Английский язык с У. С. Моэмом. Мистер Всезнайка. Рассказы / W. S. Maugham. Mr. Know-All. Stories

It almost looked as though at the last moment, and desperate though his situation was, he had suffered from a certain infirmity of purpose. Wilson was taken to the hospital, and though very ill for some time he at last recovered. But as a result either of the charcoal poisoning or of the shock he was no longer in complete possession of his faculties. He was not insane, at all events not insane enough to be put in an asylum, but he was quite obviously no longer in his right mind.

"I went to see him (я навестил его)," said my friend. "I tried to get him to talk (я попытался разговорить его; to get to do smth. — разг. начинатьделатьчто-либо), but he kept looking at me in a funny sort of way (но он все время смотрел на меня как-то странно), as though he couldn’t quite make out where he’d seen me before (словно он не вполне мог решить, где он видел меня раньше; to make out — составлять; понять, разобраться). He looked rather awful lying there in bed (лежа в постели в лечебнице: «там», он выглядел довольно ужасно; to look — смотреть; иметьвид, выглядеть; to lie), with a week’s growth of grey beard on his chin (с недельной седой щетиной на подбородке; growth — рост, развитие; щетина; grey — серый; седой; beard — борода); but except for that funny look in his eyes he seemed quite normal (но за исключением того странного взгляда в глазах, он казался вполне нормальным; funny — смешной, забавный; странный, тронувшийся, чудной)."

"What funny look in his eyes (какого странного взгляда в глазах)?"

awful ['O: f(q)l], growth [grquT], beard [bIqd]

"I went to see him," said my friend. "I tried to get him to talk, but he kept looking at me in a funny sort of way, as though he couldn’t quite make out where he’d seen me before. He looked rather awful lying there in bed, with a week’s growth of grey beard on his chin; but except for that funny look in his eyes he seemed quite normal."

"What funny look in his eyes?"

"I don’t know exactly how to describe it (я точно не знаю, как его описать). Puzzled (озадаченный). It’s an absurd comparison (это нелепое сравнение), but suppose you threw a stone up into the air (но представьте, что вы подбросили камень /в воздух/) and it didn’t come down but just stayed there (а он не упал, а так и остался там /в воздухе/)…"

"It would be rather bewildering (это было бы очень озадачивающим)," I smiled (улыбнулся я).

"Well, that’s the sort of look he had (что ж, именно такой взгляд у него и был)."

absurd [qb'sWd], comparison [kqm'pxrIs(q)n], bewilder [bI'wIldq]

"I don’t know exactly how to describe it. Puzzled. It’s an absurd comparison, but suppose you threw a stone up into the air and it didn’t come down but just stayed there…"

"It would be rather bewildering," I smiled.

"Well, that’s the sort of look he had."