动物农场Animal Farm 第7章(4)

 　　All this while no more had been seen of Snowball.

　　这段时间里，一直都没有再见到斯诺鲍。

　　He was rumored¹ to be hiding on one of the neighboring farms, either Foxwood or Pinchfield.

　　有谣传说他躲在附近的庄园里，不是在福克斯伍德庄园就是在平彻菲尔德庄园。

　　Napoleon was by this time on slightly better terms with the other farmers than before.

　　此时，拿破仑和其他庄园的关系也比以前稍微改善了些。

　　It happened that there was in the yard a pile of timber which had been stacked there ten years earlier when a beech² spinney was cleared.

　　碰巧，在庄园的场院里，有一堆十年前在清理一片榉树林时堆在那儿的木材。

　　It was well seasoned, and Whymper had advised Napoleon to sell it.

　　这些至今已经很合用了，于是温普尔就建议拿破仑把它卖掉。

　　Both Mr. Pilkington and Mr. Frederick were anxious to buy it.

　　皮尔金顿先生和弗雷德里克先生都十分想买。

　　Napoleon was hesitating between the two, unable to make up his mind.

　　可拿破仑还在犹豫，拿不准卖给谁好。

　　It was noticed that whenever he seemed on the point of coming to an agreement with Frederick, Snowball was declared to be in hiding at Foxwood,

　　大家注意到，每当他似乎要和弗雷德里克先生达成协议的时候，就有谣传说斯诺鲍正躲在福克斯伍德庄园；

　　while, when he inclined toward Pilkington, Snowball was said to be at Pinchfield.

　　而当他打算倾向于皮尔金顿时，就又有谣传说斯诺鲍是在平彻菲尔德庄园。

　　Suddenly, early in the spring, an alarming thing was discovered.

　　初春时节，突然间有一件事震惊了庄园。

　　Snowball was secretly frequenting the farm by night!

　　说是斯诺鲍常在夜间秘密地潜入庄园！

　　The animals were so disturbed that they could hardly sleep in their stalls.

　　动物们吓坏了，躲在窝棚里夜不能寐。

　　Every night, it was said, he came creeping in under cover of darkness and performed all kinds of mischief³.

　　据说，每天晚上他都在夜幕的掩护下潜入庄园，无恶不作。

　　He stole the corn, he upset the milk-pails, he broke the eggs, he trampled⁴ the seedbeds, he gnawed⁵ the bark off the fruit trees.

　　他偷走谷子，弄翻牛奶桶，打碎鸡蛋，践踏苗圃，咬掉果树皮。

　　Whenever anything went wrong it became usual to attribute it to Snowball.

　　不论什么时候什么事情搞糟了，通常都要推到斯诺鲍身上。

　　If a window was broken or a drain was blocked up, someone was certain to say that Snowball had come in the night and done it.

　　要是一扇窗子坏了或者水道堵塞了，准有某个动物断定这是斯诺鲍在夜间干的。

　　And when the key of the store-shed was lost, the whole farm was convinced that Snowball had thrown it down the well.

　　储藏棚的钥匙丢了，所有动物都坚信是斯诺鲍给扔到井里去了。

　　Curiously⁶ enough, they went on believing this even after the mislaid key was found under a sack of meal.

　　奇怪的是，甚至在发现钥匙原来是被误放在一袋面粉底下之后，他们还是这样坚信不移。

　　The cows declared unanimously that Snowball crept into their stalls and milked them in their sleep.

　　牛异口同声地声称斯诺鲍在她们睡觉时溜进牛棚，吸了她们的奶。

　　The rats, which had been troublesome that winter, were also said to be in league with Snowball.

　　那些在冬天曾给她们带来烦恼的老鼠，也被指责为斯诺鲍的同伙。

　　Napoleon decreed that there should be a full investigation⁷ into Snowball's activities.

　　拿破仑下令对斯诺鲍的活动进行一次全面调查。

　　With his dogs in attendance he set out and made a careful tour of inspection⁸ of the farm buildings, the other animals following at a respectful distance.

　　他在狗的护卫下，开始对庄园的窝棚进行一次仔细的巡回检查，其他动物谦恭地在几步之外尾随着。

　　At every few steps Napoleon stopped and snuffed the ground for traces of Snowball's footsteps, which, he said, he could detect by the smell.

　　每走几步，拿破仑就停下来，嗅一嗅地面上是否有斯诺鲍的气味，他说他能借此分辨出斯诺鲍的蹄印。

　　He snuffed in every corner, in the barn, in the cow-shed, in the henhouses, in the vegetable garden, and found traces of Snowball almost everywhere.

　　他嗅遍了每一个角落，从大谷仓、牛棚到鸡窝和苹果园，几乎到处都发现了斯诺鲍的踪迹。

　　He would put his snout to the ground, give several deep sniffs⁹, ad exclaim in a terrible voice.

　　每到一处他就把嘴伸到地上，深深地吸上几下，便以惊异的语气厉声说。

1 rumored   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• It is rumored that he cheats on his wife. 据传他对他老婆不忠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was rumored that the white officer had been a Swede. 传说那个白人军官是个瑞典人。 来自辞典例句

2 beech   

n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的

参考例句：

• Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。
• Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

3 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

4 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

5 gnawed   

咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
• The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

6 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。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

9 sniffs   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的第三人称单数 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When a dog smells food, he usually sniffs. 狗闻到食物时常吸鼻子。 来自辞典例句
• I-It's a difficult time [ Sniffs ] with my husband. 最近[哭泣]和我丈夫出了点问题。 来自电影对白