冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第198期:第十五章 珊莎(15)

　　Prince Joffrey's mount was a blood bay courser, swift as the wind, and he rode it with reckless abandon, so fast that Sansa was hard-pressed to keep up on her mare¹.  乔佛里王子的坐骑是匹箭步如飞的红鬃骏马，他驾驭马儿的方式更是横冲直撞，速度极快，珊莎必须死命驱赶胯下母马才能跟上。

　　It was a day for adventures. They explored the caves by the riverbank, and tracked a shadowcat to its lair², and when they grew hungry,  今天也是个适合冒险的日子。他们沿着河岸搜索洞穴，把一只影子山猫赶回巢穴。肚子饿的时候，

　　Joffrey found a holdfast by its smoke and told them to fetch food and wine for their prince and his lady.  乔佛里循着炊烟找到乡间庄园，吩咐他们为王子和他的同行女士准备食物和葡萄酒。

　　They dined on trout³ fresh from the river, and Sansa drank more wine than she had ever drunk before.  于是他们享用了刚从河里捕来的新鲜鳟鱼，珊莎则一辈子没喝过这么多酒。

　　My father only lets us have one cup, and only at feasts, she confessed to her prince. 父亲大人只准我们喝一杯，而且只能在宴会上。

　　My betrothed⁴ can drink as much as she wants, Joffrey said, refilling her cup. 我的未婚妻爱喝多少就喝多少。乔佛里边说边为她斟满酒杯。

　　They went more slowly after they had eaten. Joffrey sang for her as they rode, his voice high and sweet and pure.  酒足饭饱后，他们策马缓行。乔佛里唱歌给她听，他的嗓音高亢甜美、纯净无瑕。

　　Sansa was a little dizzy from the wine. Shouldn't we be starting back? she asked. 珊莎喝多了酒，觉得有点晕眩。我们是不是该回去了？她问。

　　Soon, Joffrey said. The battleground is right up ahead, where the river bends.  再等一会。乔佛里道，古战场就在前面，绿叉河转弯的地方。

　　That was where my father killed Rhaegar Targaryen, you know. He smashed in his chest, crunch⁵, right through the armor.  你知道罢，那便是我父亲杀死雷加·坦格利安的地方。他一挥手就敲碎对方的胸膛，咯啦，铠甲打得稀烂。

　　Joffrey swung an imaginary warhammer to show her how it was done. Then my uncle Jaime killed old Aerys, and my father was king. What's that sound? 乔佛里挥舞着假想的战锤向珊莎示范。后来我舅舅詹姆杀掉老伊里斯，我爸就当上了国王。咦，那是什么声音？

　　Sansa heard it too, floating through the woods, a kind of wooden clattering⁶, snack snack snack.  珊莎也听到从林子里传来阵阵木头敲击。喀啦喀啦喀啦。

　　I don't know, she said. It made her nervous, though. Joffrey, let's go back. 我不知道，她说，但心里却紧张起来。乔佛里，我们回去吧。

　　I want to see what it is. Joffrey turned his horse in the direction of the sounds, and Sansa had no choice but to follow.  我要瞧个究竟。乔佛里掉转马头，朝声音的来源骑去，珊莎迫不得已，只好跟上。

1 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

2 lair   

n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处

参考例句：

• How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?不入虎穴，焉得虎子？
• I retired to my lair,and wrote some letters.我回到自己的躲藏处，写了几封信。

3 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

4 betrothed   

n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She is betrothed to John. 她同约翰订了婚。
• His daughter was betrothed to a teacher. 他的女儿同一个教师订了婚。

5 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

6 clattering   

发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Typewriters keep clattering away. 打字机在不停地嗒嗒作响。
• The typewriter was clattering away. 打字机啪嗒啪嗒地响着。