Coniston — Volume 01 — Page 14
至于朗姆酒，他是一个完全合露西姑妈心意的人，因为他从不沾酒：不过，瘦削的执事艾拉·珀金斯——十一税征收员——曾经因为他违反安息日的规定而训斥过他，原因是他在安息日射杀了一只狐狸。
As far as rum was concerned, he was a creature after Aunt Lucy's own heart, for he never touched it: true, gaunt Deacon Ira Perkins, tithing-man, had once chided him for breaking the Sabbath--shooting at a fox.
言归正传，说回那本书。只要杰斯罗活着一天，他便会回想起攻克这部巨著时所感受到的那份喜悦。在他的脑海中，拿破仑变成了一位粗犷的美国北方将军；对于书中提到的城市、村庄和要塞，他所形成的印象，就如同一位威尼斯居民根据马可·波罗对鞑靼地区的描述所想象出来的画面一般准确。
To return to the book. As long as he lived, Jethro looked back to the joy of the monumental task of mastering its contents. In his mind, Napoleon became a rough Yankee general; of the cities, villages, and fortress he formed as accurate a picture as a resident of Venice from Marco Polo's account of Tartary.
杰斯罗已经学会了识字——勉强算是会了——还学会了写字、加法、乘法和除法。他知道乔治·华盛顿和一些赤脚同伴曾迫使骄傲的英国屈膝投降，而书中的许多战争描写，都因蒂莫西·普雷斯科特上尉在乔纳·温奇商店里讲述的斯塔克将军及其战役的故事而变得生动起来。
Jethro had learned to read, after a fashion, to write, add, multiply, and divide. He knew that George Washington and certain barefooted companions had forced a proud Britain to her knees, and much of the warring in the book took color from Captain Timothy Prescott's stories of General Stark and his campaigns, heard at Jonah Winch's store.
巴黎是什么模样，柏林又是什么模样，圣伯纳德济贫院又是什么景象——尽管他只能以冬日的康尼斯顿来加以想象——这些都丝毫不困扰杰斯罗；真正留在他脑海中的，是拿破仑——至少在相当长的一段时间内——迫使众人服从他的意志这一事实。强者面前，宪法土崩瓦解。
What Paris looked like, or Berlin, or the Hospice of St. Bernard--though imaged by a winter Coniston--troubled Jethro not at all; the thing that stuck in his mind was that Napoleon--for a considerable time, at least--compelled men to do his bidding. Constitutions crumble before the Strong.
并非说杰斯罗对宪法有什么哲学上的思考。现实的处境摆在眼前，他意识到镇政体制中存在着种种缝隙，而对于那些足够聪明、能够找到这些缝隙的人来说，那便是通往权力之路。
Not that Jethro philosophized about constitutions. Existing conditions presented themselves, and it occurred to him that there were crevices in the town system, and ways into power through the crevices for men clever enough to find them.
Vocabulary
- as
- 作为；当...时候；因为
- far
- 远；遥远的；到很远的距离
- rum
- 朗姆酒；奇怪的；不寻常的
- was
- 是；过去式的be动词
- concerned
- 担心的；有关的；关切的
- he
- 他；男性人称代词
- creature
- 生物；动物；人类
- after
- 在...之后；后来；跟随
- Aunt
- 姑姑；阿姨；叔母
- own
- 自己的；拥有；承认
- heart
- 心脏；内心；中心
- for
- 为了；因为；对...
- never
- 从不；永远不；从未
- touched
- 触摸；接触；感动
- it
- 它；这个；那个
- true
- 真的；正确的；真实的
- gaunt
- 瘦削的；荒凉的；憔悴的
- had
- 有；拥有；过去完成式助动词
- once
- 曾经；一次；从前
- chided
- 责骂；训斥；批评
- him
- 他；他的；给他
- breaking
- 打破；中断；违反
- the
- 定冠词；那个；这个
- Sabbath
- 安息日；周日；休息日
- shooting
- 射击；开枪；拍摄
- at
- 在；向；朝向
- fox
- 狐狸；狡猾的人
- to
- 到；向；给
- return
- 返回；回到；返还
- book
- 书；预订；账簿
- long
- 长的；长期的；渴望
- lived
- 住；生活；经历
- looked
- 看；显得；外观
- back
- 回到；背部；支持
- joy
- 喜悦；快乐；欢乐
- of
- 的；属于；由...组成
- monumental
- 纪念碑式的；巨大的；重要的
- task
- 任务；工作；课题
- mastering
- 掌握；精通；控制
- its
- 它的；其；属于它
- contents
- 内容；目录；所含物
- in
- 在...里面；用；穿着
- his
- 他的；属于他
- mind
- 头脑；想法；介意
- became
- 变成；成为；适合
- rough
- 粗糙的；粗鲁的；大约
- Yankee
- 美国人；北方佬
- general
- 一般的；常见的；将军
- cities
- 城市；都市；都会
- villages
- 村庄；乡村；小镇
- and
- 和；与；以及
- fortress
- 堡垒；要塞；防御工事
- formed
- 形成；组织；构成
- accurate
- 准确的；精确的；正确的
- picture
- 图片；画；景象
- resident
- 居民；住户；定居的
- from
- 来自；从；离开
- account
- 账户；叙述；解释
- learned
- 学到；学习；博学的
- read
- 读；阅读；显示
- fashion
- 方式；时尚；风格
- write
- 写；著述；写信
- add
- 加；增加；补充
- multiply
- 乘法；增加；繁殖
- divide
- 分开；分割；除法
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →