October 4th, 2009 
ghostlei } It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants.
} Conversation：
这里的was just trying是口语里很随意的话——
I was just trying to make a conversation!
我只是在没话找话。意思就是说我只是想建立随意的对话而已，没有别的什么意思。
I was just trying to be nice!
我只是想nice 而已，没有太多深的含义。
I was just trying to be responsive!
我只是回应了一下，维持这样的对话，没有太多别的意思。
} Domestic：
Domestic violence
家庭暴力
} Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do housework. She had a huge, rambling country house called ‘The Gables’. She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband’s death. Before she grew old, Aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly.
} grew old :
变老
we’ll grow old together and be with each other always.
我们会在一起慢慢变老。
} I often visited The Gables when I was boy. No matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate. The parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; even my uncle’s huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust.
} highly polished :
这里要注意副词的用法，不太符合中文习惯，但这样用反而比较好，符合英文习惯
Highly recommended
强烈推荐（highly 这个词跟强烈没多大关系，但是它就是这样搭配的）
perfectly normal
非常正常
terribly cold
非常的冷
} Present: /absent
这是一对反义词
} Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. She always referred to them as ‘the shifting population’, for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names.
} referred them to as：
She always called/named them as ‘the shifting population’, …
这里的refer to 就当于 call/mean。第四课这里的refer 用的是被动式
People who work in offices are frequently referred to as “white-collar workers’ (lesson4)
} Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days, an enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to work more than eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please. While she always criticized the fickleness of human nature, she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant to the end of her days, even after she had been sadly disillusioned by Bessie.
} carried on:
这里carried on 两个词作一个词讲，它是指上飞机的时候，比较小的可以直接带在身边的行李
It’s too big to be a carry-on.You can’t take it on board.
这个太大了，你不能带上飞机。
How many pieces of baggage do you have to check?
你要托运几件行李？托运用的是“check”这个词。
} Bessie worked for Aunt Harriet for three years. During that time she so gained my aunt’s confidence that she was put in charge of the domestic staff. Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie’s industriousness and efficiency. In addition to all her other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook. She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before Aunt Harriet discovered her ‘little weakness‘. After being absent from the Gables for a week, my aunt unexpectedly returned one afternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner.
} Could not find words to praise :
What’s the proper word?
这里是说找不到一个词来形容，赞美。有一次上课，老师讲着讲着就停下来，他在想要用什么词比较合适，嘴里就说出了这句话。
} little weakness：
… have classified all our little weaknesses.
(lesson26)
} No only was the meal well below the usual standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily. She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests. When she came in with the last course — a huge pudding — she tripped on the carpet and the pudding went flying through the air, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table with considerable force. Though this caused great mirth among the guests, Aunt Harriet was horrified. She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk.
} mumbling : 小声嘟囔
He was still mumbling something about hospitals at the end of the party…(lesson29)
} Missed：
miss 有两个意思，见下例子——
David missed his flight.
David没有赶上飞机。
I miss you already.
我想你了。
} The guests had, of course, realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had a difficult time trying to conceal their amusement. The poor girl was dismissed instantly.
} trying to conceal their amusement：
想笑又不好意思笑，尽量去掩饰这种滑稽，可笑
Terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years.(lesson24)conceal the fact that I was impressed by the size of the diamonds. (lesson28)conceal his excitement. (lesson34)
I could not
Frank could hardly
他尽量掩饰心里的激动。这几个例子用法都是差不多的，可以自己去总结归纳一下这种规则
} After her departure, Aunt Harriet discovered that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie’s wardrobe. They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!
} found their way :
经过一些困难才到达目的地；它的英文解释是reach the destination with some difficulties.
Very few of the fifty pence pieces and pound coins I have given him have found their way there. (lesson15)
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Bravo, erais visitados por el pensamiento admirable
…
I saw this definitely fantastic post today!…