精读《傲慢与偏见》54：宾利小姐越夸，达西越冷
第十章开场，达西写信，宾利小姐不断奉承，却只换来短答和沉默。奥斯汀把一场夸赞写成单向喜剧，也让伊丽莎白看清两个人。
宾利小姐一句句夸达西的字、行距和信长，像是在递话题；达西的短答和沉默，却把奉承变成了一段单方面的喜剧。
这一篇进入《傲慢与偏见》第十章。简仍在内瑟菲尔德养病，晚上的起居室没有牌局，只有达西的信、宾利小姐的奉承和伊丽莎白的旁观。 奥斯汀把一场奉承写成「夸的人很用力，被夸的人毫无反应」的错位对话，真正观察这一切的是伊丽莎白。
English Text: Miss Bingley's Flattery Falls Flat
The day passed much as the day before had done. Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the invalid, who continued, though slowly, to mend; and, in the evening, Elizabeth joined their party in the drawing-room. The loo table, however, did not appear. Mr. Darcy was writing, and Miss Bingley, seated near him, was watching the progress of his letter, and repeatedly calling off his attention by messages to his sister. Mr. Hurst and Mr. Bingley were at piquet, and Mrs. Hurst was observing their game.
Elizabeth took up some needlework, and was sufficiently amused in attending to what passed between Darcy and his companion. The perpetual commendations of the lady either on his hand-writing, or on the evenness of his lines, or on the length of his letter, with the perfect unconcern with which her praises were received, formed a curious dialogue, and was exactly in unison with her opinion of each.
“How delighted Miss Darcy will be to receive such a letter!”
He made no answer.
“You write uncommonly fast.”
“You are mistaken. I write rather slowly.”
“How many letters you must have occasion to write in the course of a year! Letters of business, too! How odious I should think them!”
“It is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead of to yours.”
“Pray tell your sister that I long to see her.”
“I have already told her so once, by your desire.”
“I am afraid you do not like your pen. Let me mend it for you. I mend pens remarkably well.”
“Thank you--but I always mend my own.”
“How can you contrive to write so even?”
He was silent.
中文翻译：宾利小姐的奉承，和达西的冷淡
这一天过得和前一天大同小异。赫斯特太太和宾利小姐早晨陪了那位病人几个小时，病人的身体虽然恢复得很慢，但仍在好转；到了晚上，伊丽莎白加入了他们在起居室的聚会。不过，卢牌桌并没有摆出来。达西先生正在写信，宾利小姐坐在他身旁，不仅盯着他写信的进度，还不断让他代为向他妹妹传话，以此分散他的注意力。赫斯特先生和宾利先生正在打皮奎特牌，赫斯特太太则在一旁观战。
伊丽莎白拿起针线活，津津有味地听着达西和他那位同伴之间的对话。那位女士不断地夸赞他的字迹、行距的工整或是信的篇幅，而他对这些赞美却完全无动于衷，这构成了一段奇妙的对话，也恰好印证了伊丽莎白对这两个人的看法。
“达西小姐收到这样一封信该有多高兴啊！”
他没有回答。
“你写得真快，非比寻常。”
“你错了。我写得相当慢。”
“你一年得写多少封信啊！还得写商业信函！要是我，肯定会觉得讨厌透顶！”
“那么，幸好这些信是我写而不是你写。”
“请务必告诉你妹妹，我很想见她。”
“遵照你的愿望，我已经告诉过她一次了。”
“恐怕你不喜欢你这支笔。让我替你修一下吧。我修笔修得特别好。”
“谢谢——不过我总是自己修笔。”
“你怎么能写得这么整齐？”
他一声不吭。
阅读提示：夸不动的达西背后的细读点
第十章一开场，奥斯汀把热闹的牌桌拿掉，只留下写信、针线和旁观。动作变少，人的语气反而更清楚。
宾利小姐的 commendations 看似赞美，实则不断打断。她不是单纯称赞字迹，而是在努力把达西的私人信件变成自己可以参与的场面。
达西的回应越来越短：不回答、纠正、拒绝，最后沉默。伊丽莎白的 amused 正是读者的位置：她不插手，只看这段奉承如何扑空。
重点词汇
invalid /ˈɪnvəlɪd/ n. — 病人，病弱者
例句：Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley had spent some hours of the morning with the invalid.
这里指病中的简，词本身带着一点把人归入“病人”类别的距离感。
odious /ˈəʊdiəs/ adj. — 令人讨厌的，可憎的
原文例句：How odious I should think them!
宾利小姐用这个词表演夸张的厌恶，好把谈话从达西的信拉回自己身上。
contrive /kənˈtraɪv/ v. — 设法做到，谋划
原文例句：How can you contrive to write so even?
她问达西如何“设法”写得这么整齐，问题表面天真，其实仍是奉承。
commendation /ˌkɒmenˈdeɪʃn/ n. — 赞扬，嘉奖
例句：The perpetual commendations of the lady formed a curious dialogue.
这是本段题眼：赞美越多，达西越冷，错位感就越强。
长难句解析
1. The perpetual commendations of the lady either on his hand-writing, or on the evenness of his lines, or on the length of his letter, with the perfect unconcern with which her praises were received, formed a curious dialogue.
说明：这是一个主语非常复杂的句子。主语由两部分组成：一是女士无休止的'commendations'（赞扬），中间用'either... or... or...'结构列举了赞扬的三个方面（字迹、行距、长度）；二是达西接受赞扬时的'unconcern'（冷漠），后面紧跟'with which'引导的定语从句修饰这种冷漠。这两个截然相反的态度共同构成了谓语'formed'的主语。
结构：主语(The perpetual commendations... + with the perfect unconcern...) + 谓语(formed) + 宾语(a curious dialogue)
2. He made no answer.
说明：句子很短，却是人物态度。奥斯汀不写达西生气，也不写他礼貌回应，只用不回答让奉承落空。
结构：主语(He) + 谓语(made) + 宾语(no answer)
今日测验
Q1. Based on the text, how does Mr. Darcy react to Miss Bingley's comments while he is writing?
A. He is grateful for her company and suggestions.
B. He is annoyed and responds curtly or remains silent.
C. He stops writing to play cards with her.
D. He asks her to help him write the letter.
Q2. What makes Elizabeth amused in this scene?
A. Miss Bingley wins a card game.
B. Miss Bingley's eager praise meets Darcy's indifference.
C. Mr. Hurst interrupts Darcy's letter.
D. Jane suddenly recovers and joins them.
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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。
