Английский язык с В. Ирвингом. Рип ван Винкль - [7]
Times grew worse and worse with Rip Van Winkle as years of matrimony rolled on; a tart temper never mellows with age, and a sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows keener with constant use. For a long while he used to console himself, when driven from home, by frequenting a kind of perpetual club of the sages, philosophers, and other idle personages of the village; which held its sessions on a bench before a small inn, designated by a rubicund portrait of His Majesty George the Third.
Here they used to sit in the shade through a long lazy summer's day (здесь они привыкли сидеть в тени в течение долгого ленивого летного дня), talking listlessly over village gossip (обсуждая вяло деревенские сплетни; to talk over [tO:k ‘qVvq]) — обсуждать), or telling endless sleepy stories about nothing (или рассказывая бесконечные сонные истории ни о чем). But it would have been worth any statesman's money to have heard the profound discussions that sometimes took place (но услышать происходящие дискуссии стоило бы чиновнику за любые деньги: «но это бы стоило любых денег государственного деятеля услышать эти глубокие дискуссии, которые иногда имели место»), when by chance an old newspaper fell into their hands from some passing traveller (когда случайно старая газета попадала им в руки от какого-то проезжавшего путешественника). How solemnly they would listen to the contents (как торжественно они слушали бывало содержание), as drawled out by Derrick Van Bummel (когда его протяжно читал Деррик ван Буммель; to drawl [drO:l] — растягивать слова), the schoolmaster (школьный учитель), a dapper learned little man (проворный ученый маленький человек; dapper [‘dxpq] — опрятный /об одежде/; проворный, резвый /обычно о людях небольшого роста/; learned [‘lq:nId] — ученый, эрудированный; знающий, сведущий), who was not to be daunted by the most gigantic word in the dictionary (которого не устрашало самое гигантское слово в словаре; to daunt [dO:nt] — укрощать; устрашать, отпугивать); and how sagely they would deliberate upon public events some months after they had taken place (и как мудро они размышляли об общественных событиях через несколько месяцев после того, как они произошли).
Here they used to sit in the shade through a long lazy summer's day, talking listlessly over village gossip, or telling endless sleepy stories about nothing. But it would have been worth any statesman's money to have heard the profound discussions that sometimes took place, when by chance an old newspaper fell into their hands from some passing traveller. How solemnly they would listen to the contents, as drawled out by Derrick Van Bummel, the schoolmaster, a dapper learned little man, who was not to be daunted by the most gigantic word in the dictionary; and how sagely they would deliberate upon public events some months after they had taken place.
The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder (убеждения этого тайного союза были полностью под контролем Николаса Веддера; junto [‘GAntqV] — тайный союз, клика), a patriarch of the village (патриарха деревни; patriarch [‘peItrIQ:k] — глава рода; патриарх; основатель), and landlord of the inn (и владельца гостиницы), at the door of which he took his seat from morning till night (у двери которой он занимал свое место с утра до вечера), just moving sufficiently to avoid the sun (только сдвигаясь в достаточной мере, чтобы избежать солнца; sufficient [s(q)’fIS(q)nt] — достаточный, обоснованный; достаточное количество) and keep in the shade of a large tree (и держаться в тени большого дерева); so that the neighbors could tell the hour by his movements as accurately as by a sun-dial (так, что соседи могли определять время: «час» по его передвижениям так же точно, как по солнечным часам). It is true he was rarely heard to speak (правда, редко слышали, чтобы он говорил: «это правда, что он был редко слышим говорящим»; to hear [hIq] — heard [hq:d] — heard — слышать; услышать), but smoked his pipe incessantly (но беспрестанно курил свою трубку; incessant [In’sesnt] — непрерывный, беспрестанный).
The opinions of this junto were completely controlled by Nicholas Vedder, a patriarch of the village, and landlord of the inn, at the door of which he took his seat from morning till night, just moving sufficiently to avoid the sun and keep in the shade of a large tree; so that the neighbors could tell the hour by his movements as accurately as by a sun-dial. It is true he was rarely heard to speak, but smoked his pipe incessantly.
