美国小学英语教材6:第91课 潘多拉魔盒(4)

 How she did babble¹ about this one thing! The box, the box, and nothing but the box! 她一直在谈论这一件事，这个盒子，盒子，还是盒子！

It was really hard that poor Epimetheus should have a box in his ears from morning till night; 可怜的厄毗米修斯，从早到晚都能听到盒子这个词，这对他很艰难；

especially as the little people of the earth in those happy days knew not how to deal with troubles. 尤其是这些小孩子，生活在幸福年代，他们不知道如何处理麻烦。

Thus a small trouble made as much disturbance² then as a far bigger one would in our own times. 一个小麻烦在我们时代和一个大麻烦产生的困扰一样多。

After Epimetheus was gone, Pandora stood gazing at the box. She had called it ugly over a hundred times; 厄毗米修斯走后，潘多拉盯着这个盒子，她说了一百多遍这个盒子丑陋；

but in spite of all that she had said against it, it was a very handsome article of furniture. 尽管她说了这么多讨厌它的话，它还是一个非常漂亮的家具。

It was made of a beautiful kind of wood with dark and rich veins³ spreading over its surface, 它是用美丽的木头制作而成，表面是暗色丰满的纹理，

which was so highly polished that little Pandora could see her face in it. 而且经过仔细抛光，潘多拉很难在这上面看到自己的脸。

The edges and corners of the box were carved with most wonderful skill. Around the edges there were figures of graceful⁴ men and women, 盒子的边边角角是用最精湛的工艺雕刻的，边缘周围是优雅的男女雕像，

and the prettiest children ever seen. But here and there, Pandora once or twice thought that she saw a face not so lovely, 还有从未见过的美丽儿童，但零散散落着，潘多拉有一两次都认为她看到了不和蔼的脸庞，

or something or other which stole the beauty out of all the rest. 等等这类脸庞，这让整个画面变得十分不美观。

Nevertheless, on looking more closely and touching⁵ the spot with her finger, she could discover nothing of the kind. 然后，她仔细看上去，用手触摸盒子，她看到的不再是美丽脸庞。

Some face that was really beautiful had been made to look ugly by her catching⁶ a sideways glimpse at it. 斜视看过去，有些漂亮的脸庞变得十分丑陋。

The most beautiful face of all was carved in the center of the lid. 最美的一张脸雕刻在盖子的中心。

There was nothing else except the dark, smooth richness of the polished wood, 除了暗色饱满的抛光实木以外什么都没有，

and this one face in the center with a garland of flowers about its brow. 中间的那张脸额头上有一个花环。

Pandora had looked at this face a great many times and imagined that the mouth could smile 潘多拉盯着这张脸看了很多次，想象着这张嘴可以微笑，

if it liked, or be grave when it chose, the same as any living mouth. 就像选择任何一个活生生的嘴一样，可以微笑和严肃。

The features, indeed, all wore a very lively and rather mischievous⁷ expression. 面容确实都带有和蔼可亲，和有点恶意的表情。

 

1 babble   

v.含糊不清地说，胡言乱语地说，儿语

参考例句：

• No one could understand the little baby's babble. 没人能听懂这个小婴孩的话。
• The babble of voices in the next compartment annoyed all of us.隔壁的车厢隔间里不间歇的嘈杂谈话声让我们都很气恼。

2 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

3 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

5 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

6 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

7 mischievous   

adj.调皮的，恶作剧的，有害的，伤人的

参考例句：

• He is a mischievous but lovable boy.他是一个淘气但可爱的小孩。
• A mischievous cur must be tied short.恶狗必须拴得短。