美国语文第六册 第5期:纽卡斯尔公爵趣事(5)

 　　The Duke, by this time perfectly¹ awake, was staggered at the impossibility of receiving intelligence from Madrid in so short a space of time; 公爵这时已经完全醒了，担心不可能这么短时间内便得到来自马德里的情报，

　　and perplexed² at the absurdity³ of a king's messenger applying for his son-in-law to succeed the King of Spain: 对国王的信使请求让他的女婿来继任西班牙国王这种荒谬之举甚为困惑。

　　"Is the man drunk, or mad? Where are your dispatches?" exclaimed his grace, hastily drawing back his curtain; where, instead of a royal courier, “这家伙醉了，还是疯了？你们派的人在哪儿呢？”公爵边大声说，边拉开床帘；只见站在床前的不是皇家信使，

　　he recognized at the bedside, the fat, good-humored countenance⁴ of his friend from Cornwall, making low bows, with hat in hand, 他认出站在旁边的是那位胖胖的脸上一副愉快神情的来自康沃尔的老朋友，见他弯腰鞠躬，手上捧着帽子，

　　and "hoping my lord would not forget the gracious promise he was so good as to make, in favor of his son-in-law, at the last election." 说“希望大人不要忘了仁慈的承诺，在最后的选举中照顾他女婿”。

　　Vexed⁵ at so untimely a disturbance⁶, and disappointed of news from Spain, the Duke frowned for a moment; 公爵对如此不合时宜的打扰非常恼怒，对来自西班牙的消息很失望，他眉头紧蹙，

　　but chagrin⁷ soon gave way to mirth, at so singular and ridiculous a combination of circumstances, 但很快就对如此滑稽和可笑的混乱转怒为笑，

　　and, yielding to the impulse, he sunk upon the bed in a violent fit of laughter, which was communicated in a moment to the attendants. 不再冲动，他哈哈大笑着躺在床上，示意侍者。

　　The relater of this little narrative⁸, concludes, with observing, 这则轶闻的叙述者评述道，

　　"Although the Duke of Newcastle could not place the relative of his old acquaintance on the throne of His Catholic Majesty⁹, “尽管纽卡斯尔公爵没有将他老相识的亲戚送上西班牙国王的宝座，

　　he advanced him to a post not less honorable—he made him an exciseman." 他还是把他安排到一个不那么显要的位置上——他让他担任收税官。”

1 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

2 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

3 absurdity   

n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论

参考例句：

• The proposal borders upon the absurdity.这提议近乎荒谬。
• The absurdity of the situation made everyone laugh.情况的荒谬可笑使每个人都笑了。

4 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

5 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

7 chagrin   

n.懊恼；气愤；委屈

参考例句：

• His increasingly visible chagrin sets up a vicious circle.他的明显的不满引起了一种恶性循环。
• Much to his chagrin,he did not win the race.使他大为懊恼的是他赛跑没获胜。

8 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

9 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！