The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 4
However, he did not long hesitate; for, being perfectly well acquainted with his father's disposition, he did not doubt that he was glad of this pretence to get rid of him; and his resolves being as invariable as the laws of the Medes and Persians, he knew it would be to no purpose to attempt him by prayers and entreaties; so without any farther application, he betook himself, with his disconsolate bedfellow to a farm-house, where an old servant of his mother dwelt: there they remained some time in a situation but ill adapted to the elegance of their desires and tenderness of their love; which nevertheless my father chose to endure, rather than supplicate an unnatural and inflexible parent but my mother, foreseeing the inconveniences to which she must have been exposed, had she been delivered in this place (and her pregnancy was very far advanced), without communicating her design to her husband, went in disguise to the house of my grandfather, hoping that her tears and condition would move him to compassion, and reconcile him to an event which was now irrecoverably past.
然而,他并没有犹豫太久;因为他对父亲的性情了如指掌,丝毫不怀疑父亲乐于借此借口将他赶走;而父亲的决心就如同玛代人和波斯人的律法一样不可更改,他深知祈求哀求毫无用处;于是他不再多作尝试,带着他那心灰意冷的伴侣来到一处农舍,那里住着他母亲的一位老仆人:他们在那里住了一段时日,那处境与他们内心的雅致渴望和柔情蜜意实难相称;尽管如此,我的父亲宁愿忍受这一切,也不愿向那冷酷无情、执拗固执的父亲低声下气地求告。但我的母亲,预见到若在此地分娩(而她的妊娠已十分临近)将面临种种不便,便未与丈夫商量,乔装改扮前往我外祖父的宅邸,希望她的眼泪和处境能打动他生出怜悯之心,使他接受这一如今已无可挽回的事实。
She found means to deceive the servants, and get introduced as an unfortunate lady, who wanted to complain of some matrimonial grievances, it being my grandfather's particular province to decide in all cases of scandal.
她想方设法骗过了仆人,以一位不幸的女士身份得以引见,声称有婚姻方面的冤情需要申诉,而裁决一切丑闻事宜正是我外祖父的专责所在。
Vocabulary
- 然而
- rán'ér — However; yet; introduces a contrasting statement.
- 他
- tā — He; him; third-person masculine pronoun.
- 并没有
- bìng méiyǒu — Did not at all; emphatically negates a verb.
- 犹豫
- yóuyù — To hesitate; to be indecisive or uncertain.
- 太久
- tài jiǔ — Too long; for an excessively long time.
- 因为
- yīnwèi — Because; introduces a reason or cause.
- 对
- duì — Regarding; towards; about someone or something.
- 父亲
- fùqīn — Father; one's male parent.
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification.
- 性情
- xìngqíng — Temperament; a person's natural disposition or character.
- 了如指掌
- liǎo rú zhǐ zhǎng — Know like the back of one's hand; thoroughly familiar.
- 丝毫
- sīháo — The slightest bit; not in the least.
- 不
- bù — Not; negation particle for verbs and adjectives.
- 怀疑
- huáiyí — To doubt; to suspect; to be skeptical.
- 乐于
- lèyú — Willing to; happy to do something.
- 借此
- jiècǐ — Take advantage of this; use this as an opportunity.
- 借口
- jièkǒu — Pretext; excuse used to justify an action.
- 将
- jiāng — Will; about to; future action marker.
- 赶走
- gǎnzǒu — To drive away; to expel or chase someone off.
- 而
- ér — And; yet; connecting or contrasting clauses.
- 决心
- juéxīn — Determination; firm resolve to do something.
- 就
- jiù — Then; precisely; indicates immediacy or emphasis.
- 如同
- rútóng — Just like; similar to; as if.
- 和
- hé — And; together with; connecting nouns.
- 律法
- lǜfǎ — Law; legal code; religious or civil statutes.
- 一样
- yīyàng — The same; identical; just like something else.
- 不可更改
- bùkě gēnggǎi — Cannot be changed; irrevocable; unalterable.
- 深知
- shēnzhī — To know deeply; to be fully aware of.
- 祈求
- qíqiú — To pray for; to earnestly entreat or beg.
- 哀求
- āiqiú — To plead piteously; to beg with grief.
- 毫无用处
- háowú yòngchù — Completely useless; of no use whatsoever.
- 于是
- yúshì — Therefore; thereupon; as a result.
- 不再
- bù zài — No longer; not anymore; ceased doing something.
- 尝试
- chángshì — To attempt; to try doing something.
- 带着
- dàizhe — 带着 Bringing along; accompanied by; carrying with.
- 那
- nà — That; indicating a previously mentioned person or thing.
- 心灰意冷
- xīn huī yì lěng — Discouraged and disheartened; completely demoralized.
- 伴侣
- bànlǚ — Partner; companion; spouse or close companion.
- 来到
- láidào — To arrive at; to come to a place.
- 一处
- yī chù — A place; one location or spot.
- 农舍
- nóngshě — Farmhouse; a rural dwelling on a farm.
- 那里
- nàlǐ — There; in that place.
- 住着
- zhùzhe — Living there; residing at a place.
- 母亲
- mǔqīn — Mother; one's female parent.
- 一位
- yī wèi — One (person); polite measure word for people.
- 老仆人
- lǎo púrén — Old servant; an elderly household attendant.
- 他们
- tāmen — They; them; third-person plural pronoun.
- 在
- zài — At; in; located at a place.
- 住了
- zhùle — Stayed; lived there for a period.
- 一段
- yī duàn — A period; a stretch of time or distance.
- 时日
- shírì — Days; a period of time; days and months.
- 处境
- chǔjìng — Circumstances; one's situation or living conditions.
- 与
- yǔ — And; with; together with.
- 内心
- nèixīn — Inner heart; one's innermost feelings or thoughts.
- 雅致
- yǎzhì — Elegant; refined; tastefully graceful.
- 渴望
- kěwàng — To long for; to yearn; intense desire.
- 柔情蜜意
- róuqíng mìyì — Tender affection and sweet love; romantic tenderness.
- 实难
- shí nán — Truly difficult; really hard to achieve.
- 相称
- xiāngchèn — To match; to be compatible or in harmony.
- 尽管如此
- jǐnguǎn rúcǐ — Even so; despite this; nevertheless.
- 我的
- wǒ de — My; mine; belonging to me.
- 宁愿
- nìngyuàn — Would rather; prefer to do something instead.
- 忍受
- rěnshòu — To endure; to tolerate hardship or pain.
- 这一切
- zhè yīqiè — All of this; everything mentioned here.
- 也
- yě — Also; too; even; still.
- 不愿
- bù yuàn — Unwilling to; not wanting to do something.
- 向
- xiàng — Towards; to; directed at someone.
- 冷酷无情
- lěngkù wúqíng — Cold and merciless; cruel and heartless.
- 执拗
- zhíniù — Stubborn; obstinate; persistently refusing to yield.
- 固执
- gùzhí — Stubborn; inflexible; refusing to change one's mind.
- 低声下气
- dī shēng xià qì — Humbly submissive; speak softly and obsequiously.
- 地
- de — Adverbial particle linking manner to verb.
- 求告
- qiúgào — To appeal to; to plead or implore someone.
- 但
- dàn — But; however; introduces contrast or exception.
- 预见到
- yùjiàn dào — To foresee; to anticipate a future situation.
- 若
- ruò — If; supposing; conditional conjunction.
- 此地
- cǐ dì — This place; here; this location.
- 分娩
- fēnmiǎn — To give birth; childbirth; delivery of a baby.
- 她
- tā — She; her; third-person feminine pronoun.
- 妊娠
- rènshēn — Pregnancy; the state of carrying a fetus.
- 已
- yǐ — Already; indicates completion or current state.
- 十分
- shífēn — Very; extremely; to a great degree.
- 临近
- línjìn — Approaching; close to; imminent.
- 面临
- miànlín — To face; to confront a situation or challenge.
- 种种
- zhǒngzhǒng — Various kinds; all sorts of difficulties or things.
- 不便
- bùbiàn — Inconvenience; difficulty; not convenient.
- 便
- biàn — Then; thereupon; consequently.
- 丈夫
- zhàngfu — Husband; one's male spouse.
- 商量
- shāngliang — To discuss; to consult; to talk something over.
- 乔装改扮
- qiáozhuāng gǎibàn — To disguise oneself; to change appearance to deceive.
- 前往
- qiánwǎng — To go to; to head towards a destination.
- 我
- wǒ — I; me; first-person singular pronoun.
- 外祖父
- wàizǔfù — Maternal grandfather; mother's father.
- 宅邸
- zhái dǐ — Mansion; a large and grand residence.
- 希望
- xīwàng — To hope; to wish; hope or expectation.
- 眼泪
- yǎnlèi — Tears; liquid shed from eyes when crying.
- 能
- néng — Can; be able to; have the ability.
- 打动
- dǎdòng — To move emotionally; to touch someone's heart.
- 生出
- shēngchū — To give rise to; to produce a feeling.
- 怜悯之心
- liánmǐn zhī xīn — A heart of compassion; feeling of pity.
- 使
- shǐ — To cause; to make; to enable someone to do.
- 接受
- jiēshòu — To accept; to receive; to acknowledge something.
- 这一
- zhè yī — This one; referring to a specific matter.
- 如今
- rújīn — Nowadays; now; at the present time.
- 无可挽回
- wúkě wǎnhuí — Irreversible; impossible to recover or undo.
- 事实
- shìshí — Fact; reality; what is actually true.
- 想方设法
- xiǎng fāng shè fǎ — Try every means; rack one's brains for solutions.
- 骗过
- piànguò — To deceive successfully; to trick past someone.
- 了
- le — Completion particle indicating a finished action.
- 仆人
- púrén — Servant; a person employed to serve others.
- 以
- yǐ — With; using; by means of.
- 不幸
- bùxìng — Unfortunate; unlucky; misfortune.
- 女士
- nǚshì — Lady; a polite term for a woman.
- 身份
- shēnfèn — Identity; status; one's social role or position.
- 得以
- déyǐ — To be able to; to manage to do something.
- 引见
- yǐnjiàn — To introduce; to present someone to another person.
- 声称
- shēngchēng — To claim; to assert; to declare publicly.
- 有
- yǒu — To have; there is; to possess something.
- 婚姻
- hūnyīn — Marriage; the institution of being married.
- 方面
- fāngmiàn — Aspect; side; area or dimension of a matter.
- 冤情
- yuānqíng — Grievance; unjust case; a wrongful complaint.
- 需要
- xūyào — To need; to require; a necessity.
- 申诉
- shēnsù — To appeal; to lodge a complaint or petition.
- 裁决
- cáijué — Ruling; judgment; an official decision on a case.
- 一切
- yīqiè — Everything; all; every single thing.
- 丑闻
- chǒuwén — Scandal; a disgraceful or shameful incident.
- 事宜
- shìyí — Matters; affairs; things to be dealt with.
- 正是
- zhèngshì — Precisely; exactly; it is just the case.
- 专责
- zhuānzé — Sole responsibility; exclusive duty or obligation.
- 所在
- suǒzài — Where something lies; the place of responsibility.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →