冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第714期:第三十四章 琼恩(13)

 　　Even in the wolfswood, you never found more than two or three of the white trees growing together;  即便在北方，即便在狼林，你也找不到这种白色的树会两三棵长在一起，

　　a grove¹ of nine was unheard of.  九棵简直闻所未闻。

　　The forest floor was carpeted with fallen leaves, bloodred on top, black rot beneath.  林地铺满落叶，上层血红，下面则是腐朽的黑色。

　　The wide smooth trunks were bone pale, and nine faces stared inward. 宽而平滑的树干如枯骨般苍白，九张脸向圆心凝视，

　　The dried sap that crusted in the eyes was red and hard as ruby². 眼睛部位干涸的树汁红硬宛如宝石。

　　Bowen Marsh³ commanded them to leave their horses outside the circle. 波文·马尔锡命令他们将马匹留在圆圈之外。

　　"This is a sacred place, we will not defile⁴ it." “这是神圣之地，我们不可亵渎。”

　　When they entered the grove, Samwell Tarly turned slowly looking at each face in turn. 走进树丛后，山姆威尔·塔利慢慢地转头审视每一张脸。

　　No two were quite alike.  它们全都不一样。

　　"They're watching us," he whispered. "The old gods." “远古诸神，”他悄声说，“他们正看着我们呢。”

　　Yes. Jon knelt, and Sam knelt beside him. “对啊。”琼恩单膝跪下，山姆也跪在他身边。

　　They said the words together, as the last light faded in the west and grey day became black night. 在最后一线日光沉落西天，灰暗的白昼转为黑夜的时刻，他们齐声念出誓言。

　　Hear my words, and bear witness to my vow⁵, they recited, their voices filling the twilit grove. “倾听我的誓言，做我的见证。” 他们的朗诵充斥暮色中的树林，

　　"Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death.  “长夜将至，我从今开始守望，至死方休。

　　I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. 我将不娶妻，不封地，不生子。

　　I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. 我将不戴宝冠，不争荣宠。

　　I shall live and die at my post.  我将尽忠职守，生死于斯。

　　I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. 我是黑暗中的利剑，长城上的守卫，

1 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

2 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

3 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

4 defile   

v.弄污，弄脏；n.(山间)小道

参考例句：

• Don't defile the land of our ancestors!再不要污染我们先祖们的大地！
• We respect the faith of Islam, even as we fight those whose actions defile that faith.我们尊重伊斯兰教的信仰，并与玷污伊斯兰教的信仰的行为作斗争。

5 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。