冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第529期:第二十八章 布兰(1)

 　　A light snow was falling. Bran could feel the flakes¹ on his face, melting as they touched his skin like the gentlest of rains.  天空下着细雪，布兰可以感觉到脸上飘落的雪花，一碰皮肤便即融化，像阵轻柔的雨。

　　He sat straight atop his horse, watching as the iron portcullis was winched upward. Try as he might to keep calm, his heart was fluttering in his chest. 他笔直地骑在马上，看着铁闸门被绞盘向上拉起。他虽竭力想保持镇定，心脏却一直在胸口狂跳个不停。

　　Are you ready? Robb asked. 准备好了吗？罗柏问。

　　Bran nodded, trying not to let his fear show. He had not been outside Winterfell since his fall, but he was determined² to ride out as proud as any knight³. 布兰点点头，试着不露出害怕的神色。虽然自坠楼以来，他便没有踏出过临冬城一步，但他打定主意要像个骑士一样昂首骑马出去。

　　Let's ride, then.Robb put his heels into his big grey-and-white gelding, and the horse walked under the portcullis. 那我们走吧。罗柏一夹马肚，骑着他那匹灰白相间的大公马穿过闸门。

　　Go, Bran whispered to his own horse. He touched her neck lightly, and the small chestnut⁴ filly started forward.  前进。布兰向自己的坐骑耳语。他轻触它的脖子，栗子色的小母马便迈步向前。

　　Bran had named her Dancer. She was two years old, and Joseth said she was smarter than any horse had a right to be.  布兰为它取名小舞。它今年两岁，乔赛斯说它聪明得不像马。

　　They had trained her special, to respond to rein⁵ and voice and touch.  他们已经对它进行过特别训练，让它对缰绳、声音和碰触有反应，

　　Up to now, Bran had only ridden her around the yard.  但到目前为止，布兰只是骑它绕绕广场。

　　At first Joseth or Hodor would lead her, while Bran sat strapped⁶ to her back in the oversize saddle the Imp⁷ had drawn⁸ up for him, but for the past fortnight he had been riding her on his own, trotting⁹ her round and round, and growing bolder with every circuit. 最初乔赛斯或阿多会牵着它，布兰则被绑在它背上那个超大的马鞍上——马鞍是照小恶魔的设计图打造的。不过这两个星期以来，他已经能独自驾驭，骑着它来回慢跑，每绕一圈，胆子就更大。

1 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

2 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

3 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

4 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

5 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

6 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 imp   

n.顽童

参考例句：

• What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
• There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。