《爱丽丝镜中奇遇记》 第七章 狮子与独角兽（1）

7.The Lion and the Unicorn¹

7．狮子与独角兽

The next moment soldiers came running through the wood, at first in twos and threes,

稍后，士兵跑步穿过树林，起先是三三两两的，

then ten or twenty together, and at last in great crowds that seemed to fill the forest.

随后是十个二十个，最后是成群成群的，似乎把整个森林都塞满了。

Alice got behind a tree and watched them go past.

爱丽丝躲在树后看着他们过去。

They were very strange soldiers, she thought.

她想这些士兵真够奇特。

They were always falling over something or other, and when one soldier went down, several more always fell over him.

他们总是跌倒在什么东西上。当一个士兵倒下，更多的士兵就倒在他上面。

Soon the ground was covered with fallen men.

片刻之间，地面上到处是倒下的人了。

Then came the horses. With four feet, they managed better than the foot-soldiers, but even they fell more often than not.

后来马过来了。马有四条腿，因此跑得比步兵平稳，但即使这样也经常摔倒。

And when a horse fell, the rider² always fell off at once.

马一摔倒，骑士总是马上掉下来。

It was almost like a battle³ in itself, and Alice decided⁴ it would be safer to move on.

这种局面几乎本身就像一场战斗。爱丽丝拿定主意，离开此地会更安全。

Soon she came to an open place, where she found the White King sitting on the ground, busily writing in his notebook.

不久，她来到了一个开阔地。在那儿，她看见白方国王坐在地上，忙着在笔记本上写东西。

'I've sent them all!' the King cried happily when he saw Alice.

国王一看见爱丽丝就高兴地叫嚷道：“我把他们都派出去了，”

Did you happen to meet any soldiers, my dear, as you came through the wood?

小宝贝，你走过树林时，碰见士兵们了吗？

'Yes, I did,' said Alice. 'Several thousand, I think.'

“碰上了，我想有好几千。”爱丽丝答道。

'Four thousand two hundred and seven,' the King said, looking at his book.

国王看了看本子，说：“共4207位。”

I couldn't send all the horses, because two of them are wanted in the game.

我不能把马匹都派出去，因为象棋里需要两枚马。

And I haven't sent theMessengers, Haigha and Hatta.

而且我也没把黑格与哈特两位信使派去。

I need them myself, of course-to come and go. One to come, and one to go.

当然，我需要他们来回穿梭送信。一个来，一个去.

'I don't think I understand,' said Alice. 'Why one to come and one to go?'

爱丽丝说：“我想我还是不明白。干吗一个来，一个去？”

'I've told you,' the King said crossly.

国王面有愠色，说：“我告诉过你，"

I must have two-to fetch⁶ and carry. One to fetch, and one to carry.

我得有两个帮手--一个取信，一个送信。

At that moment Haigha, one of the Messengers⁵, arrived.

这时，叫黑格的那个信使来了。

He had very large hands and great eyes, which were always moving wildly from side to side.

他长着巨手、大眼，眼珠老是左右乱转。

'What's the news from town?' said the King.

国王问：“城里有什么消息？”

'I'll whisper⁷ it,' said Haigha, putting his mouth close to the King's ear.

“我悄声告诉你。”黑格凑近国王的耳朵说话。

Alice was sorry about this, because she wanted to hear the news too.

爱丽丝也想听听城里的消息。于是心里有点遗憾。

But, instead of whispering⁸, Haigha shouted at the top of his voice, 'They're at it again!'

但突然黑格从悄声低语转而大叫一声：“他们又斗起来了！”

1 unicorn   

n.(传说中的)独角兽

参考例句：

• The unicorn is an imaginary beast.独角兽是幻想出来的动物。
• I believe unicorn was once living in the world.我相信独角兽曾经生活在这个世界。

2 rider   

n.骑士，附件，扶手

参考例句：

• The rider forced his horse on through the storm.骑手在暴风雨中策马前进。
• The jury added a rider to their verdict recommending mercy.陪审团在裁决后加了一条建议宽恕的附文。

3 battle   

n.战斗，战役；斗争；vi.斗争，搏斗

参考例句：

• People whose marriage has ended often battle over the children.离婚者常为孩子而争斗。
• This battle is our last chance,we must fight to a finish.这场战斗是我们最后的机会，我们必须战斗到底。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 messengers   

n.信使，信差，送信人( messenger的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Messengers will relay your letters. 邮递员将接转你的信件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• To this monarch also (in 628) came messengers from Muhammad. 穆罕默德的使者也来找过这位君主（628年）。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

6 fetch   

n.取得；vt.取来，带来，航行到达；vi.取回，兜圈子

参考例句：

• Fetch me the tape from my drawer,please.请把我抽屉里的磁带取来。
• Shall I fetch your coat for you?我去把上衣给你取来好吗？

7 whisper   

n.耳语，密谈，谣传，飒飒的声音；vi.耳语，密谈，飒飒地响；vt.低声说

参考例句：

• Their voices fell to a whisper.他们的话音低到成了耳语。
• I've heard a whisper that he's going to resign.我听到了一个传闻说他准备辞职。

8 whispering   

adj.耳语的，爱拨弄是非的v.低声说( whisper的现在分词 )；私语；小声说；私下说

参考例句：

• They were whispering endearments to each other. 他们彼此低声倾吐着爱慕之情。
• He could hear whispering and scuffling on the other side of the door. 他能听见门那边的低语声和窸窸窣窣的走动声。