美国语文第六册 第254期:印第安耍把戏者(1)（在线收听）

LESSON 76 INDIAN JUGGLERS

第七十六课 印第安耍把戏者

Coming forward and seating himself on the ground, in his white dress and tightened turban,

走上前坐在地上，他身着白色衣服，包头巾系得紧紧的，

the chief of the Indian jugglers begins with tossing up two brass balls, which is what any of us could do, and concludes by keeping up four at the same time,

这位印度耍把戏者先是开始向上掷两个铜球。他这一手随便谁都会，最后，他同时向上掷四个，

which is what none of us could do to save our lives, not if we were to take our whole lives to do it in.

这一手恐怕我们当中没有谁能做到，如果不是用毕生时间来练习的话。

Is it then a trifling power we see at work, or is it not something next to miraculous?

这是我们在工作中看到的微不足道的能力，难道它算不上奇迹吗？

It is the utmost stretch of human ingenuity,

它是人类巧智最大限度的延伸，

which nothing but the bending the faculties of body and mind to it from the tenderest infancy

只不过从最幼弱的婴儿期到成年阶段，

with incessant, ever-anxious application up to manhood, can accomplish or make even a slight approach to.

身体和心智能力总是焦急地服从于巧智。

Man, thou art a wonderful animal, and thy ways past finding out!

人类是一种奇妙的动物，可以拥有发现过去的方式！

Thou canst do strange things, but thou turnest them to small account!

你可以做一些让别人摸不着头脑的事情，但你还可以把这些事轻描淡写，略过一遍！

To conceive of this extraordinary dexterity, distracts the imagination and makes admiration breathless.

为了构想出这种非同寻常的灵巧，要分散对想象的注意力，使赞叹扣人心弦。