Английский язык с У. С. Моэмом. Театр

Франк Илья

circumstantial detail (без самых мельчайших подробностей; circumstantial —

подробный, обстоятельный, несущественный). Nor was he only vain of his

business acumen (он гордился не только своей деловой хваткой: «не был он

только самодоволен своей деловой хваткой»); with advancing years (с

возрастом; to advance in years — стареть, быть в летах; to advance —

продвигаться

вперед) he had become outrageously vain of his person (он стал

чрезвычайно самовлюбленным: «самодовольный своей персоной»).

scheme [ski:m] intolerable [In'tOl(q)rqb(q)l] circumstantial ["sq:kqm'stxnS(q)l]

acumen ['xkjVmqn]

His complacency when he had beaten an opponent at golf or got the better of

someone in a business deal was infuriating. He gloried in his artfulness. He

was a bore, a crashing bore. He liked to tell Julia everything he did and every

scheme that passed through his head; it had been charming when merely to

have him with her was a delight, but for years she had found his prosiness

intolerable. He could describe nothing without circumstantial detail. Nor was

he only vain of his business acumen; with advancing years he had become

outrageously vain of his person.

As a youth he had taken his beauty for granted (когда он был молод, он

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воспринимал свою красоту как данность; to take for granted — считать само

собой разумеющимся): now he began to pay more attention to it (теперь он

начал уделять ей больше внимания) and spared no pains (и прилагал все

усилия; to spare no pains — не жалеть трудов; to spare — экономить) to keep

what was left of it (чтобы сохранить то, что осталось от нее). It became an

obsession (это просто стало навязчивой идеей). He devoted anxious care to his

figure (он уделял беспокойное внимание своей фигуре). He never ate a

fattening thing (он никогда не ел ничего, что могло привести

к набору веса;

fattening food — пища, от которой толстеют) and never forgot his exercises

(и никогда не забывал о своих упражнениях). He consulted hair specialists (он

консультировался у специалистов /по волосам/) when he thought his hair was

thinning (когда он подумал, что его волосы начинают редеть), and Julia was

convinced (и Джулия была уверена) that had it been possible (что, если было бы

возможно) to get the operation done secretly (чтобы операцию провели тайно)

he would have had his face lifted (он бы сделал подтяжку лица). He had got into

the way of sitting (у него вошло в привычку сидеть; to get into the way of —

привыкнуть) with his chin slightly thrust out (слегка выдвинув подбородок

вперед: «с подбородком слегка выпяченным»; to thrust out — высовывать,

выпячивать) so that the wrinkles in his neck should not show (так, чтобы

морщины на его шеи не были видны) and he held himself with an arched back

(и его спина была всегда выгнута: «он держал себя /постоянно/ с выгнутой

спиной») to keep his belly from sagging (чтобы не обвисал живот: «чтобы

удержать его живот от провисания»). He could not pass a mirror (он не мог

пройти мимо зеркала) without looking into it (и не взглянуть в него: «без того,

что бы не заглянуть в него»).

obsession [qb'seS(q)n] spare [speq] arched [Q:tSt]

As a youth he had taken his beauty for granted: now he began to pay more

attention to it and spared no pains to keep what was left of it. It became an

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obsession. He devoted anxious care to his figure. He never ate a fattening

thing and never forgot his exercises. He consulted hair specialists when he

thought his hair was thinning, and Julia was convinced that had it been

possible to get the operation done secretly he would have had his face lifted.

He had got into the way of sitting with his chin slightly thrust out so that the

wrinkles in his neck should not show and he held himself with an arched back