The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 1
A young painter, indulging a vein of pleasantry, sketched a kind of conversation piece, representing a bear, an owl, a monkey, and an ass;
一位年轻的画家，出于一种玩笑的心情，画了一幅类似风俗画的作品，画中有一头熊、一只猫头鹰、一只猴子和一头驴；
and to render it more striking, humorous, and moral, distinguished every figure by some emblem of human life.
为了使画面更加生动、诙谐且富有寓意，他给每个形象都配上了某种象征人类生活的标志。
Bruin was exhibited in the garb and attitude of an old, toothless, drunken soldier;
布鲁因以一个年迈、无牙、醉醺醺的老兵的装束和姿态出现；
the owl perched upon the handle of a coffee-pot, with spectacle on nose, seemed to contemplate a newspaper;
猫头鹰栖在咖啡壶的把手上，鼻梁上架着眼镜，似乎正在细读一份报纸；
and the ass, ornamented with a huge tie-wig (which, however, could not conceal his long ears), sat for his picture to the monkey, who appeared with the implements of painting.
而那头驴，头戴一顶巨大的结发假发（尽管如此，仍遮不住它那双长耳朵），正摆好姿势让那只手持画具的猴子为它作画。
This whimsical group afforded some mirth, and met with general approbation,
这幅异想天开的画作令人捧腹，获得了普遍的好评，
until some mischievous wag hinted that the whole—was a lampoon upon the friends of the performer;
直到某个淘气的促狭鬼暗示说，整幅画不过是对那位画家的朋友们的讽刺之作；
an insinuation which was no sooner circulated than those very people who applauded it before began to be alarmed, and even to fancy themselves signified by the several figures of the piece.
这一暗示一经流传，那些之前还对此画赞不绝口的人，便开始惶惶不安，甚至纷纷猜测自己正是画中某个形象所影射的对象。
Among others, a worthy personage in years, who had served in the army with reputation, being incensed at the supposed outrage, repaired to the lodging of the painter, and finding him at home,
其中有一位德高望重的年长者，曾在军中服役，颇负声誉，他因这所谓的冒犯而勃然大怒，径自前往画家的住所，发现其在家之后，
"Hark ye, Mr. Monkey," said he, "I have a good mind to convince you, that though the bear has lost his teeth, he retains his paws, and that he is not so drunk but he can perceive your impertinence."
便说道："听着，猴子先生，我真想让你明白，那熊虽已失去牙齿，却仍保有利爪，而且他并未醉得无法察觉你的无礼之举。"
"Sblood!
「该死！
Vocabulary
- 一位
- yī wèi — a (measure word for respected persons)
- 年轻
- nián qīng — young in age
- 的
- de — structural particle indicating possession or modification
- 画家
- huà jiā — painter; artist who paints
- 出于
- chū yú — arising from; motivated by a feeling
- 一种
- yī zhǒng — a kind of; a type of
- 玩笑
- wán xiào — joke; playful humor
- 心情
- xīn qíng — mood; state of mind
- 画了
- huà le — painted; drew (completed action)
- 一幅
- yī fú — one (measure word for paintings or pictures)
- 类似
- lèi sì — similar to; resembling something else
- 风俗画
- fēng sú huà — genre painting depicting everyday life scenes
- 作品
- zuò pǐn — work of art or literature
- 画中
- huà zhōng — within the painting; inside the picture
- 有
- yǒu — to have; there is/are
- 一头
- yī tóu — one (measure word for large animals)
- 熊
- xióng — bear (the animal)
- 一只
- yī zhī — one (measure word for small animals)
- 猫头鹰
- māo tóu yīng — owl; nocturnal bird of prey
- 猴子
- hóu zi — monkey
- 和
- hé — and; together with
- 驴
- lǘ — donkey; ass
- 为了
- wèi le — in order to; for the purpose of
- 使
- shǐ — to cause; to make something happen
- 画面
- huà miàn — picture surface; visual composition of painting
- 更加
- gèng jiā — even more; to a greater degree
- 生动
- shēng dòng — vivid; lively and expressive
- 诙谐
- huī xié — humorous; witty and amusing
- 且
- qiě — and; moreover; furthermore
- 富有
- fù yǒu — rich in; full of a quality
- 寓意
- yù yì — implied meaning; moral or allegory
- 他
- tā — he; him (third person masculine)
- 给
- gěi — to give; for (indicating recipient)
- 每个
- měi gè — every; each individual one
- 形象
- xíng xiàng — image; figure; portrayal of a character
- 都
- dōu — all; both; every (inclusive adverb)
- 配上
- pèi shàng — to pair with; to match with something
- 了
- le — particle indicating completed action or change
- 某种
- mǒu zhǒng — a certain kind of; some type of
- 象征
- xiàng zhēng — symbol; to symbolize something abstract
- 人类
- rén lèi — humanity; humankind; the human race
- 生活
- shēng huó — life; daily living; lifestyle
- 标志
- biāo zhì — sign; symbol; marker representing something
- 以
- yǐ — using; in the guise of; with
- 一个
- yī gè — one (general measure word for persons/things)
- 年迈
- nián mài — elderly; advanced in age
- 无牙
- wú yá — toothless; lacking teeth
- 醉醺醺
- zuì xūn xūn — tipsy; heavily drunk and unsteady
- 老兵
- lǎo bīng — veteran soldier; old soldier
- 装束
- zhuāng shù — attire; costume; manner of dressing
- 姿态
- zī tài — posture; attitude; manner of bearing
- 出现
- chū xiàn — to appear; to emerge into view
- 栖
- qī — to perch; to roost on something
- 在
- zài — at; in; on (location particle)
- 咖啡壶
- kā fēi hú — coffee pot; vessel for brewing coffee
- 把手
- bǎ shǒu — handle; grip of an object
- 上
- shàng — on top of; above; upper
- 鼻梁
- bí liáng — bridge of the nose
- 架着
- jià zhe — wearing (glasses); resting on something
- 眼镜
- yǎn jìng — glasses; spectacles for vision correction
- 似乎
- sì hū — seemingly; it appears that; as if
- 正在
- zhèng zài — currently in the process of doing
- 细读
- xì dú — to read carefully; to peruse attentively
- 一份
- yī fèn — one copy of (newspaper, document, etc.)
- 报纸
- bào zhǐ — newspaper; printed news publication
- 而
- ér — and; but; while (connective conjunction)
- 那头
- nà tóu — that (referring to a large animal)
- 头戴
- tóu dài — wearing on the head; having on head
- 一顶
- yī dǐng — one (measure word for hats)
- 巨大
- jù dà — enormous; huge in size
- 假发
- jiǎ fà — wig; artificial hairpiece
- 尽管
- jǐn guǎn — even though; despite; in spite of
- 如此
- rú cǐ — like this; so; in this manner
- 仍
- réng — still; yet; nevertheless continuing
- 遮不住
- zhē bu zhù — cannot conceal; unable to cover up
- 它
- tā — it (third person neuter pronoun)
- 那双
- nà shuāng — that pair of (referring to two things)
- 长
- cháng — long; lengthy in measurement
- 耳朵
- ěr duo — ear; hearing organ
- 正
- zhèng — just; exactly; in the middle of doing
- 摆好
- bǎi hǎo — to arrange properly; to pose correctly
- 姿势
- zī shì — pose; posture; physical stance
- 让
- ràng — to let; to allow; to have someone do
- 那只
- nà zhī — that (measure word for small animals)
- 手持
- shǒu chí — holding in hand; carrying with hands
- 画具
- huà jù — painting tools; artist's equipment and supplies
- 为
- wèi — for; on behalf of someone
- 作画
- zuò huà — to paint; to create a picture
- 这幅
- zhè fú — this (measure word for paintings)
- 异想天开
- yì xiǎng tiān kāi — wildly fanciful; having outlandish absurd ideas
- 画作
- huà zuò — painting; artwork created by an artist
- 令人
- lìng rén — causing people to; making one feel
- 捧腹
- pěng fù — to hold one's belly laughing; hilarious
- 获得
- huò dé — to obtain; to receive; to gain something
- 普遍
- pǔ biàn — universal; widespread; common among people
- 好评
- hǎo píng — favorable reviews; positive public appraisal
- 直到
- zhí dào — until; up to a point in time
- 某个
- mǒu gè — a certain; some unspecified individual
- 淘气
- táo qì — naughty; mischievous in behavior
- 促狭鬼
- cù xiá guǐ — mischief-maker; trickster who causes trouble
- 暗示
- àn shì — to hint; to imply indirectly
- 说
- shuō — to say; to speak; to tell
- 整幅
- zhěng fú — the entire painting; the whole picture
- 画
- huà — painting; picture; to draw or paint
- 不过
- bù guò — merely; only; nothing more than
- 是
- shì — to be; is/are (linking verb)
- 对
- duì — toward; directed at; a pair
- 那位
- nà wèi — that (polite measure word for a person)
- 朋友们
- péng yǒu men — friends; a group of friends
- 讽刺
- fěng cì — satire; mockery through ironic portrayal
- 之作
- zhī zuò — a work of; a piece made for purpose
- 这一
- zhè yī — this (particular piece of information/news)
- 一经
- yī jīng — once; as soon as something occurs
- 流传
- liú chuán — to spread; to circulate widely among people
- 那些
- nà xiē — those (plural demonstrative pronoun)
- 之前
- zhī qián — before; prior to a time or event
- 还
- hái — still; also; in addition
- 此画
- cǐ huà — this painting; this particular artwork
- 赞不绝口
- zàn bù jué kǒu — full of praise; cannot stop complimenting
- 人
- rén — person; people; human being
- 便
- biàn — then; thereupon; consequently
- 开始
- kāi shǐ — to begin; to start doing something
- 惶惶不安
- huáng huáng bù ān — anxious and uneasy; in a state of panic
- 甚至
- shèn zhì — even; going so far as to
- 纷纷
- fēn fēn — one after another; in succession; all at once
- 猜测
- cāi cè — to guess; to speculate about something uncertain
- 自己
- zì jǐ — oneself; self (reflexive pronoun)
- 正是
- zhèng shì — precisely; exactly is the case
- 所
- suǒ — (particle before verb indicating passive/relative)
- 影射
- yǐng shè — to allude to; to make veiled references
- 对象
- duì xiàng — target; subject; object being referred to
- 其中
- qí zhōng — among them; within the group
- 德高望重
- dé gāo wàng zhòng — highly respected; virtuous and prestigious person
- 年长者
- nián zhǎng zhě — older person; elder; senior in age
- 曾
- céng — once; previously; at some past time
- 军中
- jūn zhōng — in the military; within the army
- 服役
- fú yì — to serve in the military; military service
- 颇负
- pō fù — having quite a reputation; considerably renowned
- 声誉
- shēng yù — reputation; prestige; public esteem
- 因
- yīn — because of; due to; owing to
- 这
- zhè — this; referring to something nearby
- 所谓
- suǒ wèi — so-called; what is referred to as
- 冒犯
- mào fàn — to offend; to insult someone's dignity
- 勃然大怒
- bó rán dà nù — to fly into a sudden rage; furiously angry
- 径自
- jìng zì — directly; straight away without hesitation
- 前往
- qián wǎng — to go to; to head toward a place
- 住所
- zhù suǒ — residence; dwelling place; place of living
- 发现
- fā xiàn — to discover; to find out; to notice
- 其
- qí — his; its; their (formal third person)
- 在家
- zài jiā — to be at home; present at one's residence
- 之后
- zhī hòu — after; afterwards; following that
- 说道
- shuō dào — said; uttered (introducing quoted speech)
- 听着
- tīng zhe — listen up; pay attention (imperative)
- 先生
- xiān sheng — mister; sir; gentleman (form of address)
- 我
- wǒ — I; me (first person singular pronoun)
- 真想
- zhēn xiǎng — really want; sincerely hope that
- 你
- nǐ — you (second person singular pronoun)
- 明白
- míng bai — to understand; to be clear about something
- 虽已
- suī yǐ — although already; even though it has
- 失去
- shī qù — to lose; to no longer have something
- 牙齿
- yá chǐ — teeth; dental structures in the mouth
- 却
- què — yet; but; however (adversative conjunction)
- 保有
- bǎo yǒu — to retain; to keep; to still possess
- 利爪
- lì zhuǎ — sharp claws; keen talons of an animal
- 而且
- ér qiě — moreover; furthermore; and also
- 并未
- bìng wèi — has not at all; did not (emphatic negative)
- 醉得
- zuì de — drunk to the extent of; so intoxicated that
- 无法
- wú fǎ — unable to; no way to; impossible to
- 察觉
- chá jué — to perceive; to notice; to become aware of
- 无礼
- wú lǐ — impolite; rude; lacking in manners
- 之举
- zhī jǔ — such an act; this kind of behavior
- 该死
- gāi sǐ — damn it; confound it (expression of anger)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →