冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第488期:第二十七章 艾德(25)

　　Brynden Blackfish gave her a weary smile. I hope you are right, child, he sighed, in tones that said she was wrong. 黑鱼布林登疲倦地对她笑笑。孩子，希望你是对的。他叹口气，言下之意却大不以为然。

　　The sun was well to the west by the time the slope began to flatten¹ beneath the hooves of their horses.  马蹄下的斜坡开始放缓，太阳已在西边。

　　The road widened and grew straight, and for the first time Catelyn noticed wildflowers and grasses growing.  道路逐渐宽阔，变得笔直，凯特琳也首次注意到路边有野花和青草。

　　Once they reached the valley floor, the going was faster and they made good time, cantering through verdant² greenwoods and sleepy little hamlets, past orchards³ and golden wheat fields, splashing across a dozen sunlit streams.  等他们抵达谷地平原，行进的速度更快，他们没有浪费时间，加紧赶路，穿越青翠绿林与沉静的小村庄，经过果园和金黄色的麦田，溅起水花渡过阳光照耀的溪流。

　　Her uncle sent a standard-bearer ahead of them, a double banner flying from his staff;  叔叔派出掌旗手跑在前面，长竿上飘扬着两面旗帜，上方的是艾林家族的新月猎鹰，下面则是他自己的黑鱼。

　　the moon-and-falcon of House Arryn on high, and below it his own black fish. Farm wagons⁴ and merchants' carts and riders from lesser⁵ houses moved aside to let them pass. 农家马车，生意人的货车和小贵族家的骑手纷纷回避，让他们通过。

　　Even so, it was full dark before they reached the stout⁶ castle that stood at the foot of the Giant's Lance.  即便如此，当他们抵达巨人之枪山脚下那座坚固城堡时，天色已经全黑。

　　Torches flickered⁷ atop its ramparts, and the horned moon danced upon the dark waters of its moat. 城垛上火把通明，新月在护城河的漆黑水面舞动。

　　The drawbridge was up and the portcullis down, but Catelyn saw lights burning in the gatehouse and spilling from the windows of the square towers beyond. 吊桥已经升起，铁闸也已降下，但凯特琳看到城门楼内的火光，灯光也从城楼后面的窗户间流泻出来。

　　The Gates of the Moon, her uncle said as the party drew rein⁸. His standard-bearer rode to the edge of the moat to hail the men in the gatehouse.  这就是月门堡。队伍靠近城堡时，叔叔说。他的掌旗手骑到护城河边招呼塔楼里的人。

　　Lord Nestor's seat. He should be expecting us. Look up. 奈斯特大人的居城。他应该在等我们了。你再看看上面。

1 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

2 verdant   

adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的

参考例句：

• Children are playing on the verdant lawn.孩子们在绿茵茵的草坪上嬉戏玩耍。
• The verdant mountain forest turns red gradually in the autumn wind.苍翠的山林在秋风中渐渐变红了。

3 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

4 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

5 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

6 stout   

adj.强壮的，粗大的，结实的，勇猛的，矮胖的

参考例句：

• He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
• The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。

7 flickered   

（通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lights flickered and went out. 灯光闪了闪就熄了。
• These lights flickered continuously like traffic lights which have gone mad. 这些灯象发狂的交通灯一样不停地闪动着。

8 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。