BEFORE THE CURTAIN

开幕以前的几句话

 

As the manager of the Performance sits before the curtain on the boards and looks into the Fair, a feeling of profound melancholy comes over him in his survey of the bustling place.

领班的坐在戏台上幌子前面，对着底下闹哄哄的市场，瞧了半晌，心里不觉悲惨起来。

 

There is a great quantity of eating and drinking, making love and jilting, laughing and the contrary, smoking, cheating, fighting, dancing and fiddling;

市场上的人有的在吃喝，有的在调情，有的得了新宠就丢了旧爱；有在笑的，也有在哭的，还有在抽烟的，打架的，跳舞的，拉提琴的，诓骗哄人的。

--[intransitive] to play a violin

 

 

there are bullies pushing about, bucks ogling the women, knaves picking pockets, policemen on the look-out, quacks (OTHER quacks, plague take them!) bawling in front of their booths, and yokels looking up at the tinselled dancers and poor old rouged tumblers, while the light-fingered folk are operating upon their pockets behind. 

有些是到处横行的强梁汉子；有些是对女人飞眼儿的花花公子，也有扒儿手和到处巡逻的警察，还有走江湖吃十方的，在自己摊子前面扯起嗓子嚷嚷（这些人偏和我同行，真该死！），跳舞的穿着浑身发亮的衣服，可怜的翻斤斗老头儿涂着两腮帮子胭脂，引得那些乡下佬睁着眼瞧，不提防后面就有三只手的家伙在掏他们的口袋。

bullies--

 

Yes, this is VANITY FAIR;not a moral place certainly; nor a merry one, though very noisy.

这里虽然是个热闹去处，却是道德沦亡，说不上有什么快活。