雙語小說連載:《董貝父子》第8章 Part 6大綱
'With your usual happy discrimination, my dear Paul,' resumed Mrs Chick, 'you have hit the point at once. Our darling is altogether as stout as we could wish. The fact is, that his mind is too much for him. His soul is a great deal too large for his frame. I am sure the way in which that dear child talks!'said Mrs Chick, shaking her head; 'no one would believe. His expressions, Lucretia, only yesterday upon the subject of Funerals!
'I am afraid,' said Mr Dombey, interrupting her testily, 'that some of those persons upstairs suggest improper subjects to the child. He was speaking to me last night about his - about his Bones,' said Mr Dombey, laying an irritated stress upon the word. 'What on earth has anybody to do with the - with the - Bones of my son? He is not a living skeleton, I suppose.
“我擔心，”董貝先生急躁地打斷了她的話，“樓上那些人當中有什麼人向這孩子談到了一些不合適的話題。昨天夜裏他跟我說起他的——說起他的骨頭，”董貝先生在這個詞上憤怒地加重了語氣，“世界上誰跟——跟我的兒子的骨頭有什麼關係？我想，他不是一個活着的骷髏①。”--------①活着的骷髏：狄更斯寫作《董貝父子》時，倫敦雜耍場中演出的人物中有一位綽號爲“活着的骷髏”（livingskeleton）的極壞的人。'Very far from it,' said Mrs Chick, with unspeakable expression.'I hope so,' returned her brother. 'Funerals again! who talks to the child of funerals? We are not undertakers, or mutes,or grave-diggers, I believe.'
“完全不是，”奇剋夫人用難以形容的表情說道。“我希望是這樣，”她的哥哥回答道。“又說什麼殯葬的事情！誰向孩子 說起殯葬的事情的？我相信，我們不是殯儀事業的經營人，不是僱用的送喪人，也不是掘墓人。”
'Very far from it,' interposed Mrs Chick, with the same profound expression as before.
“完全不是，”奇剋夫人插嘴道，她的表情與剛纔同樣意味深長。'Then who puts such things into his head?' said Mr Dombey. 'Really I was quite dismayed and shocked last night. Who puts such things into his head, Louisa?'
“那麼是誰把這些東西裝進他的腦子裏的呢？”董貝先生說道。“我昨天夜裏確實十分驚奇，十分憤慨。誰把這些東西裝進他的腦子裏的呢，路易莎？”'My dear Paul,' said Mrs Chick, after a moment's silence, 'it is of no use inquiring. I do not think, I will tell you candidly that Wickam is a person of very cheerful spirit, or what one would call a - ''A daughter of Momus,' Miss Tox softly suggested.
“我親愛的保羅，”奇剋夫人沉默了片刻，說道，“問這個問題沒有用。坦率地跟你說吧，我認爲威肯姆大嫂並不是一位性格快快活活的人，人們不可能把她稱爲——”“莫墨斯的女兒①，”托克斯小姐輕聲提示道。--------①莫墨斯的女兒（daughterofMomus）：莫墨斯亦譯摩摩斯，是希臘神話中夜神的兒子，嘲弄之神。據說，他曾責怪赫費斯托斯創造人時沒有在胸口留下小洞以便能看出人的內心思想活動；又傳說，他因爲未能在阿佛羅狄忒身上找到任何可以嘲笑的不是之處而氣得炸裂開來。莫墨斯的女兒或兒子：指愛嘲弄的人，滑稽的人，也就是性格快活的人。'Exactly so,' said Mrs Chick; 'but she is exceedingly attentive and useful, and not at all presumptuous; indeed I never saw a more biddable woman. I would say that for her, if I was put upon my trial before a Court of Justice.''Well! you are not put upon your trial before a Court of Justice, at present, Louisa,' returned Mr Dombey, chafing,' and therefore it don't matter.
“正是這樣，”奇剋夫人說道：“不過她是極爲殷勤、極爲有用的，而且一點也不自以爲是；確實，我從沒有見過比她更柔順的女人了。'If the dear child,' said Mrs Chick, in the tone of one who was summing up what had been previously quite agreed upon, instead of saying it all for the first time, 'is a little weakened by that last attack, and is not in quite such vigorous health as we could wish; and if he has some temporary weakness in his system, and does occasionally seem about to lose, for the moment, the use of his - '
如果這親愛的孩子，”奇剋夫人繼續說道，她的語氣是把事前已取得一致意見的話總結一下的語氣，而不是把這些話第一次說出來的語氣，“由於受到上次打擊，身體稍稍虛弱下來，不像我們所希望的那麼精神飽滿、健康壯實的話，如果他的體質暫時有些虛弱，而且有時似乎暫時不能使用他的——”註釋：undertaker n. 承擔者；承辦人；殯儀業者
動詞形式：undertake vt. 承擔，保證；從事；同意；試圖
[ 過去式undertook 過去分詞undertaken 現在分詞undertaking ]
例句：
(1). We can only do (undertake) simple mending.
我們只受理簡單的縫補。
(2). I can undertake that you will enjoy the play.
我能保證你將喜歡這齣戲。
(3). We could undertake the work for the time being.
我們可以暫時從事這項工作。
(4). Who will undertake responsibility for this work?
誰將承擔這項工作的責任?
(5). I'll leave you to undertake an important mission.
我要讓你承擔一項重要使命。
(6). The company had have to undertake heavy liability.
這家公司已經不得不承擔沉重的債務。
(7). The procedure is difficult to undertake, of course.
當然，這個過程很難實施。
(8). The decision to undertake an MBA is an important one.
讀工商管理碩（MBA）是很重要的決定。
2. suggest
vt.
(1). 提出，提議，建議：
The specialist suggested that children should not eat too much sugar.
專家建議兒童不該吃太多的食糖。
(2). 推薦，舉薦：
It was suggested that he be the chairman of the meeting.
他被舉薦爲大會主席。
(3). (事物)使人想到，使人聯想到：
The music suggests a still night.
這種音樂令人聯想到寧靜的夜晚。
(4). (間接地)表明，意思是：
OK,silence suggests agreement.
對，沉默就表示同意。
(5). 暗示：
She suggested that she did not want me to tell the truth.
她暗示我不要說出實情。
