美国语文第五册 第47期:我怜悯他们(2)

 　　Some pitied him a great deal, and some did not pity him very much, 有些人深深同情这一家庭，有些人却不以为然，

　　because, they said, he might have known better than to try to cross an unsafe bridge, and should have made his horse swim the river. 他们觉得这家人早该清楚，不该从那条不安全的桥上过，或是让那匹马游过河。

　　Pity, however, seemed rather to predominate. 大家众说纷纭，七嘴八舌，最后，来往的移民队伍里还是怜悯同情占了上风。

　　Some pitied the man, and some the horse; all pitied the poor, sick mother and her six helpless children. 有的人同情那家人，有的人叹息那马；不过，那位贫穷体弱的母亲，以及她六个无助的孩子无不让人潸然泪下。

　　Among this pitying party was a rough son of the West, 人群中有位当地西部酋长的儿子，性格相当直率。

　　who knew what it was to migrate¹ some hundreds of miles over new roads to locate a destitute² family on a prairie. 他清楚在荒无人烟的大草原上跋涉数百英里，对两手空空的一家老小来说，意味着什么。

　　Seeing the man's forlorn situation, and looking around on the bystanders, 目睹这家人的绝望无助，看到四周围观的人群，

　　he said, "All of you seem to pity these poor people very much, but I would beg leave to ask each of you how much." 他高声说道：“看来，你们都非常同情这家遭难的人，我是否可以冒昧地问一下，你们每人能拿出多少钱？”

　　"There, stranger," continued he, holding up a ten dollar bill, “我们原本素昧平生，”他接着往下说，同时举起手里一张10美元的钞票，

　　there is the amount of my pity; and if others will do as I do, you may soon get another pony³. God bless you. 这是我捐出的钱，如果有人像我一样，同样捐出10元钱的话，我马上送你一匹小马驹，上帝保佑你们！

　　It is needless⁴ to state the effect that this active charity produced. 不用说，当时募捐场面相当火暴，

　　In a short time the happy emigrant⁵ arrived at his destination,  因为，那些迁入的新移民很快在当地定居落户；

　　and he is now a thriving farmer, and a neighbor to him who was his "friend in need, and a friend indeed." 酋长儿子的农场昌盛兴旺，有幸作为他的邻居，大家如何不乐意结交这种可谓“患难之交见真情”的新朋挚友呢。

1 migrate   

vi.（候鸟等）迁徙，移居（国外），迁移

参考例句：

• Many birds migrate south for the winter.冬天时，许多鸟类迁徙南方。
• The rich people often migrate in winter to Florida.有钱的人常在冬季搬迁到佛罗里达州去。

2 destitute   

adj.缺乏的；穷困的

参考例句：

• They were destitute of necessaries of life.他们缺少生活必需品。
• They are destitute of common sense.他们缺乏常识。

3 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

4 needless   

adj.不必，无须，不必要的，无用的

参考例句：

• Needless to say,I agree.无须说，我是同意的。
• It is needless to add that you are in want of a second.你需要一个助手，那是不必说的。

5 emigrant   

adj.移居的，移民的；n.移居外国的人，移民

参考例句：

• He is a British emigrant to Australia.他是个移居澳大利亚的英国人。
• I always think area like this is unsuited for human beings,but it is also unpractical to emigrant in a large scale.我一直觉得，像这样的地方是不适宜人类居住的，可大规模的移民又是不现实的。