精美英文欣赏:红砖城

Coketown

红砖城

Coketown was a town of red brick,or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and the ashes had allowed it;but as matters stood it was a town of unnatural¹ red and black like the painted face of a savage².

Coketown曾是一座红砖城，或者可以这样说，如果没有了烟熏和灰尘的话，它应该是一座红砖城。但事实上哪是一座不自然的红黑相间的城镇，就像野人涂了色彩的脸。

It was a town of machinery³ and tall chimneys,out of which smoke trailed themselves for ever and ever.

Cokettown是一座到处是钢铁机械和高高烟囱的城镇，烟雾总是从那些烟囱中飘出。

It had a black canal in it,and a river that ran purple with ill-smelling dye,and vast piles of buildings full of windows where there was a rattling⁴ and a trembling all day long,and where the piston⁵ of the steam-engine worked monotonously⁶ up and down like the head of an elephant in a state of madness.

城里有一条黑色的水沟和一条被难闻的燃料染成紫色的河流，还有成堆满是窗户的楼房。这些大厦整天震动，发出咔嗒咔嗒的声音，大厦内的蒸汽机活塞单调地上下摆动，就像处于疯狂状态的大象的头。

The town contained several large streets all very like one another,and many small streets still more like one another,inhabited by people equally like one another.

Coketown有几条非常相似的大街，还有许多更加相似的小巷，居住着同样彼此相似的人们。

A sunny midsummer day.

一个阳光灿烂的仲夏日。

There was such a thing sometimes, even in Coketown.

即使是在Coketown，有时也会有这样的夏日。

Seen from a distance in such weather,Coketown lay covered in a haze⁷ of its own.

在这样的天气里从远处看Coketown,它笼罩在一层自己的雾霭中。

You only knew the town was there,because you knew there could have been no such blotch⁸ upon the view without a town.

你只知道城镇就在那里，因为你知道如果没有城镇的话，就不会有那么大的斑点在那里。

The streets were hot and dusty on the summer day,and the sun was so bright that it even shone through the haze over Coketown,and could not be looked at steadily⁹.

在夏天，街道上非常炎热，而且满是灰尘。阳光是如此的强烈以致于穿透了城镇上空的烟雾，使人们没法一直盯着太阳看。

Workers emerged from low underground doorways¹⁰ into factory yards,and sat on posts and steps,wiping their faces and contemplating¹¹ coals.

工人们从低矮的地下室门洞走进厂房，坐在柱子上或是台阶上，擦着脸，心想着挖出的煤。

The whole town seemed to be frying in oil.

整个城镇就像是在油里煎炸着，

There was a stifling¹² smell of hot oil everywhere.

到处都弥漫着令人窒息的热油味。

The atmosphere of those places was like the breath of hell,and their inhabitants wasting with heat,toiled languidly in the desert.

这些地方的空气像是地狱吐出的气息。这些居民因热而消耗着他们的体力，没精打采地在这不毛之地劳作着。

But no temperature made the mad elephants more mad or more sane¹³.

但是蒸汽机不会因为温度的变化而变得更加疯狂或清醒。

Their wearisome heads went up and down at the same rate,in hot weather and in cold,wet weather and dry,fair weather and foul¹⁴.

不管天气是冷是热，是干是湿，是好是坏，它们那疲惫的机头都会以同样的节奏上上下下地摆动。

The measured motion of their shadows on the walls,was the substitute Coketown had to show for the shadows of rustling¹⁵ woods;while for the summer hum of insects,it could offer all the year round,from the dawn of Monday to the night of Saturday,the whirr of shafts¹⁶ and wheels.

Coketown能展示给人们的不是瑟瑟作响的树林映在墙上的影子，而是机头映在墙上有规律的动作。至于夏日的是虫鸣之声，Coketown所能提供的是一年到头，从星期一早上到星期六夜晚终日不绝于耳的机器轮轴发出的急促嗓音。

1 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

2 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

3 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

4 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

5 piston   

n.活塞

参考例句：

• They use a piston engine instead.他们改用活塞发动机。
• The piston moves by steam pressure.活塞在蒸汽压力下运动。

6 monotonously   

adv.单调地，无变化地

参考例句：

• The lecturer phrased monotonously. 这位讲师用词单调。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The maid, still in tears, sniffed monotonously. 侍女还在哭，发出单调的抽泣声。 来自辞典例句

7 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

8 blotch   

n.大斑点；红斑点；v.使沾上污渍，弄脏

参考例句：

• He pointed to a dark blotch upon the starry sky some miles astern of us.他指着我们身后几英里处繁星点点的天空中的一朵乌云。
• His face was covered in ugly red blotches.他脸上有许多难看的红色大斑点。

9 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

10 doorways   

n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The houses belched people; the doorways spewed out children. 从各家茅屋里涌出一堆一堆的人群，从门口蹦出一群一群小孩。 来自辞典例句
• He rambled under the walls and doorways. 他就顺着墙根和门楼遛跶。 来自辞典例句

11 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

12 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

13 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

14 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

15 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

16 shafts   

n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等）

参考例句：

• He deliberately jerked the shafts to rock him a bit. 他故意的上下颠动车把，摇这个老猴子几下。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• Shafts were sunk, with tunnels dug laterally. 竖井已经打下，并且挖有横向矿道。 来自辞典例句