美国语文第五册 第53期:公正不会缺席(1)

 　　It was Saturday night, and the widow of the Pine Cottage sat by her blazing fagots, with her five tattered¹ children at her side, 一个周六的夜晚，一座松木搭建的小屋里，一位寡妇坐在燃烧的火堆旁，五个衣衫褴褛的孩子依偎在她的身边。

　　endeavoring by listening to the artlessness of their prattle² to dissipate the heavy gloom that pressed upon her mind. 她强打精神，听着周围咿呀吵闹，孩子们不谙人世的纯真，或许消散她内心些许沉重阴霾。

　　For a year, her own feeble hand had provided for her helpless family,  一年来，她用羸弱的双手独自撑起这个呼告无门的家。

　　for she had no supporter: she thought of no friend in all the wide, unfriendly world around. 在这个偌大寒冷的世界上，她举目无亲，无所可依。

　　But that mysterious Providence³, the wisdom of whose ways is above human comprehension,  然而，天意神秘不可知。那位超越人类认知的睿者，

　　had visited her with wasting sickness, and her little means had become exhausted⁴. 目睹了她的病弱之躯，她那微薄家产逐渐消耗殆尽。

　　It was now, too, midwinter, and the snow lay heavy and deep through all the surrounding forests, while storms still seemed gathering⁵ in the heavens, 适逢仲冬，四周森林莽野，雪下得很大，很厚，暴风雪仍在天空不断聚集，

　　and the driving wind roared amid the neighboring pines, and rocked her puny⁶ mansion⁷. 狂风在松林里呼啸翻卷，摇撼着她和她的孩子那间可怜的木屋。

　　The last herring smoked upon the coals before her; 最后一条鲱鱼在她面前炉火上燎起轻烟，

　　it was the only article of food she possessed⁸, 那是她仅剩的最后一点食物。

　　and no wonder her forlorn, desolate⁹ state brought up in her lone¹⁰ bosom¹¹ all the anxieties of a mother when she looked upon her children: 毫不奇怪，她看着玩耍的孩子们，一丝绝望情绪在她无助的内心蔓延，那是一个母亲的呼救无门；

　　and no wonder, forlorn as she was, if she suffered the heart swellings of despair to rise, 毋庸多说，她倍感孤独，她还是感觉到最后的绝望在她心底慢慢隆起，隆起那道彻骨的冰凉。

　　even though she knew that He, whose promise is to the widow and to the orphan¹², can not forget his word. 尽管她明白，对一户孤儿寡母来说，上帝不会忘记它的诺言。

1 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

2 prattle   

n.闲谈；v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话；发出连续而无意义的声音

参考例句：

• Amy's happy prattle became intolerable.艾美兴高采烈地叽叽喳喳说个不停，汤姆感到无法忍受。
• Flowing water and green grass witness your lover's endless prattle.流水缠绕，小草依依，都是你诉不尽的情话。

3 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

4 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 puny   

adj.微不足道的，弱小的

参考例句：

• The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
• Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙，身体还不壮，还不能干活。

7 mansion   

n.大厦，大楼；宅第

参考例句：

• The old mansion was built in 1850.这座古宅建于1850年。
• The mansion has extensive grounds.这大厦四周的庭园广阔。

8 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

9 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

10 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

11 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

12 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。