美国语文第五册 第151期:鹌鹑(4)

 　　She sings not now “Bob White!” nor “Ah! Bob White!”  此刻，她不是鸣啾“鲍勃·怀特”，亦不是“啊！鲍勃·怀特”，

　　That is her husband's love call, or his trumpet¹ blast of defiance².  那是她配偶的爱称，或是他挑衅反抗的恶言相向。

　　But she calls sweetly and softly for her lost children.  她会甜蜜轻柔地呼唤她走失的孩子们，

　　Hear them “Peep! peep! peep!” at the welcome voice of their mother's love!  它们则“唧唧！唧唧！唧唧！”地叫个不停，回应母亲的爱恋欢腾。

　　They are coming together. Soon the whole family will meet again.  全家聚在一起，终于，它们重新团圆了。

　　It is a foul³ sin to disturb them; but retread your devious⁴ way, and let her hear your coming footsteps, breaking down the briers, as you renew the danger. 倘若有人怀着狡猾奸诈之心、踏上邪恶之路去惊扰那些鹌鹑，鹌鹑母亲能听到人们走近的危险脚步，听到人们踩倒周围荆棘的声音，

　　She is quiet. Not a word is passed between the fearful fugitives⁵.  她只是一声不吭。在充满恐惧的逃亡者中间，不存在任何语言交流。

　　Now, if you have the heart to do it, lie low, keep still, and imitate the call of the hen quail⁶.  假若有人有心，不妨蹲下，保持沉默，模仿母鹌鹑的叫声。

　　O mother! mother! how your heart would die if you could witness the deception⁷!  噢，妈妈！妈妈！一旦目睹自己的无耻欺诈，你的心会死吗？

　　The little ones raise up their trembling heads, and catch comfort and imagined safety from the sound.  那些小鹌鹑们会抬起它们惊颤的头寻求安抚，寻求来自呼唤声中的想象安全。

　　"Peep! peep!" They come to you, straining their little eyes, and, clustering together and answering,   “唧唧！唧唧”，它们会靠近你，晃动它们尚未完全睁开的眼睛，簇拥成团地叫着，

　　seem to say, "Where is he? Mother! mother! we are here!" 似乎在说，“你在哪里？妈妈！妈妈！我们在这里！”

1 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

2 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

3 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

4 devious   

adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的

参考例句：

• Susan is a devious person and we can't depend on her.苏姗是个狡猾的人，我们不能依赖她。
• He is a man who achieves success by devious means.他这个人通过不正当手段获取成功。

5 fugitives   

n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分

6 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

7 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。