1、大学英语精读第三版第二册Unit1The dinner party 晚宴 I first heard this tale in India, where is told as if true -- though any naturalist would know it couldn't be. Later someone told me that the story appeared in a magazine shortly before the First World War. That magazine story, an
2、d the person who wrote it, I have never been able to track down. 我最初听到这个故事是在印度，那儿的人们今天讲起它来仍好像实有其事似的——尽管任何一位博物学家都知道这不可能是真的。后来有人告诉我，在第一次世界大战之后不久就出现在一本杂志上。但登在杂志上的那篇故事, 以及写那篇故事的人，我却一直未能找到。The country is India. A colonial official and his wife are giving a large dinner par
3、ty. They are seated with their guests -- officers and their wives, and a visiting American naturalist -- in their spacious dining room, which has a bare marble floor, open rafters and wide glass doors opening onto a veranda. 故事发生在印度。某殖民官员和他的夫人举行盛行的晚宴。跟他们一起就座的客人有——军官和他
4、人的夫人，另外还有一位来访的美国博物学家——筵席设在他们家宽敞的餐室里，室内大理石地板上没有铺地毯；屋顶明椽裸露；宽大的玻璃门外便是阳台。A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who says that women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era and a major who says that they haven't. 席间，一位年轻的女士同一位少校展开了热烈
5、的讨论。年轻的女士认为，妇女已经有所进步，不再像过去那样一见到老鼠就吓得跳到椅子上；少校则不以为然"A woman's reaction in any crisis," the major says, "is to scream. And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of control than a woman has. And that last ounce is what really counts." “女人一遇到危急情况，”少校说，反应便是尖叫
6、。而男人虽然也可能想叫，但比起女人来，自制力却略胜一筹。这多出来的一点自制力正是真正起作用的东西。” The American does not join in the argument but watches the other guests. As he looks, he sees a strange expression come over the face of the hostess. She is staring straight ahead, her muscles contracting slightly. Sh
7、e motions to the native boy standing behind her chair and whispers something to him. The boy's eyes widen: he quickly leaves the room. 那个美国人没有参加这场争论，他只是注视着在座的其他客人。在他这样观察时，他发现女主人的脸上显出一种奇异的表情。她两眼盯着正前方，脸部肌肉在微微抽搐。她向站在座椅后面的印度男仆做了个手势，对他耳语了几句。男仆两眼睁得大大的，迅速地离开了餐室。Of the guests
8、, none except the American notices this or sees the boy place a bowl of milk on the veranda just outside the open doors. The
