吹小号的天鹅 第89期:自由(3)

 The Head Man became thoughtful. "You can't take Serena from the Zoo. She will never fly again.

这个负责人开始沉思了。“你不能从这动物园里把塞蕾娜带走。她永远也不能再飞了。

My keepers clipped one of her wings a few minutes ago."

我的管理员已经在几分钟前剪坏了她的一只翅膀。”

"They tried to," wrote Louis, "but I beat them up."

“他们曾经想这么干，”路易斯写，“可我揍了他们。”

The Head Man looked surprised. "Was it a good fight?"

这个负责人显得很吃惊。“战斗很激烈吗？”

"It was a fair fight," replied Louis.

“那是一场公平的交战，”路易斯回答。

"They were sneaking¹ up on her from behind, so I sneaked² up on them from behind.

“他们在她身后偷袭，因此我也偷偷地跟在他们身后。

They hardly knew what hit them."

他们几乎都不知道是被什么揍倒的。”

The Head Man chuckled³. "I wish I'd seen it," he said.

负责人格格地笑起来。“真希望我能亲眼看见这一切，”他说。

吹小号的天鹅

"But look here, Louis, you've got to realize the position I'm in.

“不过看这儿，路易斯，你明白我在这儿该采取什么立场。

I have a duty to the people of Philadelphia.

我要对费城的民众负责。

Within the last couple of months, I've acquired two rare birds by accident--you and Serena.

在最近的两个月以来，我意外地得到了两只珍稀的鸟儿——你和塞蕾娜。

Two Trumpeter Swans! One arrived here blown by a gale⁴, the other to keep a nightclub engagement.

两只号手天鹅！一个是被狂风卷过来的，另一个是和夜总会签了约的。

The whole business is most unusual for a zoo. I have my responsibility to the public.

对动物园来说，整个事情都是最不寻常的。我对公众负有责任。

It is my duty as Head Man in Charge of Birds to see that Serena stays.

作为鸟类管理处的负责人，我有责任让塞蕾娜留在这里。

You yourself, of course, are free to leave when you want to,

至于你自己，当然啦，如果愿意的话是可以自由离去的，

because Mr. Lucas insisted that you remain free when we arranged for your Sunday concerts.

因为卢卡斯先生坚决要用我们为你召开的星期日音乐会换取你的自由。

But in Serena's case...well, Louis, she's got to have her left wing tip amputated.

可是塞蕾娜嘛……嗯，路易斯，她左翅的翅膀尖必须被剪掉。

The Zoo can't afford to lose a young, beautiful, valuable Trumpeter Swan just because you happen to be in love.

动物园绝不能仅仅因为你凑巧爱上了她，就得失去一只年轻的，美丽的，无价的号手天鹅。

Besides, I think you're making a great mistake. If you and Serena stay here, you'll be safe.

此外，我想你正在犯一个严重的错误。如果你和塞蕾娜留在这里，你们都会安全的。

You'll have no enemies. You'll have no worries about your children.

你们将不会有敌人。你们将不必为你们的孩子担心。

No fox, no otter⁵, no coyote will ever attack you with intent to kill.

没有狐狸，没有水獭，也没有郊狼来袭击你们，打算把你们杀死。

You'll never go hungry. You'll never get shot.

你们永远也不会挨饿的。你们永远也不会遭到枪击。

You'll never die of lead poisoning from eating the shotgun pellets that are on the bottom of all natural lakes and ponds.

你们永远也不会因误食了沉在所有自然的湖泊或池塘底部的鸟枪弹丸而死于铅毒。

Your cygnets will be hatched each spring and will live a long life in perfect ease and comfort. What more can a young cob ask?"

你们在每年春天孵出的小天鹅都将终生活在极其安逸舒适的环境里。一只年轻的雄天鹅还能再图什么呢？”

"Freedom," replied Louis on his slate⁶. "Safety is all well and good: I prefer freedom."

“自由，”路易斯在他的石板上回答。“安全的确不错；可我更想要自由。”

1 sneaking   

a.秘密的，不公开的

参考例句：

• She had always had a sneaking affection for him. 以前她一直暗暗倾心于他。
• She ducked the interviewers by sneaking out the back door. 她从后门偷偷溜走，躲开采访者。

2 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

3 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

4 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

5 otter   

n.水獭

参考例句：

• The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说，竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
• She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。

6 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？