冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第106期:第八章 布兰(6)

 It taught him Winterfell’s secrets too. The builders had not even leveled the earth;  他也因此挖掘出临冬城许多不为人知的秘密，比如当初建筑工人并没有把城堡附近的地势铲平，

there were hills and valleys behind the walls of Winterfell.  所以城墙外面不但有起伏丘陵，还有溪涧峡谷。

There was a covered bridge that went from the fourth floor of the bell tower across to the second floor of the rookery.  布兰知道一座密闭的桥道，可以从钟塔的四楼直接通鸦巢的二层。

Bran knew about that. And he knew you could get inside the inner wall by the south gate,  他还知道如何从南门进入内城墙里边，

climb three floors and run all the way around Winterfell through a narrow tunnel in the stone,  顺着门梯爬三层，便能找到一条狭窄的石砌甬道，它可以绕行临冬城，

and then come out on ground level at the north gate, with a hundred feet of wall looming¹ over you.  最后抵达位于百尺高墙阴影下的北门底层。

Even Maester Luwin didn’t know that, Bran was convinced. 布兰相信就连鲁温师傅也不知道这条捷径。

His mother was terrified that one day Bran would slip off a wall and kill himself.  母亲一直很害怕布兰哪天会不小心滑下来，失足摔死。

He told her that he wouldn’t, but she never believed him.  任他再三保证，她却怎么也不肯相信。

Once she made him promise that he would stay on the ground.  有次她强迫他发誓不再往高处爬，

He had managed to keep that promise for almost a fortnight, miserable² every day,  结果这个诺言只勉强维持了两个星期，他每天都痛苦无比，

until one night he had gone out the window of his bedroom when his brothers were fast asleep. 最后有一天夜里，趁他兄弟熟睡的时候，他还是爬出了卧房窗户。

He confessed his crime the next day in a fit of guilt³. Lord Eddard ordered him to the godswood to cleanse⁴ himself.  翌日他满怀罪恶感地自行招认，艾德公爵叫他独自去神木林忏悔，

Guards were posted to see that Bran remained there alone all night to reflect on his disobedience.  还派了守卫监视，以确保他整晚都在林子里反省他不听话的行为。

The next morning Bran was nowhere to be seen. They finally found him fast asleep in the upper branches of the tallest sentinel in the grove⁵. 没想到第二天清晨，布兰却不见踪影，最后众人是在林间最高的一棵哨兵树的上层枝干找到睡得正香甜的他。

 

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

3 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

4 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

5 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。