H. Wells - Английский язык с Гербертом Уэллсом. Машина Времени

quaintly [`kweIntlI], chequered [`Cekqd], gesture [`GesCq]

'As they made no effort to communicate with me, but simply stood round me smiling and speaking in soft cooing notes to each other, I began the conversation. I pointed to the Time Machine and to myself. Then hesitating for a moment how to express time, I pointed to the sun. At once a quaintly pretty little figure in chequered purple and white followed my gesture, and then astonished me by imitating the sound of thunder.

'For a moment I was staggered (на мгновение я был ошеломлен; to stagger — шататься; ошеломлять, ставитьвтупик ), though the import of his gesture was plain enough (хотя смысл жеста был вполне ясен; import — импорт, ввоз/товаров/; смысл, суть ). The question had come into my mind abruptly (вдруг в моей голове возник вопрос): were these creatures fools (не дураки ли эти существа)? You may hardly understand how it took me (вы едва ли поймете, как это поразило меня). You see I had always anticipated that the people of the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand odd would be incredibly in front of us in knowledge, art, everything (видите ли, я всегда полагал, что люди в восемьсот две тысячи каком-то году будут невообразимо впереди нас в знаниях, искусстве — во всем; to anticipate — ожидать, предвидеть; odd — нечетный; превышающий /сумму или количество/, добавочный ). Then one of them suddenly asked me a question (и вдруг один из них задает мне вопрос) that showed him to be on the intellectual level of one of our five-year-old children (показывающий, что он находится на умственном уровне нашего пятилетнего ребенка)—asked me, in fact, if I had come from the sun in a thunderstorm (он всерьез спрашивает меня, не упал ли я с солнца во время грозы)! It let loose the judgment I had suspended upon their clothes (это позволило освободить суждение, которое я отложил, по поводу их одежды; to loose — освобождать; to suspend — вешать, подвешивать; откладывать, прекращать/временно/ ), their frail light limbs (хрупких легких конечностей), and fragile features (и тонких черт лица). A flow of disappointment rushed across my mind (волна разочарования пронеслась через мое сознание; to rush — нестись, мчаться ). For a moment I felt that I had built the Time Machine in vain (на мгновение я подумал, что построил Машину Времени напрасно; in vain — напрасно, тщетно ).

loose [lHs], suspend [sqs`pend], limb [lIm]

'For a moment I was staggered, though the import of his gesture was plain enough. The question had come into my mind abruptly: were these creatures fools? You may hardly understand how it took me. You see I had always anticipated that the people of the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand odd would be incredibly in front of us in knowledge, art, everything. Then one of them suddenly asked me a question that showed him to be on the intellectual level of one of our five-year-old children—asked me, in fact, if I had come from the sun in a thunderstorm! It let loose the judgment I had suspended upon their clothes, their frail light limbs, and fragile features. A flow of disappointment rushed across my mind. For a moment I felt that I had built the Time Machine in vain.

'I nodded, pointed to the sun (я кивнул головой и указал на солнце), and gave them such a vivid rendering of a thunderclap as startled them (и предоставил им такое яркое изображение грома, что испугал их: «которое испугало их»; to render — отдавать, воздавать; представлять, изображать ). They all withdrew a pace or so and bowed (они все отскочили /от меня/ на шаг или два и согнулись; tobow— гнуться, сгибаться ). Then came one laughing towards me (но затем один, смеясь, подошел ко мне), carrying a chain of beautiful flowers altogether new to me (неся гирлянду чудесных цветов, совершенно неизвестных мне; chain— цепь, цепочка; зд. гирлянда ), and put it about my neck (и надел ее мне на шею). The idea was received with melodious applause (идея была принята под мелодичные одобрительные возгласы; applause— аплодисменты; одобрение, похвала ); and presently they were all running to and fro for flowers (и теперь все бегали туда и себя и /рвали/ цветы), and laughingly flinging them upon me until I was almost smothered with blossom (и, смеясь, кидали их на меня, пока я не начал почти задыхаться от /этого/; tosmother— задыхаться ; blossom— цвет, цветение ).

bow [bau], applause [q`plLz], smother [`smADq]

'I nodded, pointed to the sun, and gave them such a vivid rendering of a thunderclap as startled them. They all withdrew a pace or so and bowed. Then came one laughing towards me, carrying a chain of beautiful flowers altogether new to me, and put it about my neck. The idea was received with melodious applause; and presently they were all running to and fro for flowers, and laughingly flinging them upon me until I was almost smothered with blossom.

'You who have never seen the like (вы, никогда не видевшие ничего подобного), can scarcely imagine (вряд ли можете представить себе), what delicate and wonderful flowers countless years of culture had created (какие нежные и чудесные цветы создали бесчисленные годы /развития/ культуры). Then someone suggested that their plaything should be exhibited in the nearest building (затем кто-то подал мысль, что их игрушка должна быть выставлена в ближайшем здании; to exhibit — выставлять/напоказ/ ), and so I was led past the sphinx of white marble (и они повели меня мимо Сфинкса из белого мрамора; to lead ), which had seemed to watch me all the while with a smile at my astonishment (который, казалось, все время наблюдал за мной, улыбаясь моему изумлению), towards a vast grey edifice of fretted stone (к громадному серому строению из покрытого трещинами камня; edifice — крупное, величественноездание, строение/храм, дворец, замок/; to fret — разъедать, ржаветь, истрепать ). As I went with them (когда я шел с ними), the memory of my confident anticipations of a profoundly grave and intellectual posterity came, with irresistible merriment, to my mind (воспоминание о моих самоуверенных предположениях относительно чрезвычайно серьезных и интеллектуально развитых последующих поколений с неудержимым весельем пришло мне на ум; posterity — последующиепоколения; to resist — противостоять, удерживаться/отчего-либо/ ).

delicate [`delIkIt], edifice [`edIfIs], posterity [pOs`terItI]

'You who have never seen the like can scarcely imagine what delicate and wonderful flowers countless years of culture had created. Then someone suggested that their plaything should be exhibited in the nearest building, and so I was led past the sphinx of white marble, which had seemed to watch me all the while with a smile at my astonishment, towards a vast grey edifice of fretted stone. As I went with them the memory of my confident anticipations of a profoundly grave and intellectual posterity came, with irresistible merriment, to my mind.

'The building had a huge entry (здание имело огромный вход), and was altogether of colossal dimensions (да и все оно было колоссальных размеров). I was naturally most occupied with the growing crowd of little people (я, конечно, был занят = синтересомрассматривал растущую толпу маленьких людей; to occupy — занимать, арендовать; занимать/мысли, ум/ ), and with the big open portals that yawned before me shadowy and mysterious (и большой открытый вход, который зиял передо мной, темный и таинственный; to yawn — зевать; зиять ). My general impression of the world I saw over their heads (моим общим впечатлением от /окружающего/ мира, который я видел над их головами), was a tangled waste of beautiful bushes and flowers, a long neglected and yet weedless garden (было пространство, густо заросшее красивыми кустами и цветами, /словно/ давно запущенный, но все еще не /тронутый/ сорняками сад; to tangle — запутывать/ся/; зд. густозарастать; to neglect — незаботиться; запускать; weed — сорнаятрава, сорняк ). I saw a number of tall spikes of strange white flowers (я видел высокие стебли странных белых цветов; spike — острие; колос/бот./; зд. стебель ), measuring a foot perhaps across the spread of the waxen petals (они были около фута по ширине восковых = имеющихвосковойоттенок лепестков; to measure — измерять; spread — распространение; ширина ). They grew scattered, as if wild, among the variegated shrubs (они росли рассеянно, как будто бы дико, среди разнообразных кустарников; to scatter — разбрасывать; рассеивать/ся/ ), but, as I say, I did not examine them closely at this time (но, как я говорю, я не мог рассмотреть их близко в то время). The Time Machine was left deserted on the turf among the rhododendrons (Машина Времени осталась без присмотра на дерне среди рододендронов; deserted — заброшенный; покинутый ).

entry [`entrI], crowd [kraud], yawn [jLn], variegated [`veqrIgeItId]

'The building had a huge entry, and was altogether of colossal dimensions. I was naturally most occupied with the growing crowd of little people, and with the big open portals that yawned before me shadowy and mysterious. My general impression of the world I saw over their heads was a tangled waste of beautiful bushes and flowers, a long neglected and yet weedless garden. I saw a number of tall spikes of strange white flowers, measuring a foot perhaps across the spread of the waxen petals. They grew scattered, as if wild, among the variegated shrubs, but, as I say, I did not examine them closely at this time. The Time Machine was left deserted on the turf among the rhododendrons.