It does not do to dwell on these things (лучше не задумываться об этих вещах; it does not do to — нехорошо, нельзя, бесполезно; to dwell on — подробно останавливаться, задерживаться); it makes one so sad (это делает печальным = от этого становится грустно).

hearty ['hA:tI] couple [kVpl]

Married men have wives, and don't seem to want them; and young single fellows cry out that they can't get them. Poor people who can hardly keep themselves have eight hearty children. Rich old couples, with no one to leave their money to, die childless.

Then there are girls with lovers. The girls that have lovers never want them. They say they would rather be without them, that they bother them, and why don't they go and make love to Miss Smith and Miss Brown, who are plain and elderly, and haven't got any lovers? They themselves don't want lovers. They never mean to marry.

It does not do to dwell on these things; it makes one so sad.

There was a boy at our school, we used to call him Sandford and Merton (был один мальчик в нашей школе, мы звали его Сэндфорд и Мертон). His real name was Stivvings (его настоящее имя было Стиввингс). He was the most extraordinary lad I ever came across (он был самым необычайным, удивительным мальчиком, /что/ я когда-либо встречал; to come across). I believe he really liked study (полагаю, он действительно любил учебу). He used to get into awful rows for sitting up in bed and reading Greek (он попадал в ужасные неприятности из-за того, что сидел в постели и читал по-гречески; row — скандал, ссора); and as for French irregular verbs there was simply no keeping him away from them (а что касается французских неправильных глаголов, то его просто нельзя было оторвать от них; to keep away — не подпускать близко). He was full of weird and unnatural notions about being a credit to his parents and an honour to the school (он был полон странных и неестественных идей насчет того, чтобы делать честь своим родителям и быть гордостью школы; unnatural — неестественный; необычный, необычайный; notion — понятие, представление, идея; credit — доверие; честь, хорошая репутация); and he yearned to win prizes, and grow up and be a clever man (и он стремился получать награды, и вырасти, и стать умным), and had all those sorts of weak-minded ideas (и /забил себе голову/ всеми теми = тому подобными дурацкими мыслями; weak-minded — слабоумный, придурковатый). I never knew such a strange creature (я никогда не знал такого = не встречал более странного создания), yet harmless, mind you, as the babe unborn (впрочем, безобидного, словно младенец; unborn — неродившийся; babe unborn — сущий младенец).

Well, that boy used to get ill about twice a week (и тот мальчик заболевал примерно дважды в неделю), so that he couldn't go to school (и поэтому не мог ходить в школу). There never was such a boy to get ill as that Sandford and Merton (не было такого мальчика, чтобы болеть = никто так не умел заболевать, как этот Сэндфорд и Мертон). If there was any known disease going within ten miles of him, he had it, and had it badly (если какая-нибудь известная болезнь появлялась в десяти милях от него, он ею заболевал, и болел тяжело). He would take bronchitis in the dog-days, and have hay-fever at Christmas (он подхватывал бронхит в разгар лета и болел сенной лихорадкой на Рождество; dog-days — самые жаркие летние дни). After a six weeks' period of drought, he would be stricken down with rheumatic fever (после шестинедельной засухи его поражал ревматизм; to strike down — свалить с ног; поразить); and he would go out in a November fog and come home with a sunstroke (он выходил /на улицу/ в ноябрьский туман и возвращался домой с солнечным ударом).

irregular [I'regjul@] weird [wI@d] honour ['On@] bronchitis [brON'kaItIs] drought [drO:t] rheumatic [ru(:)'m&tIk]

There was a boy at our school, we used to call him Sandford and Merton. His real name was Stivvings. He was the most extraordinary lad I ever came across. I believe he really liked study. He used to get into awful rows for sitting up in bed and reading Greek; and as for French irregular verbs there was simply no keeping him away from them. He was full of weird and unnatural notions about being a credit to his parents and an honour to the school; and he yearned to win prizes, and grow up and be a clever man, and had all those sorts of weak-minded ideas. I never knew such a strange creature, yet harmless, mind you, as the babe unborn.

Well, that boy used to get ill about twice a week, so that he couldn't go to school. There never was such a boy to get ill as that Sandford and Merton. If there was any known disease going within ten miles of him, he had it, and had it badly. He would take bronchitis in the dog-days, and have hay-fever at Christmas. After a six weeks' period of drought, he would be stricken down with rheumatic fever; and he would go out in a November fog and come home with a sunstroke.

They put him under laughing-gas one year, poor lad (его усыпили веселящим газом: «положили под газ» в каком-то году, беднягу), and drew all his teeth, and gave him a false set (и вырвали все его зубы, и поставили ему искусственные челюсти; to draw a tooth; false — неверный, фальшивый; set — комплект, набор), because he suffered so terribly with toothache (потому что он так ужасно страдал от зубной боли); and then it turned to neuralgia and ear-ache (потом она сменилась невралгией и ушной болью; to turn to — превращаться). He was never without a cold, except once for nine weeks while he had scarlet fever (он никогда не был без простуды, кроме /однажды/ девяти недель, пока болел скарлатиной); and he always had chilblains (и у него всегда были обморожения). During the great cholera scare of 1871 (во время большой холерной эпидемии 1871 года; scare — внезапный испуг; паника), our neighbourhood was singularly free from it (наша местность была необычно свободной от нее = нашу округу болезнь совсем не затронула). There was only one reputed case in the whole parish (был лишь один известный случай во всем приходе): that case was young Stivvings (молодой Стиввингс).

He had to stop in bed when he was ill (ему приходилось оставаться в постели, когда он болел), and eat chicken and custards and hot-house grapes (и есть цыплят, и пудинги, и виноград из оранжереи; custard — жидкий заварной крем /подается к пудингам, пирогам с фруктами и т.д./); and he would lie there and sob, because they wouldn't let him do Latin exercises (а он лежал и рыдал, потому что ему не позволяют делать латинские упражнения), and took his German grammar away from him (и забирали у него немецкую грамматику).

false [fO:ls] toothache ['tu:TeIk] chilblain ['tSIlbleIn] cholera ['kOl@r@] reputed [rI'pju:tId]

They put him under laughing-gas one year, poor lad, and drew all his teeth, and gave him a false set, because he suffered so terribly with toothache; and then it turned to neuralgia and ear-ache. He was never without a cold, except once for nine weeks while he had scarlet fever; and he always had chilblains. During the great cholera scare of 1871, our neighbourhood was singularly free from it. There was only one reputed case in the whole parish: that case was young Stivvings.

He had to stop in bed when he was ill, and eat chicken and custards and hot-house grapes; and he would lie there and sob, because they wouldn't let him do Latin exercises, and took his German grammar away from him.

And we other boys, who would have sacrificed ten terms of our school-life for the sake of being ill for a day (а мы, другие мальчишки, которые пожертвовали бы десять четвертей нашей школьной жизни ради того, чтобы проболеть один день; term — срок, определенный период; семестр, триместр), and had no desire whatever to give our parents any excuse for being stuck-up about us (и не имели никакого желания давать нашим родителям повод гордиться нами; stuck-up — высокомерный, самодовольный), couldn't catch so much as a stiff neck (не могли даже застудить шею; stiff neck — кривошея; stiff — жесткий, негибкий). We fooled about in draughts (мы играли на сквозняке; to fool about — играть, забавляться; дурачиться), and it did us good, and freshened us up (и это приносило нам пользу, и освежало нас); and we took things to make us sick, and they made us fat, and gave us an appetite (и мы ели /разные/ вещи, чтобы заболеть, и они делали нас жирными и давали аппетит = от них мы жирели и приобретали аппетит). Nothing we could think of seemed to make us ill until the holidays began (ничего /из того, что/ мы могли придумать, казалось, не приводило к болезни, пока не начинались каникулы; to begin). Then, on the breaking-up day, we caught colds (тогда, в день окончания занятий, мы схватывали простуду; break-up — распад; роспуск, прекращение занятий в школе; to catch — ловить, поймать), and whooping cough, and all kinds of disorders (и коклюш, и всевозможные болезни; whooping cough: to whoop — выкрикивать, кричать; сильно кашлять; cough — кашель), which lasted till the term recommenced (которые продолжались, пока не возобновлялись занятия); when, in spite of everything we could manoeuvre to the contrary (когда, несмотря на все, что мы предпринимали = несмотря на все ухищрения; to manoeuvre — маневрировать, добиваться ловкостью; to the contrary — наоборот), we would get suddenly well again, and be better than ever (мы внезапно снова выздоравливали и чувствовали себя лучше, чем когда-либо).