双语小说连载:《董贝父子》第一章 Part 1

   Or, at all events, with one drawback. Yes. That he would have allowed. With only one; but that one certainly involving much. With the drawback of hope deferred. That hope deferred, which, (as the Scripture very correctly tells us, Mr Dombey would have added in a patronising way; for his highest distinct idea even of Scripture, if examined, would have been found to be; that as forming part of a general whole, of which Dombey and Son formed another part, it was therefore to be commended and upheld) maketh the heart sick. They had been married ten years, and until this present day on which Mr Dombey sat jingling and jingling his heavy gold watchchain in the great armchair by the side of the bed, had had no issue.To speak of; none worth mentioning. There had been a girl some six years before, and the child, who had stolen into the chamber unobserved, was now crouching timidly, in a corner whence she could see her mother's face. But what was a girl to Dombey and Son! In the capital of the House's name and dignity, such a child was merely a piece of base coin that couldn't be invested a bad Boy nothing more.

    不过，也有美中不足的地方。对了。这个缺点他是会承认的。就只有这一个缺点；但是这一个缺点却确实关系重大。他们已经结婚十年，但是直到今天，董贝先生坐在床边的大扶手椅子上，玩弄着他的沉甸甸的金表链，让它发出了叮零叮零的响声之前，他们还没有后嗣。——没有值得一提的后嗣。大约在六年以前，他们有了一个女儿；这个孩子没有被人觉察，已经偷偷地溜进了这个房间，现在正战战兢兢地蹲在一个角落里；她从那里可以望得见她妈妈的脸孔。可是对董贝父子公司来说，一个女儿算得了什么呢！在公司的声望与尊严的资本中，这样一个孩子只不过是一枚不能用来投资的劣币——一个坏孩子——，如此而已。

    Mr Dombey's cup of satisfaction was so full at this moment, however, that he felt he could afford a drop or two of its contents, even to sprinkle on the dust in the by path of his little daughter.So he said, “Florence, you may go and look at your pretty brother, if you like, I daresay. Don't touch him!”

    然而，董贝先生这时杯子里却装满了称心满意的酒，装得很满很满，因此他甚至可以把其中的一两滴洒到他的小女儿的小径中的尘土上。所以他说道，“弗洛伦斯，我想，如果你喜欢的话，你可以去看看你漂亮的小弟弟嘛。可别去碰他！”

注释：part of :一部分
1. This part of the book may be omitted.
书的这一部分可以省略。
2. These beautiful old palaces are part of our national heritage.
这些美丽的古老宫殿是我们民族遗产的一部分。