美丽新世界Brave New World 第7章(5)

 　　A great yell went up from the crowd, and all the other dancers ran towards him with out-stretched hands.

　　人群鸣哇一声大叫起来，其他的舞人全都两手前伸，向他跑去。

　　He tossed the snakes to the first-comers, then dipped back into the chest for more.

　　那人把蛇抛向了跑来的第一群人，又伸手到柜子里去抓。

　　More and more, black snakes and brown and mottled-he flung them out.

　　越来越多的黑蛇、黄蛇和花蛇被扔了出来。

　　And then the dance began again on a different rhythm.

　　舞蹈以另一种节奏重新开始。

　　Round and round they went with their snakes, snakily, with a soft undulating movement at the knees and hips¹. Round and round.

　　人们抓住蛇一圈又一圈跳着，膝盖和腰像蛇一样柔和地扭动着。

　　Then the leader gave a signal, and one after another, all the snakes were flung down in the middle of the square;

　　然后领舞人发出信号，人们又把蛇一条又一条扔向广场中心。

　　an old man came up from underground and sprinkled them with corn meal,

　　一个老头从地下室出来了，把玉米片撒到蛇身上。

　　and from the other hatchway came a woman and sprinkled them with water from a black jar.

　　另一个妇女又从另一个地下室钻了出来，把一黑罐水洒到蛇身上。

　　Then the old man lifted his hand and, startingly, terrifyingly, there was absolute silence.

　　然后老头举起了双手。出现了惊人的、意外的、绝对的寂静。

　　The drums stopped beating, life seemed to have come to an end.

　　鼓声停止了，生命也似乎停止了。

　　The old man pointed² towards the two hatchways that gave entrance to the lower world. And slowly, raised by invisible hands from below, there emerged from the one a painted image of an eagle, from the other that of a man, naked, and nailed to a cross.

　　老头用手指了指两个通向地下世界的洞口，这时从一个洞口出现了一只画成的鹰，像是被一只看不见的手举起的；从另一个洞口出现了一个钉在十字架上的赤裸的人的画像。

　　They hung there, seemingly self-sustained, as though watching.

　　两幅画悬在那里，好像靠自己的力量支撑着，在打量着人群。

　　The old man clapped his hands. Naked but for a white cotton breech-cloth, a boy of about eighteen stepped out of the crowd and stood before him, his hands crossed over his chest, his head bowed.

　　老人拍拍手，一个大约十八岁的小伙子走出人群。他除了腰上一块白棉布，全身一丝不挂。小伙子在胸前交叉了两手，低头站到老人面前。

　　The old man made the sign of the cross over him and turned away.

　　老人在他头上画了一个十字，转过身子。

　　Slowly, the boy began to walk round the writhing³ heap of snakes.

　　小伙子绕着那堆扭来扭去的蛇慢吞吞地转起圈来。

　　He had completed the first circuit and was half-way through the second when, from among the dancers,

　　第一圈转完，第二圈才转了一半，一个人走出了跳舞的人群。

　　a tall man wearing the mask of a coyote and holding in his hand a whip of plaited leather, advanced towards him.

　　那人高个子，戴一个郊狼面具，手上拿一根皮带编成的鞭子，向小伙子走去。

　　The boy moved on as though unaware⁴ of the other's existence.

　　小伙子继续转着圈，仿佛不知道那人的存在。

　　The coyote-man raised his whip, there was a long moment af expectancy⁵, then a swift movement, the whistle of the lash⁶ and its loud flat-sounding impact on the ftesh.

　　郊狼人举起鞭子，等了许久，一个猛烈的动作，一声呼啸，鞭子响亮地抽打在皮肉上。

　　The boy's body quivered; but he made no sound, he walked on at the same slow, steady pace.

　　小伙子身子一抖，却没有出声，继续用同样缓慢稳定的步伐转着圈。

　　The coyote struck again, again; and at every blow at first a gasp⁷, and then a deep groan⁸ went up from the crowd.

　　郊狼又是一鞭，再是一鞭，鞭子抽时人群起初倒抽了一口气，接着便发出了低沉的呻吟。

　　The boy walked. Twice, thrice, four times round he went. The blood was streaming. Five times round, six times round.

　　小伙子继续走。一圈，两圈，三圈，他围着圈子走了四圈，流起血来。五圈，六圈。

　　Suddenly Lenina covered her face shish her hands and began to sob⁹.

　　列宁娜突然用手捂住了自己的脸啜泣了。

　　"Oh, stop them, stop them!" she implored¹⁰. But the whip fell and fell inexorably. Seven times round.

　　“啊，叫他们别打了，别打了！”她哀求道。但是鞭子一鞭又一鞭无情地抽着，七圈。

　　Then all at once the boy staggered and, still without a sound, pitched forward on to his face.

　　小伙子突然打了一个趔趄，却仍然没有出声，只是扑倒了下去。

1 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 writhing   

（因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was writhing around on the floor in agony. 她痛得在地板上直打滚。
• He was writhing on the ground in agony. 他痛苦地在地上打滚。

4 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

5 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

6 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

7 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

8 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

9 sob   

n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣

参考例句：

• The child started to sob when he couldn't find his mother.孩子因找不到他妈妈哭了起来。
• The girl didn't answer,but continued to sob with her head on the table.那个女孩不回答，也不抬起头来。她只顾低声哭着。

10 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。