冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第283期:第十八章 赫德(29)

 　　It was bitter cold outside.  门外寒气逼人。

　　Bundled thickly in his furs, Tyrion Lannister pulled on his gloves and nodded to the poor frozen wretches¹ standing² sentry³ outside the Commander's Keep.  提利昂·兰尼斯特包裹在厚重的皮毛大衣里，边戴手套，边朝司令官堡垒外站岗的僵硬倒霉鬼点头致意。

　　He set off across the yard for his own chambers⁴ in the King's Tower, walking as briskly as his legs could manage. Patches of snow crunched⁵ beneath his feet as his boots broke the night's crust, and his breath steamed before him like a banner.  他迈开步伐，尽他所能地加快脚步，穿过庭院，朝自己位于国王塔的房间走去。靴子踏破寒夜的覆冰，积雪在脚下嘎吱作响，呼吸如旗帜般在眼前凝霜。

　　He shoved his hands into his armpits and walked faster, praying that Morrec had remembered to warm his bed with hot bricks from the fire. 他两手环胸，走得更快，一心祈祷莫里斯没忘记用火炉里的热砖头替他暖被子。

　　Behind the King's Tower, the Wall glimmered⁶ in the light of the moon, immense and mysterious.  位于国王塔后方的绝境长城在月光下粼粼发光，庞大而神秘。

　　Tyrion stopped for a moment to look up at it.  提利昂不由得驻足凝望，

　　His legs ached of cold and haste. 双腿则因酷寒和运动而疼痛不已。

　　Suddenly a strange madness took hold of him, a yearning⁷ to look once more off the end of the world.  突然，他心生怪异的狂念，决定再看看世界尽头一眼。

　　It would be his last chance, he thought; tomorrow he would ride south, and he could not imagine why he would ever want to return to this frozen desolation.  这是他这辈子最后的机会罢，他心想，明天就要启程南归，而他实在想不出有何理由重回这冰封的不毛之地。

　　The King's Tower was before him, with its promise of warmth and a soft bed, yet Tyrion found himself walking past it, toward the vast pale palisade of the Wall. 国王塔近在眼前，提利昂却不由自主地绕过它，绕过垂手可得的暖意和温床，朝长城这广大的苍白冰壁走去。

　　A wooden stair ascended⁸ the south face, anchored on huge rough-hewn beams sunk deep into the ice and frozen in place.  墙南有座粗木横梁搭建的楼梯，深陷在冰层里，牢牢冻住。

　　Back and forth⁹ it switched, clawing its way upward as crooked¹⁰ as a bolt of lightning.  长长的楼梯蜿蜒曲折，如一记闪电，弯弯曲曲攀上城墙。

　　The black brothers assured him that it was much stronger than it looked,  黑衫弟兄曾向他保证这楼梯远比看起来坚固，

　　but Tyrion's legs were cramping¹¹ too badly for him to even contemplate¹² the ascent¹³.  但提利昂的脚痛得实在厉害，根本没法独立攀爬。

　　He went instead to the iron cage beside the well, clambered inside, and yanked hard on the bell rope, three quick pulls. 于是他走往井边的铁笼子，爬了进去，然后用力拉了三下尾端系着传唤铃的绳索。

1 wretches   

n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋

参考例句：

• The little wretches were all bedraggledfrom some roguery. 小淘气们由于恶作剧而弄得脏乎乎的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The best courage for us poor wretches is to fly from danger. 对我们这些可怜虫说来，最好的出路还是躲避危险。 来自辞典例句

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 sentry   

n.哨兵，警卫

参考例句：

• They often stood sentry on snowy nights.他们常常在雪夜放哨。
• The sentry challenged anyone approaching the tent.哨兵查问任一接近帐篷的人。

4 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

5 crunched   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

6 glimmered   

v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "There glimmered the embroidered letter, with comfort in its unearthly ray." 她胸前绣着的字母闪着的非凡的光辉，将温暖舒适带给他人。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• The moon glimmered faintly through the mists. 月亮透过薄雾洒下微光。 来自辞典例句

7 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

8 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

11 cramping   

图像压缩

参考例句：

• The bleeding may keep my left hand from cramping. 淌血会叫我的左手不抽筋。
• This loss of sodium can cause dehydration and cramping. 钠流失会造成脱水和抽筋。

12 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

13 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。