美国语文第六册 第211期:瑞普·凡·温克尔(1)

The appearance of Rip, with his long, grizzled beard, his rusty¹ fowling² piece, his uncouth³ dress, and an army of women and children at his heels,

瑞普花白的长须，拎着那把锈迹斑斑的猎枪，一身装束恍若故人，身边围着一群妇女和孩子，

soon attracted the attention of the tavern⁴ politicians.

他的外表很快就引起小酒馆里热衷于政治的一群人的侧目。

They crowded around him, eying him from head to foot with great curiosity.

他们纷纷围拢过来，将他围在当中，颇为好奇地从头到脚打量他。

The orator⁵ bustled⁶ up to him, and, drawing him partly aside, inquired on which side he voted. Rip stared in vacant stupidity,

那位演说者赶忙上前将他拉到一旁，问他投哪一边的票。瑞普茫然地盯着此人，

Another short but busy little fellow pulled him by the arm, and, rising on tiptoe, inquired in his ear "whether he was Federal or Democrat⁷."

半晌无语。另一位身材矮小忙前忙后的人拽住他胳膊，踮起脚尖凑到他耳畔问：“他是联邦党人还是民主党人。”

Rip was equally at a loss to comprehend the question; when aknowing, self-important old gentleman, in a sharp cocked hat, made his way through the crowd,

瑞普仍旧茫然不知所措；这时，一位似有见识高傲的老绅士，戴了一顶尖尖的三角帽，边推开众人走了进来，

putting them to the right and left with his elbows as he passed, and planting himself before Van Winkle,

边用胳膊示意左右退下，兀自出现在凡·温克尔面前，

with one arm akimbo, the other resting on his cane⁸, his keen eyes and sharp hat, penetrating⁹, as it were, into his very soul, demanded, in an austere¹⁰ tone,

一只手叉着腰，另一只手拄着手杖，他那双锐利的双眸和尖尖的帽子在某种程度上似乎洞穿了他的内心，以一种严肃的口吻，

what brought him to the election with a gun on his shoulder, and a mob at his heels, and whether he meant to breed a riot in the village.

质问瑞普为什么要肩膀上扛着枪来参加选举，且领着一干人等，想生乱滋事不成。

"Alas¹¹! gentlemen," cried Rip, somewhat dismayed, "I am a poor, quiet man, a native of the place, and a loyal subject of the king, God bless him!"

“哎呀，老先生，”瑞普大声说，有点惊愕。“我是个穷人，在当地土生土长，是英王的忠实臣民，苍天可鉴！”

1 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

2 fowling   

捕鸟，打鸟

参考例句：

• For that they design'd some sport of fowling as well as fishing. 看来，他们除了想捕鱼外，还打算打鸟。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• While underneath, in a corner, were fowling piece, musket, and matchlock. 下面，角落里，堆着鸟枪，步枪，和火绳枪。

3 uncouth   

adj.无教养的，粗鲁的

参考例句：

• She may embarrass you with her uncouth behavior.她的粗野行为可能会让你尴尬。
• His nephew is an uncouth young man.他的侄子是一个粗野的年轻人。

4 tavern   

n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店

参考例句：

• There is a tavern at the corner of the street.街道的拐角处有一家酒馆。
• Philip always went to the tavern,with a sense of pleasure.菲利浦总是心情愉快地来到这家酒菜馆。

5 orator   

n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家

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。
• The orator gestured vigorously while speaking.这位演讲者讲话时用力地做手势。

6 bustled   

闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促

参考例句：

• She bustled around in the kitchen. 她在厨房里忙得团团转。
• The hostress bustled about with an assumption of authority. 女主人摆出一副权威的样子忙来忙去。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

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 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

10 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

11 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。