2021年经济学人 牧羊人阿吉图·古蒂塔(4)

Yet there had always been more difficult neighbours: bears and wolves, which she scared away with bangers, and a few thugs, fans of hard-right politicians, who rode motorbikes among the goats or set their dogs on them. In 2018 a man came into the barn as she cleaned the milking machine, seized her by the shoulder and told her to go back home. Another sliced the udder from one of her loveliest pure-white goats. She had blamed wolves at first. It felt safer now to move down from her secluded¹ mountain shelter to Plankerhof, a hamlet near Frassilongo, to a flat beside the church.

然而，她免不了应付一些不友善的邻居：熊和狼，她用鞭炮吓跑了这些畜生；还有暴徒，极端右翼狂热分子，他们骑着摩托在羊群里穿梭叫嚣，或是让自家的狗攻击羊群。2018年的一天，阿吉图在清理挤奶机，一名男子径直闯进畜棚，抓住她的肩膀，让她滚回自己的老家。另一个暴徒甚至砍掉了她最心爱的白山羊的乳房，起初她还以为是狼干的。从僻静的山间小屋搬到弗拉西隆戈附近的村庄普勒克霍夫，住进教堂旁的公寓后，她才感觉松了一口气。

The intruders said her goats had damaged their property. They also objected to the African refugees and migrants she took on to help when she was busiest. That was her latest project, to use a fine resource that was being wasted, just like the land. She would find young men with permission to stay, but no work, and teach them to look after goats. Naturally they could handle it; they were refugees. Local jobless lads might want to join in too, and they could even form co-operatives—her teeming² mind running ahead of itself, as usual. She began by taking on one young man at a time, from Ghana or Mali, hoping to transform them into goat-lovers as fervent³ as herself. From the start, as they climbed up to pasture, she would ask them: “Are you happy?” They had to be, she felt. But it was not so for Suleiman from Ghana, who just after Christmas argued with her about unpaid⁴ wages, and ended by killing⁵ her.

闯入者控诉她的山羊破坏了他们的财产。也不满她在繁忙季节招募非洲难民和移民帮忙一事。而这是她的新项目。这些难民是被浪费的宝贵资源，就像之前的那片荒地一样。她要找那些合法居留但没有工作的年轻人，教他们放羊。他们是难民，自然能应付得来。当地失业的小伙子可能也想加入，他们甚至可以合作——她的想法总是层出不穷。一开始，她每次只雇一名加纳或马里的小伙，希望他们也能成为她这样爱羊如命的人。一开始，当他们爬上牧场，她会问他们："你们幸福吗？”在她看来，他们肯定幸福。但对来自加纳的苏莱曼来说，情况并非如此。苏莱曼在圣诞节刚过就向阿吉图讨要拖欠的薪水，两人发生争执，一怒之下，苏莱曼杀了她。

Evading⁶ the police, he fled up to the barn and tried to lose himself among the goats. But they were hungry and agitated⁷ by the absence of their mistress, and did not welcome him. Once he was taken away, the good neighbours of Frassilongo trudged⁸ through the snow to feed them.

为了避开警察的追捕，苏莱曼逃到羊圈，想藏匿于羊圈里。但没有阿吉图的悉心照料，山羊们饥肠辘辘，对他很是排斥。凶手被抓走后，善良的弗拉西隆戈居民们冒着大雪前来给羊群喂食。

1 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

3 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

4 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 evading   

逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割，是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。

7 agitated   

adj.被鼓动的，不安的

参考例句：

• His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定，回答全乱了。
• She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时，她十分焦虑。

8 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》