动物农场Animal Farm 第6章(6)

 　　Nevertheless, some of the animals were disturbed when they heard that the pigs not only took their meals in the kitchen and used the drawing-room as a recreation room, but also slept in the beds.

　　尽管这样，在一听到猪不但在厨房里用餐，而且把客厅当作娱乐室占用了之后，还是有一些动物为此深感不安。

　　Boxer¹ passed it off as usual with "Napoleon is always right!".

　　鲍克瑟到蛮不在乎，照例说了一句“拿破仑同志永远正确。”

　　But Clover, who thought she remembered a definite ruling against beds, went to the end of the barn and tried to puzzle out the Seven Commandments which were inscribed² there.

　　但是克拉弗却认为她记得有一条反对床铺的诫律，她跑到大谷仓那里，试图从题写在那儿的“七诫”中找出答案。

　　Finding herself unable to read more than individual letters, she fetched Muriel.

　　结果发现她自己连单个的字母都不认不过来。她便找来穆丽尔。

　　"Muriel," she said, "read me the Fourth Commandment. Does it not say something about never sleeping in a bed?"

　　“穆丽尔”她说道，“你给我念一下第四条诫律，它是不是说决不睡在床上什么的？”

　　With some difficulty Muriel spelt it out.

　　穆丽尔好不容易才拼读出来。

　　"It says, 'No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets,"' she announced finally.

　　“它说，‘任何动物不得卧床铺盖被褥’，”她终于念道。

　　Curiously³ enough, Clover had not remembered that the Fourth Commandment mentioned sheets;

　　克拉弗觉得太突兀了，她从不记得第四条诫律提到过被褥，

　　but as it was there on the wall, it must have done so.

　　可它既然就写在墙上，那它一定本来就是这样。

　　And Squealer⁴, who happened to be passing at this moment, attended by two or three dogs,

　　赶巧这时候，斯奎拉在两三条狗的陪伴下路过这儿，

　　was able to put the whole matter in its proper perspective.

　　他能从特殊的角度来说明整个问题。

　　"You have heard then, comrades," he said, "that we pigs now sleep in the beds of the farmhouse⁵? And why not?

　　“那么，同志们，你们已经听到我们猪现在睡到庄主院床上的事了？为什么不呢？

　　You did not suppose, surely, that there was ever a ruling against beds?

　　你们不想想，真的有过什么诫律反对床吗？

　　A bed merely means a place to sleep in.

　　床只不过是指一个睡觉的地方。

　　A pile of straw in a stall is a bed, properly regarded.

　　如果正确看待的话，窝棚里的稻草堆就是一张床。

　　The rule was against sheets, which are a human invention.

　　这条诫律是反对被褥的，因为被褥是人类发明的。

　　We have removed the sheets from the farmhouse beds, and sleep between blankets.

　　我们已经把庄主院床上的被褥全撤掉了，而睡在毯子里。

　　And very comfortable beds they are too!

　　它们也是多么舒服的床啊！

　　But not more comfortable than we need, I can tell you, comrades, with all the brainwork we have to do nowadays.

　　可是同志们，我可以告诉你们，现在所有的脑力工作得靠我们来做，和我们所需要的程度相比，这些东西并不见得舒服多少。

　　You would not rob us of our repose⁶, would you, comrades?

　　同志们，你们不会不让我们休息吧？

　　You would not have us too tired to carry out our duties?

　　你们不愿使我们过于劳累而失职吧？

　　Surely none of you wishes to see Jones back?"

　　肯定你们谁都不愿意看到琼斯回来吧？”

　　The animals reassured⁷ him on this point immediately, and no more was said about the pigs sleeping in the farmhouse beds.

　　在这一点上，动物们立刻就使他消除了疑虑，也不再说什么有关猪睡在庄主院床上的事了。

　　And when, some days afterwards, it was announced that

　　而且数日之后，当宣布说，

　　from now on the pigs would get up an hour later in the mornings than the other animals, no complaint was made about that either.

　　往后猪的起床时间要比其他动物晚一小时，也没有谁对此抱怨。

1 boxer   

n.制箱者，拳击手

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• He moved lightly on his toes like a boxer.他像拳击手一样踮着脚轻盈移动。

2 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

4 squealer   

发出尖叫声的人；雏鸽；小松鸡；小鹌鹑

参考例句：

• Trust us, if you at their pictures long enough, you're bound to become another squealer. 相信我们，如果你盯着这些照片看上一段时间，必定会成为另一个尖叫粉丝。 来自互联网

5 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

6 repose   

v.(使)休息；n.安息

参考例句：

• Don't disturb her repose.不要打扰她休息。
• Her mouth seemed always to be smiling,even in repose.她的嘴角似乎总是挂着微笑，即使在睡眠时也是这样。

7 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》