Английский язык с П. Треверс. Мэри Поппинс / P. L. Travers: Mary Poppins

And the ideas did come back (и мысли действительно возвращались) — or maybe she had never forgotten them (или, может быть, она никогда не забывала их)? “Spit-spot into bed” was a favourite phrase of her mother’s («мигом в кровать» была любимой фразой ее матери), and other bits of Mary Poppins’ character were clearly inspired by Pamela’s spinster aunt, Christina Saraset (а другие черты характера Мэри Поппинс были явно навеяны тетей Памелы, старой девой Кристиной Сарасет), whom everybody called “Aunt Sass” (которую все называли «Тетя Сасс»). She was a crisp (она была живой/резкой; crisp — завитой, кудрявый; жесткий), no-nonsense woman with a sharp tongue and a heart of gold (не сумасбродной: «никакой чепухи /мне тут/» женщиной с острым языком и золотым сердцем) who, like Mary Poppins, was given to making “a curious convulsion in her nose that was something between a snort and a sniff” (которая, как и Мэри Поппинс, была склонна издавать «любопытные колебания в своем носу, которые были что-то между фырканьем и сопением »; begivento — быть склонным к /чему-либо/).

When Pamela once suggested to her aunt that she might write about her (когда Памела однажды намекнула ей, что она, возможно, напишет о ней), the elderly lady replied (пожилая леди ответила): “What (что)! You put me in a book (ты поместишь меня в книгу)! I trust you will never so far forget yourself (я верю, что ты никогда настолько не забудешься) as to do anything so vulgarly disgusting (чтобы совершить что-либо настолько вульгарно отвратительное)!”This indignant response was followed up with a contemptuous (за возмущенным ответом последовало пренебрежительное), “Sniff, sniff (фыр, фыр)!” Doesn’t this sound just like Mary Poppins speaking (не звучит ли это как раз, как разговаривала Мэри Поппинс)? Equally (в равной степени), it might have been P. L. Travers herself (это могла быть П. Треверс сама), who said something very similar to me (которая сказала что-то похожее мне) when I rashly suggested one day that I might write her life story (когда я опрометчиво/поспешно предложил/намекнул однажды, что я напишу ее историю жизни)!

convulsion [kqn'vAl∫(q)n] suggested [sq'GestId] vulgarly ['vAlgqlI]

The only rule Pamela had about writing was that there were no set rules. She wrote her stories, she said, “because they were there to be written”. The actual business of catching ideas and getting them on paper was a mysterious and lonely process; and yet, as she would explain, “you can do it anywhere, any time — when you’re out at the shops buying a pound of butter — still it goes on. Even if you forget your idea by the time you get home, you wait a little and then it will come back if it wants to.”

And the ideas did come back — or maybe she had never forgotten them? “Spit-spot into bed” was a favourite phrase of her mother’s, and other bits of Mary Poppins’ character were clearly inspired by Pamela’s spinster aunt, Christina Saraset, whom everybody called “Aunt Sass”. She was a crisp, no-nonsense woman with a sharp tongue and a heart of gold who, like Mary Poppins, was given to making “a curious convulsion in her nose that was something between a snort and a sniff”.

When Pamela once suggested to her aunt that she might write about her, the elderly lady replied: “What! You put me in a book! I trust you will never so far forget yourself as to do anything so vulgarly disgusting!”This indignant response was followed up with a contemptuous, “Sniff, sniff!” Doesn’t this sound just like Mary Poppins speaking? Equally, it might have been P. L. Travers herself, who said something very similar to me when I rashly suggested one day that I might write her life story!