同样高兴，只是表达更安静。

distinguished /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/ adj./v. — 被特别对待；被礼遇
she had been distinguished by his sisters 意思是她受到宾利姐妹的特别关注和礼遇。

accomplished /əˈkʌmplɪʃt/ adj. — 多才多艺的；有修养的
这个词放在玛丽身上很有意思，因为玛丽正是一个很在意才艺、学问和评价的人。

principal /ˈprɪnsəpl/ adj. — 主要的；有地位的
the principal inhabitants 指浪博恩村里较有地位、较重要的人家。

regardless of time /rɪˈɡɑːrdləs əv taɪm/ phr. — 不在意时间
With a book, he was regardless of time 用很少的字写出贝内特先生爱读书，也写出他的抽离感。

长难句解析

1. Jane was as much gratified...

原句：

Jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way.

as much... as... 表示程度相同。简和母亲一样高兴，只是简的高兴更安静、更内敛。

后半句 though in a quieter way 是省略表达，可以补成：though she was gratified in a quieter way。

2. Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough...

原句：

Catherine and Lydia had been fortunate enough to be never without partners, which was all that they had yet learnt to care for at a ball.

主句是：凯瑟琳和莉迪亚足够幸运，一直不缺舞伴。

后面的 which 指代前面这件事，也就是“她们一直有舞伴”。all that they had yet learnt to care for 说明：到目前为止，她们在舞会上学会在乎的，也不过就是这个。

3. With a book, he was regardless of time...

原句：

With a book, he was regardless of time; and on the present occasion he had a good deal of curiosity as to the event of an evening which had raised such splendid expectations.

分号前后是两个并列分句。前半句写贝内特先生平时有书就忘了时间；后半句写这一次他对舞会结果确实好奇。

which had raised such splendid expectations 修饰 evening，指这个晚上承载了很高、很热烈的期待。

阅读测验

Q1. What was Mr. Bennet's attitude while waiting for his family?

A. He was eager to hear good news about the marriage.

B. He was reading and secretly hoped his wife's plans would fail.

C. He was angry that they stayed out so late.

D. He was worried that Mr. Bingley had ignored his daughters.

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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.

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