动物农场Animal Farm 第6章(2)

 　　Transporting the stone when it was once broken was comparatively simple.

　　这样一来，运送的事倒显得相对简一些了。

　　The horses carried it off in cart-loads, the sheep dragged single blocks,

　　马驾着满载的货车运送，羊则一块一块地拖，

　　even Muriel and Benjamin yoked¹ themselves into an old governess-cart and did their share.

　　就连穆丽尔和本杰明也套上一辆旧两轮座车，贡献出了他们的力量。

　　By late summer a sufficient store of stone had accumulated, and then the building began, under the superintendence of the pigs.

　　这样到了夏末，备用的石头便积累足了，接着，在猪的监督下，工程就破土动工了。

　　But it was a slow, laborious² process.

　　但是，整个采石过程在当时却进展缓慢，历尽艰辛。

　　Frequently it took a whole day of exhausting effort to drag a single boulder³ to the top of the quarry⁴,

　　把一块圆石拖到矿顶，常常要竭尽全力干整整一天，

　　and sometimes when it was pushed over the edge it failed to break.

　　有些时候，石头从崖上推下去了，却没有摔碎。

　　Nothing could have been achieved without Boxer⁵, whose strength seemed equal to that of all the rest of the animals put together.

　　要是没有鲍克瑟，没有他那几乎能与所有其他动物合在一起相匹敌的力气，恐怕什么事都干不成。

　　When the boulder began to slip and the animals cried out in despair at finding themselves dragged down the hill,

　　每逢动物们发现圆石开始往下滑，他们自己正被拖下山坡而绝望地哭喊时，

　　it was always Boxer who strained himself against the rope and brought the boulder to a stop.

　　总是多亏鲍克瑟拉住了绳索才稳了下来。

　　To see him toiling⁶ up the slope inch by inch, his breath coming fast,

　　看着他蹄子尖紧扣着地面，一吋一吋吃力地爬着坡；

　　the tips of his hoofs⁷ clawing at the ground, and his great sides matted with sweat, filled everyone with admiration⁸.

　　看着他呼吸急促，巨大的身躯浸透了汗水，动物们无不满怀钦佩和赞叹。

　　Clover warned him sometimes to be careful not to overstrain himself, but Boxer would never listen to her.

　　克拉弗常常告诫他小心点，不要劳累过度了，但他从不放在心上。

　　His two slogans, "I will work harder" and "Napoleon is always right," seemed to him a sufficient answer to all problems.

　　对他来说，“我要更加努力工作”和“拿破仑同志永远正确”这两句口头禅足以回答所有的难题。

　　He had made arrangements with the cockerel to call him three-quarters of an hour earlier in the mornings instead of half an hour.

　　他已同那只小公鸡商量好了，把原来每天早晨提前半小时叫醒他，改为提前三刻钟。

　　And in his spare moments, of which there were not many nowadays, he would go alone to the quarry,

　　同时，尽管近来业余时间并不多，但他仍要在空闲时间里，独自到采石场去，在没有任何帮手的情况下，

　　collect a load of broken stone, and drag it down to the site of the windmill unassisted.

　　装上一车碎石，拖去倒在风车的地基里。

　　The animals were not badly off throughout that summer, in spite of the hardness of their work.

　　这一夏季，尽管动物们工作得十分辛苦，他们的境况还不算太坏。

　　If they had no more food than they had had in Jones's day, at least they did not have less.

　　虽然他们得到的饲料不比琼斯时期多，但至少也不比那时少。

　　The advantage of only having to feed themselves, and not having to support five extravagant human beings as well,

　　除了自己食用外，动物们不必去并供养那五个骄奢淫逸的人，

1 yoked   

结合（yoke的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• The farmer yoked the oxen. 那个农夫给牛加上轭。
• He was yoked to an disinclined partner. 他不得不与一位不情愿的伙伴合作。

2 laborious   

adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅

参考例句：

• They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
• Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。

3 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

4 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

5 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

6 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。

7 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

8 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。