经典双语笑话 第10期:古老的中国智慧

 Ancient Chinese Wisdom 古老的中国智慧

Once upon a time, in ancient China, the emperor was seriously ill.  很久很久以前在古老的中国，皇帝病重。

None of his esteemed¹ physicians could find a cure, until an ancient sage² revealed that only the blood of a living Foo bird could restore the imperial health. 很久很久以前在古老的中国，皇帝病得很重，所有德高望重的御医都没办法医治，直到后来才有一位智者透露，只有活福鸟的血才能恢复皇帝的健康。

Now the Foo bird was extremely rare, almost legendary,and the greatest hunters in the land were assigned the task of capturing a specimen³. 问题是福鸟本来就很少见，几乎只是传说而已，于是全国各地最好的猎人都被指派进行捕捉福鸟的工作。

But before they left on their quest, the ancient sage warned them that if one of them were fortunate enough to catch the bird, 但在他们出发之前，那名智者警告他们，要是有人有幸捉到一只福鸟的话，

he should on no account clean or change his clothing till he had presented his prize to the emperor. 无论如何在送到皇帝手中之前，绝不可以清洁或换掉身上的衣服。

The hunters scoured⁴ the empire, and after several months, the greatest of them spotted⁵ a magnificent Foo perched high in a tree. 猎人们搜遍了整个帝国，几个月后，其中一名本领最好的猎人不经意看见了一只福鸟栖息在一棵树上。

Using all his skill, the huntsman snuck up on the bird and managed to seize it by the claws, but soon the startled creature left a huge odious⁶ blob of excrement⁷ on the hunter's shoulder. 他用尽所有技巧偷偷接近那只福鸟并抓住了它的脚爪，但那只受到惊卟的福鸟马上在他的肩膀上拉了一大团臭气熏人的鸟粪。

Though the stench was almost unbearable⁸, the woodsman remembered the sage's injunction and carried his double burden all the way back to court. 虽然臭味难当，但猎人仍记得智者的训示，便连同身上的鸟粪护送福鸟回宫。

By that time, the odor had only become worse, and the hunter was deeply embarrassed. 那时鸟粪的味道更难闻了，猎人也觉得非常尴尬。

Finally, he felt that he could not enter the emperor's presence in such a state, and wiped the offending substance from his shoulder. 最后他觉得不能那个样子去见皇帝，于是他把肩膀上令人作呕的东西擦拭掉了。

Instantly, the Foo bird fell over dead, the emperor took a turn for the worse, and the hunter was clapped in irons. 就在那一刻福鸟便倒地身亡，皇帝的病情也更加恶化，而那名猎人则立刻被关进牢中。

And the moral of the story is: If the Foo shits,wear it! 这个故事的寓意就是："福鸟在你身上拉尿，你就扛着。"
 

1.Once upon a time 很久以前

例句：Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, and all of the others, including Love.

从前，有一座小岛上面居住着所有的情感，有幸福，悲伤和包括爱在内的其它所有的情感。

2. on no account 决不能

例句：On no account could she agree to a step which might afterwards cause bitter rueing to her husband for his blindness in wedding her.

她决不能同意迈出这一步，免得以后导致丈夫后悔，说是瞎了眼睛才娶了她。

3.revealed that 透露

例句：Last week, when South Korean officials announced the arrest of a North Korean spy,they revealed that one of the spy's objectives was to locate Hwang.

上星期，在韩国官员宣布逮捕了一名北韩间谍时，他们透露这名间谍的任务之一就是寻找黄长烨的住处。

4.By that time 那时

例句：By that time you will be making money and can afford a lawyer to get it done right.

到那时，你将会赚很多的钱能使你请一个律师来帮你处理好一些的。

 

 

1 esteemed   

adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为

参考例句：

• The art of conversation is highly esteemed in France. 在法国十分尊重谈话技巧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He esteemed that he understood what I had said. 他认为已经听懂我说的意思了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

3 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

4 scoured   

走遍（某地）搜寻（人或物）( scour的过去式和过去分词 )； （用力）刷； 擦净； 擦亮

参考例句：

• We scoured the area for somewhere to pitch our tent. 我们四处查看，想找一个搭帐篷的地方。
• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

6 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。

7 excrement   

n.排泄物，粪便

参考例句：

• The cage smelled of excrement.笼子里粪臭熏人。
• Clothing can also become contaminated with dust,feathers,and excrement.衣着则会受到微尘、羽毛和粪便的污染。

8 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。