见信如晤Letters Live 第25期:'罗伯特·林德尔'读信:安睡吧,我的爱人(1)

 　　Dear Dave,

　　亲爱的戴夫，

　　This is in memory of an anniversary — the anniversary of October 27th, 1943, when I first heard you singing in North Africa.

　　这封信是为了纪念我们一周年，纪念1943年10月27日，我第一次在北非听见你的歌声。

　　That song brings memories of the happiest times I've ever known.

　　这首歌带给了我此生最美好的回忆。

　　Memories of a GI show troop — curtains made from barrage¹ balloons — spotlights² made from cocoa cans — rehearsals³ that ran late into the evenings — and a handsome boy with a wonderful tenor⁴ voice.

　　那时我们在进行军队表演，把拦截气球用作窗帘，把可可罐用做聚光灯，彩排一直持续到深夜，还有那个歌声悦耳的帅气男孩。

　　Opening night at a theatre in Canastel — perhaps a bit too much muscatel, and someone who understood.

　　在纳斯特尔剧院的首演，我可能有点喝多了，才发现原来有人懂我。

　　Exciting days playing in the beautiful and stately Municipal Opera House in Oran — a misunderstanding — an understanding in the wings just before opening chorus.

　　在奥兰美丽庄严的市歌剧院演出的那些日子，在开场合唱前我们有了误会，但又马上和好。

　　Drinks at "Coq d'or" — dinner at the "Auberge" — a ring and a promise given.

　　在Coq d'or把酒言欢，在客栈共进晚餐，随后你向我求婚。

　　The show 1st Armoured — muscatel, scotch⁵, wine — someone who had to be carried from the truck and put to bed in his tent.

　　有一次，我们去看了《第一装甲》这场戏剧，喝了很多酒，我需要把你从卡车上背下来，把你送回帐篷里睡觉。

　　A night of pouring rain and two very soaked GIs beneath a solitary⁶ tree on an African plain.

　　还有那一晚，大雨倾盆，我们俩全身湿透躲在非洲平原一棵孤零零的树下。

　　A borrowed French convertible⁷ — a warm sulphur spring, the cool Mediterranean⁸, and a picnic of "rations⁹" and hot cokes.

　　有一次，我们借了一辆法式敞篷车，去泡硫磺温泉，享受地中海的清凉，“定量”的野餐和热可乐。

　　Two lieutenants¹⁰ who were smart enough to know the score, but not smart enough to realize that we wanted to be alone.

　　两个聪明的中尉了解我们的关系，但却不知道我们不希望被打扰。

1 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

2 spotlights   

n.聚光灯（的光）( spotlight的名词复数 )；公众注意的中心v.聚光照明( spotlight的第三人称单数 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目

参考例句：

• The room was lit by spotlights. 房间被聚光灯照亮。
• The dazzle of the spotlights made him ill at ease. 聚光灯的耀眼强光使他局促不安。 来自辞典例句

3 rehearsals   

n.练习( rehearsal的名词复数 )；排练；复述；重复

参考例句：

• The earlier protests had just been dress rehearsals for full-scale revolution. 早期的抗议仅仅是大革命开始前的预演。
• She worked like a demon all through rehearsals. 她每次排演时始终精力过人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

5 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

6 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

7 convertible   

adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车

参考例句：

• The convertible sofa means that the apartment can sleep four.有了这张折叠沙发，公寓里可以睡下4个人。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了。

8 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

9 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

10 lieutenants   

n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 )；副职官员；空军；仅低于…官阶的官员

参考例句：

• In the army, lieutenants are subordinate to captains. 在陆军中，中尉是上尉的下级。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lieutenants now cap at 1.5 from 1. Recon at 1. 中尉现在由1人口增加的1.5人口。侦查小组成员为1人口。 来自互联网