动物农场Animal Farm 第7章(1)

 　　It was a bitter winter.

　　那是一个寒冷的冬天。

　　The stormy weather was followed by sleet¹ and snow, and then by a hard frost which did not break till well into February.

　　狂风暴雨的天气刚刚过去，这又下起了雨夹雪，接着严寒来了，直到二月才见和缓。

　　The animals carried on as best they could with the rebuilding of the windmill,

　　动物们都在全力以赴地赶建风车，

　　well knowing that the outside world was watching them and that the envious² human beings would rejoice and triumph if the mill were not finished on time.

　　因为他们都十分清楚：外界正在注视着他们，如果风车不能重新及时建成，那些妒火中烧的人类便会为此幸灾乐祸的。

　　Out of spite, the human beings pretended not to believe that it was Snowball who had destroyed the windmill.

　　那些人不怀好意，佯称他们不相信风车会是斯诺鲍毁坏的。

　　They said that it had fallen down because the walls were too thin.

　　他们说，风车之所以倒塌纯粹是因为墙座太薄。

　　The animals knew that this was not the case.

　　而动物们认为事实并非如此。

　　Still, it had been decided³ to build the walls three feet thick this time instead of eighteen inches as before, which meant collecting much larger quantities of stone.

　　不过，他们还是决定这一次要把墙筑到三尺厚，而不是上一次的一尺半。这就意味着得采集更多的石头。

　　For a long time the quarry⁴ was full of snowdrifts and nothing could be done.

　　但采石场上好长时间积雪成堆，什么事也干不成。

　　Some progress was made in the dry frosty weather that followed, but it was cruel work, and the animals could not feel so hopeful about it as they had felt before.

　　后来，严冬的天气变得干燥了，倒是干了一些活，但那却是一项苦不堪言的劳作，动物们再也不象先前那样满怀希望、信心十足。

　　They were always cold, and usually hungry as well.

　　它们总感到冷，又常常觉得饿。

　　Only Boxer⁵ and Clover never lost heart.

　　只有鲍克瑟和克拉弗从不气馁。

　　Squealer⁶ made excellent speeches on the joy of service and the dignity of labor⁷,

　　斯奎拉则时不时来一段关于什么劳动的乐趣以及劳工神圣之类的精彩演讲，

　　but the other animals found more inspiration in Boxer's strength and his never-failing cry of "I will work harder!"

　　但使其他动物受到鼓舞更大的，却来自鲍克瑟的踏实肯干和他总是挂在嘴边的口头禅："我要更加努力工作。"

　　In January food fell short.

　　一月份，食物就开始短缺了。

　　The corn ration⁸ was drastically reduced, and it was announced that an extra potato ration would be issued to make up for it.

　　谷类饲料急骤减少，有通知说要发给额外的土豆来弥补。

　　Then it was discovered that the greater part of the potato crop had been frosted in the clamps, which had not been covered thickly enough.

　　可随后却发现绝大部分土豆都已受冻了，因为地窖上面盖得不够厚。

　　The potatoes had become soft and discolored, and only a few were edible⁹.

　　土豆发软变坏了，只有很少一些还可以吃。

　　For days at a time the animals had nothing to eat but chaff¹⁰ and mangles¹¹.

　　这段时间里，动物们已有好些天除了吃谷糠和萝卜外，再也没有别的可吃的了。

　　Starvation seemed to stare them in the face.

　　他们差不多面临着饥荒。

1 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

2 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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

7 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。

8 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

9 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

10 chaff   

v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳

参考例句：

• I didn't mind their chaff.我不在乎他们的玩笑。
• Old birds are not caught with chaff.谷糠难诱老雀。

11 mangles   

n.轧布机，轧板机，碾压机（mangle的复数形式）vt.乱砍（mangle的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• This mangles their bones and sends these defenseless creatures into convulsions, but rarely causes immediate death. 这些会弄断动物的骨头或神经，导致他们抽搐，但并不会导致他们立即死亡。 来自互联网