一、课文内容

Lesson 40 Food and talk
Last week at a dinner party, the hostess asked me to sit next to Mrs. Rumbold.
Mrs. Rumbold was a large, unsmiling lady in a tight black dress.
She did not even look up when I took my seat beside her.
Her eyes were fixed on her plate and in a short time, she was busy eating.
I tried to make conversation.
'A new play is coming to "The Globe" soon,' I said. 'Will you be seeing it?' 'No,' she answered.
'Will you be spending your holidays abroad this year?' I asked.
'No,' she answered.
'Will you be staying in England?' I asked.
'No,' she answered.
In despair, I asked her whether she was enjoying her dinner.
'Young man,' she answered, 'if you ate more and talked less, we would both enjoy our dinner!'

二、课文译文

在上星期的一次宴会上，女主人安排我坐在兰伯尔德夫人的身旁。兰伯尔德夫人是一位身材高大、表情严肃的女人，穿一件紧身的黑衣服。
当我在她身旁坐下来的时候，她甚至连头都没有抬一下。
她的眼睛盯着自己的盘子，不一会儿就忙着吃起来了。
我试图找个话题和她聊聊。 “一出新剧要来‘环球剧场’上演了，”我说，“您去看吗？” “不，”她回答。
“您今年去国外度假吗？”我又问。 “不，”她回答。 “您就呆在英国吗？”我问。 “不，”她回答。
失望之中我问她饭是否吃得满意。 “年轻人，”她回答说，“如果你多吃点，少说点，我们两个都会吃得好的！”