美国语文第六册 第174期:北美印第安人(3)

The Indian of falcon¹ glance and lion bearing, the theme of the touching² ballad³, the hero of the pathetic tale is gone,

在猎鹰的注视下和狮子的养育下，在聆听伤感的民谣和令人唏嘘的英雄传奇的过程中繁衍起来的印第安人已经一去不复返了。

and his degraded offspring crawls upon the soil where he walked in majesty⁴,

他们退化了的后代拜倒在祖先昂首阔步走过的土地上，

to remind us how miserable⁵ is man when the foot of the conqueror⁶ is on his neck.

不禁令我们想到当征服者的铁蹄踩在一个人的脖颈上时是何等可悲。

As a race they have withered⁷ from the land.

作为一个民族，他们已经从这块土地上渐渐消失了。

Their arrows are broken, their springs are dried up, their cabins are in the dust.

他们背上的弓箭已经折断，他们赖以生存的泉水已经干涸。

Their council fire has long since gone out on the shore, and their war cry is fast fading to the untrodden west.

在水滨，部落大会已经很长时间不见篝火了，在人迹罕至的西部他们打仗时的呐喊声很快就消弭了。

北美印第安人

Slowly and sadly they climb the distant mountains, and read their doom⁸ in the setting sun.

他们缓缓地爬上高山，神情悲戚，在落日下他们依稀分辨着自己家的茅屋。

They are shrinking before the mighty⁹ tide which is pressing them away;

在巨大的潮汐面前他们退缩着。

they must soon hear the roar of the last wave which will settle over them forever.

他们必然很快就能听到将他们永远冲到这里定居的最后的波涛咆哮之声。

Ages hence, the inquisitive¹⁰ white man, as he stands by some growing city,

因此，多年以后当他站在旁边凝望成长中的城市时，

will ponder on the structure of their disturbed remains¹¹, and wonder to what manner of persons they belonged.

好盘根问底的白人考虑的是印第安人被破坏的遗迹的建筑结构，会对住在这样的建筑物里的人的生活方式感到好奇。

They will live only in the songs and chronicles of their exterminators.

他们只存在于歌谣和灭杀他们的人的编年史里。

Let these be faithful to their rude virtues¹² as men, and pay due tribute to their unhappy fate as a people.

还是让这些记录忠实于他们作为人的原始的德性吧，理应对他们作为一个民族不幸的命运进行凭吊。

1 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

2 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

3 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

4 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

5 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

6 conqueror   

n.征服者，胜利者

参考例句：

• We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。
• They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。

7 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

8 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

9 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

10 inquisitive   

adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的

参考例句：

• Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
• A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

12 virtues   

美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处

参考例句：

• Doctors often extol the virtues of eating less fat. 医生常常宣扬少吃脂肪的好处。
• She delivered a homily on the virtues of family life. 她进行了一场家庭生活美德方面的说教。