美国语文第三册 第81期:小战士

 　　Oh, were you ne'er a schoolboy, 噢，还记得你曾是个小男生吗？

　　And did you never train, 还记得你曾日夜操练，

　　And feel that swelling¹ of the heart 感到血脉贲张满怀豪情，

　　You ne'er can feel again? 那种感觉如今已消失不见？

　　Did you never meet, far down the street, 难道你不曾在街边上，

　　With plumes³ and banners gay, 遇上挥舞鲜艳羽毛和旗帜的队伍，

　　While the kettle, for the kettledrum, 当作鼓的水壶咚咚敲着进行曲，

　　Played your march, march away? 伴随你行进的每一步？

　　It seems to me but yesterday, 似乎就在不久以前，

　　Nor scarce so long ago, 对我来说一切恍如昨日，

　　Since all our school their muskets⁴ took, 我们全都举着步枪，

　　To charge the fearful foe⁵. 向着可怕的敌人冲刺。

　　Our muskets were of cedar⁶ wood, 那杉木做的步枪，

　　With ramrods bright and new; 带有簇新的推弹杆；

　　With bayonets forever set, 刺刀固定在枪上，

　　And painted barrels, too. 还有上了漆的枪管。

　　We charged upon a flock of geese, 我们向一群鹅发起攻击，

　　And put them all to flight, 吓得它们四处飞散。

　　Except one sturdy gander, 除了一只强壮的雄鹅，

　　That thought to show us fight. 想要和我们决一死战。

　　But, ah! we knew a thing or two; 可是，啊！我们可精于此道，

　　Our captain wheeled the van; 我们的首领冲在前面；

　　We routed him, we scouted⁷ him, 我们打得它落荒而逃，大肆嘲笑，

　　Nor lost a single man! 而我军一个人都没不见！

　　Our captain was as brave a lad 我们的队长是个勇敢的小伙子，

　　As e'er commission bore; 就像委任状上写的那样；

　　And brightly shone his new tin sword; 他头戴纸帽，

　　A paper cap he wore. 亮出新的铁剑闪闪发光。

　　He led us up the steep hillside, 他带领我们爬上陡峭的山坡，

　　Against the western wind, 猎猎西风迎面而来，

　　While the cockerel plume² that decked his head 他头上插着的公鸡羽毛，

　　Streamed bravely out behind. 迎风飘扬的样子多么豪迈。

　　We shouldered arms, we carried arms, 我们扛枪上肩，我们全副武装，

　　We charged the bayonet; 我们把刺刀都装上；

　　And woe⁸ unto the mullein stalk, 毛蕊花茎不幸遭了殃，

　　That in our course we met! 谁叫它挡在我们奔跑的路上！

　　At two o'clock the roll we called, 两点钟我们就点名集合，

　　And till the close of day, 一直玩到夜幕降临，

　　With fearless hearts, though tired limbs, 我们投入模拟的战斗，

　　We fought the mimic⁹ fray¹⁰, 心无所畏惧，手脚却筋疲力尽，

　　Till the supper bell, from out the dell, 直到树林外面传来晚饭的呼唤，

　　Bade us march, march away. 迫使我们踏步走出树林。

1 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

2 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

3 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

4 muskets   

n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The watch below, all hands to load muskets. 另一组人都来帮着给枪装火药。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• Deep ditch, single drawbridge, massive stone walls, eight at towers, cannon, muskets, fire and smoke. 深深的壕堑，单吊桥，厚重的石壁，八座巨大的塔楼。大炮、毛瑟枪、火焰与烟雾。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

5 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

6 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

7 scouted   

寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等）

参考例句：

• They scouted around for a shop that was open late. 他们四处寻找，看看还有没有夜间营业的商店。
• They scouted around for a beauty parlour. 他们四处寻找美容院。

8 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

9 mimic   

v.模仿，戏弄；n.模仿他人言行的人

参考例句：

• A parrot can mimic a person's voice.鹦鹉能学人的声音。
• He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another.他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。

10 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。