英国语文第三册 第39期:不要过于肯定(下)

 　　That was making too sure!  他太自负了！

　　How ashamed Bonaparte must afterwards have felt, whenever he thought of that medal! 此后他每次看到那枚勋章时肯定羞愧得无地自容！

　　Have you any more stories for me, father? 爸爸，还有别的故事吗？

　　"Yes; I remember another, which I read some time ago," replied the father. “有；我又想起了一个前段时间看过的故事，”爸爸回答道。

　　It's about a very different man from him who struck the medal;— it's about the Duke of Wellington 这个故事讲述的是一个拿破仑不一样的也铸造勋章的人；——他就是惠灵顿公爵——

　　"Who beat Napoleon Bonaparte himself at the battle of Waterloo!" cried Willie. “惠灵顿公爵在滑铁卢打败了拿破仑！”威利喊出声来。

　　I hope that he hadn't his medal rely beforehand¹? 他事先并没有给自己铸造勋章吧？

　　You know, or perhaps you don't know, my lad, that Wellington was sent over to Portugal,  孩子，你知道，也有可能不知道，惠 灵顿被派去了葡萄牙，

　　to help the poor folk there who were fighting against the French.  帮助可怜的葡萄牙民众反击法国。

　　God gave wisdom to our great general, and success to a good cause.  上帝赋予了这位伟大的将军智慧，他毫无疑问赢得了战争。

　　So the enemy's soldiers were driven out, and Portugal was free! 所以法军被赶出了葡萄牙，从此葡萄牙自由了！

　　"How glad the Portuguese² must have been," cried Willie; "and how they must have honoured our Duke! " “葡萄牙人民该有多高兴啊，”威利喊道；“他们肯定也很爱戴我们的公爵！”

　　That was the time for striking³ a medal—when the battle had been fought and won. 那是那才是该铸造勋章的时候——战争打赢的时候。

　　"I don't know whether a medal was struck," said the father; "but I'll tell you what the Portuguese did. " “我不知道他们有没有铸造勋章，”父亲说道，“但是我能告诉你葡萄牙人当时做了些什么。”

　　They had a print made of the general, and under it were these words, in Latin, ‘Invincible⁴ Wellington, from grateful Portugal.' 他们把这位将军印出来，在下面用拉丁文写上，‘战无不胜的惠灵顿将军，葡萄牙人民感谢您’的字样。

　　Oh, that was making too sure! 噢，那也太绝对了吧！

　　The Duke might have won a hundred battles, but as long as he lived, no one could tell that he might not be beaten at last. 即使公爵没有打过败仗，但是只要他还在世上，就没有人能确定他能否一直所向无敌。

　　Just hear the end of my story, my boy, and you'll see that the Duke was quite of your mind in that matter. 孩子，你先听我说完，然后你会发现公爵是个什么样的人。

　　A friend asked him to send him the print; so Wellington got a copy, and sent it. 他的一个朋友请他送一个印章；所以惠灵顿复制了一个，送了过去。

　　But he would not allow that boastful word to be at the bottom of his likeness⁵, as if he thought himself sure of victory. 但是他并没有保留他肖像下面让他看起来很自负的字。

　　He scored out 'invincible' with a dash of his pen, and underneath⁶ it he wrote, 'Don't halloo till you are out of the wood.' 他划掉了‘不可战胜’这个词，并在下面写上，‘走出森林前还不是欢呼的时刻。’

　　Willie burst out laughing. "That showed the Duke's good sense," said he. 威利笑着说道，“这体现了公爵的理智。”

　　Ay, and good feeling too, my boy. 是啊，还有他的自知之明，孩子。

　　It showed that he was not a man of a boastful spirit, but knew that the highest may have a fall. 这体现了他不是一个自负的人，他懂得物极必反的道理。

　　When you are tempted⁷, Willie, to make too sure of the morrow, just think of Bonaparte and his medal—of Wellington and his print. 威利，每当你对未来太过自信时，相信拿破仑的勋章——也相信惠灵顿和他的印章。

1 beforehand   

adj.事先，预先，提前地，超前地

参考例句：

• If I'd known this beforehand,I would not have gone back.早知如此，我就不回去了。
• They proposed to make arrangement beforehand.他们提议事先做好安排。

2 Portuguese   

n.葡萄牙人；葡萄牙语

参考例句：

• They styled their house in the Portuguese manner.他们仿照葡萄牙的风格设计自己的房子。
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.她的家族是葡萄牙血统。

3 striking   

adj.显著的，惹人注目的，容貌出众的

参考例句：

• There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
• What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。

4 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

5 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

6 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

7 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。