冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第280期:第十八章 赫德(26)

 　　Gared was near as old as I am and longer on the Wall, he went on, yet it would seem he forswore himself and fled.  盖瑞年纪跟我差不多，但待在长城的时间更久。他继续说下去，但他后来似乎是背弃誓言逃跑了。

　　I should never have believed it, not of him, but Lord Eddard sent me his head from Winterfell. Of Royce, there is no word.  我本来不相信，觉得再怎么也轮不到他，直到他的首级被史塔克大人从临冬城送了来。至于罗伊斯那小子，则是音讯全无。

　　One deserter and two men lost, and now Ben Stark¹ too has gone missing.  一个逃兵，两个下落不明，

　　He sighed deeply. Who am I to send searching after him? In two years I will be seventy.  这会儿连班扬·史塔克也不见踪影。

　　Too old and too weary² for the burden I bear, yet if I set it down, who will pick it up?  他深深叹口气。这下我该派谁去找他呢？再过两年我都七十了，又老又疲惫，没法再撑下去。然而要是我撒手不管，谁能接手？

　　Alliser Thorne? Bowen Marsh³? I would have to be as blind as Maester Aemon not to see what they are.  艾里沙·索恩？波文·马尔锡？若我连他们的真本事都看不清，我就跟伊蒙师傅一样瞎。

　　The Night's Watch has become an army of sullen⁴ boys and tired old men.  如今的守夜人部队不过是群郁闷不乐的小伙子和身心俱疲的老头子组成的乌合之众罢了。

　　Apart from the men at my table tonight, I have perhaps twenty who can read, and even fewer who can think, or plan, or lead.  除了今晚跟我同桌用餐的人，我手下大概只有二十个人识字，能思考、计划或领导的人更少。

　　Once the Watch spent its summers building, and each Lord Commander raised the Wall higher than he found it.  从前守夜人军团每逢夏季便大兴土木，每任司令官都会加高城墙，

　　Now it is all we can do to stay alive. 而今我们光维持现状都非常吃力。

　　He was in deadly earnest, Tyrion realized. He felt faintly embarrassed for the old man.  提利昂明白对方话中的迫切，他不禁为眼前这名老人微微感到难过。

　　Lord Mormont had spent a good part of his life on the Wall, and he needed to believe if those years were to have any meaning.  这位前伯爵大半生都在长城度过，他需要相信自己这些年活得有意义。

　　I promise, the king will hear of your need, Tyrion said gravely, and I will speak to my father and my brother Jaime as well.  我保证会向国王陛下禀报此事，提利昂郑重地说，我也会向家父和家兄提起。

　　And he would. Tyrion Lannister was as good as his word. He left the rest unsaid;  这可不是阳奉阴违，提利昂·兰尼斯特向来说话算话。只是他没把其他的部分说出来：

　　that King Robert would ignore him, Lord Tywin would ask if he had taken leave of his senses, and Jaime would only laugh. 劳勃国王不会理睬他，泰温公爵会问他是否神智不清，詹姆则只会哈哈大笑。

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 weary   

adj.疲劳的，使人疲劳的；vi.厌烦，不耐烦

参考例句：

• He has laid out all his strength and is weary.他使出了全部气力，非常疲倦。
• I am weary of his constant complaints.我对他不断发牢骚感到厌烦。

3 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

4 sullen   

adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的

参考例句：

• He looked up at the sullen sky.他抬头看了一眼阴沉的天空。
• Susan was sullen in the morning because she hadn't slept well.苏珊今天早上郁闷不乐，因为昨晚没睡好。