《契诃夫短篇小说选(英文版)》编著者契诃夫。

世界三大短篇小说巨匠之一

幽默讽刺艺术大师的作品精粹

反映小人物平凡生活的镜子

本书是纯英文的契诃夫短篇小说选集，共收录20篇作品，主要来自契诃夫创作的前后两个时期。其中既有《变色龙》、《套中人》等批判现实主义名篇，笔调幽默，语言明快，寓意深刻，直指社会现实中的种种弊病，也有《玩笑》、《微罗奇卡》等表现爱情的美好与无奈的佳作。

《契诃夫短篇小说选(英文版)》编著者契诃夫。

《契诃夫短篇小说选(英文版)》是纯英文的《契诃夫短篇小说选集》，共收录20篇作品，主要来自契诃夫创作的前后两个时期。其中既有《变色龙》、《套中人》等批判现实主义名篇，笔调幽默，语言明快，寓意深刻，直指社会现实中的种种弊病，也有《玩笑》、《微罗奇卡》等表现爱情的美好与无奈的佳作。

THE MAN IN A CASE

LIGHTS

A CHAMELEON

A JOKE

AT A SUMMER VILLA

VEROTCHKA

NEIGHBOURS

VANKA

THAT WRETCHED BOY

ANNA ON THE NECK

THE TWO VOLODYAS

BETROTHED

IONITCH

THE BEAUTIES

KASHTANKA

MISERY

JOY

THE STUDENT

THE LADY WITH THE DOG

SORROW

"Byelikov had a little bedroom like a box;his bed had curtains. Whenhe went to bed he covered his head over;it was hot and stuffy;the windbattered on the closed doors;there was a droning noise in the stove and asound of sighs from the kitchen---ominous sighs And he felt frightenedunder the bed-clothes. He was afraid that something might happen, that Afanasy might murder him, that thieves might break in, and so he had troubled dreams all night, and in the morning, when we went together to the high-school, he was depressed and pale, and it was evident that the high- school full of people excited dread and aversion in his whole being, and that to walk beside me was irksome to a man of his solitary temperament.

"'They make a great noise in our classes,' he used to say, as though trying to find an explanation for his depression. 'It's beyond anything.'

"And the Greek master, this man in a case--would you believe it? --almost got married. "

Ivan Ivanovitch glanced quickly into the barn, and said: "You arejoking!"

"Yes, strange as it seems, he almost got married. A new teacher ofhistory and geography, Milhail Savvitch Kovalenko, a Little Russian, wasappointed. He came, not alone, but with his sister Varinka. He was a tall,dark young man with huge hands, and one could see from his face that hehad a bass voice, and, in fact, he had a voice that seemed to come out ofa barrel--'boom, boom, boom!' And she was not so young, about thirty,but she, too, was tall, well-made, with black eyebrows and red cheeks--infact, she was a regular sugar-plum, and so sprightly, so noisy;she wasalways singing Little Russian songs and laughing. For the least thing shewould go off into a ringing laugh--'Ha-ha-ha!' We made our first thoroughacquaintance with the Kovalenkos at the headmaster's name-day party.Among the glum and intensely bored teachers who came even to the name-day party as a duty we suddenly saw a new Aphrodite risen from the waves;she walked with her arms akimbo, laughed, sang, danced She sang withfeeling 'The Winds Do Blow,' then another song, and another, and shefascinated us all--all, even Byelikov. He sat down by her and said with ahoneyed smile: 'The Little Russian reminds one of the ancient Greek in itssoftness and agreeable resonance.'

"That flattered her, and she began telling him with feeling andearnestness that they had a farm in the Gadyatchsky district, and that hermamma lived at the farm, and that they had such pears, such melons, such'kabaks'! The Little Russians call pumpkins 'kabaks' (i.e., pothouse),while their pothouse they call 'shinki', and they make a beetroot soup withtomatoes and aubergines in it, 'which was so nice--awfully nice!'

"We listened and listened, and suddenly the same idea dawned uponus all: 'It would be a good thing to make a match of it,' the headmaster'swife said to me softly.

"We all for some reason recalled the fact that our friend Byelikov wasnot married, and it now seemed to us strange that we had hitherto failed toobserve, and had in fact completely lost sight of, a detail so important in hislife. What was his attitude to woman? How had he settled this vital questionfor himself?. This had not interested us in the least till then;perhaps wehad not even admitted the idea that a man who went out in all weathers ingaloshes and slept under curtains could be in love.

"'He is a good deal over forty and she is thirty,' the headmaster's wifewent on, developing her idea. 'I believe she would marry him. '

"All sorts of things are done in the provinces through boredom, allsorts of unnecessary and nonsensical things! And that is because whatis necessary is not done at all. What need was there for instance, for usto make a match for this Byelikov, whom one could not even imaginemarried? The headmaster's wife, the inspector's wife, and all our high-school ladies, grew livelier and even better-looking, as though they hadsuddenly found a new object in life. The headmaster's wife would takea box at the theatre, and we beheld sitting in her box Varinka, with sucha fan, beaming and happy, and beside her Byelikov, a little bent figure,looking as though he had been extracted from his house by pincers. Iwould give an evening party, and the ladies would insist on my invitingByelikov and Varinka. In short, the machine was set in motion. It appearedthat Varinka was not averse to matrimony. She had not a very cheerful lifewith her brother;they could do nothing but quarrel and scold one anotherfrom morning till night. Here is a scene, for instance. Kovalenko wouldbe coming along the street, a tall, sturdy young ruffian, in an embroideredshirt, his love-locks falling on his forehead under his cap, in one hand abundle of books, in the other a thick knotted stick, followed by his sister,also with books in her hand.

"'But you haven't read it, Mihalik!' she would be arguing loudly. 'Itell you, I swear you have not read it at all!'

"'And I tell you I have read it,' cries Kovalenko, thumping his stick onthe pavement.

"'Oh, my goodness, Mihalik! why are you so cross? We are arguingabout principles.'

"'I tell you that I have read it!' Kovalenko would shout, more loudlythan ever.P4-P6