Bleak House — Page 7
Innumerable children have been born into the cause; innumerable young people have married into it; innumerable old people have died out of it.
无数的孩子生来便与这桩案子结下了缘分；无数的年轻人因它而缔结婚姻；无数的老人在它的阴影中离开了人世。
Scores of persons have deliriously found themselves made parties in Jarndyce and Jarndyce without knowing how or why; whole families have inherited legendary hatreds with the suit.
许多人在懵懵懂懂之间发现自己已成了贾恩代斯诉贾恩代斯案的当事人，全然不知是何缘故；整个家族都因这桩诉讼而承袭了那如传说般的宿怨。
The little plaintiff or defendant who was promised a new rocking-horse when Jarndyce and Jarndyce should be settled has grown up, possessed himself of a real horse, and trotted away into the other world.
那个曾被许诺待贾恩代斯诉贾恩代斯案了结后便可得到一匹新木马的小原告或小被告，如今已经长大成人，拥有了一匹真正的马，并骑着它踏入了另一个世界。
Fair wards of court have faded into mothers and grandmothers; a long procession of Chancellors has come in and gone out; the legion of bills in the suit have been transformed into mere bills of mortality; there are not three Jarndyces left upon the earth perhaps since old Tom Jarndyce in despair blew his brains out at a coffee-house in Chancery Lane; but Jarndyce and Jarndyce still drags its dreary length before the court, perennially hopeless.
昔日衡平法院的美丽被监护人已先后成为人母、人祖母；一代又一代的大法官走马上任、相继离去；诉讼中那无数的账单早已化作了一纸纸死亡清单；自从老汤姆·贾恩代斯在绝望中于衡平法院巷的一家咖啡馆里饮弹自尽，世间或许已难觅三位贾恩代斯家族之人；然而贾恩代斯诉贾恩代斯案依然拖沓地徘徊于法庭之前，永无希望，无休无止。
Jarndyce and Jarndyce has passed into a joke.
贾恩代斯诉贾恩代斯案已然沦为一个笑柄。
That is the only good that has ever come of it.
这是它唯一带来的好处。
It has been death to many, but it is a joke in the profession.
它夺去了许多人的性命，却在法律界成了一个笑话。
Every master in Chancery has had a reference out of it.
衡平法院的每一位法官主事都曾从中援引过先例。
Every Chancellor was "in it," for somebody or other, when he was counsel at the bar.
每一位大法官在出庭律师时代，都曾以某一方当事人的名义涉足其中。
Good things have been said about it by blue-nosed, bulbous-shoed old benchers in select port-wine committee after dinner in hall.
那些鼻头发青、脚穿臃肿皮鞋的老资深律师们，在饭后于会馆精选波特酒品鉴会上，也曾就此案妙语频出。
Vocabulary
- 无数
- wúshù — Countless, innumerable; a very large number
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 孩子
- háizi — Child; children in general
- 生来
- shēnglái — From birth; by nature innately
- 便
- biàn — Then; thereupon; as soon as
- 与
- yǔ — With; and; together with
- 这桩
- zhè zhuāng — This matter; this particular case or affair
- 案子
- ànzi — A legal case; a court case
- 结下
- jié xià — To form or establish a tie or bond
- 了
- le — Particle indicating completed action or change
- 缘分
- yuánfèn — Fate or predestined connection between people
- 年轻人
- niánqīngrén — Young person; youth
- 因
- yīn — Because of; due to; on account of
- 它
- tā — It; third-person pronoun for non-human things
- 而
- ér — And; yet; but; connecting clauses
- 缔结
- dìjié — To conclude or form a formal agreement or union
- 婚姻
- hūnyīn — Marriage; matrimony
- 老人
- lǎorén — Elderly person; old man or woman
- 在
- zài — At; in; located at a place
- 阴影
- yīnyǐng — Shadow; dark shadow; gloomy influence
- 中
- zhōng — In; within; among; middle
- 离开
- líkāi — To leave; to depart from a place
- 人世
- rénshì — The human world; mortal life
- 许多
- xǔduō — Many; a large number of
- 人
- rén — Person; people; human being
- 懵懵懂懂
- měngměngdǒngdǒng — In a confused daze; without understanding what is happening
- 之间
- zhījiān — Between; among; in the midst of
- 发现
- fāxiàn — To discover; to find out; to realize
- 自己
- zìjǐ — Oneself; one's own self
- 已
- yǐ — Already; previously completed
- 成了
- chéngle — Became; turned into something
- 诉
- sù — To sue; to bring a legal action against
- 案
- àn — Case; legal case; matter for judgment
- 当事人
- dāngshìrén — Party involved in a case; litigant
- 全然
- quánrán — Completely; entirely; wholly
- 不知
- bùzhī — Not knowing; unaware of
- 是
- shì — Is; am; are; to be
- 何
- hé — What; which; why; how
- 缘故
- yuángù — Reason; cause; the reason why
- 整个
- zhěnggè — Entire; whole; the whole of something
- 家族
- jiāzú — Family clan; extended family lineage
- 都
- dōu — All; both; entirely; without exception
- 诉讼
- sùsòng — Lawsuit; litigation; legal proceedings
- 承袭
- chéngxí — To inherit; to carry on a tradition or legacy
- 那
- nà — That; those; referring to something distant
- 如
- rú — Like; as; resembling
- 传说
- chuánshuō — Legend; folklore; a story passed down
- 般
- bān — Like; similar to; in the manner of
- 宿怨
- sùyuàn — Long-standing grudge; old deep-seated grievance
- 那个
- nàge — That one; that particular one
- 曾
- céng — Once; formerly; at some past time
- 被
- bèi — Passive marker; by; indicates passive voice
- 许诺
- xǔnuò — To promise; to make a pledge or vow
- 待
- dài — To wait; to await; until something happens
- 了结
- liǎojié — To settle; to conclude; to bring to an end
- 后
- hòu — After; afterward; behind in time or space
- 可
- kě — Can; may; able to; permissible
- 得到
- dédào — To obtain; to receive; to get something
- 一匹
- yī pǐ — One horse; measure word for horses
- 新
- xīn — New; fresh; recently made or acquired
- 木马
- mùmǎ — Wooden hobby horse; toy rocking horse
- 小
- xiǎo — Small; little; young
- 原告
- yuángào — Plaintiff; the party that initiates a lawsuit
- 或
- huò — Or; either; alternatively
- 被告
- bèigào — Defendant; the party accused in a lawsuit
- 如今
- rújīn — Nowadays; at present; these days
- 已经
- yǐjīng — Already; by now; at this point
- 长大
- zhǎngdà — To grow up; to reach adulthood
- 成人
- chéngrén — Adult; to become an adult
- 拥有
- yōngyǒu — To possess; to own; to have something
- 真正
- zhēnzhèng — Real; genuine; truly; authentically
- 马
- mǎ — Horse; the animal
- 并
- bìng — And; also; simultaneously doing two things
- 骑着
- qízhe — Riding; mounted on an animal or vehicle
- 踏入
- tàrù — To step into; to enter a place or state
- 另一个
- lìng yī gè — Another one; a different one
- 世界
- shìjiè — World; the universe; a realm or sphere
- 昔日
- xīrì — Former days; in the past; days gone by
- 美丽
- měilì — Beautiful; lovely; attractive in appearance
- 被监护人
- bèi jiānhùrén — Ward; person under legal guardianship
- 先后
- xiānhòu — One after another; successively in sequence
- 成为
- chéngwéi — To become; to turn into something
- 人母
- rénmǔ — A mother; someone who has become a mother
- 一代
- yī dài — One generation; a single generation of people
- 又
- yòu — Again; once more; also; and yet
- 大法官
- dàfǎguān — Lord Chancellor; chief justice; high court judge
- 走马上任
- zǒumǎ shàngrèn — To take office quickly; assume a new post
- 相继
- xiāngjì — One after another; in succession
- 离去
- líqù — To leave; to depart; to pass away
- 账单
- zhàngdān — Bill; invoice; a statement of money owed
- 早已
- zǎoyǐ — Long since; already for a long time
- 化作
- huàzuò — To transform into; to turn into something
- 死亡
- sǐwáng — Death; mortality; to die
- 清单
- qīngdān — List; inventory; itemized record
- 自从
- zìcóng — Since; ever since a point in time
- 老
- lǎo — Old; elderly; long-standing; prefix of familiarity
- 绝望
- juéwàng — Despair; hopelessness; to feel utterly hopeless
- 于
- yú — At; in; from; a formal preposition
- 一家
- yī jiā — One establishment; a certain shop or place
- 咖啡馆
- kāfēiguǎn — Coffee shop; café
- 里
- lǐ — Inside; within; in a place
- 世间
- shìjiān — In the world; among people; in human society
- 或许
- huòxǔ — Perhaps; maybe; possibly
- 难觅
- nán mì — Hard to find; difficult to come across
- 三位
- sān wèi — Three people; three persons (polite counter)
- 然而
- rán'ér — However; yet; nevertheless; but
- 依然
- yīrán — Still; as before; unchanged
- 拖沓
- tuōtà — Dragging; sluggish; tediously slow and inefficient
- 地
- de — Adverbial particle linking adverb to verb
- 徘徊
- páihuái — To linger; to pace back and forth; to hover
- 法庭
- fǎtíng — Courtroom; a court of law
- 之前
- zhīqián — Before; prior to; in front of in time
- 永无
- yǒng wú — Never; eternally without; forever lacking
- 希望
- xīwàng — Hope; wish; to desire or expect something
- 无休无止
- wú xiū wú zhǐ — Endless; without pause or cessation ever
- 已然
- yǐrán — Already; has already become so; by now
- 沦为
- lúnwéi — To degenerate into; to sink to the level of
- 一个
- yī gè — One; a single; one item or instance
- 笑柄
- xiàobǐng — Laughingstock; object of ridicule and mockery
- 这
- zhè — This; referring to something nearby
- 唯一
- wéiyī — Only; sole; the one and only
- 带来
- dàilái — To bring; to cause; to produce a result
- 好处
- hǎochu — Benefit; advantage; good that comes from something
- 夺去
- duóqù — To take away by force; to deprive of life
- 性命
- xìngmìng — Life; one's existence; a person's very life
- 却
- què — Yet; but; however; indicating contrast
- 法律界
- fǎlǜjiè — The legal world; the legal profession and community
- 笑话
- xiàohua — Joke; a funny story; something laughable
- 每一位
- měi yī wèi — Every single person; each individual person
- 法官
- fǎguān — Judge; a judicial officer in a court
- 主事
- zhǔshì — Person in charge; to be in charge of affairs
- 从中
- cóngzhōng — From within; in the process; therein
- 援引
- yuányǐn — To cite; to invoke; to quote a precedent
- 过
- guo — Experiential particle; have done something before
- 先例
- xiānlì — Precedent; a previous example to be followed
- 出庭
- chūtíng — To appear in court; to attend a court hearing
- 律师
- lǜshī — Lawyer; attorney; legal counsel
- 时代
- shídài — Era; age; a period of time in history
- 以
- yǐ — With; by means of; on behalf of
- 某一方
- mǒu yī fāng — A certain party or side in a dispute
- 名义
- míngyì — In the name of; on behalf of; nominally
- 涉足
- shèzú — To venture into; to get involved in a field
- 其中
- qízhōng — Among them; within it; therein
- 那些
- nàxiē — Those; those particular ones over there
- 臃肿
- yōngzhǒng — Bloated; puffy; overly bulky in appearance
- 皮鞋
- píxié — Leather shoes; formal shoes made of leather
- 资深律师
- zīshēn lǜshī — Senior barrister; experienced veteran lawyer
- 们
- men — Plural suffix for people or pronouns
- 饭后
- fànhòu — After a meal; following dinner or lunch
- 会馆
- huìguǎn — Club; guild hall; members' meeting place
- 精选
- jīngxuǎn — Carefully selected; choice; finest selected items
- 上
- shàng — On; above; at an event or occasion
- 也
- yě — Also; too; as well; likewise
- 就
- jiù — Then; precisely; with regard to; just
- 此案
- cǐ àn — This case; the case in question
- 妙语频出
- miàoyǔ pín chū — Witty remarks flowing constantly; quips coming frequently
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