美国语文第六册 第254期:印第安耍把戏者(1)

LESSON 76 INDIAN JUGGLERS

第七十六课 印第安耍把戏者

Coming forward and seating himself on the ground, in his white dress and tightened¹ turban,

走上前坐在地上，他身着白色衣服，包头巾系得紧紧的，

the chief of the Indian jugglers begins with tossing up two brass² balls, which is what any of us could do, and concludes by keeping up four at the same time,

这位印度耍把戏者先是开始向上掷两个铜球。他这一手随便谁都会，最后，他同时向上掷四个，

which is what none of us could do to save our lives, not if we were to take our whole lives to do it in.

这一手恐怕我们当中没有谁能做到，如果不是用毕生时间来练习的话。

Is it then a trifling³ power we see at work, or is it not something next to miraculous⁴?

这是我们在工作中看到的微不足道的能力，难道它算不上奇迹吗？

It is the utmost stretch of human ingenuity⁵,

它是人类巧智最大限度的延伸，

which nothing but the bending the faculties⁶ of body and mind to it from the tenderest infancy⁷

只不过从最幼弱的婴儿期到成年阶段，

with incessant⁸, ever-anxious application up to manhood, can accomplish or make even a slight approach to.

身体和心智能力总是焦急地服从于巧智。

Man, thou art a wonderful animal, and thy ways past finding out!

人类是一种奇妙的动物，可以拥有发现过去的方式！

Thou canst do strange things, but thou turnest them to small account!

你可以做一些让别人摸不着头脑的事情，但你还可以把这些事轻描淡写，略过一遍！

To conceive of this extraordinary dexterity⁹, distracts the imagination and makes admiration¹⁰ breathless.

为了构想出这种非同寻常的灵巧，要分散对想象的注意力，使赞叹扣人心弦。

1 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

2 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

3 trifling   

adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的

参考例句：

• They quarreled over a trifling matter.他们为这种微不足道的事情争吵。
• So far Europe has no doubt, gained a real conveniency,though surely a very trifling one.直到现在为止,欧洲无疑地已经获得了实在的便利，不过那确是一种微不足道的便利。

4 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

5 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

6 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

8 incessant   

adj.不停的，连续的

参考例句：

• We have had incessant snowfall since yesterday afternoon.从昨天下午开始就持续不断地下雪。
• She is tired of his incessant demands for affection.她厌倦了他对感情的不断索取。

9 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

10 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。