美国语文第五册 第303期:弗吉尼亚人(5)

 　　On account of a certain apish drollery¹ and humor which exhibited itself in the lad, 抖落乔治身上的诙谐笑料，令人忍俊不禁。

　　and a liking² for some of the old man's pursuits, the first of the twins was the grandfather's favorite and companion, 这个半大小子喜爱似乎与祖父嗜好有些不谋而合，乔治还喜欢和老人袒露孩子的小秘密。

　　and would laugh and talk out all his infantine heart to the old gentleman, to whom the younger had seldom a word to say. 童言无忌的纯真，使他成为老人的心头肉和忘年交，而乔治喜欢和老人尽情袒露孩童的小秘密。弟弟哈里则与祖父几乎无话可说。

　　George was a demure³, studious boy, and his senses seemed to brighten up in the library, where his brother was so gloomy. 乔治学习严肃认真，一进入知识海洋，便显现出惊人天赋；捧起书本的哈里，总是蔫头耷脑，满脸愁容。

　　He knew the books before he could well-nigh carry them, and read in them long before he could understand them. 乔治小时候，甚至在无法明白文章内容的时候，他便喜欢上了书，早早开始阅读；

　　Harry⁴, on the other hand, was all alive in the stables or in the wood, eager for all parties of hunting and fishing, 此刻的哈里成天活蹦乱跑，不是在马厩或树林里搅得鸡飞狗跳，就是屁颠颠地钓鱼打猎聚众喧闹，

　　and promised to be a good sportsman from a very early age. 从小便信誓旦旦地声称自己将会成为优秀的体育健将。

　　At length the time came when Mr. Esmond was to have done with the affairs of this life, 死神降临，埃斯蒙德先生即将告别人世，庄园一干世俗杂务业已与他无关，

　　and he laid them down as if glad to be rid of their burden. 对他来说，如释重负的解脱似乎意味着内心欣慰无比。

　　All who read and heard that discourse⁵, wondered where Parson Broadbent of James Town found the eloquence⁶ and the Latin which adorned⁷ it. 凡是读过或听过埃斯蒙德先生祭文的人，对詹姆斯镇德本特牧师究竟从哪找到这么一篇流利完美、不时缀有庄重典雅拉丁文的祭文心存疑惑。

　　Perhaps Mr. Dempster knew, the boys' Scotch⁸ tutor, who corrected the proofs of the oration⁹, 登普斯特先生或许深谙其中奥秘，这位乔治与哈里的苏格兰家庭老师想必对那篇祭文最后润笔。

　　which was printed, by the desire of his Excellency and many persons of honor, at Mr. Franklin's press in Philadelphia. 这篇祭文依照国王阁下的本人意愿，另外鉴于诸多贤士名流的荣誉考虑，最终在费城富兰克林先生出版社得以印出。

1 drollery   

n.开玩笑，说笑话；滑稽可笑的图画（或故事、小戏等）

参考例句：

• We all enjoyed his drollery. 我们都欣赏他的幽默。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• "It is a bit of quiet, unassuming drollery which warms like good wine. "这是一段既不哗众取宠又不矫揉造作的滑稽表演，像美酒一样温馨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

3 demure   

adj.严肃的；端庄的

参考例句：

• She's very demure and sweet.她非常娴静可爱。
• The luscious Miss Wharton gave me a demure but knowing smile.性感迷人的沃顿小姐对我羞涩地会心一笑。

4 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。

5 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

6 eloquence   

n.雄辩；口才，修辞

参考例句：

• I am afraid my eloquence did not avail against the facts.恐怕我的雄辩也无补于事实了。
• The people were charmed by his eloquence.人们被他的口才迷住了。

7 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

8 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

9 oration   

n.演说，致辞，叙述法

参考例句：

• He delivered an oration on the decline of family values.他发表了有关家庭价值观的衰退的演说。
• He was asked to deliver an oration at the meeting.他被邀请在会议上发表演说。