冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第279期:第十八章 赫德(25)

 　　You can, Mormont said bluntly. Your sister sits beside the king. Your brother is a great knight¹, and your father the most powerful lord in the Seven Kingdoms.  你当然能，莫尔蒙直言不讳，令姐贵为当今王后，令兄是个伟大的骑士，令尊更是当今七国最有权势的人物。

　　Speak to them for us. Tell them of our need here. You have seen for yourself, my lord. The Night's Watch is dying.  请代我们向他们请愿，告诉他们我们是如何迫切地需要援助。大人，您也亲眼看到了，守夜人部队正在逐渐凋零。

　　Our strength is less than a thousand now. Six hundred here, two hundred in the Shadow Tower, even fewer at Eastwatch, and a scant² third of those fighting men.  我们的人力只剩不到一千，六百守在这里，两百在影子塔，东海望的驻军更少，而其中真正能作战的还不到三分之一。

　　The Wall is a hundred leagues long. Think on that.  长城则足足有三百里之长。请您想想，

　　Should an attack come, I have three men to defend each mile of wall. 要是敌人来袭，每一里我只能派三个人去守。

　　Three and a third, Tyrion said with a yawn. 三又三分之一个。提利昂打了个呵欠。

　　Mormont scarcely seemed to hear him. The old man warmed his hands before the fire.  莫尔蒙似乎没在意他的话，老人伸手在火炉前取暖。

　　I sent Benjen Stark³ to search after Yohn Royce's son, lost on his first ranging.  我派班扬·史塔克去找约恩·罗伊斯的儿子，他第一次出外巡逻便失踪了。

　　The Royce boy was green as summer grass, yet he insisted on the honor of his own command, saying it was his due as a knight.  罗伊斯那小子嫩得跟夏天的青草一样，可他偏要坚持亲自领队，说是身为骑士的职责。

　　I did not wish to offend his lord father, so I yielded. I sent him out with two men I deemed as good as any in the Watch. More fool I. 我因为不想冒犯他老爸，便由他去了。更愚蠢的是，我还派了两个部队里的顶尖好手跟他一道走。

　　Fool, the raven⁴ agreed. Tyrion glanced up. The bird peered down at him with those beady black eyes, ruffling⁵ its wings.  愚蠢。乌鸦同意。提利昂抬头看去，鸟儿用珠子似的黑眼睛睥睨他，抖动着翅膀。

　　Fool, it called again. Doubtless old Mormont would take it amiss if he throttled⁶ the creature. A pity. 愚蠢。它又叫。他很想勒死这只鸟，但想到老莫尔蒙必定会生气，只好作罢。

　　The Lord Commander took no notice of the irritating bird.  老司令官毫不理会那只惹人厌的鸟。

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

3 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。

4 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

5 ruffling   

弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱

参考例句：

• A cool breeze brushed his face, ruffling his hair. 一阵凉风迎面拂来，吹乱了他的头发。
• "Indeed, they do not,'said Pitty, ruffling. "说真的，那倒不一定。" 皮蒂皱皱眉头，表示异议。

6 throttled   

v.扼杀( throttle的过去式和过去分词 )；勒死；使窒息；压制

参考例句：

• He throttled the guard with his bare hands. 他徒手掐死了卫兵。
• The pilot got very low before he throttled back. 飞行员减速之前下降得很低。 来自《简明英汉词典》