动物农场Animal Farm 第3章(6)

 　　FOUR LEGS GOOD, TWO LEGS BAD, was inscribed¹ on the end wall of the barn, above the Seven Commandments and in bigger letters.

　　“四 条 腿 好，两条 腿 坏”还题写在大谷仓一端的墙上，位于“七诫”的上方，字体比“七诫”还要大。

　　When they had once got it by heart, the sheep developed a great liking² for this maxim³,

　　羊一旦在心里记住了这个准则之后，就愈发兴致勃勃。

　　and often as they lay in the field they would all start bleating⁴ "Four legs good, two legs bad! Four legs good, two legs bad!"

　　当他们躺在地里时，就经常咩咩地叫着：“四条腿好，两条腿坏！四条腿好，两条腿坏！”

　　and keep it up for hours on end, never growing tired of it.

　　一叫就是几个小时，从不觉得厌烦。

　　Napoleon took no interest in Snowball's committees.

　　拿破仑对斯诺鲍的什么委员会没有半点兴趣。

　　He said that the education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who were already grown up.

　　他说，比起为那些已经长大成型的动物做的事来说，对年轻一代的教育才更为重要。

　　It happened that Jessie and Bluebell⁵ had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to nine sturdy puppies.

　　赶巧，在收割牧草后不久，杰西和布鲁拜尔都崽了，生下了九条强壮的小狗。

　　As soon as they were weaned, Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for their education.

　　等这些小狗刚一断奶，拿破仑说他愿意为他们的教育负责，再把它们从母亲身边带走了。

　　He took them up into a loft⁶ which could only be reached by a ladder from the harness-room.

　　他把他们带到一间阁楼上，那间阁楼只有从农具室搭着梯子才能上去。

　　And there kept them in such seclusion⁷ that the rest of the farm soon forgot their existence.

　　他们处于这样的隔离状态中，庄园里其他动物很快就把他们忘掉了。

　　The mystery of where the milk went to was soon cleared up.

　　牛奶的神秘去向不久就弄清了。

　　It was mixed every day into the pigs' mash⁸.

　　原来，它每天被掺到猪饲料里。

　　The early apples were now ripening⁹, and the grass of the orchard¹⁰ was littered with windfalls.

　　这时，早茬的苹果正在成熟，果园的草坪上遍布着被风吹落的果子。

　　The animals had assumed as a matter of course that these would be shared out equally.

　　动物们以为把这些果子平均分配乃是理所当然。

　　One day, however, the order went forth¹¹ that all the windfalls were to be collected and brought to the harness-room for the use of the pigs.

　　然而，有一天，发布了这样一个指示，说是让把所有被风吹落下来的苹果收集起来，带到农具室去供猪食用。

　　At this some of the other animals murmured, but it was no use.

　　对此，其他有些动物嘟嘟囔囔地直发牢骚，但是，这也无济于事。

　　All the pigs were in full agreement on this point, even Snowball and Napoleon.

　　所有的猪对此都完全赞同，甚至包括斯诺鲍和拿破仑在内。

　　Squealer¹² was sent to make the necessary explanations to the others.

　　斯奎拉奉命对其他动物作些必要的解释。

1 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

3 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。

4 bleating   

v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说

参考例句：

• I don't like people who go around bleating out things like that. 我不喜欢跑来跑去讲那种蠢话的人。 来自辞典例句
• He heard the tinny phonograph bleating as he walked in. 他步入室内时听到那架蹩脚的留声机在呜咽。 来自辞典例句

5 bluebell   

n.风铃草

参考例句：

• The girl picked herself up and pulled a bluebell out of her hair.姑娘坐起身来，从头发里摘出一枝风铃草。
• There is a branch of bluebell in the vase.花瓶里有一束风铃草。

6 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

7 seclusion   

n.隐遁，隔离

参考例句：

• She liked to sunbathe in the seclusion of her own garden.她喜欢在自己僻静的花园里晒日光浴。
• I live very much in seclusion these days.这些天我过着几乎与世隔绝的生活。

8 mash   

n.麦芽浆，糊状物，土豆泥；v.把…捣成糊状，挑逗，调情

参考例句：

• He beat the potato into a mash before eating it.他把马铃薯捣烂后再吃。
• Whiskey,originating in Scotland,is distilled from a mash of grains.威士忌源于苏格兰，是从一种大麦芽提纯出来的。

9 ripening   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成

参考例句：

• The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• When the summer crop is ripening, the autumn crop has to be sowed. 夏季作物成熟时，就得播种秋季作物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

11 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

12 squealer   

发出尖叫声的人；雏鸽；小松鸡；小鹌鹑

参考例句：

• Trust us, if you at their pictures long enough, you're bound to become another squealer. 相信我们，如果你盯着这些照片看上一段时间，必定会成为另一个尖叫粉丝。 来自互联网