吹小号的天鹅 第42期:小号(4)

 　　The cob swam over to his son and made a presentation speech.

　　雄天鹅游向他的儿子，发表了一通赠送演说。

　　"Louis," he said, "I have been on a journey to the haunts of men.

　　“路易斯，”他说，“我到人们的老窝做了一次旅行。

　　I visited a great city teeming¹ with life and commerce.

　　我访问了一个生机勃勃的商业发达的大城市。

　　Whilst there, I picked up a gift for you, which I now bestow² upon you with my love and my blessing³.

　　同时，我还给你挑了件礼物，现在我就满怀着爱意和祝福地把它送给你。

　　Here, Louis, is a trumpet⁴.

　　看这儿，路易斯，这是一把小号。

　　It will be your voice--a substitute for the voice God failed to give you.

　　它将成为你的嗓子——一个上帝没能给你的嗓子的替代品。

　　Learn to blow it, Louis,

　　学着去吹它，路易斯，

　　and life will be smoother and richer and gayer for you!

　　你的生活将会变得更顺利更丰富更愉快！

　　With the help of this horn, you will be able at last to say ko-hoh, like every other swan.

　　在这个喇叭的帮助下，你终于可以说‘吭—嗬’了，就像别的天鹅那样。

　　The sound of music will be in our ears.

　　音乐之声将在我们的耳畔萦回。

　　You will be able to attract the attention of desirable young females.

　　你可以打动你钟爱的年轻雌天鹅了。

　　Master this trumpet, and you will be able to play love songs for them,

　　掌握吹这把小号的技巧吧，然后你将能为她们吹奏情歌，

　　filling them with ardor⁵ and surprise and longing⁶.

　　把热情和惊喜还有渴望都注入她们心中了。

　　I hope it will bring you happiness, Louis, and a new and better life.

　　“路易斯，我希望它将带给你幸福，带给你一个全新的更好的生活。

　　I procured⁷ it at some personal sacrifice to myself and my pride,

　　我是在牺牲了一些自我和尊严后才得到它的，

　　but we won't go into that now.

　　可我们现在就别去管这些了。

　　The long and short of it is, I had no money;

　　不管怎么说，我都没有钱；

　　I took the trumpet without paying for it.

　　我没有付钱就拿走了这把小号。

　　This was deplorable.

　　这是可耻的行为。

　　But the important thing is that you learn to play the instrument."

　　但更重要的是你得学会吹奏这把乐器。”

　　So saying, the cob removed the trumpet from around his neck and hung it on Louis,

　　说着，雄天鹅把小号从脖子上弄下来挂到路易斯的脖子上，

　　alongside the slate⁸ and the white chalk pencil.

　　和那些石板石笔放在一起。

　　"Wear it in health!" he said. "Blow it in happiness!

　　“好好戴着它！”他说，“快活地吹！

　　Make the woods and the hills and the marshes⁹ echo with the sounds of your youthful desire!"

　　让森林和群山还有沼泽都回荡起你青春的渴望之声吧！”

　　Louis wanted to thank his father, but he was unable to say a word.

　　路易斯想对他的爸爸道谢，可他却什么都说不出来。

　　And he knew it would do no good to write "Thank you" on the slate,

　　他知道在石板上写“谢谢你”并不是个好主意，

　　because his father wouldn't be able to read it, never having had an education.

　　因为他的父亲不能阅读，也从没受过这样的教育。

　　So Louis just bobbed his head and waggled his tail and fluttered his wings.

　　于是路易斯摆了摆他的头，摇了摇尾巴，又拍了拍他的翅膀。

　　The cob knew by these signs that he had found favor in the sight of his son

　　雄天鹅从这些动作里看出，他终于找到了儿子心目中的合适赠品，

　　and that the gift of a trumpet was acceptable.

　　这把小号礼物被接受了。

1 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

2 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

3 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

4 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

5 ardor   

n.热情，狂热

参考例句：

• His political ardor led him into many arguments.他的政治狂热使他多次卷入争论中。
• He took up his pursuit with ardor.他满腔热忱地从事工作。

6 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

7 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

8 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

9 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》