冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第941期:第四十四章 琼恩(18)

 　　Baelor the Blessed tried to replace all the ravens¹ with doves, did you know?" 你可知道，‘受神祝福的’贝勒曾试图用鸽子全面取代渡鸦？当然，他没有成功。”

　　The maester turned his white eyes on Jon, smiling. 老师傅面露微笑，将那双白色盲眼转向琼恩。

　　"The Night's Watch prefers ravens." “只有守夜人比较喜欢渡鸦。”

　　Jon's fingers were in the bucket, blood up to the wrist. 琼恩的手指浸在桶子里，血淹及腕。

　　"Dywen says the wildlings call us crows," he said uncertainty². “我听戴文说，野人也把我们叫做乌鸦。”

　　The crow is the raven's poor cousin. “乌鸦是渡鸦的可怜远亲。

　　They are both beggars in black, hated and misunderstood. 它们是一身黑羽的乞食者，向来受到误解，遭人怨恨。”

　　Jon wished he understood what they were talking about, and why. 琼恩真希望自己能清楚他到底在讲些什么，以及其中缘由。

　　What did he care about ravens and doves? 渡鸦和鸽子与他何干？

　　If the old man had something to say to him, why couldn't he just say it? 如果老人家有话要说，为何不肯直截了当？

　　Jon, did you ever wonder why the men of the Night's Watch take no wives and father no children? Maester Aemon asked. “琼恩，你可曾想过，为何守夜人不娶妻也不生子？”伊蒙学士问。

　　Jon shrugged³. "No." He scattered⁴ more meat. 琼恩耸耸肩。“我没想过。”他又丢了些碎肉。

　　The fingers of his left hand were slimy with blood, and his right throbbed⁵ from the weight of the bucket. 此时他的左手已经沾满黏滑血渍，右手则因木桶的重量而隐隐作痛。

　　So they will not love, the old man answered, "for love is the bane of honor, the death of duty." “只因如此一来，他们才不会为情爱所困扰，”老师傅自问自答，“情爱是荣誉的大敌，更是责任的大忌。”

　　That did not sound right to Jon, yet he said nothing. 琼恩觉得不太对劲，但他没说什么。

　　The maester was a hundred years old, and a high officer of the Night's Watch; it was not his place to contradict him. 老学士年逾百岁，在守夜人军团里德高望重，他没资格去反驳他。

1 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

2 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

3 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 throbbed   

抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动

参考例句：

• His head throbbed painfully. 他的头一抽一跳地痛。
• The pulse throbbed steadily. 脉搏跳得平稳。