动物农场Animal Farm 第6章(1)

 　　All that year the animals worked like slaves. But they were happy in their work.

　　那一年，动物们干起活来就像奴隶一样但他们乐在其中。

　　They grudged¹ no effort or sacrifice, well aware that everything that they did was for the benefit of themselves and those of their kind who would come after them,

　　流血流汗甚至牺牲也心甘情愿，因为他们深深地意识到：他们干的每件事都是为他们自己和未来的同类的利益，

　　and not for a pack of idle, thieving human beings.

　　而不是为了那帮游手好闲、偷摸成性的人类。

　　Throughout the spring and summer they worked a sixty-hour week.

　　从初春到夏末这段时间里，他们每周工作六十个小时。

　　And in August Napoleon announced that there would be work on Sunday afternoons as well.

　　到了八月，拿破仑又宣布，星期天下午也要安排工作。

　　This work was strictly² voluntary, but any animal who absented himself from it would have his rations³ reduced by half.

　　这项工作完全是自愿性的，不过，无论哪个动物缺勤，他的口粮就要减去一半。

　　Even so, it was found necessary to leave certain tasks undone⁴.

　　即使这样，大家还是发觉，有些活就是干不完。

　　The harvest was a little less successful than in the previous year,

　　收获比去年要差一些，

　　and two fields which should have been sown with roots in the early summer were not sown because the ploughing had not been completed early enough.

　　而且，因为耕作没有及早完成，本来应该在初夏播种薯类作物的两快地也没种成。

　　It was possible to foresee that the coming winter would be a hard one.

　　可以预见，来冬将是一个艰难的季节。

　　The windmill presented unexpected difficulties.

　　风车的事引起了意外的难题。

　　动物农场01.jpg

　　There was a good quarry⁵ of limestone⁶ on the farm,

　　按说，庄园里就有一个质地很好的石灰石矿，

　　and plenty of sand and cement had been found in one of the outhouses, so that all the materials for building were at hand.

　　又在一间小屋里发现了大量的沙子和水泥，这样，所有的建筑材料都已齐备。

　　But the problem the animals could not at first solve was how to break up the stone into pieces of suitable size.

　　但问题是，动物们刚开始不知道如何才能把石头弄碎到适用的规格。

　　There seemed no way of doing this except with picks and crowbars, which no animal could use, because no animal could stand on his hind⁷ legs.

　　似乎除了动用十字镐和撬棍外，没有别的办法。可是，动物们都不能用后腿站立，也就无法使用镐和撬棍。

　　Only after weeks of vain effort did the right idea occur to somebody-namely, to utilize⁸ the force of gravity.

　　在他们徒劳几个星期之后，才有动物想出了一个好主意，就是利用重力的作用。

　　Huge boulders⁹, far too big to be used as they were, were lying all over the bed of the quarry.

　　再看那些巨大的圆石，虽然大都无法直接利用，但整个采石场上到处都是。

　　The animals lashed¹⁰ ropes round these, and then all together, cows, horses, sheep, any animal that could lay hold of the rope.

　　于是，动物们用绳子绑住石头，然后，由牛、马、羊以及所有能抓住绳子的动物合在一起。

　　Even the pigs sometimes joined in at critical moments.

　　甚至猪有时也在关键时刻搭个帮手。

　　They dragged them with desperate slowness up the slope to the top of the quarry, where they were toppled over the edge, to shatter to pieces below.

　　一起拖着石头，慢慢地、慢慢地沿着坡拖到矿顶。到了那儿，把石头从边上堆下去，在底下就摔成了碎块。

1 grudged   

怀恨（grudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The mean man grudged the food his horse ate. 那个吝啬鬼舍不得喂马。
• He grudged the food his horse ate. 他吝惜马料。

2 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

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 undone   

a.未做完的，未完成的

参考例句：

• He left nothing undone that needed attention.所有需要注意的事他都注意到了。

5 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

6 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

7 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

8 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

9 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》