Английский детектив. Джон Бакен. Тридцать девять ступеней / John Buchan. The Thirty-Nine Steps

 But from the first I was disappointed with it. In about a week I was tired of seeing sights, and in less than a month I had had enough of restaurants and theatres and race-meetings. I had no real pal to go about with, which probably explains things. Plenty of people invited me to their houses, but they didn’t seem much interested in me. They would fling me a question or two about South Africa, and then get on their own affairs.

A lot of Imperialist ladies asked me to tea to meet schoolmasters from New Zealand and editors from Vancouver (большое количество империалистических дам = многие жены империалистов приглашали меня к чаю, чтобы встретиться со школьными учителями из Новой Зеландии или издателями из Ванкувера)

, and that was the dismalest business of all (и это были самое гнетущее дело из всех). Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb (и вот я, тридцати семи лет /от роду/, здоровый как бык; wind – ветер; дыхание; limb – конечность, член), with enough money to have a good time (/имея/ достаточно денег, чтобы хорошо проводить время), yawning my head off all day

(скучал днями напролет; to yawn – зевать; скучать; to yawn one’s head off – /разг./ иззеваться: «зевать так, что отвалится голова»). I had just about settled to clear out and get back to the veld (я уже как раз решил уехать и вернуться в вельды;

to clear out – вычистить /от грязи/; /разг./ уехать или уйти внезапно; veld – /южно-афр./ вельд, степь), for I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom

(потому что я был самым скучающим человеком в Соединенном Королевстве; best – лучший; самый).

 A lot of Imperialist ladies asked me to tea to meet schoolmasters from New Zealand and editors from Vancouver, and that was the dismalest business of all. Here was I, thirty-seven years old, sound in wind and limb, with enough money to have a good time, yawning my head off all day. I had just about settled to clear out and get back to the veld, for I was the best bored man in the United Kingdom.