On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 5
I noticed the track of an animal in the sand, and it was easy to see that it was that of a small dog.
我注意到沙地上有一只动物的足迹，很容易就能看出那是一只小狗的足迹。
Long faint streaks upon the little elevations of sand between the footmarks convinced me that it was a she dog with pendent dugs, showing that she must have had puppies not many days since.
脚印之间沙丘上细长而模糊的条痕使我确信，那是一只垂乳的母狗，说明她分娩幼崽不过数日。
Other scrapings of the sand, which always lay close to the marks of the forepaws, indicated that she had very long ears;
沙地上其他的刮痕总是紧靠着前爪的印记，表明她有一对很长的耳朵；
and, as the imprint of one foot was always fainter than those of the other three, I judged that the lady dog of our august Queen was, if I may venture to say so, a little lame.
而且，由于其中一只脚的印记总是比其余三只浅，我断定我们尊贵的女王陛下的爱犬——如果我斗胆这样说的话——有一点跛足。
'With respect to the horse of the King of Kings, permit me to observe that, wandering through the paths which traverse the wood, I noticed the marks of horse-shoes.
「至于万王之王的御马，请允许我说明，我在穿越树林的小径上漫步时，注意到了马蹄印。
They were all equidistant.
这些马蹄印间距完全相等。
"Ah!" said I, "this is a famous galloper."
「啊！」我说，「这是一匹出色的快马。」
In a narrow alley, only seven feet wide, the dust upon the trunks of the trees was a little disturbed at three feet and a half from the middle of the path.
在一条仅有七英尺宽的狭窄小道上，距路中央三英尺半处的树干上，尘土略有拂动的痕迹。
"This horse," said I to myself, "had a tail three feet and a half long, and, lashing it from one side to the other, he has swept away the dust."
「这匹马，」我心想，「有一条三英尺半长的尾巴，它左右甩动尾巴，将尘土扫去了。」
Vocabulary
- 我
- wǒ — I, me; first person singular pronoun
- 注意到
- zhùyì dào — To notice, to become aware of something
- 沙地
- shādì — Sandy ground or sandy terrain
- 上
- shàng — On, above, upon a surface
- 有
- yǒu — To have; there is/are
- 一只
- yī zhī — One (animal); measure word for animals
- 动物
- dòngwù — Animal; living creature
- 的
- de — Structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 足迹
- zújì — Footprint, track left by an animal or person
- 很
- hěn — Very, quite; intensifying adverb
- 容易
- róngyì — Easy, simple, not difficult
- 就
- jiù — Then, right away; indicating immediacy
- 能
- néng — Can, able to; expressing capability
- 看出
- kàn chū — To discern, to make out by looking
- 那
- nà — That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something distant
- 是
- shì — To be; linking verb indicating identity
- 小狗
- xiǎogǒu — Small dog, puppy
- 脚印
- jiǎoyìn — Footprint, impression left by a foot
- 之间
- zhījiān — Between, among, in the middle of
- 沙丘
- shāqiū — Sand dune, mound of wind-blown sand
- 细长
- xìcháng — Slender and long, thin and elongated
- 而
- ér — And, yet; conjunction linking contrasting elements
- 模糊
- móhu — Blurry, vague, indistinct
- 条痕
- tiáohén — Streak, stripe-shaped mark or trace
- 使
- shǐ — To make, to cause; causative verb
- 确信
- quèxìn — To be certain, to be firmly convinced
- 说明
- shuōmíng — To indicate, to explain, to demonstrate
- 她
- tā — She, her; third person female pronoun
- 分娩
- fēnmiǎn — To give birth, to deliver offspring
- 幼崽
- yòuzǎi — Young offspring, newborn animal cubs
- 不过
- búguò — Only, merely; no more than
- 数日
- shù rì — Several days, a few days
- 其他
- qítā — Other, the rest, remaining ones
- 刮痕
- guāhén — Scratch mark, scrape left on a surface
- 总是
- zǒngshì — Always, invariably, at all times
- 紧靠
- jǐn kào — Closely adjacent to, right next to
- 着
- zhe — Aspect particle indicating ongoing state
- 印记
- yìnjì — Mark, imprint, impression left behind
- 表明
- biǎomíng — To indicate, to show clearly, to reveal
- 一对
- yī duì — A pair of; two matching items
- 很长
- hěn cháng — Very long in length
- 耳朵
- ěrduo — Ear; organ of hearing
- 而且
- érqiě — Moreover, furthermore, in addition
- 由于
- yóuyú — Because of, due to, owing to
- 其中
- qízhōng — Among which, within that, therein
- 脚
- jiǎo — Foot, leg; lower limb extremity
- 比
- bǐ — Compared to, than; comparison particle
- 其余
- qíyú — The remaining, the rest, other remaining parts
- 三只
- sān zhī — Three (animals); measure word for three
- 浅
- qiǎn — Shallow, light in depth or intensity
- 断定
- duàndìng — To conclude, to determine with certainty
- 我们
- wǒmen — We, us; first person plural pronoun
- 尊贵
- zūnguì — Honorable, noble, highly respected
- 女王
- nǚwáng — Queen; female monarch or ruler
- 陛下
- bìxià — Your Majesty; honorific for a monarch
- 爱犬
- àiquǎn — Beloved dog, cherished pet dog
- 如果
- rúguǒ — If, supposing that; conditional conjunction
- 斗胆
- dǒudǎn — To dare boldly, to presume respectfully
- 这样
- zhèyàng — Like this, in this way, such
- 说
- shuō — To say, to speak, to tell
- 的话
- de huà — If; conditional phrase marker
- 一点
- yīdiǎn — A little, slightly, a bit
- 至于
- zhìyú — As for, regarding, concerning another topic
- 请
- qǐng — Please; to invite or request politely
- 允许
- yǔnxǔ — To allow, to permit, to give permission
- 在
- zài — At, in, on; preposition of location
- 穿越
- chuānyuè — To pass through, to cross, to traverse
- 树林
- shùlín — Forest, woods, grove of trees
- 小径
- xiǎojìng — Small path, narrow trail or walkway
- 漫步
- mànbù — To stroll, to walk leisurely
- 时
- shí — When, at the time of; temporal marker
- 了
- le — Aspect particle indicating completion or change
- 马蹄印
- mǎtí yìn — Hoofprint, impression left by a horse's hoof
- 这些
- zhèxiē — These; plural demonstrative pronoun
- 间距
- jiānjù — Spacing, interval, distance between objects
- 完全
- wánquán — Completely, entirely, fully
- 相等
- xiāngděng — Equal, identical in measure or value
- 啊
- a — Ah; exclamatory particle expressing surprise
- 这
- zhè — This; demonstrative pronoun for nearby objects
- 一匹
- yī pǐ — One horse; measure word for horses
- 出色
- chūsè — Outstanding, excellent, remarkable
- 一条
- yī tiáo — One (long thing); measure word for roads etc.
- 仅有
- jǐn yǒu — Only having, merely possessing
- 七
- qī — Seven; the number 7
- 英尺
- yīngchǐ — Foot (unit of measurement, about 30 cm)
- 宽
- kuān — Wide, broad in measurement
- 狭窄
- xiázhǎi — Narrow, confined, not wide
- 小道
- xiǎodào — Narrow path, small track or trail
- 距
- jù — Distance from, away from
- 路
- lù — Road, path, route
- 中央
- zhōngyāng — Center, middle, central point
- 三
- sān — Three; the number 3
- 半
- bàn — Half, semi-, partial
- 处
- chù — Place, location; measure word for places
- 树干
- shùgàn — Tree trunk, main stem of a tree
- 尘土
- chéntǔ — Dust, dirt, fine dry particles
- 略有
- lüè yǒu — Slightly having, with a slight amount
- 痕迹
- hénjì — Trace, mark, sign left behind
- 心想
- xīn xiǎng — To think to oneself, to think inwardly
- 长
- cháng — Long; having great length
- 尾巴
- wěiba — Tail; rear appendage of an animal
- 它
- tā — It; third person pronoun for animals/things
- 左右
- zuǒyòu — Left and right; side to side
- 甩动
- shuǎi dòng — To swing, to swish back and forth
- 将
- jiāng — Will, about to; future action marker
- 扫去
- sǎo qù — To sweep away, to brush off and remove
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