美国语文第五册 第241期:最好的复仇(2)

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　　Mr. William Grant was there alone, and his first words to the delinquent³ were, “Shut the door, sir!” sternly uttered.  威廉·格兰特先生独自在办公室里，“关上门，先生。”他对品行低劣者开口说出第一句话，话语相当严厉。

　　The door was shut, and the libeler stood trembling before the libeled.  门关上了，那位诽谤者颤抖地站在受害人面前，

　　He told his tale and produced his certificate, which was instantly clutched by the injured merchant.  他说出了此行目的，拿出了他的商业执照，遭受肆意诬陷的威廉·格兰特先生很快抓住了这份执照，

　　“You wrote a pamphlet against us once!” exclaimed Mr. Grant.  “你写过宣传册恶意诬陷我们！”格兰特先生尖声高叫起来。

　　The suppliant⁴ expected to see his parchment thrown into the fire. But this was not its destination.  那位哀求者原以为那份羊皮文稿的执照文本会被扔进火里，但事情结局大出所料，

　　Mr. Grant took a pen, and writing something upon the document, handed it back to the bankrupt.  格兰特先生取出一支笔，在文件上写下几个字，然后将其递交与那位破产者。

　　He, poor wretch⁵, expected to see “rogue, scoundrel, libeler,” inscribed⁶;  那位可怜的穷光蛋仍然认为会看见“流氓、无赖或诽谤者”诸如此类字样出现在文件上，

　　but there was, in fair round characters, the signature of the firm.  万万没想到，他竟然看到了字体圆润的格兰特公司签名。

　　“We make it a rule,” said Mr. Grant, “我们立下规则，”格兰特先生说，

　　never to refuse signing the certificate of an honest tradesman, and we have never heard that you were anything else. 绝不会拒绝为诚信的商人签署证书，我们从未听说你有什么不可以。

　　The tears started into the poor man’s eyes.  眼泪涌入那位可怜人眼眶。

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