动物农场Animal Farm 第3章(2)

 　　For instance, later in the year, when they harvested the corn,

　　比如，这年年底，收完玉米后，因为庄园里没有打谷机和脱粒机，

　　they had to tread it out in the ancient style and blow away the chaff¹ with their breath, since the farm possessed² no threshing machine.

　　他们就有那种古老的方式，踩来踩去地把玉米粒弄下来，再靠嘴巴把秣壳吹掉。

　　But the pigs with their cleverness and Boxer³ with his tremendous muscles always pulled them through.

　　但是猪的机灵和鲍克瑟的力大无比总能使他们顺利度过难关。

　　Boxer was the admiration⁴ of everybody.

　　动物们对鲍克瑟赞叹不已。

　　He had been a hard worker even in Jones's time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one.

　　即使在琼斯时期，鲍克瑟就一直是个勤劳而持之以恒的好劳力，而今，他更是一个顶三个。

　　There were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his mighty⁵ shoulders.

　　那一双强劲的肩膀，常常象是承担了庄园里所有的活计。

　　From morning to night he was pushing and pulling, always at the spot where the work was hardest.

　　从早到晚，他不停地拉呀推呀，总是出现在工作最艰苦的地方。

　　He had made an arrangement with one of the cockerels to call him in the mornings half an hour earlier than anyone else,

　　他早就和一只小公鸡约好，每天早晨，小公鸡提前半小时叫醒他，

　　and would put in some volunteer labour at whatever seemed to be most needed, before the regular day's work began.

　　他就在正式上工之前先干一些志愿活，而这些活看起来也是最急需的。

　　His answer to every problem, every setback⁶, was "I will work harder!"--which he had adopted as his personal motto.

　　无论遇到什么困难和挫折，鲍克瑟的回答总是：“我要更加努力工作”，这句话也是他一直引用的座右铭。

　　But everyone worked according to his capacity.

　　但是，每个动物都只能量力而行。

　　The hens and ducks, for instance, saved five bushels of corn at the harvest by gathering⁷ up the stray grains.

　　比如鸡和鸭子，收获时单靠他们捡拾零落的谷粒，就节约了五蒲式耳的玉米。

　　Nobody stole, nobody grumbled⁸ over his rations⁹.

　　没有谁偷吃，也没有谁为自己的口粮抱怨。

　　The quarrelling and biting and jealousy¹⁰ which had been normal features of life in the old days had almost disappeared.

　　那些过去习以为常的争吵、咬斗和嫉妒也几乎一扫而光。

　　Nobody shirked--or almost nobody.

　　没有或者说几乎没有动物开小差逃工。

　　Mollie, it was true, was not good at getting up in the mornings, and had a way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a stone in her hoof¹¹.

　　不过，倒真有这样的事：莫丽不太习惯早晨起来，她还有一个坏毛病，常常借故蹄子里夹了个石子，便丢下地里的活，早早溜走了。

　　And the behaviour of the cat was somewhat peculiar¹².

　　猫的表现也多少与众不同。

　　It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found.

　　每当有活干的时候，大家就发现怎么也找不到猫了。

　　She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as though nothing had happened.

　　她会连续几小时不见踪影，直到吃饭时，或者收工后，才若无其事一般重新露面。

　　But she always made such excellent excuses, and purred so affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions.

　　可是她总有绝妙的理由，咕咕噜噜地说着，简直真诚得叫谁也没法怀疑她动机良好。

1 chaff   

v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳

参考例句：

• I didn't mind their chaff.我不在乎他们的玩笑。
• Old birds are not caught with chaff.谷糠难诱老雀。

2 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

3 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

4 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

5 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

6 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

7 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

8 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

9 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

10 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

11 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

12 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。