美丽新世界Brave New World 第1章(5)

 　　Next to the Liners stood the Matriculators.

　　生产线工人旁边是收纳员。

　　The procession advanced; one by one the eggs were transferred from their test-tubes to the larger containers;

　　流水线继续前进；卵子一个个从试管转入更大的容器；

　　deftly¹ the peritoneal lining² was slit³, the morula dropped into place, the saline solution poured in … and already the bottle had passed, and it was the turn of the labellers.

　　腹膜内膜被巧妙地剖开，甚状细胞准确落了进去，硷盐溶液注入……此时瓶子已经离去。下面是标签员的工作。

　　Heredity, date of fertilization, membership of Bokanovsky Group–details were transferred from test-tube to bottle.

　　遗传状况、授精日期、波坎诺夫斯基组别——全部细节都从试管转到瓶子上。

　　No longer anonymous⁴, but named, identified, the procession marched slowly on; on through an opening in the wall, slowly on into the Social Predestination Room.

　　这回不再是没有名字的了，署上了名，标明了身分。流水线缓缓前进，通过墙壁上一个人口进入了社会条件预定室。

　　"Eighty-eight cubic metres of card-index," said Mr. Foster with relish⁵, as they entered.

　　“索引卡片总共有八十八立方米之多。”大家步入社会条件预定室时福斯特先生得意地说。

　　"Containing all the relevant information," added the Director.

　　“包括了全部的有关资料。”主任补充道。

　　"Brought up to date every morning."

　　“而且每天早上更新。”

　　"And co-ordinated every afternoon."

　　“每天下午调整。”

　　"On the basis of which they make their calculations."

　　“他们在资料的基础上做出设计。”

　　"So many individuals, of such and such quality," said Mr. Foster.

　　“某种品质的个体是多少。”福斯特先生说。

　　"Distributed in such and such quantities."

　　“按这一种、那一种数量分配。”

　　"The optimum Decanting⁶ Rate at any given moment."

　　“在任何特定时到投入最佳的分量。”

　　"Unforeseen wastages promptly⁷ made good."

　　“有了意外的消耗立即会得到补充。”

　　"Promptly," repeated Mr. Foster. "If you knew the amount of overtime⁸ I had to put in after the last Japanese earthquake!"

　　“立即补充，”福斯特先生重复道，‘称要是知道上一次日本地震之后我加班加点所做的工作就好了！”

　　He laughed goodhumouredly and shook his head.

　　他摇着头，温文尔雅地笑了笑。

　　"The Predestinators send in their figures to the Fertilizers."

　　“命运预定员把他们设计的数字给胎孕员。”

　　"Who give them the embryos¹⁰ they ask for."

　　“胎孕员把需要的胚胎给他们。”

　　"And the bottles come in here to be predestined in detail."

　　“瓶子送到这儿来敲定命运设置的细节。”

　　"After which they are sent down to the Embryo⁹ Store."

　　“然后再送到胚胎库房去。”

　　"Where we now proceed ourselves."

　　“我们现在就是到胚胎库房去。”

　　And opening a door Mr. Foster led the way down a staircase into the basement.

　　福斯特先生开了一道门，领着大家走下台阶，进入了地下室。

　　The temperature was still tropical. They descended¹¹ into a thickening twilight¹².

　　温度仍热得像赤道。他们进入的地方越来越暗。

　　Two doors and a passage with a double turn insured the cellar against any possible infiltration¹³ of the day.

　　那条通道经过了两道门，拐了两个弯，用以确保目光不透进地窖。

　　"Embryos are like photograph film," said Mr. Foster waggishly¹⁴, as he pushed open the second door.

　　“胚胎很像摄影胶卷，”福斯特先生推开第二道门时开玩笑似地说，

　　"They can only stand red light."

　　“只能承受红光。”

　　And in effect the sultry darkness into which the students now followed him was visible and crimson¹⁵, like the darkness of closed eyes on a summer's afternoon.

　　学生们跟他进去的地方又暗又热，实际上可以看见的东西都呈红色，像夏天午后闭上眼时眼里那种暗红。

　　The bulging¹⁶ flanks of row on receding¹⁷ row and tier above tier of bottles glinted with innumerable rubies¹⁸,

　　通道两侧的大肚瓶一排接着一排，一层高于一层，闪着数不清的红宝石般的光。

　　and among the rubies moved the dim red spectres of men and women with purple eyes and all the symptoms of lupus. The hum and rattle¹⁹ of machinery²⁰ faintly stirred the air.

　　红宝石之间行走着幽灵样的男男女女，形象模糊，眼睛通红，带着红斑狼疮的一切病征。机器的嗡嗡声和咔哒声微微地震动着空气。

　　"Give them a few figures, Mr. Foster," said the Director, who was tired of talking.

　　“告诉他们几个数字吧。”主任不想多说话。

　　Mr. Foster was only too happy to give them a few figures.

　　福斯特先生巴不得告诉他们一些数字。

　　Two hundred and twenty metres long, two hundred wide, ten high.

　　二百二十公尺长，二百公尺宽，十公尺高，

　　He pointed²¹ upwards²². Like chickens drinking, the students lifted their eyes towards the distant ceiling.

　　他指了指头顶上。学生们抬起眼睛望望高处的天花板，一个个像喝着水的鸡。

　　Three tiers of racks: ground floor level, first gallery, second gallery.

　　架子有三层：地面长廊，一阶长廊，二阶长廊。

1 deftly   

adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在，于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

3 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

4 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

5 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

6 decanting   

n.滗析（手续）v.将（酒等）自瓶中倒入另一容器( decant的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• It was exhausting work moving the heavy buckets, decanting the liquids. 搬动沉重的桶，滗出液体，这些都是使人精疲力竭的工作。 来自辞典例句
• To purify, separate, or remove(ore, for example) by washing, decanting, and settling. 淘洗，淘选，淘析用清洗、倾析和沉淀的方法来提纯、分离或清除（例如，矿石） 来自互联网

7 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

8 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

9 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

10 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

11 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

12 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

13 infiltration   

n.渗透；下渗；渗滤；入渗

参考例句：

• The police tried to prevent infiltration by drug traffickers. 警方尽力阻止毒品走私分子的潜入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A loss in volume will occur if infiltration takes place. 如果发生了渗润作用，水量就会减少。 来自辞典例句

14 waggishly   

adv.waggish（滑稽的，诙谐的）的变形

参考例句：

15 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

16 bulging   

膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱

参考例句：

• Her pockets were bulging with presents. 她的口袋里装满了礼物。
• Conscious of the bulging red folder, Nim told her,"Ask if it's important." 尼姆想到那个鼓鼓囊囊的红色文件夹便告诉她：“问问是不是重要的事。”

17 receding   

v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• Desperately he struck out after the receding lights of the yacht. 游艇的灯光渐去渐远，他拼命划水追赶。 来自辞典例句
• Sounds produced by vehicles receding from us seem lower-pitched than usual. 渐渐远离我们的运载工具发出的声似乎比平常的音调低。 来自辞典例句

18 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

19 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

20 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

21 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

22 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。