Английский язык с Мюриэль Спарк (рассказы)

"I'm not saying she was," I said.

"What did you say?"

"I'm sure she wasn't a normal person," I said, "if you say so."

"It can all be explained psychologically, as we've tried to show to my husband. We've told him and told him, and given him every sort of treatment — shock, insulin, everything. And after all, the stuff didn't have any effect on his sister immediately, and when she did go blind it was caused by acute glaucoma. She would probably have lost her sight in any case. Well, she went off her head completely and accused her brother of having put the wrong drug in the bottle deliberately. This is the interesting part from the psychological point of view — she said she had seen something that he didn't want her to see, something disreputable. She said he wanted to blind the eye that saw it. She said…"

We were walking round the lake for the second time. When we came to the spot where I had seen her face reflected I stopped and looked over the water. "I'm boring you."

"No, no."

"I wish you would take off those glasses."

I took them off for a moment (я сняла их на мгновение). I rather liked her for her innocence in not recognising me (мне она даже понравилась за ее простодушие, что она не узнала меня), though she looked hard (она не сводила с меня глаз) and said, "There's a subconscious reason why you wear them (есть какая-то подсознательная причина, почему вы носите их)."

"Dark glasses hide dark thoughts (темные очки скрывают темные мысли; tohide— прятать, скрывать, не показывать)," I said.

"Is that a saying (это афоризм: «пословица»)?"

"Not that I've heard (я такого не слышала). But it is one now (но теперь, должно быть, афоризм, но теперь это стало афоризмом)."

innocence ['Inqs(q)ns] saying ['seIIN]

I took them off for a moment. I rather liked her for her innocence in not recognising me, though she looked hard and said, "There's a subconscious reason why you wear them."

"Dark glasses hide dark thoughts," I said.

"Is that a saying?"

"Not that I've heard. But it is one now."

She looked at me anew (она взглянула на меня заново). But she didn't recognise me (но она не узнала меня). These fishers of the mind (эти ловцы разума; fisher — рыбак, рыболов; fish — рыба) have no eye for outward things (никогда не видят окружающий мир; outward — внешний, наружный). Instead, she was "recognising" my mind (вместо этого, она ‘узнавала, разведовала’ мой разум): I daresay I came under some category of hers (я даже думаю, что я подпала под одну из ее категорий).

I had my glasses on again (я вновь надела очки), and was walking on (и продолжила прогулку).

"How did your husband react to his sister's accusations (как ваш муж реагировал на обвинения его сестры; to react — реагировать, отзываться, воздействовать)?" I said.

"He was remarkably kind (он был удивительно добр)."

"Kind?"