. There are so many ghosts about, and their silent sighs make us feel so sad (вокруг так много призраков, и их беззвучные вздохи нагоняют на нас большую грусть: «заставляют нас чувствовать себя столь грустными»). Let us gather together in the great cities, and light huge bonfires of a million gas-jets (давайте же соберемся вместе в огромных городах, зажжем громадные костры из миллионов газовых рожков; gas-jet — газовый рожок, горелка), and shout and sing together, and feel brave (и /будем/ кричать и петь вместе, и чувствовать себя смелыми; brave — мужественный, смелый, храбрый).
frightened ['fraItnd] rustle [rVsl]
We are creatures of the sun, we men and women. We love light and life. That is why we crowd into the towns and cities, and the country grows more and more deserted every year. In the sunlight — in the daytime, when Nature is alive and busy all around us, we like the open hill-sides and the deep woods well enough: but in the night, when our Mother Earth has gone to sleep, and left us waking, oh! the world seems so lonesome, and we get frightened, like children in a silent house. Then we sit and sob, and long for the gas-lit streets, and the sound of human voices, and the answering throb of human life. We feel so helpless and so little in the great stillness, when the dark trees rustle in the night-wind. There are so many ghosts about, and their silent sighs make us feel so sad. Let us gather together in the great cities, and light huge bonfires of a million gas-jets, and shout and sing together, and feel brave.
Harris asked me if I'd ever been in the maze at Hampton Court (Гаррис спросил, был ли я когда-нибудь в лабиринте в Хэмптон-Корте). He said he went in once to show somebody else the way (он сказал, что входил туда однажды, чтобы показать кому-то дорогу; to show the way — провести, показать дорогу). He had studied it up in a map, and it was so simple that it seemed foolish (он изучил его по карте, и он /лабиринт/ был таким простым, что казался глупым = был до глупости простым; map — карта, план) — hardly worth the twopence charged for admission (едва ли стоило платить два пенса за вход; to charge for — платить за). Harris said he thought that map must have been got up as a practical joke (сказал, что подумал, будто карту, должно быть, издали ради шутки; to get up — вставать; подготавливать, осуществлять; оформлять /книгу/; practical joke — /грубая/ шутка, розыгрыш), because it wasn't a bit like the real thing, and only misleading (потому что она ничуть не была похожа на настоящую вещь = на лабиринт, и только сбивала с толку; to mislead — вводить в заблуждение, обманывать). It was a country cousin that Harris took in (Гаррис взял с собой /в лабиринт/ одного родственника из провинции; country cousin — родственник из провинции, смотрящий круглыми глазами на город и городскую жизнь; cousin — кузен, кузина; родственник). He said:
"We'll just go in here, so that you can say you've been, but it's very simple (мы только зайдем сюда, чтобы ты мог сказать, что был /в лабиринте/, но он очень простой). It's absurd to call it a maze (нелепо называть его лабиринтом). You keep on taking the first turning to the right (все время сворачивай направо; to keep on — продолжать). We'll just walk round for ten minutes, and then go and get some lunch (мы прогуляемся десять минут, а потом пойдем позавтракаем)."
They met some people soon after they had got inside (они встретили людей вскоре после того, как попали внутрь; to meet), who said they had been there for three-quarters of an hour, and had had about enough of it (которые сказали, что находятся здесь три четверти часа, и с них хватит). Harris told them they could follow him, if they liked (Гаррис сказал им, они могут последовать за ним, если хотят); he was just going in, and then should turn round and come out again (он только вошел, и сейчас развернется и выйдет снова). They said it was very kind of him, and fell behind, and followed (они сказали, это очень любезно с его стороны, и пристроились за ним, и пошли следом; to fall behind — отставать).
cousin ['kVz(@)n] charged [tSA:dZd]
Harris asked me if I'd ever been in the maze at Hampton Court. He said he went in once to show somebody else the way. He had studied it up in a map, and it was so simple that it seemed foolish — hardly worth the twopence charged for admission. Harris said he thought that map must have been got up as a practical joke, because it wasn't a bit like the real thing, and only misleading. It was a country cousin that Harris took in. He said:
"We'll just go in here, so that you can say you've been, but it's very simple. It's absurd to call it a maze. You keep on taking the first turning to the right. We'll just walk round for ten minutes, and then go and get some lunch."
They met some people soon after they had got inside, who said they had been there for three-quarters of an hour, and had had about enough of it. Harris told them they could follow him, if they liked; he was just going in, and then should turn round and come out again. They said it was very kind of him, and fell behind, and followed.
They picked up various other people who wanted to get it over, as they went along (пока шли = по дороге они подобрали многих других людей, которые хотели выбраться оттуда; various — различный, разный; многие; to get over — перейти; преодолеть /трудности/, разделаться с чем-либо; to go along — двигаться вперед /по дороге, улице и т.д./), until they had absorbed all the persons in the maze (пока не поглотили всех, /кто находился/ в лабиринте). People who had given up all hopes of ever getting either in or out (люди, которые оставили все надежды когда-либо войти или выйти), or of ever seeing their home and friends again (или когда-либо увидеть снова свой дом и друзей), plucked up courage at the sight of Harris and his party (воспрянули духом при виде Гарриса и его компании; to pluck up courage — собраться с духом, набраться храбрости; party — отряд, команда, группа, партия), and joined the procession, blessing him (и присоединились к процессии/шествию, благословляя его). Harris said he should judge there must have been twenty people, following him, in all (Гаррис сказал, по его оценке, за ним следовало, должно быть, в общей сложности двадцать человек; to judge — судить; полагать, оценивать); and one woman with a baby, who had been there all the morning (и одна женщина с ребенком, которая пробыла там все утро), insisted on taking his arm, for fear of losing him (настаивала на том, чтобы взять его за руку, опасаясь потерять его; for fear of — из боязни; опасаясь; чтобы не).
Harris kept on turning to the right, but it seemed a long way (Гаррис продолжал сворачивать направо, но, казалось, это был длинный путь = идти было далеко), and his cousin said he supposed it was a very big maze (и его родственник сказал, наверно, это очень большой лабиринт).
"Oh, one of the largest in Europe (один из самых больших в Европе)," said Harris.
"Yes, it must be (да, должно быть)," replied the cousin (ответил родственник), "because we've walked a good two miles already (потому что мы уже прошли добрых две мили)."
absorbed [@b'zO:bd] courage ['kVrIdZ]
They picked up various other people who wanted to get it over, as they went along, until they had absorbed all the persons in the maze. People who had given up all hopes of ever getting either in or out, or of ever seeing their home and friends again, plucked up courage at the sight of Harris and his party, and joined the procession, blessing him. Harris said he should judge there must have been twenty people, following him, in all; and one woman with a baby, who had been there all the morning, insisted on taking his arm, for fear of losing him.
Harris kept on turning to the right, but it seemed a long way, and his cousin said he supposed it was a very big maze.
"Oh, one of the largest in Europe," said Harris.
"Yes, it must be," replied the cousin, "because we've walked a good two miles already."
Harris began to think it rather strange himself (Гаррис и сам начал думать, что это довольно странно), but he held on until, at last, they passed the half of a penny bun on the ground (но он продолжал /идти/, пока, наконец, они не прошли мимо половины булочки стоимостью один пенс, /валявшейся/ на земле; to hold on — продолжать делать что-либо, упорствовать в чем-либо; bun — сдобная булочка с изюмом) that Harris's cousin swore he had noticed there seven minutes ago (которую родственник Гарриса, как он утверждал, заметил там семь минут назад; to swear — клясться, присягать, заявлять под присягой). Harris said: "Oh, impossible (невозможно)!" but the woman with the baby said, "Not at all (вовсе нет)," as she herself had taken it from the child (поскольку она сама забрала ее у своего ребенка; to take from), and thrown it down there, just before she met Harris (и бросила там как раз перед тем, как встретила Гарриса; to throw-threw-thrown; to meet). She also added that she wished she never had met Harris (она также добавила, что желает, чтобы никогда не встречала Гарриса = жалеет, что встретила его), and expressed an opinion that he was an impostor (и выразила мнение, что он обманщик). That made Harris mad, and he produced his map, and explained his theory (это взбесило Гарриса, он предъявил карту и объяснил свою теорию).
"The map may be all right enough (карта, может быть, в порядке)," said one of the party (сказал кто-то из группы), "if you know whereabouts in it we are now (если знаешь местонахождение на ней = где мы сейчас находимся)