Piccolissima — Page 2
在母亲这一边,她的血统同样显赫。米妮特·利特尔平(这是汤姆·拇指夫人的娘家姓)是那位传奇公主的曾孙女,那位公主曾经住在一个眼镜盒里,出来时衣着华丽,她那小巧身姿的光彩照亮了周围的一切事物。
On the mother's side, her lineage was no less distinguished. Mignonette Littlepin (this was the family name of Madam Tom Thumb) was the great granddaughter of the wonderful Princess, who once lodged in a spectacle case, out of which she came so splendidly attired that the brilliancy of her little person illuminated all surrounding objects.
一位可信的传记作者告诉我们,汤姆·拇指先生和夫人的历史上没有任何事情玷污了他们显赫的家世,而且人们认为,他们虽然比其他人矮小一些,却丝毫不影响他们成为优秀的公民。
A trustworthy biographer tells us that nothing occurred in the history of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb to disgrace their illustrious parentage, and they were considered none the less good citizens because they were rather smaller than other people.
然而与此同时,这对平凡的夫妇因为我们女主角的降生而突然声名大噪;这个小生命是如此娇嫩、如此精致、如此可爱,又如此活泼而充满生气,以至于从两岁起便成为众人争相赞叹的对象。
In the mean while, however, our humble couple became suddenly celebrated by the birth of our heroine; this small creature was so delicate, so exquisite, so pretty, and so lively and full of spirit, that from the age of two years she became the object of general admiration.
她的身高不超过一英寸,她的母亲原本为一个普通大小的孩子准备好了摇篮和婴儿衣物,却不知道该如何是好。
She was not more than one inch in height, and her mother, who had prepared the cradle and baby linen for a child of the usual size, was puzzled to know what to do.
最终,半个椰子壳被铺上内衬,填入蓟花绒制成的软垫,成了这个小奇迹的温馨小床;而育儿室的保姆——附近一位钟表匠的妻子,是个心灵手巧的人——想出了一个绝妙的主意,将这个椰子壳摇篮挂在一座大钟的钟摆上,这样婴儿就能一直被摇晃着入睡。
Finally, the half of a cocoanut shell, lined, and furnished with soft cushions of thistle down, made a good bed for the little wonder; and the nursery maid, wife of a neighboring clockmaker, and a person of ingenuity, conceived the admirable idea of suspending the cocoanut cradle from the pendulum of a great clock, in order that the infant might be rocked all the time.
汤姆·拇指夫人对这个发明赞不绝口。
Madam Tom Thumb was enchanted with the invention.
Vocabulary
- mother
- 母亲,妈妈
- side
- 一方;方面,如母方或父方
- lineage
- 家系,血统,祖先的传承
- less
- 较少,不及
- distinguished
- 杰出的,显赫的,有名望的
- family
- 家庭,家族
- name
- 名字,名称
- Madam
- 女士,对女性的尊称
- Thumb
- 拇指;大拇指(拇指汤姆为传说中极小的人)
- great
- 伟大的;曾(用于亲属关系)
- granddaughter
- 孙女,外孙女
- wonderful
- 奇妙的,令人惊叹的
- Princess
- 公主,王族的女儿
- once
- 曾经,一度
- lodged
- 暂住,寄宿于某处
- spectacle
- 眼镜;壮观的景象
- case
- 盒子,容器;情况,案例
- splendidly
- 华丽地,出色地,壮观地
- attired
- 穿着,打扮得(衣着讲究)
- brilliancy
- 光辉,光彩,璀璨夺目
- little
- 小的,少的
- person
- 人,个人
- illuminated
- 照亮,使明亮
- surrounding
- 周围的,环绕的
- objects
- 物体,物品
- trustworthy
- 可信赖的,值得信任的
- biographer
- 传记作家,撰写他人生平的人
- occurred
- 发生,出现(occur的过去式)
- history
- 历史,历程
- Mr.
- 先生,对男性的称谓
- Mrs.
- 太太,已婚女性的称谓
- disgrace
- 使丢脸,使蒙羞,带来耻辱
- illustrious
- 著名的,杰出的,显赫的
- parentage
- 出身,家世,父母的身份
- considered
- 被认为,被视为
- none
- 没有一个,毫无
- citizens
- 公民,市民
- rather
- 相当,有点;宁愿
- mean
- 平均的;吝啬的;意思是
- while
- 当……时,同时
- however
- 然而,但是,表示转折
- humble
- 谦虚的,地位低下的,卑微的
- couple
- 一对,夫妻,两人
- suddenly
- 突然地,猛然地
- celebrated
- 著名的,知名的;庆祝
- birth
- 出生,诞生
- heroine
- 女主人公,女英雄
- creature
- 生物,动物,小生命
- delicate
- 娇嫩的,精致的,纤细的
- exquisite
- 精美的,精致的,极其美丽的
- pretty
- 漂亮的,可爱的
- lively
- 活泼的,生气勃勃的
- spirit
- 精神,活力,灵魂
- age
- 年龄,时代
- object
- 对象,物体;目的
- general
- 普遍的,全体的;将军
- admiration
- 钦佩,赞美,羡慕
- inch
- 英寸,长度单位(约2.54厘米)
- height
- 高度,身高
- prepared
- 准备,预备(prepare的过去式)
- cradle
- 摇篮,婴儿床
- baby
- 婴儿,宝宝
- linen
- 亚麻布,床单等布料用品
- child
- 孩子,儿童
- usual
- 通常的,寻常的,普通的
- size
- 大小,尺寸
- puzzled
- 困惑的,不知所措的
- Finally
- 最终,最后
- half
- 一半,二分之一
- cocoanut
- 椰子(coconut的旧拼法)
- shell
- 外壳,贝壳,硬壳
- lined
- 衬有内里的,在内部铺上材料
- furnished
- 配备,提供家具或物品
- soft
- 柔软的,温和的
- cushions
- 坐垫,靠垫,软垫
- thistle
- 蓟草,一种带刺的野生植物
- down
- 向下;(植物或羽毛的)绒毛
- bed
- 床,睡床
- wonder
- 奇迹,惊奇,感到好奇
- nursery
- 育婴室,幼儿房间
- maid
- 女仆,侍女
- wife
- 妻子,太太
- neighboring
- 邻近的,附近的
- clockmaker
- 钟表匠,制造或修理钟表的人
- ingenuity
- 独创性,心灵手巧,聪明才智
- conceived
- 想出,构想(conceive的过去式)
- admirable
- 令人钦佩的,值得赞扬的
- idea
- 主意,想法,念头
- suspending
- 悬挂,使悬浮
- pendulum
- 钟摆,来回摆动的装置
- clock
- 时钟,钟表
- order
- 命令;顺序;为了(in order to)
- infant
- 婴儿,幼儿
- might
- 可能,也许(情态动词)
- rocked
- 被摇动,摇摆(rock的过去式)
- time
- 时间,时候,次数
- enchanted
- 着迷的,被迷住的,陶醉的
- invention
- 发明,创造物
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