动物农场Animal Farm 第7章(2)

 　　It was vitally necessary to conceal¹ this fact from the outside world.

　　对外遮掩这一实情是非常必要的。

　　Emboldened² by the collapse³ of the windmill, the human beings were inventing fresh lies about Animal Farm.

　　风车的倒塌已经给人壮了胆，他们因而就捏造出有关动物庄园的新奇的谎言。

　　Once again it was being put about that all the animals were dying of famine and disease,

　　这一次，外面又谣传说他们这里所有的动物都在饥荒和瘟疫中垂死挣扎，

　　and that they were continually fighting among themselves and had resorted to cannibalism⁴ and infanticide.

　　而且说他们内部不断自相残杀，已经到了以同类相食和吞食幼崽度日的地步。

　　Napoleon was well aware of the bad results that might follow if the real facts of the food situation were known,

　　拿破仑清醒地意识倒饲料短缺的真相被外界知道后的严重后果，

　　and he decided⁵ to make use of Mr. Whymper to spread a contrary impression.

　　因而决意利用温普尔先生散布一些相反的言论。

　　Hitherto the animals had had little or no contact with Whymper on his weekly visits.

　　本来，到目前为止，对温普尔的每周一次来访，动物们还几乎与他没有什么接触。

　　Now, however, a few selected animals, mostly sheep, were instructed to remark casually⁶ in his hearing that rations⁷ had been increased.

　　可是这一次，他们却挑选了一些动物，大都是羊，要他们在温普尔能听得到的地方，装作是在无意的聊天中谈有关饲料粮增加的事。

　　In addition, Napoleon ordered the almost empty bins⁸ in the store-shed to be filled nearly to the brim with sand,

　　这还不够，拿破仑又让储藏棚里那些几乎已是完全空空如也的大箱子满沙子，

　　which was then covered up with what remained of the grain and meal.

　　然后把剩下的饲料粮盖在上面。

　　On some suitable pretext⁹ Whymper was led through the store-shed and allowed to catch a glimpse of the bins.

　　最后找个适当的借口，把温普尔领到储藏棚，让他瞥上一眼。

　　He was deceived, and continued to report to the outside world that there was no food shortage on Animal Farm.

　　温普尔被蒙骗过去了，就不断在外界报告说，动物庄园根本不缺饲料云云。

　　Nevertheless, towards the end of January it became obvious that it would be necessary to procure¹⁰ some more grain from somewhere.

　　然而快到一月底的时候，问题就变得突出了，其关键就是，必须得从某个地方弄到些额外的粮食。

　　In these days Napoleon rarely appeared in public, but spent all his time in the farmhouse¹¹, which was guarded at each door by fierce-looking dogs.

　　而这些天来，拿破仑轻易不露面，整天就呆在庄主院里，那儿的每道门都由气势汹汹的狗把守着。

　　When he did emerge, it was in a ceremonial manner, with an escort of six dogs who closely surrounded him and growled¹² if anyone came too near.

　　一旦他要出来，也必是一本正经，而且，还有六条狗前呼后拥着，不管谁要走近，那些狗都会吼叫起来。

　　Frequently he did not even appear on Sunday mornings, but issued his orders through one of the other pigs, usually Squealer¹³.

　　甚至在星期天早晨，他也常常不露面，而由其他一头猪，一般是斯奎拉来发布他的指示。

　　One Sunday morning Squealer announced that the hens, who had just come in to lay again, must surrender their eggs.

　　一个星期天早晨，斯奎拉宣布说，所有重新开始下蛋的鸡，必须把鸡蛋上交。

　　Napoleon had accepted, through Whymper, a contract for four hundred eggs a week.

　　因为通过温普尔牵线，拿破仑已经承诺了一项每周支付四百只鸡蛋的合同。

1 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

2 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 cannibalism   

n.同类相食；吃人肉

参考例句：

• The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
• They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

5 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。

6 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

7 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

8 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

9 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

10 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

11 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

12 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 squealer   

发出尖叫声的人；雏鸽；小松鸡；小鹌鹑

参考例句：

• Trust us, if you at their pictures long enough, you're bound to become another squealer. 相信我们，如果你盯着这些照片看上一段时间，必定会成为另一个尖叫粉丝。 来自互联网