英国语文第二册 第54期:谎言

 　　LESSON 54 Words which deceive¹ 第五十四课 谎言

　　One day a man gave his son some wood to saw. 有一天，一位父亲给了儿子一些木头让他锯。

　　The boy did not want to do such work; so after his father had gone away, he threw the saw down, and it broke. 儿子不想干这些活，所以在父亲离开之后，他把锯子扔了，而且锯子断了。

　　"I did not break the saw," said the boy to himself; "it broke itself." “我没有折断锯子”男孩对自己说，“它是自己断掉的”。

　　He tried to deceive himself with words; but he knew in his heart that they were false words, and he was afraid to meet his father. 他试图用一些话欺骗自己，但是他的内心知道这些都是虚假的话，他害怕极了见父亲。

　　One day a mother said to her son, who had just returned from school, 有一天，一个母亲对自己刚刚从学校回来的儿子说，

　　"It is six o'clock, and your school closes at four—where have you been, my boy?" “现在已经六点了，而你的学校是四点放学，那么孩子，你去哪儿了呢？”。

　　"O mother," said Ned, "when we play at ball, we forget everything else. “哦，妈妈”Ned说“当我们在舞会上玩的时候，我们忘记了所有事情，

　　We do not think of the time, or of coming home. Is tea ready?" 我们忘记了时间以及回家。茶准备好了吗，妈妈？”

　　The boy's mother was deceived². 男孩欺骗了妈妈，

　　Ned's answer led her to think that he had been playing with his companions. But he had not been playing at all. Ned的回答让妈妈认为他和他的同伴在一起玩，然而事实并不如他所说。

　　He had been "kept in" by his teacher, because he had not learned³ his lessons. 真相是他由于不听课被老师留下来了，

　　He did not like to tell his mother that. He wished her to think that he had been playing. 他不想让妈妈知道这个而想让妈妈认为他是在玩。

　　"What a shame and a sin⁴ it is for you to try to deceive your mother," said something in Ned's heart, as he sat down to his tea. “欺骗自己的母亲是多么的羞耻和罪恶啊”Ned坐着喝茶时心里这样想。

　　"I don't care," said the boy to himself, "I don't care. I did not tell a lie—I did not say that I was playing." “我不在乎”男孩这样对自己说“我才不在乎呢，我又没有撒谎——我没有说我在玩”。

　　"But", said the voice, "you used words which made your mother think that you had been playing, and that was the same as if you had said so." “但是。。。”另一个声音说，“你用了一些话让你母亲认为你在玩，这就等同于溺士这么跟她说的”。

　　"I did not tell a lie," said Ned. “我没有撒谎。”Ned说。

　　What do you think, my little reader? Did Ned tell a lie, or did he not? I am sure you will say—"Of course he did." 你认为呢？小读者们。你认为Ned说谎了还是没有呢？我可以肯定你们会说——“他当然撒谎啦！”

　　If we use words which are intended to deceive, we tell a lie; 如果我们说的话目的是出于欺骗的，那么我们就是在说谎。

　　and Ned's lie was a very bad one, for it looked so like the truth. Ned的谎言是很糟糕的，因为它看上去很像是真的。

　　A lie that looks like the truth is the worst kind of lie. 看起来像真话的谎言是最糟糕的谎言。

1 deceive   

vt.欺骗，使弄错；vi.行骗

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Don't try to deceive me.你别诳我。

2 deceived   

v.欺骗，蒙骗( deceive的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was absolutely furious at having been deceived. 她受了骗，怒不可遏。
• He deceived people for years until the police got onto him. 多年来他欺骗人们一直到警察识破他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

4 sin   

n.罪，罪孽，过失；vi.犯罪，违反

参考例句：

• It's a sin to waste food.浪费食品是一种罪过。
• It's a sin to be indoors on holiday.假期中待在家里实在是罪过。