Chapter 3

I resumed¹ mine, also. The lawyer and the lady whispered together. I was sitting beside Posdnicheff, and I maintained silence. I desired to talk to him, but I did not know how to begin, and thus an hour passed until we reached the next station.

There the lawyer and the lady went out, as well as the clerk. We were left alone, Posdnicheff and I.

“They say it, and they lie, or they do not understand,” said Posdnicheff.

“Of what are you talking?”

“Why, still the same thing.”

He leaned his elbows upon his knees, and pressed his hands against his temples.

“Love, marriage, family,— all lies, lies, lies.”

He rose, lowered the lamp-shade, lay down with his elbows on the cushion, and closed his eyes. He remained thus for a minute.

“Is it disagreeable to you to remain with me, now that you know who I am?”

“Oh, no.”

“You have no desire to sleep?”

“Not at all.”

“Then do you want me to tell you the story of my life?”

Just then the conductor passed. He followed him with an ill-natured look, and did not begin until he had gone again. Then during all the rest of the story he did not stop once. Even the new travellers as they entered did not stop him.

His face, while he was talking, changed several times so completely that it bore positively² no resemblance³ to itself as it had appeared just before. His eyes, his mouth, his moustache, and even his beard, all were new. Each time it was a beautiful and touching⁴ physiognomy, and these transformations⁵ were produced suddenly in the penumbra⁶; and for five minutes it was the same face, that could not be compared to that of five minutes before. And then, I know not how, it changed again, and became unrecognizable.

1 resumed   

v.重新开始( resume的过去式和过去分词 )；重新获得；重新占用；恢复

参考例句：

• Play resumed quickly after the stoppage. 比赛中断后不久又继续进行。
• The violinist resumed playing after the intermission. 幕间休息之后，那小提琴手又重新开始演奏。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

3 resemblance   

n.相似之处，雷同之处

参考例句：

• Kehr bears a strong facial resemblance to her sister.凯尔的容貌和她姐姐十分相像。
• Any resemblance of a character in this book to a living person is purely incidental.书中人物如有雷同，纯属巧合。

4 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

5 transformations   

n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换

参考例句：

• Energy transformations go on constantly, all about us. 在我们周围，能量始终在不停地转换着。 来自辞典例句
• On the average, such transformations balance out. 平均起来，这种转化可以互相抵消。 来自辞典例句

6 penumbra   

n.（日蚀）半影部

参考例句：

• This includes the continuous survey of umbra and penumbra of the sunspot.这包括对太阳黑子本影和半影持续的观测。
• A penumbra of doubt surrounds the incident.疑惑的阴影笼罩着该事件。