羊皮卷的故事（10）

It was winter and the chill was bitter on the Mount of Olives.

时已冬季，橄榄山上寒风凛冽。

From Jerusalem, across the narrow cleft¹ of the Kidron Valley,

耶路撒冷庙堂里

came the smell of smoke,

传来一股烧香熏烟的气味，

incense², and binning³ flesh from the Temple and its foulness⁴ mixed

焚烧尸体时发出的臭味，

with the turpentine odor of terebinth trees on the mountain.

以及山上树林里松脂的清香，混杂在一起，穿过金伦山谷，袅袅飘来。

On an open slope, only a short descent from the village of Bethpage,

离贝斯村不远的斜坡上，

slumbered⁵ the immense trade caravan⁶ of Pathros of Palmyra.

歇息着帕尔迈拉岛的柏萨罗商队。

The hour was late

夜深了，

and even the great merchant's favorite stallion had ceased munching⁷ on the low pistachio bushes

主人最宠爱的种马也不再咀嚼低矮的阿月浑子树丛，

and settled down against a soft hedge of laurel

靠在月桂树旁，安静下来。

Beyond the long row of silent tents,

长长的一列帐篷旁，

strands⁸ of thick hemp⁹ curled around four ancient olive trees.

粗大的麻绳围住四棵古老的橄榄树，

They formed a square corral

麻绳围的圈里面可以看见

enclosing shapeless forms of camels and asses¹⁰ huddled¹¹ together

骆驼和骡子挤在一起，

to draw warmth from each other’s body.

互相取暖。

Except for two guards, patrolling near the baggage wagons¹²,

除了两个警卫来回巡逻外，

the only movement in the camp

方圆一片寂静，

was the tall and moving shadow outlined against the goafs hair wall of Pathros' great tent.

只有柏萨罗的帐篷现出走动的人影。

Inside, Pathros paced angrily back and forth¹³,

帐篷里，柏萨罗面带愠色，来回踱着步子，

pausing occasionally to frown

时而皱眉，

and shake his head at the youth

时而摇头。

kneeling timidly near the tent opening.

看着跪在门边的那个怯生生的少年

Finally he lowered his ailing¹⁴ body to the gold-woven rug

最后，他在金缕交织的地毯上坐下来。

and beckoned¹⁵ the lad to move closer.

招手示意少年过来。

"Hafid, you have always been as my own.

“海菲，我一直当你是自己的亲生儿子。

I am perplexed¹⁶ and puzzled by your strange request

我不明白你怎么会提出这种奇怪的要求。

Are you not content with your work?"

你对现在干的活儿不满意吗?”

The boy's eyes were fixed¹⁷ on the rug.

少年眼望地毯说道，

"No sire."

“不是，老爷。”

"Perhaps the ever increasing size of our caravans¹⁸ has made your task of tending to all our animals too great?"

“是不是篷车多了，你喂养不了那么多骆驼?

"No, sire."

“也不是，老爷。”

"Then kindly¹⁹ repeat your request.

“那么，再把你的请求说一遍吧，

Include also, in thy words,

慢慢地说，

the reasoning behind such an unusual request."

告诉我你的理由。”

1 cleft   

n.裂缝；adj.裂开的

参考例句：

• I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
• He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。

2 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

3 binning   

n.装箱，进仓v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Repair or donate broken items rather than binning them. 把损坏的物件拿去修理或捐赠出去，不要把它们存放在箱子里。 来自互联网
• But binning this sausage no longer looks feasible. 但若完全丢掉这根香肠可能性缺缺。 来自互联网

4 foulness   

n. 纠缠, 卑鄙

参考例句：

• The meeting is delayed by the foulness of the weather. 会议被恶劣的天气耽搁了。
• In his book, he lay bare the foulness of man. 在他的著作中，他揭露人类的卑鄙。

5 slumbered   

微睡，睡眠（slumber的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The baby slumbered in his cradle. 婴儿安睡在摇篮中。
• At that time my virtue slumbered; my evil, kept awake by ambition. 就在那时，我的善的一面睡着了，我的邪恶面因野心勃勃而清醒着。

6 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

7 munching   

v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was munching an apple. 他在津津有味地嚼着苹果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Munching the apple as he was, he had an eye for all her movements. 他虽然啃着苹果，但却很留神地监视着她的每一个动作。 来自辞典例句

8 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

10 asses   

n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人

参考例句：

• Sometimes I got to kick asses to make this place run right. 有时我为了把这个地方搞得像个样子，也不得不踢踢别人的屁股。 来自教父部分
• Those were wild asses maybe, or zebras flying around in herds. 那些也许是野驴或斑马在成群地奔跑。

11 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

12 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

13 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

14 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

15 beckoned   

v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
• The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

17 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

18 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

19 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。