动物农场 Animal Farm 第2章(2)

 　　At the beginning they met with much stupidity and apathy¹.

　　起初，他们针对的是那些迟钝和麻木的动物。

　　Some of the animals talked of the duty of loyalty² to Mr. Jones, whom they referred to as "Master,"

　　这些动物中，有一些还大谈什么对琼斯先生的忠诚的义务，把他视为“主人”，

　　or made elementary remarks such as "Mr. Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should starve to death."

　　提出很多浅薄的看法，比如“琼斯先生喂养我们，如果他走了，我们会饿死的”。

　　Others asked such questions as "Why should we care what happens after we are dead?"

　　还有的问到这样的问题：“我们干嘛要关心我们死后才能发生的事情？”

　　or "If this Rebellion is to happen anyway, what difference does it make whether we work for it or not?".

　　或者问：“如果造反注定要发生，我们干不干又有什么关系？”

　　And the pigs had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to the spirit of Animalism.

　　因而，猪就下了很大的功夫，教他们懂得这些说法都是与动物主义相悖离的。

　　The stupidest questions of all were asked by Mollie, the white mare³.

　　其中，最愚蠢的问题是那匹白雌马莫丽提出来的。

　　The very first question she asked Snowball was: "Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?"

　　她向斯诺鲍最先问的问题是：“造反以后还有糖吗？”

　　"No," said Snowball firmly. "We have no means of making sugar on this farm.

　　“没有”，斯诺鲍坚定地说，“我们没有办法在庄园制糖。

　　Besides, you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want."

　　再说，你不需要糖，而你想要的燕麦和草料你都会有的”。

　　"And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?" asked Mollie.

　　“那我还能在鬃毛上扎饰带吗？”莫丽问。

　　"Comrade," said Snowball, "those ribbons that you are so devoted⁴ to are the badge of slavery.

　　“同志”，斯诺鲍说，“那些你如此钟爱的饰带全是奴隶的标记。

　　Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons?"

　　你难道不明白自由比饰带更有价值吗？”

　　Mollie agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.

　　莫丽同意了，但听起来并不十分肯定。

　　The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract⁵ the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven⁶.

　　猪面对的更困难的事情，是对付那只驯顺了的乌鸦摩西散布的谎言。

　　Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker.

　　摩西这个琼斯先生的特殊宠物，是个尖细和饶舌的家伙，还是个灵巧的说客。

　　He claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugar-candy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died.

　　他声称他知道有一个叫做“蜜糖山”的神秘国度，那里是所有动物死后的归宿。

　　It was situated⁷ somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said.

　　摩西说，它就在天空中云层上面的不远处。

　　In Sugar-candy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges.

　　在蜜糖山，每周七天，天天都是星期天，一年四季都有苜蓿，在那里，方糖和亚麻子饼就长在树篱上。

　　The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugar-candy Mountain.

　　动物们憎恶摩西，因为他光说闲话而不干活，但动物中也有相信蜜糖山的。

　　And the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.

　　所以，猪不得不竭力争辩，教动物们相信根本就不存在那么一个地方。

1 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

2 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

3 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

5 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。

6 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。

7 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。