美国语文第五册 第2期:朗读者(2)

 　　It is told of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, that, as he was seated one day in his private room,  传说，一天，普鲁士国王弗里德里希大帝坐在屋里，

　　a written petition was brought to him with the request that it should be immediately read. 他的卫兵给他送来一份书面请愿书。书中注明，请求国王即刻阅读。

　　The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other cause,  当时，国王刚刚结束打猎回宫，因为阳光刺眼，或某些其他原因，

　　had so dazzled his eyes that he found it difficult to make out a single word of the writing. 他头昏眼花，一个字也很难看清。

　　His private secretary happened to be absent; and the soldier who brought the petition could not read. 国王的私人秘书碰巧不在宫内，送来请愿书的卫兵也不识字。

　　There was a page, or favorite boy servant, waiting in the hall, and upon him the King called. 当时有位男侍，或者不如说一位乖巧侍童正在大厅当班伺候，国王吩咐他过来。

　　The page was a son of one of the noblemen of the court, but proved to be a very poor reader. 那位侍童是宫廷某位贵族的儿子，可随后证实，他的阅读能力相当糟糕。

　　In the first place, he did not articulate distinctly. 一上来，那位侍童发音就不够清晰，

　　He huddled¹ his words together in the utterance², as if they were syllables⁴ of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible. 那些词语在他嘴里居然咕囔成串，杂乱无章地快速蹦出。听起来，有的词语音节应该很长，可他似乎总是急不可耐地含糊读完。

　　His pronunciation was bad, and he did not modulate⁵ his voice so as to bring out the meaning of what he read. 他的发音很糟，无法表现文字的准确含义。

　　Every sentence was uttered with a dismal⁶ monotony of voice, as if it did not differ in any respect from that which preceded it. 与此同时，他所表述的所有话语无不沉闷呆板，毫无抑扬顿挫之感或音调变化，似乎词语间不存在任何差异。

　　"Stop!" said the King, impatiently. “停下！”国王不耐心地说，

　　Is it an auctioneer's list of goods to be sold that you are hurrying over? 莫非你是公开清单、急于拍卖物品的拍卖师，那么草草念完？

　　Send your companion to me. 把你的同伴叫来！

　　Another page who stood at the door now entered, and to him the King gave the petition. 很快，大厅门口守候的另一位侍童来到国王身边，国王将请愿书交给了他。

　　The second page began by hemming⁷ and clearing his throat in such an affected⁸ manner, 那侍童装模作样地清了清嗓子，

　　that the King jokingly asked him whether he had not slept in the public garden, with the gate open, the night before. 国王诙谐地问他，是不是他昨晚没在公园里过夜，但睡觉时门却整晚没关。The second page had a good share of self-conceit, however, and so was not greatly confused by the King's jest. 第二位侍童颇为自负，对国王的俏皮话，似乎不太在意。

　　He determined⁹ that he would avoid the mistake which his comrade had made. 他有心避免前面那位同伴的类似失误，开始朗读起来。

　　So he commenced reading the petition slowly and with great formality, emphasizing every word, and prolonging the articulation¹⁰ of every syllable³. 他的语速迟缓，太过一本正经，所有词语无不辅以重音，逐个音节拉长拼读，

　　But his manner was so tedious that the King cried out, Stop! are you reciting a lesson in the elementary sounds? 他的朗读那么乏味造作，国王不禁大声呵斥，停下！你难道是小学生背诵课文？

　　Out of the room! But no: stay! Send me that little girl who is sitting there by the fountain. 滚出去！不，站好！先把坐在喷泉那边的小姑娘给我叫过来！

　　The girl thus pointed¹¹ out by the King was a daughter of one of the laborers¹² employed by the royal gardener; 国王点名的那位姑娘是宫廷花师所雇佣人的女儿，

　　and she had come to help her father weed the flower beds. 那天，她过来帮着父亲给宫廷花圃除草。

　　It chanced that, like many of the poor people in Prussia, she had received a good education. 像普鲁士不少穷人那样，她碰巧接受过良好的教育。

　　She was somewhat alarmed when she found herself in the King's presence, 听到国王召见自己，她多少有点心存警觉。

　　but took courage when the King told her that he only wanted her to read for him, as his eyes were weak. 国王告诉她，由于他眼睛无法阅读，只是让她代劳，她才稍稍鼓起了勇气。

　　Now, Ernestine (for this was the name of the little girl) was fond of reading aloud,  欧内斯廷（小姑娘名字）喜欢高声朗读，

　　and often many of the neighbors would assemble at her father's house to hear her; 不少邻居经常聚集在她家门口听她读书。

　　those who could not read themselves would come to her, also, with their letters from distant friends or children, 那些不识字的人亦总乐意找她，他们带来远方朋友或孩子的来信。

　　and she thus formed the habit of reading various sorts of handwriting promptly¹³ and well. 因此，她便具有阅读不同手写文体、并能迅速准确朗读的能力。

1 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

2 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

3 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

4 syllables   

n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a word with two syllables 双音节单词
• 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 modulate   

v.调整，调节(音的强弱)；变调

参考例句：

• Please modulate the sound on the TV.请调节一下电视的音量。
• This system could modulate the voice signal effectively.这个系统可以对语音信号进行有效的调制。

6 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。

7 hemming   

卷边

参考例句：

• "Now stop hemming and hawing, and tell me about it, Edward. "别再这个那个的啦，跟我说说吧，爱德华。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
• All ideas of stopping holes and hemming in the German intruders are vicious. 一切想要堵塞缺口和围困德国侵略军的办法都是错误的。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 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。

10 articulation   

n.（清楚的）发音；清晰度，咬合

参考例句：

• His articulation is poor.他发音不清楚。
• She spoke with a lazy articulation.她说话慢吞吞的。

11 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。

12 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

13 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。