1. Most grateful did Elinor feel to Lady Middleton for observing, at this moment, "that it rained very hard, " though she believed the interruption to proceed less from any attention to her, than from her ladyship's great dislike of all such inelegant subjects of raillery as delighted her husband and mother. The idea however started by her, was immediately pursued by Colonel Brandon, who was on every occasion mindful of the feelings of others; and much was said on the subject of rain by both of them.

【句子翻译】

使埃丽诺感激不尽的是，恰在这时，米德尔顿夫人说了一句话：“雨下得好大呀！”不过她知道，夫人之所以打岔，并非出于对自己的关心，而是因为她对她丈夫和母亲热衷于这种低级趣味，深为厌恶。她提出的这个话头当即被布兰登上校接了过去，因为他在任何场合都很照顾别人的情绪。于是，两人下雨长下雨短地说了一大堆。

【难句解析】

Feel grateful to...“对...感到感激”；

例句：

I'm so grateful for your great help! 对于你们的大力协助，我很感激！

less...than...

（1）“比…少，不如…多”；

例句：

We drink less coffee than tea. 我们喝咖啡不如喝茶多。I got less money than the others did. 我比别人得到的钱少。

（2）不像、不如

He is less honest than his brother. 他不如他哥哥诚实。

（3）与其…不如…。

例句：

I regard him less as my teacher than as my friend. 与其说我把他当作老师，不如说我是把他当作朋友。

注：表示此义时与可与 more…than结构替换(但要注意词序的变化)。如：He is less a teacher than an expert. / He is more an expert than a teacher. 与其说他是老师，不如说他是专家。

be mindful of 留心，注意

例句：

We had to be mindful of every step we took on slippery sidewalk
在很滑的边道行走时, 我们每行一步都必须小心。

on the subject of adj. 关于(论述，涉及)

例句：

On the subject of marriage, Judith and I are on the same wavelength.
在婚姻问题上， 我和朱迪思意见相同。

2.The grounds were declared to be highly beautiful, and Sir John, who was particularly warm in their praise, might be allowed to be a tolerable judge, for he had formed parties to visit them, at least, twice every summer for the last ten years.

【句子翻译】

据说，这地方美极了，约翰爵士大为赞赏。近十年来，爵士每年夏天至少要组织两次游览，因而可以说是很有发言权。

【难句解析】

declared 被宣布，被声称

It will be declared to the whole world.
它将被昭示中外。