An Arrogant Woman 高傲的女子

阿诺德·贝内特(Arnold Bennett)

Undoubtedly she was a handsome woman. Her hair was greying at the temples, and the skin was withered and crossed with lines. But she was handsome. She was one of those women of whom to their last on earth the stranger will say:“When she was young she must have been worth looking at!” — with a little transient regret that beautiful young women cannot remain for ever young. Her voice was firm and even, sweet in tone, and yet morally harsh from incessant traffic with all varieties of human nature. Her eyes were the impartial eyes of one who is always judging. And evidently she was a proud, even a haughty creature, with her careful, controlled politeness. Evidently she considered herself superior to no matter what guest. Her eyes announced that she had lived and learnt, that she knew more about life than any one whom she was likely to meet, and that having preeminently succeeded in life, she had tremendous confidence in herself.

- transient [ˈtrænzɪənt] a. 短暂的，倏忽的

- incessant [ɪnˈsesnt] a. 不间断的，连续的

- impartial [ɪmˈpɑːʃl] a. 公正的，不偏袒的

- haughty [ˈhɔːtɪ] a. 傲慢的；自大的

- preeminently [priːˈemɪnəntlɪ] ad. 卓越地

她无疑是个端庄秀美的女人。她两鬓花白，皮肤干枯起皱，不过还是颇有姿色。她属于这么一种女人，直到临终前陌生人一看就会说：“这女人年轻时一定很耐看！”——而后带着惋惜的口吻讲，时光不容美女永远年轻呀。她的嗓音坚定平稳，音色甜润，不过因为长期和各种性格的人打交道，讲话确实有些厉声厉色。两眼因为老在判断，是一双公正的眼睛。她明显有傲气，是个高傲的人，具有小心翼翼而有所节制的礼貌。她认为自己比哪位客人都尊贵。她的眼神表露出她阅历丰富，见多识广，对生活的了解比可能遇到的任何人都多，她的人生非常成功，自己对自己有着巨大的自信。

阿诺德·贝内特(1867—1931)，英国小说家，1900年移居法国后专门写作。成名作为《老妇谭》(The Old Wives' Tale ，1908)。其作品很多，例如：《大巴比伦旅店》(The Grand Babylon Hotel ，1902)，《皇宫》(Imperial Palace ，1930)，戏剧《里程碑》(Milestones ，1912)(与E. Knoblock合作，多次上演)。

除了小说，贝内特还创作了非小说类作品，如《如何度过一天的24小时》（How to Live on 24 Hours a Day），这是一本关于时间管理的经典之作。该书以其清新幽默、切中要害的笔触向读者表明了一个人如何靠更有效地利用时间来提高自己的生活质量。这本书并非老生常谈的说教，而是以简明幽默的风格助你珍惜时间、提升生活质量。

贝内特的文学成就不仅在于他的作品本身，还在于他对英国现实主义文学的贡献，以及他作品中对时间管理和生活哲学的深刻见解。他的作品至今仍被广泛阅读，并被视为英国文学宝库中的重要组成部分。