Pride And Prejudice· Chapter 3
Not all that Mrs. Bennet, however, with the assistance of her five daughters, could ask on the subject, was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of Mr. Bingley. They attacked him in various way; with barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises; but he eluded the skill of them all; and they were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas.
barefaced: (disapproving) not showing any shame about, or trying to hide, your bad behaviour
ingenious: (of a person) very intelligent and skilful, or (of a thing) skilfully made or planned and involving new ideas and methods
supposition: the fact of believing something is true without any proof or something that you believe to be true without any proof
surmise: to guess something, without having much or any proof
elude: if something that you want eludes you, you do not succeed in achieving it
be obliged to do sth. 不得不
second-hand intelligence 二手信息
favourable: making you support or approve of someone or something
eg. Her report was highly favorable.
to crown the whole
eg. He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assemble with a large party.
entertain
① to keep a group of people interested or enjoying themselves
eg. To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love, and very lively hopes of Mr. Bingley's heart were entertained.
② to hold something in your mind or to be willing to consider or accept something
eg. He had entertained hopes of being admitted to a sight of the young ladies, of whose beauty he had heard much.
do credit to 帶來榮光，增光，爭臉
eg. And already had Mrs. Bennet planned the courses that were to do credit to her housekeeping, when an answer arrived which deferred it all.
disconcerted: worried by something and uncertain
eg. Mrs. Bennet was quite disconcerted.
quiet one's fear
eg. 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.
grieve: to feel or express great sadness, especially when someone dies
eg. The girls grieved over such a number of ladies
He had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners.
countenance: the appearance or expression of someone's face
unaffected: natural and sincere in your behaviour
But his friend, Mr. Darcy, soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report, which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year.
mien: a person's appearance, especially the typical expression on their face
circulation: the process in which something such as information, money, or goods passes from one person to another
And he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity.
disgust: a strong feeling of disapproval and dislike at a situation, person's behaviour, etc.
turn the tide of
forbidding:?unfriendly and likely to be unpleasant or harmful
eg. And not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.
unreserved: not cautious or reticent （= frank, open）
eg. He was lively and unreserved, danced every dance, was angry that the ball closed so early, and talked of giving one himself at Netherfield.
amiable: pleasant and friendly
speak for oneself
eg. Such amiable qualities must speak for themselves.
disagreeable: marked by ill temper
eg. He was the proudest, most disagreeable man in the world, and everybody hoped that he would never come there again.
detest: to hate someone or something very much
eg. You know how I detest it, unless I am particular acquainted with my partner.
insupportable: difficult or impossible to bear
eg. At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable.
fastidious: giving too much attention to small details?and wanting everything to be correct and perfect; having a strong dislike of anything dirty or unpleasant
eg. "I would not be so fastidious as you are," cried Bingley, "for a kingdom! Upon my word, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening!"
tempt: to make someone wan to have or do something, especially something that is unnecessary or wrong
eg. She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.
give consequence to 抬舉，賦予…意義
eg. And I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men.
cordial: friendly, but formal and polite
eg. Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings towards him.
She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in any thing ridiculous.
with great spirit
playful: funny and not serious
disposition: the particular type of character that a person naturally has
gratify: to please someone, or to satisfy a wish or need
eg. Jane was as much gratified by this as her mother could be, though in a quieter way.
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.
a different story
vexed: difficult to deal with and causing a lot of disagreement and argument
eg. I was so vexed to see him stand up with her.
enquire: to inquire
sprain one's ankle 崴腳
finery: beautiful clothing and jewellery worn on a special occasion
eg. Mr. Bennet protested against any description of finery.
?She was therefore obliged to seek another branch of the subject, and related, with much bitterness of spirit and some exaggeration, the shocking rudness of Mr. Darcy.
seek another branch of the subject
relate: to tell a story or descrive a series of events
suit one's fancy
eg. Lizzy does not lose much by not suiting his fancy.
horrid: unpleasant or unkind
eg. He is a most disagreeable, horrid man, not at all worth pleasing.
conceited: to proud of yourself and your actions and abilities.
eg. So high and so conceited, that there was no enduring him!
set-down 叱責(zé)
eg. I wish you had been here, my dear, to have given him one of your set-downs.
補(bǔ)充信息
Boulanger: 舞會上所跳的布羅杰舞。起源于法國，也叫面包師舞，終場舞的一種。這種舞蹈的跳法是所有舞者男女相間，手拉手圍成一圈轉(zhuǎn)動，轉(zhuǎn)足一圈后站定，所有女賓和自己對面女賓互換位置，反方向轉(zhuǎn)一圈，然后所有男賓和自己對面的男賓互換位置，接著再反方向轉(zhuǎn)一圈，跳完舞會便宣告結(jié)束。
