(1)It was Friday *and soon they'd go out and get drunk.
星期五发薪日到了，他们马上就要上街去喝得酩酊大醉。
*星期五[Friday]为英国的发薪日。如不解释，译入语读者就不会明白英国人为什么要在这一天上街去大吃大喝。
(2)While it may seem to be painting the lily, I should like to add somewhat to Mr.Alistair Cooke's excellent article.
我想给阿利斯太尔·库克先生的杰作稍加几笔，尽管这也许是为百合花上色，费力不讨好。
*在西方人眼里，百合花是高贵、贞洁、美丽的象征，故为百合花上色自然是做徒劳无益之事。
(3) Even before they were acquainted, he had admired Osborn in secret. Now he was his valet, his dog, his man Friday.
他没有认识奥斯本之前，已经暗暗佩服他。如今便成了他的听差，他的狗，他的忠仆星期五*.
*星期五(Friday)是《鲁滨逊漂流记》故事中Robinson Crusoe的忠实奴仆。
(4)The man who waters his grass after a good rain is carrying coals to Newcastle.
刚下一场及时雨，那人却又为草坪浇水，真是把煤运到纽卡斯尔，多此一举。
*纽卡斯尔：英国煤都。
(5)I am as poor as Job, my lord, but not so patient.
我象约伯一样穷的，大人，可是却没有他那样的好耐心。
*在《圣经》中，约伯以忍耐贫穷著称。
(6) "Oh! Tell us about her. Auntie," cried imogen. " I can just remember her. She's the skeleton in the family cupboard, isn't she?"
"哦，给我们讲一讲她的事儿吧，好姑姑，"伊莫根嚷嚷道，"我几乎记不得她了，她是咱们家衣橱里的骷髅，丑得见不得人，是吗?"
(7) The May-day dance, for instance, was to be discerned on the afternoon under notice, in the disguise of the club revel, or "club-walking" as it was there called.
譬如现在所讲的那个下午里，就可以看出五朔节舞*旧风以联欢会(或者像本地的叫法-游行会)的形式出现。
*五朔节舞：英国风俗，五月一日奏乐吹号，采取树枝、野花、装饰门窗，在草地上竖起五朔柱，围柱跳舞，并选举五朔后。此风古时极盛，现在穷乡僻壤依然可见。
(8) The question she flunked on was: "What is the Constitution of the United States?" The answer she gave was: "A boat."
她答错的一道题是："美国宪法*是什么? 她的回答却是"一条船。"
*the Constitution of the United States指美国宪法，但它也是美国历史上著名战舰"宪法号"的英文名字。
(9) 'When we alighted at this door, a dispute arose with the driver of the cabriolet-'. A loud scream from his wife, at the mention of this word, rendered all further explanation inaudible.
"我们在门口下车的时候，跟那单马双轮车*车夫发生了一点争执，"说到单马双轮车的时候，他的妻子发出了一声又高又尖的叫唤，使得下面的解释都听不见了。
*单马双轮车是出租马车里"最没有派头"的，所以说不得。(译文在此采用脚注，解释了为什么一听到cabriolet，他的妻子就会发出一声尖叫。在19世纪的英国，只有地位低贱的人才会坐这种马车。在这儿，丈夫不慎说漏了嘴，爱好虚荣的妻子觉得蒙受了耻辱。)
(10)All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our life-time on the planet.
所有这一切都不会在第一个一百天*内完成， 也不会在第一个一千天内完成，不会在本届政府内完成，甚至也不会在我们这一辈子完成。
*原指美国总统福兰克林·罗斯福执政后推行"新政"的第一个一百天。
(11) At all events the war has done one good thing for us. It's smashed up the power of the aristocracy. The Boer War started it, and 1914 put the lid on.
不管怎样，战争还是为我们做了一件好事，就是把贵族势力一扫而光。布尔战争开始对它有所触动，而1914年的世界大战终于使它荡然无存。
*布尔战争：1899-1902年英国人与布尔人之间的战争。
（责任编辑:doublejp）
