美国语文第四册 第155期:小证人(3)

 　　And when I came up here with father, she kissed me, and told me to remember the Ninth Commandment, and that God would hear every word that I said. 当我和爸爸来这里的时候，妈妈亲了我，告诉我一定要记得第九诫的内容，她说我说的每个字上帝都能听到。

　　"Do you believe this?" asked the judge, while a tear glistened¹ in his eye, and his lip quivered with emotion. “你相信吗？”法官问，眼中含着晶莹的泪珠，嘴唇因激动而发颤。

　　"Yes, sir," said the child, with a voice and manner which showed that her conviction of the truth was perfect. “是的，先生，”孩子说，声音和态度显示她确信无疑。

　　"God bless you, my child," said the judge, you have a good mother. “上帝保佑你，我的孩子，”法官说，“你有个好母亲。

　　The witness is competent, he continued. Were I on trial for my life, and innocent of the charge against me, I would pray God for such a witness as this. 作为证人你是胜任的，”他继续说，如果是我无辜受审，我也会祷告上帝派给我这样一个证人。

　　Let her be examined. 你们可以询问她了。

　　She told her story with the simplicity² of a child, as she was; but her voice and manner carried conviction of her truthfulness³ to every heart. 因为她就是个孩子，她用孩子的方式简单叙述了她看到的经过，可是她的声音和态度令每个人从心里对她的话没有丝毫疑问。

　　The lawyers asked her many perplexing questions, but she did not vary in the least from her first statement. 律师问了很多迷惑人的问题，可是她的陈述始终是一致的。

　　The truth, as spoken by a little child, was sublime⁴. 正如孩子所说，真相是崇高的。

　　Falsehood and perjury⁵ had preceded her testimony⁶; but before her testimony, falsehood was scattered⁷ like chaff⁸. 在她之前有人说谎和做伪证；可是在她的证言面前，谎言就像谷皮一样消散了。

　　The little child, for whom a mother had prayed for strength to be given her to speak the truth as it was before God, 这个小孩子，她的母亲曾经为她祷告，使她拥有讲真话的力量，就好像在上帝面前讲话一样，

　　broke the cunning device of matured villainy to pieces, like a potter's vessel⁹. 把某些成年人狡猾编织的罪恶击成了碎片，就像打破陶器一样。

　　The strength that her mother prayed for was given her;  她拥有了母亲向神祷告祈求的力量，

　　and the sublime and terrible simplicity, terrible to the prisoner and his associates,—was like a revelation from God himself. 而她那崇高却可怕的简洁话语，对犯人和他的同伙来说是可怕的——就像神的启示一样。

1 glistened   

v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Pearls of dew glistened on the grass. 草地上珠露晶莹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Her eyes glistened with tears. 她的眼里闪着泪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

3 truthfulness   

n. 符合实际

参考例句：

• Among her many virtues are loyalty, courage, and truthfulness. 她有许多的美德，如忠诚、勇敢和诚实。
• I fired a hundred questions concerning the truthfulness of his statement. 我对他发言的真实性提出一连串质问。

4 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

5 perjury   

n.伪证；伪证罪

参考例句：

• You'll be punished if you procure the witness to commit perjury.如果你诱使证人作伪证，你要受罚的。
• She appeared in court on a perjury charge.她因被指控做了伪证而出庭受审。

6 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

7 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

8 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。

9 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。