《黑骏马》第4章善意和冷酷(1)

Chapter 4 Kindness and cruelty¹

第4章 善意和冷酷

Aneighbour of the Gordons，Mr Blomefield，had a large family of boys and girls who often came to play with Miss Jessie and Miss Flora²．

高顿夫妇的邻居，布劳姆菲尔德先生，有一个大家庭。他有许多孩子，他们经常来和洁茜小姐、弗劳拉小姐玩儿。

One of the girls was the same age as Miss Jessie，two of the boys were older，and there were sev-eral little ones．

一个女孩和洁茜小姐同龄，两个男孩大一点儿，另外还有几个小小孩儿。

Whenever they came，the children loved to ride Merrylegs．

每次他们一来，就喜欢骑乐腿儿。

One afternoon when they were visiting，James brought Merrylegs in and said，Now，behave yourself．

一天下午他们来串门的时候，詹姆斯牵回乐腿儿并对他说；来，给我放规矩点。

What did you do，Merrylegs？I asked him．

你干什么了，乐腿儿？我问他。

Those young people didnt seem to know whell I was tired，he said，so I just threw them off backwards³．It was the only thing they could understand．

那些小孩似乎不知道我会累，他说，所以我就把他们向后面甩下去。他们只能明白这个。

You threw the children off！I sald．Oh，no！Did you throw Miss Flora or Miss Jessie？

你把孩子们甩下去了！我说，啊，不会吧！你也把洁茜小姐和弗劳拉小姐甩下去了？

No，of course not！ Im quiet and careful with them，and with the little ones．Im the best friend and riding teacher those children have．

当然不了！我在她们面前可是又安静，又小心，对那些小小孩儿也是一样。我是他们最好的朋友和骑马教练。

It's not them，its the boys，he said．The other children rode me for nearly two hours，then the boys rode me，one after the other，for an hour，hitting me with a stick．

问题不是他们，是那些男孩子，他说。其他小孩已经骑了我快两个小时，然后那些男孩来骑我，一个接一个，又骑了一个小时，还用棍子打我。

1 cruelty   

n.残忍；残酷

参考例句：

• He was treated with great cruelty.他受到残酷虐待。
• Mercy to the enemies means cruelty to the people.对敌人的仁慈就意味着对人民的残忍。

2 flora   

n.(某一地区的)植物群

参考例句：

• The subtropical island has a remarkably rich native flora.这个亚热带岛屿有相当丰富的乡土植物种类。
• All flora need water and light.一切草木都需要水和阳光。

3 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。