'His mother, my dear,' said Miss Tox, 'whose acquaintance I was to have made through you, does he at all resemble her?'
    “他像他的母亲吗？”托克斯小姐问道，“我亲爱的，我得通过您才能了解她呀。”
    'Not at all,' returned Louisa.
    “一点也不像，”路易莎回答道。
    'She was - she was pretty, I believe?' faltered Miss Tox.
    “她——她长得漂亮吧。我想？”托克斯小姐迟疑地说道。
    'Why, poor dear Fanny was interesting,' said Mrs Chick, after some judicial consideration.     'Certainly interesting. She had not that air of commanding superiority which one would somehow expect, almost as a matter of course, to find in my brother's wife; nor had she that strength and vigour of mind which such a man requires.'
    “是的，可怜的亲爱的范妮是有趣的，”奇克夫人经过一些慎重的考虑以后说道。“确实是有趣的。人们不知怎么样，几乎理所当然地本指望会在我的哥哥的妻子身上看到那种威风凛凛、高人一等的气派，可是她并没有这种气派。她也没有这样一位男人所需要的那种精力与气魄。”
    Miss Tox heaved a deep sigh.
    托克斯小姐深深地叹了一口气。
    'But she was pleasing:' said Mrs Chick: 'extremely so. And she meant! - oh, dear, how well poor Fanny meant!'
    “不过她是讨人喜欢的，”奇克夫人说道，“非常讨人喜欢。还有她的心眼儿！——啊，亲爱的，可怜的范妮心眼儿多么好啊！”
    'You Angel!' cried Miss Tox to little Paul. 'You Picture of your own Papa!'
    “您这小天使！”托克斯小姐对小保罗喊道，“您跟您爸爸真是长得一模一样啊！”
    If the Major could have known how many hopes and ventures, what a multitude of plans and speculations, rested on that baby head; and could have seen them hovering, in all their heterogeneous confusion and disorder, round the puckered cap of the unconscious little Paul; he might have stared indeed. Then would he have recognised, among the crowd, some few ambitious motes and beams belonging to Miss Tox; then would he perhaps have understood the nature of that lady's faltering investment in the Dombey Firm.
    如果少校能知道，在那婴孩的头上寄托了多少希望与梦想，多少计划与打算的话，如果他能看到它们参差错乱、混杂无序地在一无所知的小保罗的带褶的帽子四周盘旋的话，那么他确实可能会把眼睛瞪得大大地来看的。那时候他就会从那成群的事物中辨认出属于托克斯小姐的一些野心勃勃的尘埃与光束了；那时候他也许就会明白那位女士畏畏缩缩地对董贝公司进行投资的性质了。
    If the child himself could have awakened in the night, and seen, gathered about his cradle-curtains, faint reflections of the dreams that other people had of him, they might have scared him, with good reason. But he slumbered on, alike unconscious of the kind intentions of Miss Tox, the wonder of the Major, the early sorrows of his sister, and the stern visions of his father; and innocent that any spot of earth contained a Dombey or a Son.
    如果这孩子本人能在夜间醒过来，看到聚集在他的摇篮帐子周围、其他人们对他所抱的梦想的微弱的映像的话，那么它们很有理由会把他吓坏了。可是他却继续呼呼地酣睡，对托克斯小姐的善良的意图，少校的纳闷不解，他姐姐过早的悲哀和他父亲严峻的梦幻，都一概不知；他也不了解在地面上的什么地方还存在着一位董贝或一个他的儿子。

注释：1. superiority n. 优越，优势；优越性
词组：
air superiority 空中优势；空优战斗机；空优
superiority complex 优越感；自尊情结；过于自尊
overwhelming superiority 绝对优势
例句：
(1). They won the battle because of their superiority in numbers.
他们在数量上占了优势，所以取得了战争的胜利。
(2). Information means superiority, and knowledge leads to progress.
信息就是优势，知识就是发展。
(3). The resources are the superiority for the development of west China.
这些资源对于开发中国西部来说是一种优势。
(4). The moral superiority of the west was also expressed through its ideology.
西方的道德优越感还通过其意识形态表现出来。
(5). America's material superiority could operate only in a more limited time span.
美国在物质上的优势只能在有限的一段时间起作用。
(6). Friendships last when each friend thinks he has a slight superiority over the other.
当朋友之间人认为彼此都比对方优秀一点时友谊才能长存。

2. speculation n. 投机；推测；思索；投机买卖
词组：
speculation about n. 关于……  猜测
例句：
(1). She lose all her money in stock exchange speculation.
她将所有的钱赔进了股票投机生意。
(2). They have much speculation over the cause of the air crash.
他们对飞机坠毁原因有多方推测。
(3). Speculation has reached such a pitch that a decision will have to be made immediately.
这种胡乱猜测甚嚣尘上，已经到了必须立即解决的程度了。
(4). By reducing the cost of speculation, they encourage bubbles.
通过减少投机的成本，他们催生了泡沫。
(5). Human exposure to various chemicals has been the subject of much speculation. 
人类所置身其中的各种化学物质已成为思考的对象。