冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第363期:第二十三章 艾德(5)

 　　The watchman, my lord, Jory said. He vows¹ he'll never touch another horse. 老爷，您说的这个都城守卫，乔里道，他发誓这辈子再也不碰别的马了。

　　What did he have to say? 为什么？

　　He claims he knew Lord Arryn well. Fast friends, they were. Jory snorted. The Hand always gave the lads a copper² on their name days, he says.  他说自己很了解艾林大人，说什么两人一拍即合。乔里哼了一声，他说每逢小伙子们命名日，首相大人总不忘赏几个小钱。

　　Had a way with horses. Never rode his mounts too hard, and brought them carrots and apples, so they were always pleased to see him. 还说首相大人熟悉马性，从不让坐骑过分劳累，还每每带胡萝卜和苹果给马儿吃，所以它们都很喜欢他。

　　Carrots and apples, Ned repeated. It sounded as if this boy would be even less use than the others.  胡萝卜和苹果。奈德跟着念了一遍。听起来这小子能帮上的忙比其他几个人还要有限，

　　And he was the last of the four Littlefinger had turned up. Jory had spoken to each of them in turn.  而他已经是小指头所说那四人之中最后的一个了。乔里和每个人都分别谈过。

　　Ser Hugh had been brusque and uninformative, and arrogant³ as only a new-made knight⁴ can be.  修夫爵士脾气火爆，不肯多说，刚当上骑士就已经很骄傲。

　　If the Hand wished to talk to him, he should be pleased to receive him, but he would not be questioned by a mere⁵ captain of guards... 照他的话，倘若首相大人有意和他谈谈，他很乐于接见，但区区一个侍卫队长可没资格盘问他…

　　Even if said captain was ten years older and a hundred times the swordsman.  就算这个侍卫队长大他十岁，剑术强他一百倍也没戏。

　　The serving girl had at least been pleasant.  那个厨房小妹总算还好沟通，

　　She said Lord Jon had been reading more than was good for him, that he was troubled and melancholy⁶ over his young son's frailty⁷, and gruff with his lady wife.  她说琼恩大人读书读过头啦，还说他为小儿子的孱弱病体伤神担忧，对夫人又很粗暴。

　　The potboy, now cordwainer, had never exchanged so much as a word with Lord Jon, but he was full of oddments of kitchen gossip:  至于那个现在靠拉车维生的跑堂小厮，则从来没跟琼恩大人说过话。不过他倒是知道一堆厨房里的闲话：

　　the lord had been quarreling with the king, the lord only picked at his food, the lord was sending his boy to be fostered on Dragonstone, 听说老爷近来常跟国王吵架，老爷嫌东西不好吃，老爷打算送他儿子到龙石岛当养子，

　　the lord had taken a great interest in the breeding of hunting hounds, the lord had visited a master armorer to commission a new suit of plate,  老爷对养猎犬突然有了兴趣，老爷去找了个高明的武器师傅，委托他打造一副全新的铠甲，

　　wrought⁸ all in pale silver with a blue jasper falcon⁹ and a mother-of-pearl moon on the breast.  整件镀上白银，胸前安上一只蓝玉雕的猎鹰和珍珠母做的月亮。

　　The king's own brother had gone with him to help choose the design, the potboy said. No, not Lord Renly, the other one, Lord Stannis. 跑堂小弟说，是国王的弟弟亲自陪他去挑选材料和花样，喔不，不是蓝礼大人，是另外那个，史坦尼斯大人。

　　Did our watchman recall anything else of note? 这守卫有没有提到什么值得留意的事？

　　The lad swears Lord Jon was as strong as a man half his age. Often went riding with Lord Stannis, he says. 小伙子发誓说琼恩大人同年纪小他一半的人一样健壮，还常跟史坦尼斯大人外出骑马。

　　Stannis again, Ned thought. He found that curious. Jon Arryn and he had been cordial, but never friendly.  又是史坦尼斯，奈德心想。这可奇了，琼恩·艾林和他固然礼尚往来，却从不亲近。

1 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

2 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

3 arrogant   

adj.傲慢的，自大的

参考例句：

• You've got to get rid of your arrogant ways.你这骄傲劲儿得好好改改。
• People are waking up that he is arrogant.人们开始认识到他很傲慢。

4 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。

5 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

6 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

7 frailty   

n.脆弱；意志薄弱

参考例句：

• Despite increasing physical frailty,he continued to write stories.尽管身体越来越虛弱，他仍然继续写小说。
• He paused and suddenly all the frailty and fatigue showed.他顿住了，虚弱与疲惫一下子显露出来。

8 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

9 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。