receive [rI'si:v] active ['&ktIv] religiously [rI'[email protected]]
I knew a young fellow once, who was studying to play the bagpipes, and you would be surprised at the amount of opposition he had to contend with. Why, not even from the members of his own family did he receive what you could call active encouragement. His father was dead against the business from the beginning, and spoke quite unfeelingly on the subject.
My friend used to get up early in the morning to practise, but he had to give that plan up, because of his sister. She was somewhat religiously inclined, and she said it seemed such an awful thing to begin the day like that.
So he sat up at night instead, and played after the family had gone to bed, but that did not do (тогда он вместо этого /стал/ засиживаться до /поздней/ ночи и играть после того, как вся семья ложилась спать, но из этого ничего не вышло), as it got the house such a bad name (поскольку это принесло дому столь дурную славу). People, going home late, would stop outside to listen (люди, шедшие поздно домой, останавливались /снаружи/ послушать), and then put it about all over the town, the next morning, that a fearful murder had been committed at Mr. Jefferson's the night before (а затем рассказывали по всему городу на следующее утро, что страшное убийство было совершено в доме мистера Джефферсона прошлой ночью; to put about — распространять /слухи и т.д./); and would describe how they had heard the victim's shrieks (рассказывали, как слышали крики жертвы; to describe — описывать, рассказывать) and the brutal oaths and curses of the murderer, followed by the prayer for mercy (и грубые ругательства и проклятия убийцы, за которыми последовала мольба о пощаде; prayer — молитва; мольба, просьба; mercy — милосердие; жалость, сострадание), and the last dying gurgle of the corpse (и последний предсмертный хрип /трупа/; gurgle — журчание, бульканье).
So they let him practise in the day-time, in the back-kitchen with all the doors shut (поэтому ему позволили заниматься в дневное время на кухне, закрыв все двери); but his more successful passages could generally be heard in the sitting-room, in spite of these precautions (но его наиболее удачные пассажи, как правило, могли быть слышны в гостиной, несмотря на эти меры предосторожности), and would affect his mother almost to tears (и волновали его мать почти до слез; to affect — подвергать физическому воздействию; волновать, затрагивать, задевать).
listen ['lIs(@)n] precaution [prI'kO:S(@)n]
So he sat up at night instead, and played after the family had gone to bed, but that did not do, as it got the house such a bad name. People, going home late, would stop outside to listen, and then put it about all over the town, the next morning, that a fearful murder had been committed at Mr. Jefferson's the night before; and would describe how they had heard the victim's shrieks and the brutal oaths and curses of the murderer, followed by the prayer for mercy, and the last dying gurgle of the corpse.
So they let him practise in the day-time, in the back-kitchen with all the doors shut; but his more successful passages could generally be heard in the sitting-room, in spite of these precautions, and would affect his mother almost to tears.
She said it put her in mind of her poor father (она говорила, это напоминает ей о ее бедном отце) (he had been swallowed by a shark, poor man, while bathing off the coast of New Guinea (он был проглочен акулой, бедняга, когда купался у побережья Новой Гвинеи) — where the connection came in, she could not explain (откуда появлялась такая связь = ассоциация, она не могла объяснить)).
Then they knocked up a little place for him at the bottom of the garden, about quarter of a mile from the house (тогда ему сколотили маленький домик в нижней части сада = в дальнем углу сада, примерно в четверти мили от дома; place — место, сиденье; жилище), and made him take the machine down there when he wanted to work it (и заставляли его носить это устройство туда, когда он хотел заниматься с ним; machine — машина, механизм, аппарат, агрегат); and sometimes a visitor would come to the house who knew nothing of the matter (иногда какой-нибудь гость приходил /к ним/ домой, который ничего не знал об этом деле), and they would forget to tell him all about it, and caution him (они забывали все рассказать ему об этом и предупредить его), and he would go out for a stroll round the garden and suddenly get within earshot of those bagpipes (и он выходил прогуляться по саду и вдруг попадал в пределы слышимости этой волынки), without being prepared for it, or knowing what it was (не будучи готовым к этому и не зная, что это). If he were a man of strong mind, it only gave him fits (если это был человек с крепким разумом = психикой, звуки всего лишь вызывали у него истерику; to give; fit — припадок, приступ; порыв, вспышка /гнева, энтузиазма и т.д./); but a person of mere average intellect it usually sent mad (но особу с обычным рассудком они, как правило, сводили с ума; to send mad).
guinea ['gInI] knocked [nOkt] average ['&v(@)rIdZ]
She said it put her in mind of her poor father (he had been swallowed by a shark, poor man, while bathing off the coast of New Guinea — where the connection came in, she could not explain).
Then they knocked up a little place for him at the bottom of the garden, about quarter of a mile from the house, and made him take the machine down there when he wanted to work it; and sometimes a visitor would come to the house who knew nothing of the matter, and they would forget to tell him all about it, and caution him, and he would go out for a stroll round the garden and suddenly get within earshot of those bagpipes, without being prepared for it, or knowing what it was. If he were a man of strong mind, it only gave him fits; but a person of mere average intellect it usually sent mad.
There is, it must be confessed, something very sad about the early efforts of an amateur in bagpipes (нужно признать, что есть что-то очень печальное в ранних попытках любителя /играть/ на волынке). I have felt that myself when listening to my young friend (я сам ощутил это, когда слушал моего молодого друга). They appear to be a trying instrument to perform upon (/волынка/, по-видимому, трудный инструмент, чтобы играть на ней = играть на волынке, очевидно, тяжело). You have to get enough breath for the whole tune before you start (нужно набрать достаточно воздуха для всей мелодии прежде, чем начинать; breath — дыхание, вздох) — at least, so I gathered from watching Jefferson (по крайней мере, так я заключил из наблюдений за Джефферсоном; to gather — собирать/ся/; делать вывод, умозаключение).
He would begin magnificently with a wild, full (он начинал великолепно/величественно неистовой, богатой), come-to-the-battle sort of a note, that quite roused you (вызывающей /на бой/ нотой, которая весьма будоражила вас = слушателя). But he would get more and more piano as he went on (но он играл все тише и тише по мере того, как продолжал; piano — фортепьяно, пианино; пиано /тихо/), and the last verse generally collapsed in the middle with a splutter and a hiss (и последний куплет обычно обрывался на середине, /переходя/ в шипение и свист; to collapse — сильно ослабеть; обвалиться, разрушиться; hiss — шипение; свист).
You want to be in good health to play the bagpipes (необходимо обладать хорошим здоровьем, чтобы играть на волынке).
magnificently [m&g'nIfIs(@)ntlI] collapsed [[email protected]'l&pst]
There is, it must be confessed, something very sad about the early efforts of an amateur in bagpipes. I have felt that myself when listening to my young friend. They appear to be a trying instrument to perform upon. You have to get enough breath for the whole tune before you start — at least, so I gathered from watching Jefferson.
He would begin magnificently with a wild, full, come-to-the-battle sort of a note, that quite roused you. But he would get more and more piano as he went on, and the last verse generally collapsed in the middle with a splutter and a hiss.
You want to be in good health to play the bagpipes.
Young Jefferson only learnt to play one tune on those bagpipes (молодой Джефферсон научился играть только одну мелодию на этой волынке); but I never heard any complaints about the insufficiency of his repertoire — none whatever (но я никогда не слышал жалоб на бедность его репертуара; insufficiency — недостаточность, нехватка). This tune was "The Campbells are Coming, Hooray — Hooray!" so he said (эта мелодия была «Люди Кэмпбелла идут, ура, ура!», как он говорил), though his father always held that it was "The Blue Bells of Scotland (хотя его отец всегда считал, что это «Синие колокольчики Шотландии»)." Nobody seemed quite sure what it was exactly (видимо, никто не знал точно, что это), but they all agreed that it sounded Scotch (но все соглашались, что звучит это по-шотландски).
Strangers were allowed three guesses, and most of them guessed a different tune each time (незнакомым предоставлялись три попытки угадать, и большинство из них называло другую мелодию каждый раз; guess — гипотеза, предположение; догадка).
Harris was disagreeable after supper (Гаррис был хмурым после ужина), — I think it must have been the stew that had upset him (думаю, это, должно быть, рагу расстроило его): he is not used to high living (он не привык к роскошной жизни; high living — жизнь на широкую ногу), — so George and I left him in the boat, and settled to go for a mouch round Henley (поэтому мы с Джорджем оставили его в лодке и решили пойти пошататься по Хенли). He said he should have a glass of whisky and a pipe, and fix things up for the night (он сказал, выпьет стакан виски, /выкурит/ трубку и подготовит вещи = лодку к ночи). We were to shout when we returned (мы должны были крикнуть, когда вернемся), and he would row over from the island and fetch us (и он приплывет с острова и заберет нас; to fetch — принести, достать; сходить за кем-либо).
repertoire ['[email protected]:] island ['[email protected]]
Young Jefferson only learnt to play one tune on those bagpipes; but I never heard any complaints about the insufficiency of his repertoire — none whatever. This tune was "The Campbells are Coming, Hooray — Hooray!" so he said, though his father always held that it was "The Blue Bells of Scotland." Nobody seemed quite sure what it was exactly, but they all agreed that it sounded Scotch.
Strangers were allowed three guesses, and most of them guessed a different tune each time.
Harris was disagreeable after supper, — I think it must have been the stew that had upset him: he is not used to high living, — so George and I left him in the boat, and settled to go for a mouch round Henley. He said he should have a glass of whisky and a pipe, and fix things up for the night. We were to shout when we returned, and he would row over from the island and fetch us.
"Don't go to sleep, old man (не засни, старина)," we said as we started (сказали мы, отправляясь в путь).
"Not much fear of that while this stew's on (попробуй засни: «не много опасения из-за этого», пока это рагу действует)," he grunted, as he pulled back to the island (проворчал он, гребя обратно к острову).
