Английский язык с У. С. Моэмом. Театр

изданиях: «газетах»; to appear — появляться, показываться)) you might have

taken him (вы могли бы принять его; to take smb. for smb — принимать кого-

либо за кого-либо) for an officer of high rank (за офицера высокого чина). He

boasted (он хвастался /тем/) that his weight (что его вес) had not changed since

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he was twenty (не изменился с того момента, когда ему было двадцать /лет/),

and for years (и многие годы), wet or fine (/неважно/, в мокрую или ясную

/погоду/), he had got up every morning at eight (он вставал каждое утро в

восемь часов) to put on shorts and a sweater (чтобы надеть шорты и свитер) and

have a run round Regent's Park (и пробежаться вокруг Риджент Парка).

gallant ['gxlqnt] obvious ['ObvIqs] scarcely ['skεqslI] weight [weIt]

sweater ['swetq]

The only thing that slightly spoiled him was the thinness of his mouth. He was

just six foot tall and he had a gallant bearing. It was his obvious beauty that

had engaged him to go on the stage rather than to become a soldier like his

father. Now his chestnut hair was very grey, and he wore it much shorter; his

face had broadened and was a good deal lined; his skin no longer had the soft

bloom of a peach and his colour was high. But with his splendid eyes and his

fine figure he was still a very handsome man. Since his five years at the war he

had adopted a military bearing, so that if you had not known who he was

(which was scarcely possible, for in one way and another his photograph was

always appearing in the illustrated papers) you might have taken him for an

officer of high rank. He boasted that his weight had not changed since he was

twenty, and for years, wet or fine, he had got up every morning at eight to put

on shorts and a sweater and have a run round Regent's Park.

"The secretary told me (/ваш/ секретарь сказала мне) you were rehearsing this

morning, Miss Lambert (что вы репетировали сегодня утром, Мисс Лэмберт; to

rehearse —репетировать,повторять)," the young man remarked (заметил

молодой человек). "Does that mean (это значит, /что/) you're putting on a new

play (вы ставите новую пьесу)?"

"Not a bit of it (ничего подобного)," answered Michael (ответил Майкл). "We're

playing to capacity (мы играем при переполненных залах; capacity — емкость,

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вместимость; полный сбор, аншлаг)."

"Michael thought we were getting a bit ragged (Майкл посчитал: «подумал» что

мы начинаем играть неслаженно: «становимся слегка небрежными»; ragged

— неровный, шероховатый, небрежный

), so he called a rehearsal (и тогда он

созвал /нас на/ репетицию)."

"I'm very glad I did (и я счастлив, что поступил так). I found little bits of

business had crept in (я обнаружил, что появились некоторые элементы:

«маленькие кусочки игры вкрались»; to creep — ползать, красться, to creep

in — вкрасться) that I hadn't given them (которых я им не давал) and a good

many liberties were being taken with the text (и совершенно свободно /они/

распоряжались текстом: «большое множество вольностей было допущено по

отношению к тексту»; to take liberties with smth. — бесцеремонно обращаться

счем-либо). I'm a great stickler (я ярый сторонник; stickler — защитник,

приверженец; to stick — прилипать; придерживаться /чего-либо/) for saying

the author's exact words (произнесения: «говорения» точных слов автора),

though, God knows (хотя, Бог знает), the words authors write nowadays aren't

much (слова, /которые/ авторы пишут в наше время, не многое из себя

представляют)."