美国语文第四册 第55期:最高尚的复仇(2)

 　　"Now, Philip;" said Stephen, I think you will act better in not minding him, “现在，菲利普，”斯蒂芬说，我认为你不去和他一般见识会更好，

　　as your contempt will be the best punishment you can inflict¹ upon him. 因为你的蔑视是你能够惩罚他的最佳方式。

　　Be assured, he will always be able to do more mischief² to you than you choose to do to him. 放心吧，他总能对你做更多的恶作剧，远比你要对他做得多。

　　And, now I think of it, I will tell you what happened to him not long since. 现在我想到这个，我告诉你不久前在他身上发生了什么。

　　Very unluckily for him, he chanced to see a bee hovering³ about a flower which he caught, 对他来说非常不幸，他偶然看到了一只蜜蜂在花上盘旋，他抓住了它，

　　and was going to pull off its wings out of sport, when the animal stung him, and flew away in safety to the hive. 要把它的翅膀扯下来。这时蜜蜂叮了他一下，安全地飞回了蜂箱。

　　The pain put him into a furious passion, and, like you, he vowed⁴ revenge. 疼痛让他怒不可遏，像你一样，他发誓要报仇。

　　He accordingly procured⁵ a stick, and thrust it into the beehive. 于是，他找来一根棍子，戳进了蜂箱。

　　In an instant the whole swarm⁶ flew out, and alighting upon him stung him in a hundred different places. 顷刻间，整个蜂群飞了出来，落在他身上，叮了他一百多处。

　　He uttered the most piercing cries, and rolled upon the ground in the excess of his agony. 他发出了最尖利的哭喊声，过度痛苦使得他在地上打起滚来。

　　His father immediately ran to him, 他父亲立刻跑来，

　　but could not put the bees to flight until they had stung him so severely⁷ that he was confined several days to his bed. 但是根本没办法赶走蜜蜂，直到它们把他叮得严重到不得不卧床很多天。

　　Thus, you see, he was not very successful in his pursuit of revenge. 你看，他期望的报仇并不成功。

　　I would advise you, therefore, to pass over his insult. 因此，我建议你忽略他对你的侮辱。

　　He is a wicked boy, and much stronger than you; so that your ability to obtain this revenge may be doubtful. 他是个坏孩子，又比你强壮，那么你来实施报复的能力就值得怀疑。

　　"I must own," replied Philip, that your advice seems very good. “我必须承认，”菲利普回答道，你的建议非常好。

　　So come along with me, and I will tell my father the whole matter, and I think he will not be angry with me. 随我来吧，我会把一切告诉父亲，我想他不会生我的气。

　　They went, and Philip told his father what had happened. 他们离开，菲利普告诉父亲发生了什么。

　　He thanked Stephen for the good advice he had given his son, and promised Philip to give him another cane⁸ exactly like the first. 他父亲感谢斯蒂芬给他儿子的建议，并且答应给菲利普一个完全一样的竹藤。

　　A few days afterward⁹, Philip saw this ill-natured boy fall as he was carrying home a heavy log of wood, which he could not lift up again. 之后几天，菲利普看到这个坏脾气的男孩在往家里搬一块很沉的木柴时摔倒在地，再也抬不起来。

　　Philip ran to him, and helped him to replace it on his shoulder. 菲利普跑到他身边，帮他把木柴扛在肩上。

　　Young Robinson was quite ashamed at the thought of this unmerited kindness, and heartily¹⁰ repented¹¹ of his behavior. Philip went home quite satisfied. 小罗宾逊想到这份好意时感到非常惭愧，发自内心地对自己的行为表示后悔。菲利普心里非常满足地回到家。

　　"This," said he, is the noblest vengeance¹³ I could take, in returning good for evil. It is impossible I should repent¹² of it. “这，”他说，是我进行的最高尚的复仇，以德报怨。我是不会为此后悔的。

1 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

2 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

3 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

6 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

9 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

10 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

11 repented   

对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He repented his thoughtlessness. 他后悔自己的轻率。
• Darren repented having shot the bird. 达伦后悔射杀了那只鸟。

12 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

13 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。