动物农场Animal Farm 第6章(3)

 　　This was so great that it would have taken a lot of failures to outweigh¹ it.

　　这个优越性太显著了，它足以使许多不足之处显得不足为道。

　　And in many ways the animal method of doing things was more efficient and saved labor².

　　另外，动物们干活的方式，在许多情况下，不但效率高而且省力。

　　Such jobs as weeding, for instance, could be done with a thoroughness impossible to human beings.

　　比如锄草这类活，动物们可以干得完美无缺，而对人来说，这一点远远做不到。

　　And again, since no animal now stole, it was unnecessary to fence off pasture from arable³ land, which saved a lot of labor on the upkeep of hedges and gates.

　　再说，如今的动物们都不偷不摸了，也就不必用篱笆把牧场和田地隔开，因此便省去了大量的维护树篱和栅栏的劳力。

　　Nevertheless, as the summer wore on, various unforeseen shortages began to make them selves felt.

　　话虽如此，过了夏季，各种各样意料不到的缺欠就暴露出来了。

　　There was need of paraffin oil, nails, string, dog biscuits, and iron for the horses' shoes, none of which could be produced on the farm.

　　庄园里需要煤油、钉子、线绳、狗食饼干以及马蹄上钉的铁掌等等，但庄园里又不出产这些东西。

　　Later there would also be need for seeds and artificial manures, besides various tools and, finally, the machinery⁴ for the windmill.

　　后来，又需要种子和人造化肥，还有各类工具以及风车用的机裓。

　　How these were to be procured⁵, no one was able to imagine.

　　可是，如何搞到这些东西，动物们就都想像不出了。

　　One Sunday morning, when the animals assembled to receive their orders, Napoleon announced that he had decided⁶ upon a new policy.

　　一个星期天早晨，当动物们集合起来接受任务时，拿破仑宣布，他已经决定了一项新政策。

　　From now onwards Animal Farm would engage in trade with the neighboring farms:

　　说是往后动物庄园将要同邻近的庄园做些交易，

　　not, of course, for any commercial purpose, but simply in order to obtain certain materials which were urgently necessary.

　　这当然不是为了任何商业目的，而是仅仅为了获得某些急需的物资。

　　The needs of the windmill must override⁷ everything else, he said.

　　他说，为风车所需要的东西一定要不惜一切代价。

　　He was therefore making arrangements to sell a stack of hay and part of the current year's wheat crop.

　　因此，他正在准备出卖一堆干草和和当年的部分小麦收成。

　　And later on, if more money were needed, it would have to be made up by the sale of eggs, for which there was always a market in Willingdon.

　　再往后如果需要更多的钱的话，就得靠卖鸡蛋来补充了，因为鸡蛋在威灵顿总是有销路的。

　　The hens, said Napoleon, should welcome this sacrifice as their own special contribution towards the building of the windmill.

　　拿破仑还说，鸡应该高兴地看到，这一牺牲就是他们对建造风车的特殊贡献。

1 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

5 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。