It must be disheartening work learning a musical instrument (должно быть, непростое занятие — учиться играть на музыкальном инструменте; to dishearten — приводить в уныние, сломить волю, дух, обескуражить). You would think that Society, for its own sake (вы бы подумали = казалось бы, что общество — ради себя самого), would do all it could to assist a man to acquire the art of playing a musical instrument (должно бы делать все, что может, чтобы помочь человеку овладеть искусством игры на музыкальном инструменте; to acquire — получать, приобретать, овладевать). But it doesn't (но нет)!

sympathy ['sImp@TI] society [s@'saI@tI]

He seemed to lose heart in the business after that. He did make one or two feeble efforts to take up the work again when the six months had elapsed, but there was always the same coldness — the same want of sympathy on the part of the world to fight against; and, after a while, he despaired altogether, and advertised the instrument for sale at a great sacrifice — "owner having no further use for same" — and took to learning card tricks instead.

It must be disheartening work learning a musical instrument. You would think that Society, for its own sake, would do all it could to assist a man to acquire the art of playing a musical instrument. But it doesn't!

I knew a young fellow once, who was studying to play the bagpipes (я знал одного молодого человека, который учился играть на волынке), and you would be surprised at the amount of opposition he had to contend with (вы были бы удивлены, с каким противодействием ему приходилось бороться; amount — величина, количество). Why, not even from the members of his own family did he receive what you could call active encouragement (даже от членов своей собственной семьи он не получал, что называется, активной поддержки; encouragement — ободрение, поддержка, поощрение). His father was dead against the business from the beginning (его отец был решительно против этого занятия с самого начала), and spoke quite unfeelingly on the subject (и говорил весьма жестоко по этому вопросу = о нем; unfeeling — бесчувственный, жестокий).

My friend used to get up early in the morning to practice (мой приятель вставал рано утром, чтобы упражняться), but he had to give that plan up, because of his sister (но ему пришлось отказаться от такого графика из-за своей сестры). She was somewhat religiously inclined, and she said it seemed such an awful thing to begin the day like that (она была довольно религиозной и сказала, что безбожно начинать день таким образом; inclined — расположенный, склонный к; awful — страшный, ужасный; безбожный, внушающий страх, благоговение).

receive [rI'si:v] active ['&ktIv] religiously [rI'lIdZ@slI]

I knew a young fellow once, who was studying to play the bagpipes, and you would be surprised at the amount of opposition he had to contend with. Why, not even from the members of his own family did he receive what you could call active encouragement. His father was dead against the business from the beginning, and spoke quite unfeelingly on the subject.

My friend used to get up early in the morning to practise, but he had to give that plan up, because of his sister. She was somewhat religiously inclined, and she said it seemed such an awful thing to begin the day like that.

So he sat up at night instead, and played after the family had gone to bed, but that did not do (тогда он вместо этого /стал/ засиживаться до /поздней/ ночи и играть после того, как вся семья ложилась спать, но из этого ничего не вышло), as it got the house such a bad name (поскольку это принесло дому столь дурную славу). People, going home late, would stop outside to listen (люди, шедшие поздно домой, останавливались /снаружи/ послушать), and then put it about all over the town, the next morning, that a fearful murder had been committed at Mr. Jefferson's the night before (а затем рассказывали по всему городу на следующее утро, что страшное убийство было совершено в доме мистера Джефферсона прошлой ночью; to put about — распространять /слухи и т.д./); and would describe how they had heard the victim's shrieks (рассказывали, как слышали крики жертвы; to describe — описывать, рассказывать) and the brutal oaths and curses of the murderer, followed by the prayer for mercy (и грубые ругательства и проклятия убийцы, за которыми последовала мольба о пощаде; prayer — молитва; мольба, просьба; mercy — милосердие; жалость, сострадание), and the last dying gurgle of the corpse (и последний предсмертный хрип /трупа/; gurgle — журчание, бульканье).

So they let him practise in the day-time, in the back-kitchen with all the doors shut (поэтому ему позволили заниматься в дневное время на кухне, закрыв все двери); but his more successful passages could generally be heard in the sitting-room, in spite of these precautions (но его наиболее удачные пассажи, как правило, могли быть слышны в гостиной, несмотря на эти меры предосторожности), and would affect his mother almost to tears (и волновали его мать почти до слез; to affect — подвергать физическому воздействию; волновать, затрагивать, задевать).

listen ['lIs(@)n] precaution [prI'kO:S(@)n]

So he sat up at night instead, and played after the family had gone to bed, but that did not do, as it got the house such a bad name. People, going home late, would stop outside to listen, and then put it about all over the town, the next morning, that a fearful murder had been committed at Mr. Jefferson's the night before; and would describe how they had heard the victim's shrieks and the brutal oaths and curses of the murderer, followed by the prayer for mercy, and the last dying gurgle of the corpse.