Илья Франк - Английский язык с В. Ирвингом. Рип ван Винкль

He would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil, and was a foremost man at all country frolics for husking Indian corn, or building stone-fences; the women of the village, too, used to employ him to run their errands, and to do such little odd jobs as their less obliging husbands would not do for them. In a word Rip was ready to attend to anybody's business but his own; but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible.

In fact (на самом деле: «фактически»), he declared it was of no use to work on his farm (он заявлял, /что/ было бесполезно работать на своей ферме: «не было никакой пользы в том, чтобы работать»); it was the most pestilent little piece of ground in the whole country (это был самый бесполезный маленький кусочек земли во всей стране; pestilent [‘pestIlqnt] — ядовитый; тлетворный; наносящий ущерб; в двусложных и многосложных прилагательных сравнительная степень выражается прибавлением more, а превосходная — most к прилагательным в начальной форме ); every thing about it went wrong (все, что его касалось, не удавалось: «выходило неправильно»), and would go wrong (и не будет удаваться; would — здесь используется для выражения будущего в прошедшем ), in spite of him (несмотря на него). His fences were continually falling to pieces (его заборы постоянно разваливались на части; continually [kqn’tInju:qlI] — ежеминутно; непрерывно ); his cow would either go astray (его корова либо сбивалась с пути; to go astray [qst’reI] — заблудиться ), or get among the cabbages (или забиралась в капусту); weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else (сорняки наверняка росли быстрее на его полях, чем где-либо еще); the rain always made a point of setting in just (дождь всегда собирался зарядить как раз тогда) as he had some out-door work to do (когда он должен был сделать работу снаружи) so that though his patrimonial estate had dwindled away under his management (таким образом, хотя его отеческое поместье сокращалось под его управлением; patrimonial [,pxtrI’mqVnjql] — наследственный, потомственный ), acre by acre (акр за акром; acre ['eIkq] — акр, мера площади = 0,4 га ), until there was little more left (до тех пор, пока не осталось немногим больше: «пока там было немного больше остававшимся») than a mere patch of Indian corn and potatoes (чем просто клочок кукурузы и картофеля), yet it was the worst conditioned farm in the neighborhood (все же это была самая плохо ухоженная ферма в округе; bad [bxd] — worse [wq:s] — worst [wq:st] — плохой; у этого прилагательного степени сравнения образованы от другого корня ).

In fact, he declared it was of no use to work on his farm; it was the most pestilent little piece of ground in the whole country; every thing about it went wrong, and would go wrong, in spite of him. His fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray, or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else; the rain always made a point of setting in just as he had some out-door work to do; so that though his patrimonial estate had dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until there was little more left than a mere patch of Indian corn and potatoes, yet it was the worst conditioned farm in the neighborhood.

His children, too (его дети тоже), were as ragged and wild (были такими оборванными и растрепанными; wild [waIld] — дикий; своенравный; растрепанный ) as if they belonged to nobody (как будто они никому не принадлежали). His son Rip (его сын Рип), an urchin begotten in his own likeness (мальчишка, порожденный по его собственному подобию; urchin [‘q:tSIn] — еж; мальчишка, пострел; to beget [bI’get] — begot [[bI’gOt]] — begotten [bI’gOtn] — производить; рождать ), promised to inherit the habits (обещал наследовать /его/ привычки), with the old clothes of his father (вместе со старой одеждой своего отца). He was generally seen (обычно видели, как он: «он обычно был виден») trooping like a colt at his mother's heels (бегущим, как жеребенок, по пятам матери; to troop [tru:p] — строить/ся/; направлять/ся/; ходить строем ), equipped in a pair of his father's cast-off galligaskins (снаряженным в пару отцовских поношенных широких штанов; cast-off [kQ:st Of] — ненужный; использованный; to cast [kQ:st] — cast — cast — бросать; отдавать; направлять; galligaskins [,gx lI’gxskInz] — широкие штаны /XVI-XVII вв./ ), which he had much ado to hold up with one hand (которые ему приходилось с большим трудом придерживать одной рукой ; ado [q’du:] — беспокойство; затруднение ), as a fine lady does her train in bad weather (как светская дама придерживает своей шлейф в плохую погоду; train [treIn] — поезд; шлейф ). Rip Van Winkle, however (Рип ван Винкль, однако), was one of those happy mortals (был одним из тех счастливых смертных), of foolish, well-oiled dispositions (глупого, покладистого: «хорошо-смазанного» нрава), who take the world easy (который принимает мир легко), eat white bread or brown (ест белый хлеб или черный: «коричневый»), whichever can be got with least thought or trouble (который можно достать с наименьшей мыслью или трудностью), and would rather starve on a penny (и будет скорее голодать на пенни) than work for a pound (чем работать за фунт).

His children, too, were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to nobody. His son Rip, an urchin begotten in his own likeness, promised to inherit the habits, with the old clothes of his father. He was generally seen trooping like a colt at his mother's heels, equipped in a pair of his father's cast-off galligaskins, which he had much ado to hold up with one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad weather. Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound.

If left to himself (если /он/ оставался наедине с собой; to leave [li:v] — left [left] — left — оставлять, покидать ), he would have whistled life away in perfect contentment (он, бывало, просвистывал жизнь в прекрасном довольстве); but his wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness (но его жена продолжала постоянно жужжать в его уши о его безделье; to din [dIn] — шуметь; надоедать, настойчиво повторять ), his carelessness (его беспечности: «беззаботности»; care [kFq] — забота, уход ), and the ruin he was bringing on his family (и упадке/крахе, /который/ он навлекает на семью). Morning, noon, and night (утром, днем и вечером/ ночью), her tongue was incessantly going (ее язык непрерывно двигался; incessantly [In’sesntlI] — непрерывно, непрестанно ), and every thing he said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence (и все: «каждая вещь», /что/ он говорил или делал, непременно производила поток домашнего красноречия; eloquence [‘elqVkw(q)ns] — красноречие, ораторское искусство ). Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of the kind (Рип имел один способ отвечать на все проповеди этого рода), and that, by frequent use (и это из-за частого использования; frequent [‘fri:kwqnt] — частый ), had grown into a habit (переросло в привычку; to grow [grqV] — grew [gru:] — grown [grqVn] — расти; становиться ). He shrugged his shoulders (он пожимал плечами), shook his head (тряс своей головой; to shake [SeIk] — shook [SVk] — shaken [SeIkn] — трясти, дрожать ), cast up his eyes ( закатывал свои глаза ), but said nothing (но ничего не говорил ; to say [seI] — said [sed] — said — сказать ). This, however (это, однако), always provoked a fresh volley from his wife (всегда провоцировало новый залп от его жены); so that he was fain to draw off his forces (таким образом, он был вынужден уводить свои войска; to draw [drO:] — drew [dru:] — drawn [drO:n] — тащить, тянуть ), and take to the outside of the house (и отправляться за пределы дома; to take [teIk] — took [tVk] — taken [teIkn] — брать; отправляться /дорогой/ ) — the only side which, in truth (к единственной стороне, которая, по правде), belongs to a hen-pecked husband (принадлежит забитому: «подкаблучному» мужу).

If left to himself, he would have whistled life away in perfect contentment; but his wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family. Morning, noon, and night, her tongue was incessantly going, and every thing he said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of the kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This, however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife; so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the house — the only side which, in truth, belongs to a hen-pecked husband.