羊脂球英文版.docx

1、羊脂球英文版BOULE DE SUIF It was half past four in the morningThe travellers， who had met in the yard of the Normandy Hotel，were shivering with cold in the darkness“Isnt the coach ready yet？”one of them said“No，not yet，”his companion answered“Lucky we have been to get a permit from the Prussian army to le

2、ave Rouen，”another said“I have an acquaintance among German officers”“I see”“Do you think we can run a business at Havre？”“Perhaps we canIf not，we can make our way to EnglandNothing venture，nothing gain”“I agree with youWe can do nothing in occupied Rouen”“I have brought my wife”“So have I”“And I，to

3、o”Horses hoofs were heard，and the tinkling of little bells told them that the harness was being got readySnow was falling with something like a vague and indefinable whisperA man with a lantern appeared，dragging along a horseHe spent a long time adjusting the harness with one hand， for he held the l

4、antern in the otherAs he was going to fetch the second horse，he noticed the travellers standing helplessly under the falling snow“Dont you stand there，”he said“Get inside the coach， and you can at least take shelter from the snow”Why had it not occurred to them？They rushed for the coachThe three hus

5、bands took their seats at the far end with their wives；the other veiled and vague forms took the remaining placesAt last the coach was readyIt was drawn by a team of six horses instead of the usual four，because of the bad state of the roadsThe roads were very bad indeedThe horses slipped and panted，

6、and the driver had to use his whip incessantlyGradually the day dawnedA bluish，leaden light came over the dreary， white landscapeInside the carriage the passengers now looked at one another inquisitivelyMonsieur and Madame Loiseau were wholesale wine merchants of the Rue Grand-pontHe had started lif

7、e as a clerk in an office，and when his employer failed in business，he bought it and made a fortune by selling very bad wine at low prices to small retailers in the countryMaster of every trick of making money， he was notorious for his sharp practiceNext to them sat， with the dignity of a higher clas

8、s，Monsieur CarreLamadon，owner of three spinningmills，officer of the Legion of Honour and member of the Conseil GnralUnder the Empire he posed as leader of the moderate opposition，which he hoped would be useful to him should he wish to desert to the opposite sideMadame CarrLamadon was much younger20

9、than her husbandA lady of delicate beauty，she had always attracted the attention of officers of good family， stationed at RouenMuffled in furs，she now stared sulkily at the interior of the coachTheir neighbours were the Count and Countess Hubert de Brville， who belonged to one of the oldest and most

10、 aristocratic families in NormandyThe Count bore a natural likeness to King Henry ， which he tried to accentuate by elaborate makeupIt had long been whispered among his family，not without pride， that the king had once made love to a Madame de Brville， and in return for her attentions， had made her h

11、usband a count and governor of a provinceGod only knows why he was married to the daughter of an unimportant shipowner of NantesShe was stately to look at， very hospitable，and the rumour that she had been a favourite with one of the sons of Louis Philippe made her the more popular among the local no

12、blesHer salon was considered the best in the neighbourhoodAdmittance to it was not easy to get，and her drawing room was the only place where the gracious politeness of bygone days remained aliveThe Brvilles had landed estates，which were said to yield an income of half a million francsThese six were

13、the most important of the party； they were all wealthy， respectable and solid members of societyIt so happened that all the women were seated on the same sideNext to the Countess sat two nunsOne of them was an old woman with a skin5 deeply pitted with smallpox； her companion was as mall，sickly， even

14、 consumptive-looking person，but seemingly filled with religious devotionOpposite the two nuns sat a man and a womanThe man was Cornudet； he was wellknown for his dissolute habits and crazy political ideasHehad inherited a respectable fortune from his father， but had wasted it away upon drink and use

15、less ambitionsNow he took it into his head that he would be better employed at Havre，where his help would be neededThe woman beside him was what is called a woman of a certain typeWhat was most noticeable about her was her excessive portlinessShort， round and plump as a dumpling， she was nicknamed B

16、oule de Suif， that is，suet dumplingShe had，nevertheless， rosy cheeks suggesting peony buds ready to burst into flowers， black eyes shaded and deepened by long lashes， and a25 charming， pouting mouth revealing now and then white rows of tiny teethAs soon as the ladies recognized her， they began to wh

17、isper among themselvesBy and by the words “prostitute”and “shameful”and similar5 words became audible and attracted the attention of the poor womanShe raised her head and looked at them so defiantly that they became silent，with their eyes cast down； Loiseau， sensitive to feminine charms， cast stealt

18、hy glances of curiosity at herHowever， the three ladles， soon encouraged by their dislike of this common enemy to housewives， resumed their conversationThe three husbands，on the other hand， discussed money matters proudly， and made contemptuous remarks about poorer folkCount Hubert talked about the

19、loss of cattle and crops caused by the Prussians， but with an expression which showed that he did not care about it at allMonsieur Carr-Lamadon said he had been shrewd enough to send to England six hundred thousand francs for safe keepingLoiseau spoke of the huge amount of money the State would pay

20、him at Havre for the wines he had sold to the French CommissariatThe three man exchanged meaningful glancesThough of different social standing，they all worshipped moneyThe coach moved on at a snail-like pace，and by ten oclock they had covered not more than ten milesThey had intended to have lunch at

21、 T tes， but it seemed impossible now to arrive there before nightfallThey looked for a wayside inn，but there was no sign of even the meanest tavern or wine shopThey were growing hungry and rather depressed， for they had not brought any food with themThe men tried to get food from peasants they came

22、across by the roadside，but they could not obtain even plain breadTowards one oclock they felt more and more hungry，and stopped gossiping，pinched with hunger“I feel ill，”the Count said“Why didnt I think of bringing some provisions？Boule de Suif stooped down now and then，as if to take out something fr

23、om under her petticoats， but each time she hesitated and sat up againAbout three oclock，when the coach was going across a desolate plain，she bent down again，and this time drew from under the seat a large basket covered with a napkinFirst she took out of it a little earthen plate， next a dainty silve

24、r cup，and then a large dish loaded with two cut fowls flavoured with jellyAnd from the basket peeped other good things-pies，fruit，dainties，even bottles，seemingly sufficient for a three days journeyThe agreeable smell of food filled the air，and riveted the attention of the hungry passengersThe ladies

25、 contempt for the hussy rose to a furyShe was making a display of food when they were starving！How they wished they could kill her！Loiseau was the first to rise to the occasion“Thank God！”he saidMadame，youve been very thoughtful”Boule de suif turned towards him“Would you care for some，sir？”she said“

26、It is hard to go without food all day”He bowed“well，”he replied，trying to be facetious“Any port in a stormWe must make the best of things”He spread a newspaper on his lap，and using a knife which he always carried in his pocket， speared a leg of chicken thickly coated with jelly and began to eat it g

27、reedilyThen in a low，gentle voice Boule de Suif asked the two nuns if they would share her mealThe two devotees readily accepted the offerCornudet also accepted her invitationWith newspapers spread on their knees they made a sort of table and feverishly started stuffing their stomachsLoiseau quietly

28、 urged his wife to follow their exampleAt first she refused，but her hunger was too strong to resist for a long timeHer husband asked Boule de Suif if he might offer his wife a small portion“Why，certainly，sir，”she replied，a happy smile spreading across her face，and she handed him the dishThen the bot

29、tle of Bordeaux wine was opened， and though they had only one cup，they passed it round，each wiping it in turnCornudet alone gallantly put his lips to the brim of the cup still wet from the lips of his fair companionWith people eating and drinking all around them，the Count and Countess de Brville and

30、 Monsieur and Madame Carr-Lamadon suffered the agonies of hunger and thirstSuddenly the manufacturers wife grew ghastly pale，closed her eyes，and faintedHer husband called out for help，and the other passengers were panicstrickenThe elder nun held Boule de Suifscup to the womans lips and made her swal

31、low a few drops of wineMadame opened her eyes and expressed her gratitude，saying that she was all right“Nothing serious，”the nun said“Mere hunger”Bould de Suif timidly looked at the four dignified ladies and gentlemen who were still fasting and spoke haltingly；“Oh，dear，might I offer？”She broke off，f

32、or fear of being rebuffedLoiseau took the cue“We are in the same boat， as the saying is”he said“We should help one anotherCome，ladies and gentlemen，accept her offer”They hesitated to be the first to yield to the necessityIt was the Count who made the decisionHe said with a superior air，Madame，we accept your offer with thanks”The ice once broken，they talked to Boule de Suif，at first with some reserve，but pr