美国语文第五册 第244期:莱茵河畔的士兵(2)

 　　And when he died, and left us to divide his scanty¹ hoard², I let them take whate’er they would, but kept my father’s sword;  父亲死后，当全家处理父亲那点微薄的遗产时，我让兄弟们随意拿取他们想要的东西，只给自己留下父亲的一把剑。

　　And with boyish love I hung it where the bright light used to shine, On the cottage wall at Bingen,—calm Bingen on the Rhine.  怀着一个孩子真挚的爱，我将那把剑挂好，挂在阳光可以照到的宾根普通农家的墙上，——莱茵河畔安宁的宾根。

　　Tell my sister not to weep for me, and sob³ with drooping⁴ head,  请告诉我的姐妹，不要为我哭泣，不要低下悲伤的头。

　　When the troops come marching home again, with glad and gallant⁵ read,  当我们的部队重新胜利凯旋，请为他们感到骄傲。

　　But to look upon them proudly, with a calm and steadfast⁶ eye,  以冷静坚定的骄傲目光欢迎他们，

　　For her brother was a soldier, too, and not afraid to die; 因为她们的兄弟也是一位士兵。无需畏惧死亡。

　　And if a comrade seek her love,  假如有位战士追求我的姐妹，

　　I ask her in my name To listen to him kindly⁷, without regret or shame,  我请求她们以我的名义认真倾听他的叙说，不要后悔或感到羞耻，

　　And to hang the old sword in its place (my father’s sword and mine),  将那把古老的剑，那把父亲和我共同拥有的战剑在原先位置挂好，

　　For the honor of old Bingen,—dear Bingen on the Rhine. 为了古老宾根的荣耀，——莱茵河畔可爱的宾根。

　　There’s another,—not a sister; in the happy days gone by, You’d have known her by the merriment that sparkled in her eye;  还有一位姑娘并非我的姐妹，在过去幸福时光里，从她眼里的欣喜闪光，我读懂了她。

　　Too innocent for coquetry,—too fond for idle scorning,—O friend! I fear the lightest heart makes sometimes heaviest mourning! 她那天真无邪的撒娇，若无其事的嘲弄。哦，亲爱的朋友！我唯恐你最为细微的心里承受太多悲哀！

　　Tell her the last night of my life—(for, ere the moon be risen, My body will be out of pain, my soul be out of prison),  请告诉她我生命中最后一夜——（因为，月亮升起之前，我的身体将脱离痛苦，我的灵魂将离开囚禁之地），

1 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

2 hoard   

n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积

参考例句：

• They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
• How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩？

3 sob   

n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣

参考例句：

• The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
• The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。

4 drooping   

adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词

参考例句：

• The drooping willows are waving gently in the morning breeze. 晨风中垂柳袅袅。
• The branches of the drooping willows were swaying lightly. 垂柳轻飘飘地摆动。

5 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

6 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

7 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。