美国语文第六册 第92期:教师和生病的学者(2)

 　　No boy attempted to violate the sanctity of seat or peg¹, 没有哪个孩子企图冒犯座位或顺序的神圣，

　　but many a one looked from the empty spaces to the schoolmaster, and whispered to his idle neighbor, behind his hand. 不过其中有个孩子偷偷瞧着老师，跟身后相邻闲得无聊的孩子耳语着什么。

　　Then began the hum of conning² over lessons and getting them by heart, the whispered jest and stealthy game, and all the noise and drawl of school; 接下来，学生们开始上课，嗡嗡地背诵课文，有的在小声开玩笑和偷偷玩游戏，嘈杂声和拖长语调读课文的声音交织在一起。

　　and in the midst of the din³, sat the poor schoolmaster, vainly attempting to fix his mind upon the duties of the day, and to forget his little sick friend. 这位可怜的老师置身于嘈杂的声音中间，徒劳地竭力聚精会神，尽自己的本分，强迫自己忘掉那位生病的小朋友。

　　But the tedium⁴ of his office reminded him more strongly of the willing scholar, and his thoughts were rambling⁵ from his pupils—it was plain. 但是，教室里单调乏味的气氛令他禁不住更加想念那位专注的小学者，他的思绪早已离开眼前这些学生——脑海里一片空白。

　　None knew this better than the idlest boys, who, growing bolder with impunity⁶, waxed louder and more daring; 这些最懒惰的孩子当然会钻空子，他们晓得老师不惩罚他们而愈发胆大妄为，大声说话，

　　playing "odd or even" under the master's eye; eating apples openly and without rebuke⁷; 在老师眼皮底下玩“猜单双游戏”；旁若无人地吃苹果，而不会受到申斥；

　　pinching each other in sport or malice⁸, without the least reserve; and cutting their initials in the very legs of his desk. 互相之间推推搡搡，恶意嬉闹，连最起码的防护措施也没有；在老师书桌的桌腿上刻上每个学生名字的第一个字母。

　　The puzzled dunce, who stood beside it to say his lesson "off the book," looked no longer at the ceiling for forgotten words, 那个令老师伤透脑筋的笨家伙站在书桌旁说，上他的课根本不用“看书”，他不再因为忘了词儿盯着天花板，

　　but drew closer to the master's elbow, and boldly cast his eye upon the page; 而是凑到老师眼皮底下，胆大包天地盯着那一页。

　　the wag of the little troop squinted⁹ and made grimaces¹⁰ (at the smallest boy, of course), 这个小调皮鬼斜着眼睛做出种种怪相（当然冲着年龄最小的男孩子），

　　holding no book before his face, and his approving companions knew no constraint¹¹ in their delight. 他的面前没有书本遮着，观众大表赞成，乐不可支。

1 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

2 conning   

v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He climbed into the conning tower, his eyes haunted and sickly bright. 他爬上司令塔，两眼象见鬼似的亮得近乎病态。 来自辞典例句
• As for Mady, she enriched her record by conning you. 对马德琳来说，这次骗了你，又可在她的光荣历史上多了一笔。 来自辞典例句

3 din   

n.喧闹声，嘈杂声

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• They tried to make themselves heard over the din of the crowd.他们力图让自己的声音盖过人群的喧闹声。

4 tedium   

n.单调；烦闷

参考例句：

• We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
• In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。

5 rambling   

adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的

参考例句：

• We spent the summer rambling in Ireland. 我们花了一个夏天漫游爱尔兰。
• It was easy to get lost in the rambling house. 在布局凌乱的大房子里容易迷路。

6 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

7 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

8 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

9 squinted   

斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看

参考例句：

• Pulling his rifle to his shoulder he squinted along the barrel. 他把枪顶肩，眯起眼睛瞄准。
• I squinted through the keyhole. 我从锁眼窥看。

10 grimaces   

n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Clark winked at the rude child making grimaces. 克拉克先生假装没有看见那个野孩子做鬼脸。 来自辞典例句
• The most ridiculous grimaces were purposely or unconsciously indulged in. 故意或者无心地扮出最滑稽可笑的鬼脸。 来自辞典例句

11 constraint   

n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物

参考例句：

• The boy felt constraint in her presence.那男孩在她面前感到局促不安。
• The lack of capital is major constraint on activities in the informal sector.资本短缺也是影响非正规部门生产经营的一个重要制约因素。