冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第55期:第四章 艾德 (5)

 Robert Baratheon had always been a man of huge appetites, a man who knew how to take his pleasures.  劳勃·拜拉席恩向来是个物欲旺盛，也很懂得享受的人。

That was not a charge anyone could lay at the door of Eddard Stark¹.  这一点他没有改变，

Yet Ned could not help but notice that those pleasures were taking a toll² on the king.  但是奈德没法不注意到国王为声色享乐所付出的代价。

Robert was breathing heavily by the time they reached the bottom of the stairs,  他们抵达楼梯底端，进入墓窖的深沉黑暗时，劳勃已经气喘吁吁，呼吸困难，

his face red in the lantern light as they stepped out into the darkness of the crypt. 在灯光照映下面红耳赤了。

Your Grace, Ned said respectfully. He swept the lantern in a wide semicircle.  陛下请进，奈德恭谨地说，然後将灯笼绕了个半圆。

Shadows moved and lurched.  黑影鬼祟潜动，

Flickering³ light touched the stones underfoot and brushed against a long procession of granite⁴ pillars that marched ahead,  摇曳的火光照到脚底下的石板，显现出两两成对的花岗岩柱，

two by two, into the dark. Between the pillars, the dead sat on their stone thrones against the walls,  一直延展到远处的黑暗中。历代逝者端坐石柱间的石制宝座上，背向墙壁，

backs against the sepulchres that contained their mortal remains⁵. She is down at the end, with Father and Brandon. 身後靠著存放遗体的石棺。她在最後面，就在父亲和布兰登旁边。

He led the way between the pillars and Robert followed wordlessly, shivering in the subterranean⁶ chill.  他领路在前，穿梭於石柱间的过道，劳勃被地底的阴寒冻得宣打哆嗦，

It was always cold down here. Their footsteps rang off the stones and echoed in the vault⁷ overhead  他领路在前，穿梭於石柱间的过道，劳勃被地底的阴寒冻得宣打哆嗦，默然无语地跟随其後。基窖里总是冷的，

as they walked among the dead of House Stark.  他们走在史塔克家族历代的死者之间，

The Lords of Winterfell watched them pass. Their likenesses were carved into the stones that sealed the tombs.  足音迥响在偌大的陵墓里，在历代临冬城主的注视下前进。

In long rows they sat, blind eyes staring out into eternal darkness,  紧闭的石棺上刻有他们生前的容貌，

while great stone direwolves curled round their feet.  巨大的冰原狼石雕则蜷缩脚下。他们并列而坐，再也看不见的眼睛注视著永寂的黑暗。

The shifting shadows made the stone figures seem to stir as the living passed by. 在窜动黑影下的这些石像，彷佛都被走过的生者所惊动。

 

1 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

4 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

7 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。