美国语文第五册 第301期:弗吉尼亚人(3)

 　　When the boys' grandfather died, their mother, in great state, proclaimed her eldest¹ son George her successor and heir of the estate; 男孩们的祖父最终去世后，他们的母亲威风凛凛地在全庄园郑重宣布，她的大儿子乔治为她的继任者以及财产继承人；

　　and Harry², George's younger brother by half an hour, was always enjoined³ to respect his senior. 半小时后，乔治的弟弟哈里接到需要认可乔治地位的授意，

　　All the household was equally instructed to pay him honor; 全家上下无一例外必须尊重乔治的权威，

　　the negroes, of whom there was a large and happy family, and the assigned servants from Europe, 包括那些人口众多、幸福和睦的黑人家庭，还有那些来自欧洲指派的固定奴仆，

　　whose lot was made as bearable as it might be under the government of the lady of Castlewood. 一干人命运当然以对卡斯尔伍德庄园女主人绝对服从为基本前提。

　　In the whole family there scarcely was a rebel save Mrs. Esmond's faithful friend and companion, Madam Mountain, 全家几乎所有人都对埃斯蒙德夫人唯唯诺诺，鲜少的反驳之声来自夫人的忠实朋友兼伴友蒙顿夫人，

　　and Harry's foster mother, a faithful negro woman, who never could be made to understand why her child should not be first, 还有哈里的继母，那位忠心耿耿的黑女人。她从未弄清楚，为什么她的哈里在家里不该排第一？

　　who was handsomer, and stronger, and cleverer than his brother, as she vowed⁴; 哈里相貌英俊，身体健壮结实，比他的哥哥聪明活络，这一点，那位黑人奶母甚至赌咒发誓，

　　though, in truth, there was scarcely any difference in the beauty, strength, or stature⁵ of the twins. 事实上，尽管就相貌、体格或身材而言，这双胞胎兄弟几乎无法分辨。

　　In disposition⁶, they were in many points exceedingly unlike; 至于性情方面，两兄弟行为举止显然大相径庭。

　　but in feature they resembled each other so closely, that, but for the color of their hair, it had been difficult to distinguish them. 单从外貌特征来看，兄弟俩实在过于相像，如果不是头发颜色的差异，外人的确很难分清兄弟俩；

　　In their beds, and when their heads were covered with those vast, ribboned nightcaps, which our great and little ancestors wore, 如果晚上兄弟俩上床，戴上家族先人们曾佩戴的那种硕大无朋的缎带睡帽，

　　it was scarcely possible for any but a nurse or a mother to tell the one from the other child. 那么，除保姆或妈妈，几乎没人能够辨认出这对宝贝。

　　Howbeit, alike in form, we have said that they differed in temper. 正如方才提到的，两人长相雷同，脾气秉性则迥异不同。

1 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

2 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

3 enjoined   

v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The embezzler was severely punished and enjoined to kick back a portion of the stolen money each month. 贪污犯受到了严厉惩罚，并被责令每月退还部分赃款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She enjoined me strictly not to tell anyone else. 她严令我不准告诉其他任何人。 来自辞典例句

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 stature   

n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材

参考例句：

• He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
• The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。

6 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。