冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第559期:第二十八章 布兰(31)

 　　The gaoler yanked his leather strap¹ free of Tyrion's grasp.  狱卒把皮带从提利昂手中抽回。

　　Message, he said, as if he had never heard the word before.  口信？他说，就好像以前从没听过这两个字。

　　His frown made deep creases² in his brow. 他一皱眉，额头上便现出许多深陷的凹痕。

　　You heard me, my lord. Only carry my word to your lady. Tell her...What? What would possibly make Lysa Anyn relent?  是的，莫德大人，你听我说什么，就去跟你家夫人说什么。告诉她…告诉她什么？

　　The inspiration came to Tyrion Lannister suddenly...tell her that I wish to confess my crimes. 如何才能打动莱莎·艾林？提利昂·兰尼斯特突然灵光一现。…告诉她我打算认罪。

　　Mord raised his arm and Tyrion braced³ himself for another blow, but the turnkey hesitated. Suspicion and greed warred in his eyes.  莫德举起手，提利昂做好挨打的准备，但狱卒迟迟没有下手。怀疑和贪婪在他眼里交战。

　　He wanted that gold, yet he feared a trick; he had the look of a man who had often been tricked. Is lie, he muttered darkly. Dwarf⁴ man cheat me. 他想要金子，却怕被骗；看来他以前似乎常被人戏弄。骗人，他阴沉地喃喃道，矮冬瓜骗我。

　　I will put my promise in writing, Tyrion vowed⁵. 要不咱们白纸黑字写清楚。提利昴发誓。

　　Some illiterates⁶ held writing in disdain⁷; others seemed to have a superstitious⁸ reverence⁹ for the written word, as if it were some sort of magic.  有些文盲对文字特别厌恶，有些则迷信般地将其奉若神明，仿佛那是种魔法。

　　Fortunately, Mord was one of the latter. The turnkey lowered the strap. Writing down gold. Much gold. 幸运的是，莫德属于后者。狱卒放下皮带：写下金子，很多金子。

　　Oh, much gold, Tyrion assured him. The purse is just a taste, my friend.  喔，很多很多，提利昂向他担保，亲爱的好朋友，我的钱包只是开胃小菜。

　　My brother wears armor of solid gold plate. In truth, Jaime's armor was gilded¹⁰ steel, but this oaf would never know the difference. 我老哥连铠甲都是从头到尾用金子打的。事实上，詹姆的盔甲是钢做的，只是镀上一层金，但这驴蛋反正也分不出来。

　　Mord fingered his strap thoughtfully, but in the end, he relented and went to fetch paper and ink.  莫德把玩着皮带，不过最后还是妥协地取来纸和墨水。

　　When the letter was written, the gaoler frowned at it suspiciously.  写好之后，狱卒狐疑地皱眉看着那张纸。

　　Now deliver my message, Tyrion urged. 现在去帮我传口信罢。提利昂催促。

1 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

2 creases   

（使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹

参考例句：

• She smoothed the creases out of her skirt. 她把裙子上的皱褶弄平。
• She ironed out all the creases in the shirt. 她熨平了衬衣上的所有皱褶。

3 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

5 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

6 illiterates   

目不识丁者( illiterate的名词复数 )； 无知

参考例句：

• In 1996, an additional four million young and adult illiterates learned to read and write. 1996年，全国又减少了400万青壮年文盲。
• Even semi-illiterates can read the writing on the wall, and many are throwing in the towel. 即使是知识不多的人也能看出不祥之兆。许多人认输了。

7 disdain   

n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑

参考例句：

• Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
• A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。

8 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

9 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

10 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡