美国语文第五册 第285期:泼冷水的艺术(1)

 　　Regarding, one day, in company with a humorous friend, a noble vessel¹ of a somewhat novel construction sailing slowly out of port,  有一天，我与一位风趣幽默的朋友正在聊天，一艘造型颇为新奇的宏伟轮船缓缓地驶离港口，

　　he observed, “What a quantity of cold water somebody must have had down his back.”  他注视那船说道：“有的人脊梁骨上该是泼过多少凉水。”

　　In my innocence², I supposed that he alluded³ to the wet work of the artisans who had been building the vessel;  以我天真揣度，我猜想，朋友不过暗指那些顶风冒雨建造那艘轮船的工匠们，

　　but when I came to know him better, 但随着话语展开，

　　I found that this was the form of comment he always indulged in when contemplating⁴ any new and great work,  我才得以了解个中玄机。这位朋友长期沉湎于研究整套创新思维的话语体系，

　　and that his “somebody” was the designer of the vessel. 他说的“有的人”，指的是该艘轮船的设计者。

　　My friend had carefully studied the art of discouragement,  我的那位朋友曾深入研究过气馁艺术，

　　and there was a class of men whom he designated simply as “cold-water pourers.”  他将创新者定义为“被泼凉水的人”。

　　It was most amusing to hear him describe the lengthened⁵ sufferings of the man who first designed a wheel; of him who first built a boat;   听他叙述那位轮船设计师经久多年的痛苦煎熬，倒是挺有意思。那家伙第一次设计出车轮，第一次建造出小船；

　　to fasten the scanty⁶ raiment of some savage⁷ tribe.  来固定原始部落野人身上那些衣不蔽体的衣服。

　　Warming with his theme, he would become quite eloquent⁸ in describing the long career of discouragement which these rash men had brought upon themselves,  一旦深入这类话题，朋友随即口若悬河，滔滔不绝地谈起那些鲁莽草率人士无端为自己带来气馁沮丧的漫长生涯。

　　and which he said, to his knowledge, must have shortened their lives.  据他所说，他清楚这些气馁沮丧无疑将缩短人的寿命，

1 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。

2 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

3 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

4 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

5 lengthened   

（时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The afternoon shadows lengthened. 下午影子渐渐变长了。
• He wanted to have his coat lengthened a bit. 他要把上衣放长一些。

6 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

7 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

8 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。