美国语文第五册 第311期:论烤猪(1)

 　　Mankind, says a Chinese manuscript, which my friend M. was obliging enough to read and explain to me, 我的朋友老麦，曾经好心地为我朗读一本中国古代手抄书，并辅以解释，

　　for the first seventy thousand ages ate their meat raw, 那本书上说，最早七万年前的人类尚为生番族，他们大啖生肉，

　　clawing or biting it from the living animal, just as they do in Abyssinia to this day. 从活物身上撕扯或啮咬血淋淋的肉来充饥，与当今蒙昧落后的埃塞俄比亚人堪有一比。

　　This period is not obscurely hinted at by their great Confucius in the second chapter of his “Mundane Mutations,” 在中国伟大的孔夫子《春秋》一书第二章节中，孔夫子清晰地用“庖房”

　　where he designates a kind of golden age by the term Cho-fang, literally¹ the Cooks' Holiday. 词语将那一远古时期定为黄金时代，“庖房”文字上意指厨师的庆典。

　　The manuscript goes on to say that the art of roasting, or rather broiling² (which I take to be the elder brother), 书中认为烘烤，或者毋庸说烧烤手艺（我觉得后者应率先采用），

　　was accidentally discovered in the manner following: 不过是人类不经意的发现，或许经过应该这样：

　　The swineherd, Ho-ti, having gone out into the woods one morning, as his manner was, 有一天，霍逖猪倌清晨离家走进森林，如同往常那样，

　　to collect mast for his hogs³, left his cottage in the care of his eldest⁴ son, Bo-bo, 给家里猪猡采摘橡树果实，留下他的儿子波波看家。

　　a great lubberly boy, who, being fond of playing with fire, 愚笨冥顽的儿子波波喜欢玩火，

　　as younkers of his age commonly are, let some sparks escape into a bundle of straw, 远古荒蛮年代的孩子大多有此嗜好，于是，火星点点遽然从草堆里冒出，

　　which, kindling⁵ quickly, spread the conflagration⁶ over every part of their poor mansion⁷ till it was reduced to ashes. 很快燃成一片熊熊烈火。大火迅速地舔舐那间狭小茅舍，直到将其彻底化为灰烬。

　　Together with the cottage,—a sorry, antediluvian⁸ makeshift of a building, you may think it, 究竟一间远古大洪水前破陋窝棚，不妨设想一下，

　　what was of much more importance, a fine litter of newborn pigs, no less than nine in number, perished. 当时原始人的眼里迫切需要，抑或一窝生下不久、数量不少于九只的活泼猪崽孰重孰轻？

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 broiling   

adj.酷热的，炽热的，似烧的v.（用火）烤（焙、炙等）( broil的现在分词 )；使卷入争吵；使混乱；被烤（或炙）

参考例句：

• They lay broiling in the sun. 他们躺在太阳底下几乎要晒熟了。
• I'm broiling in this hot sun. 在太阳底下，我感到热极了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 hogs   

n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人

参考例句：

• 'sounds like -- like hogs grunting. “像——像是猪发出的声音。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• I hate the way he hogs down his food. 我讨厌他那副狼吞虎咽的吃相。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 kindling   

n. 点火, 可燃物 动词kindle的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There were neat piles of kindling wood against the wall. 墙边整齐地放着几堆引火柴。
• "Coal and kindling all in the shed in the backyard." “煤，劈柴，都在后院小屋里。” 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

6 conflagration   

n.建筑物或森林大火

参考例句：

• A conflagration in 1947 reduced 90 percent of the houses to ashes.1947年的一场大火，使90%的房屋化为灰烬。
• The light of that conflagration will fade away.这熊熊烈火会渐渐熄灭。

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 antediluvian   

adj.史前的，陈旧的

参考例句：

• His ideas are positively antediluvian!他的思想是纯粹的老古董。
• This antediluvian monetary system has now been replaced by the up-to-date monetary system of Japan.这种旧式的金融体系也已经被现代化的日本系统所取代。