冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第762期:第三十八章 琼恩(3)

 　　Sam gave a tremulous nod, working up his courage with a visible effort. Slowly he swiveled his head.  山姆颤巍巍地点个头，很明显地努力鼓起勇气，然后缓缓转头。

　　His eyes widened, but Jon held his arm so he could not turn away. 他的双眼顿时睁得老大，但琼恩抓住他的手，不让他转开。

　　Sir Jaremy, the Old Bear asked gruffly, "Ben Stark¹ had six men with him when he rode from the Wall. Where are the others?" “杰瑞米爵士，”熊老没好气地问，“班·史塔克出长城带了六个人，其他人上哪儿去了？”

　　Sir Jaremy shook his head. "Would that I knew." 杰瑞米爵士摇摇头。“我若是知道就好了。”

　　Plainly Mormont was not pleased with that answer.  莫尔蒙对这答案显然大为不满。

　　"Two of our brothers butchered almost within sight of the Wall, yet your rangers² heard nothing, saw nothing.  “两个弟兄几乎在长城的肉眼可见范围内惨遭杀害，你的游骑兵却什么也没听见，什么也没看到，

　　Is this what the Night's Watch has fallen to? 难道守夜人已经怠惰到这种地步了？

　　Do we still sweep these woods?" Yes, my lord, but... 我们到底有没有派人扫荡森林？”“当然是有的，大人，可是——”

　　Do we still mount watches? We do, but... “我们还有没有派人骑马巡逻？”“有的，可是——”

　　This man wears a hunting horn. Mormont pointed³ at Othor. "Must I suppose that he died without sounding it? “这家伙身上带着猎号，”莫尔蒙指着奥瑟说，“莫非你要我相信他临死前连一声都没吹？

　　Or have your rangers all gone deaf as well as blind?" 还是你的游骑兵不只眼睛瞎了，连耳朵也聋啦？”

　　Sir Jaremy bristled⁴, his face taut⁵ with anger.  杰瑞米爵士气得毛发竖立，满脸怒容。

　　"No horn was blown, my lord, or my rangers would have heard it.  “大人，没有人吹号角，否则我的游骑兵一定会听见。

　　I do not have sufficient men to mount as many patrols as I should like...  如今人手不够，根本无法照我的意图仔细巡逻……

　　and since Benjen was lost, we have stayed closer to the Wall than we were wont⁶ to do before, by your own command." 更何况自从班扬失踪，我们已经缩短了巡逻范围，比以前更靠近长城——这可是大人您亲自下的令。”

　　The Old Bear grunted⁷. "Yes. Well. Be that as it may."  熊老咕哝道：“唉，也是。那就算了罢。”

　　He made an impatient gesture.  他不耐烦地挥挥手。

　　"Tell me how they died." “跟我说说他们是怎么死的。”

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 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。

4 bristled   

adj. 直立的，多刺毛的 动词bristle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。
• All of us bristled at the lawyer's speech insulting our forefathers. 听到那个律师在讲演中污蔑我们的祖先，大家都气得怒发冲冠。

5 taut   

adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的

参考例句：

• The bowstring is stretched taut.弓弦绷得很紧。
• Scarlett's taut nerves almost cracked as a sudden noise sounded in the underbrush near them. 思嘉紧张的神经几乎一下绷裂了，因为她听见附近灌木丛中突然冒出的一个声音。

6 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

7 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。