动物农场 Animal Farm 第1章(4)

 　　"Man is the only creature that consumes without producing.

　　“人是一种最可怜的家伙，什么都产不了，只会挥霍。

　　He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits.

　　那些家伙产不了奶，也下不了蛋，瘦弱得拉不动犁跑起来也是慢吞吞的，连个兔子都逮不住。

　　Yet he is lord of all the animals.

　　可那家伙却是所有动物的主宰。

　　He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.

　　他驱使他们去干活，给他们报偿却只是一点少得不能再少的草料，仅够他们糊口而已。而他们劳动所得的其余的一切则都被他据为己有。

　　Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin.

　　是我们流血流汗在耕耘这块土地，是我们的粪便使它肥沃，可我们自己除了这一副空皮囊之外，又得到了什么呢！

　　You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year?

　　你们这些坐在我面前的牛，去年一年里，你们已产过多少加仑的奶呢！

　　And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves¹?

　　那些本来可以喂养出许多强壮的牛犊的奶又到哪儿去了呢？

　　Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies.

　　每一滴都流进了我们仇敌的喉咙里。

　　And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens?

　　还有你们这些鸡、这一年里你们已下了多少只蛋呢？可又有多少孵成了小鸡？

　　The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men.

　　那些没有孵化的鸡蛋都被拿到市场上为琼斯和他的伙计们换成了钞票！

　　And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age?

　　你呢，克拉弗，你的四匹小马驹到哪儿去了？他们本来是你晚年的安慰和寄托！

　　Each was sold at a year old--you will never see one of them again.

　　而他们却都在一岁时给卖掉了，你永远也无法再见到他们了。

　　In return for your four confinements² and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations³ and a stall?

　　补偿给你这四次坐月子和在地里劳作的，除了那点可怜的饲料和一间马厩外，还有什么呢？

　　"And even the miserable⁴ lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span.

　　“就是过着这样悲惨的生活，我们也不能被允许享尽天年。

　　For myself I do not grumble⁵, for I am one of the lucky ones.

　　拿我自己来说，我无可抱怨，因为我算是幸运的。

　　I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children.

　　我十二岁了，已有四百多个孩子。

　　Such is the natural life of a pig.

　　这对一个猪来说就是应有的生活了。

　　But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end.

　　但是，到头来没有一个动物能逃过那残忍的一刀。

　　You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year.

　　你们这些坐在我面前的小肉猪们，不出一年，你们都将在刀架上嚎叫着断送性命。

　　To that horror we all must come--cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone.

　　这恐怖就是我们——牛、猪、鸡、羊等等每一位都难逃的结局。

1 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 confinements   

限制，被监禁( confinement的名词复数 )； 分娩

参考例句：

• He challenges social confinements and shows his dignity in the end. 裘德挑战社会限制并展现他的尊严。
• Effect of confinements on insensitive high explosive( IHE) is studied by photoelectric test. 采用光电测试的方法，研究了钝感炸药的约束效应。

3 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。