冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第63期:第四章 艾德 (13)

 I understand,Ned said softly. 我了解。奈德轻轻地说。

Robert looked at him. I think you do. If so, you are the only one, my old friend. 劳勃看著他说：老朋友，我想也只有你能够了解了。

He smiled. Lord Eddard Stark¹, I would name you the Hand of the King.” 他面带微笑道：艾德·史塔克大人，我将任命你为御前首相。

Ned dropped to one knee. The offer did not surprise him;  奈德单膝跪下。他并不感到意外，

what other reason could Robert have had for coming so far?  除了这个原因，劳勃还会为了什麽千里迢迢北上呢？

The Hand of the King was the second-most powerful man in the Seven Kingdoms.  御前首相是七大王国中一人之下，万人之上的显赫要职，

He spoke² with the king’s voice, commanded the king’s armies, drafted the king’s laws.  他代国王发号施舍，统御三军，执掌司法。

At times he even sat upon the Iron Throne to dispense³ king’s justice, when the king was absent, or sick, or otherwise indisposed.  遇到国王缺席、生病或其他突发事件，他甚至会坐上铁王座，实际统治国家。

Robert was offering him a responsibility as large as the realm itself. It was the last thing in the world he wanted. 劳勃等於是将王国交到他手中。而这却是他最最不想要的。

Your Grace,he said. I am not worthy⁴ of the honor.” 陛下，他说：恐怕我的能力不足以胜任此等要职。

Robert groaned⁵ with good-humored impatience⁶. If I wanted to honor you, I’d let you retire.  劳勃高兴地发出一声佯装不耐的咕哝声说：如果我更为你著想，我会让你退休的。

I am planning to make you run the kingdom and fight the wars while I eat and drink and wench myself into an early grave. 我打算让你来治理国家，带兵打仗，而我自己呢？则痛痛快快地吃喝玩乐，嫖个过瘾。

He slapped his gut⁷ and grinned. You know the saying, about the king and his Hand?” 他拍拍肚皮，嘿嘿笑道：你知道那句形容国王和首相的谚语吧？

Ned knew the saying. What the king dreams,he said, the Hand builds.” 奈德当然知道。国王作梦，他说：首相筑梦。

I bedded a fishmaid once who told me the lowborn have a choicer way to put it.  有个跟我上过床的渔家女孩告诉我，说她们中下阶层的百姓有个更妙的比喻：

The king eats, they say, and the Hand takes the shit.He threw back his head and roared his laughter.  国王吃饭，首相清屎。这句话一说完，他仰头狂笑，

The echoes rang through the darkness, and all around them the dead of Winterfell seemed to watch with cold and disapproving⁸ eyes. 回音响彻黑暗，四面八方的临冬城死者似乎很不以为然地冷眼旁观。

 

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

4 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

5 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

7 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

8 disapproving   

adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mother gave me a disapproving look. 母亲的眼神告诉我她是不赞成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her father threw a disapproving glance at her. 她父亲不满地瞥了她一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》