As time went on (время шло;
he began to act less frequently (и он начал играть реже: «менее часто»). He
found himself much more interested in management (он обнаружил, что ему
гораздо интереснее управление театром;
"I want to run my theatre (я хочу управлять своим театром) in as business-like
way as a city office (по-деловому, практично, как офисом, /расположенным/ в
Сити)," he said.
hesitate ['hezIteIt] conceit [kqn'si:t] cleverness ['klevqnIs]
Meanwhile it was convenient to have the house near Guildford to go to
whenever they wished. It saved the expense of having a country house of their
own. The third play was a winner, and Michael did not hesitate to point out
how right he had been. He spoke as though he was directly responsible for its
success. Julia could almost have wished that it had failed like the others in
order to take him down a peg or two. For his conceit was outrageous. Of
course you had to admit that he had a sort of cleverness, shrewdness rather,
but he was not nearly so clever as he thought himself. There was nothing in
229
which he did not think that he knew better than anybody else.
As time went on he began to act less frequently. He found himself much more
interested in management.
"I want to run my theatre in as business-like way as a city office," he said.
And he felt (и он чувствовал) that he could more profitably spend his evenings
(что он может с большей выгодой проводить свои вечера), when Julia was
acting (когда Джулия играла /на сцене/), by going to outlying theatres
(отправляясь в расположенные на окраинах театры;
отыскать талант: «и пытаться открыть талант»). He kept a little book (у него
была маленькая книжица) in which he made a note (в которой он делал
пометки) of every actor who seemed to show promise (о каждом актере,
который, как казалось, подавал надежды;
(его всегда раздражало) that directors should ask so much money (что
режиссеры требуют такие большие деньги) for rehearsing a play (за
постановку: «репетицию» спектакля), and of late (и недавно) some of them
(некоторые из них) had even insisted on a percentage on the gross (даже
настаивали на /получении/ процентного вознаграждения от сборов: «валовой
выручки»). At last an occasion came (в конце концов, появилась возможность)
when the two directors Julia liked best (когда два режиссера, которые больше
всего нравились Джулии) were engaged (были /уже/ заняты) and the only other
one she trusted (и единственный оставшийся: «другой», которому она
доверяла) was acting (был занят как актер) and thus could not give them all his
time (и, таким образом, не мог работать с ними все свое время: «не мог дать
им все его время»).
profitably ['prOfItqblI] grizzle ['grIz(q)l] insist [In'sIst] percentage [pq'sentIdZ]
230
And he felt that he could more profitably spend his evenings, when Julia was
acting, by going to outlying theatres and trying to find talent. He kept a little
book in which he made a note of every actor who seemed to show promise.
Then he had taken to directing. It had always grizzled him that directors