美国语文第四册 第110期:中国故事一则(2)

 　　So on the appointed day—both innocent as babes, of course—these honest fellows went, 约定的日子转眼就到了——两个孩子般诚实的人来到碑前，

　　And took their distant station; and Ching said, 站得很远，庆说，

　　I can read plainly, To the illustrious dead,the chief of mandarins, the great Goh-Bang. 我清楚看到碑上写着，这里埋葬着杰出的满洲首领，伟大的国邦。

　　"And is that all that you can spell?" said Chang; 常说，“就只有这些吗？”

　　I see what you have read, but furthermore,In smaller letters, toward the temple door, 我不但看到你读的这些，而且朝向庙门的碑角还有小字，

　　Quite plain, This tablet is erected¹ here by those to whom the great Goh-Bang was dear. 清楚写着，这个石碑是敬爱国邦的人所立。

　　"My sharp-eyed friend, there are no such words!" said Ching. “我好眼神的朋友，没有这些文字！”常说，

　　"They're there," said Chang, “我清楚地看到了，”庆说，

　　if I see anything,As clear as daylight.Patent eyes, indeed, 碑上刻着这些文字，就和白天一样清楚。

　　You have! cried Ching; do you think I can not read? 你的眼睛真特别，难道你以为我不识字吗？

　　"Not at this distance as I can," Chang said, “从这么远可不像我能识字，”常说，

　　If what you say you saw is all you read. 如果你说你看到的是全部文字。

　　In fine, they quarreled, and their wrath² increased, 他们越吵越凶，满腔怒火，

　　Till Chang said, Let us leave it to the priest; 最后常说，让主持来裁判吧；

　　Look! here he comes to meet us.It is well, 看！他走过来了。这样最好，

　　Said honest Ching; "no falsehood he will tell." 诚实的庆说；“他可从不说谎。”

　　The good man heard their artless story through, 善良的主持听了他们可爱的故事，

　　And said, I think, dear sirs, there must be few blest with such wondrous³ eyes as those you wear: 说，我想，亲爱的先生们，肯定有几个人，眼神和你们一样好：

　　There's no such tablet or inscription⁴ there! 可那里既没石碑，也没碑文！

　　There was one, it is true; it was moved away and placed within the temple yesterday. 以前是有；没错，可是已经挪走了，昨天被我们移到庙里了。

1 ERECTED   

adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立

参考例句：

• A monument to him was erected in St Paul's Cathedral. 在圣保罗大教堂为他修了一座纪念碑。
• A monument was erected to the memory of that great scientist. 树立了一块纪念碑纪念那位伟大的科学家。

2 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

3 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

4 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。