冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第600期:第二十七章 琼恩(4)

 　　Toad¹ made a face. I hope not. I'm sick of looking at those ears of yours. 陶德扮了个鬼脸。希望不会，我受够了你那双丑耳朵。

　　Ho, said Pyp. Listen to the crow call the raven² black.  哟，派普说，天下乌鸦还不是一般黑。

　　You're certain to be a ranger³, Toad.  癞蛤蟆，我看你游骑兵是当定了，

　　They'll want you as far from the castle as they can.  因为他们会把你派得离城堡越远越好。

　　If Mance Rayder attacks, lift your visor and show your face, and he'll run off screaming. 若是曼斯·雷德打来，只需掀开面罩，叫他们瞧瞧你那张脸，保管他们落荒而逃啊。

　　Everyone laughed but Grenn. I hope I'm a ranger. 除了葛兰，大家哄堂而笑。我真心希望自己能当游骑兵呢。

　　You and everyone else, said Matthar. Every man who wore the black walked the Wall, and every man was expected to take up steel in its defense⁴, but the rangers⁵ were the true fighting heart of the Night's Watch.  我们不都一样。梅沙道。黑衫军的每一位成员都有防守长城之责，若是敌人来袭，人人都必须举剑迎敌，然而游骑兵才是守夜人部队中真正的战斗主力。

　　It was they who dared ride beyond the Wall, sweeping⁶ through the haunted forest and the icy mountain heights west of the Shadow Tower, fighting wildlings and giants and monstrous⁷ snow bears. 只有他们会骑马北出长城，扫荡影子塔以西鬼影幢幢的森林和冰雪覆盖的崇山峻岭，与野人、巨人和怪物般的雪熊作战。

　　Not everyone, said Halder. It's the builders for me.  那可不一定，霍德说，我就想当工匠。

　　What use would rangers be if the Wall fell down? 若是长城垮了，游骑兵还有什么用呢？

　　The order of builders provided the masons and carpenters to repair keeps and towers, the miners to dig tunnels and crush stone for roads and footpaths⁸, the woodsmen to clear away new growth wherever the forest pressed too close to the Wall.  工匠群体包括负责维修堡垒和塔楼的石匠和木匠；负责挖掘隧道，敲碎石头铺路的矿工；负责砍伐靠近长城的树林的樵夫。

　　Once, it was said, they had quarried⁹ immense blocks of ice from frozen lakes deep in the haunted forest, dragging them south on sledges¹⁰ so the Wall might be raised ever higher.  据说多年以前，工匠们从鬼影森林中的冰湖运来巨大冰块，用雪橇南运，以将长城砌高。

　　Those days were centuries gone, however; now, it was all they could do to ride the Wall from Eastwatch to the Shadow Tower, watching for cracks or signs of melt and making what repairs they could. 然而距离那样的年代，已经过了好几百年，如今他们所能做的，便只是沿着城墙，从东海望走到影子塔，修补沿途的裂缝，注意融化的迹象。

1 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

2 raven   

n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的

参考例句：

• We know the raven will never leave the man's room.我们知道了乌鸦再也不会离开那个男人的房间。
• Her charming face was framed with raven hair.她迷人的脸上垂落着乌亮的黑发。

3 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

6 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

7 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

8 footpaths   

人行小径，人行道( footpath的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are a lot of winding footpaths in the col. 山坳里尽是些曲曲弯弯的羊肠小道。
• There are many footpaths that wind through the village. 有许多小径穿过村子。

9 quarried   

v.从采石场采得( quarry的过去式和过去分词 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石

参考例句：

• The workmen quarried out a huge block of marble. 工人们从采石场采得一块很大的大理石。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The large limestone caves are also quarried for cement. 同时还在这些大石灰岩洞里开采水泥原料。 来自辞典例句

10 sledges   

n.雪橇，雪车( sledge的名词复数 )v.乘雪橇( sledge的第三人称单数 )；用雪橇运载

参考例句：

• Sledges run well over frozen snow. 雪橇在冻硬了的雪上顺利滑行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They used picks and sledges to break the rocks. 他们用[镐和撬]来打碎这些岩石。 来自互联网