美国语文第四册 第157期:河口剧场(1)

 　　"Now, boys, what shall we do?" I asked, addressing a thoughtful conclave¹ of seven, “现在，孩子们，咱们做点什么呢？”我问七个聚集在我家谷仓的男孩子。

　　assembled in our barn one dismal², rainy afternoon. "Let's have a theater," suggested Binny Wallace. 一个阴霾的雨天的下午，“我们办个剧场吧，”宾尼.华莱士建议道。

　　The very thing! But where? 好主意！可是剧场在哪里？

　　The loft³ of the stable was ready to burst with hay provided for Gypsy, but the long room over the carriage house was unoccupied. 谷仓阁楼堆满了给马准备的干草，但马车库对面还有空地。

　　The place of all places! 这个地方最合适！

　　My managerial eye saw at a glance its capabilities⁴ for a theater. 我用主办人的眼光扫视了一下，看能不能改造成剧场。

　　I had been to the play a great many times in New Orleans, and was wise in matters pertaining⁵ to the drama. 我多次去过新奥尔良的剧院，对于排戏这类事情无所不知。

　　So here, in due time, was set up some extraordinary scenery of my own painting. 因此，我制作了绝妙的道具。

　　The curtain, I recollect⁶, though it worked smoothly⁷ enough on other occasions, invariably hitched⁸ during the performances. 可是幕布尽管做别的用途时一直很顺滑，演出时却被钩住了。

　　The theater, however, was a success, as far as it went. 尽管如此，到目前为止，剧场的一切都很顺利。

　　I retired⁹ from the business with no fewer than fifteen hundred pins,  我最后收获了一千五百多枚钉子，

　　after deducting¹⁰ the headless, the pointless, and the crooked¹¹ pins with which our doorkeeper frequently got "stuck." 还有很多没有帽、没有尖或弯曲的，剧场的看门人拿这些钉子也毫无办法。

　　From first to last we took in a great deal of this counterfeit¹² money. 从始至终，我们收到了不少这种“假币”。

　　The price of admission to the "Rivermouth Theater" was twenty pins. 入场费是二十枚钉子。

　　I played all the principal characters myself—not that I was a finer actor than the other boys, but because I owned the establishment. 我自己扮演了所有的主要角色——不是因为我更优秀，只是因为我是剧场的主人。

1 conclave   

n.秘密会议，红衣主教团

参考例句：

• Signore,I ask and I prey,that you break this conclave.各位阁下，我请求，并祈祷，你们能停止这次秘密会议。
• I met my partner at that conclave and my life moved into a huge shift.我就是在那次大会上遇到了我的伴侣的，而我的生活就转向了一个巨大的改变。

2 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

3 loft   

n.阁楼，顶楼

参考例句：

• We could see up into the loft from bottom of the stairs.我们能从楼梯脚边望到阁楼的内部。
• By converting the loft,they were able to have two extra bedrooms.把阁楼改造一下，他们就可以多出两间卧室。

4 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 pertaining   

与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to)

参考例句：

• Living conditions are vastly different from those pertaining in their country of origin. 生活条件与他们祖国大不相同。
• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school. 视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。

6 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

7 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

8 hitched   

（免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上

参考例句：

• They hitched a ride in a truck. 他们搭乘了一辆路过的货车。
• We hitched a ride in a truck yesterday. 我们昨天顺便搭乘了一辆卡车。

9 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

10 deducting   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Deducting drop size and velocity from circular blood stains. 如何从循环的血液中降低血滴的大小和速度。 来自电影对白
• Ordinary shareholders receive dividend from profit after deducting the preference shares dividend. 普通股股东可获派剩馀的盈利为股息。 来自互联网

11 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

12 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。