美国语文第五册 第1期:朗读者(1)

 It is told of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, that, as he was seated one day in his private room,  传说，一天，普鲁士国王弗里德里希大帝坐在屋里，

a written petition was brought to him with the request that it should be immediately read. 他的卫兵给他送来一份书面请愿书。书中注明，请求国王即刻阅读。

The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other cause,  当时，国王刚刚结束打猎回宫，因为阳光刺眼，或某些其他原因，

had so dazzled his eyes that he found it difficult to make out a single word of the writing. 他头昏眼花，一个字也很难看清。

His private secretary happened to be absent; and the soldier who brought the petition could not read. 国王的私人秘书碰巧不在宫内，送来请愿书的卫兵也不识字。

There was a page, or favorite boy servant, waiting in the hall, and upon him the King called. 当时有位男侍，或者不如说一位乖巧侍童正在大厅当班伺候，国王吩咐他过来。

The page was a son of one of the noblemen of the court, but proved to be a very poor reader. 那位侍童是宫廷某位贵族的儿子，可随后证实，他的阅读能力相当糟糕。

In the first place, he did not articulate distinctly. 一上来，那位侍童发音就不够清晰，

He huddled¹ his words together in the utterance², as if they were syllables³ of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible. 那些词语在他嘴里居然咕囔成串，杂乱无章地快速蹦出。听起来，有的词语音节应该很长，可他似乎总是急不可耐地含糊读完。

His pronunciation was bad, and he did not modulate⁴ his voice so as to bring out the meaning of what he read. 他的发音很糟，无法表现文字的准确含义。

Every sentence was uttered with a dismal⁵ monotony of voice, as if it did not differ in any respect from that which preceded it. 与此同时，他所表述的所有话语无不沉闷呆板，毫无抑扬顿挫之感或音调变化，似乎词语间不存在任何差异。

"Stop!" said the King, impatiently. “停下！”国王不耐心地说，

Is it an auctioneer's list of goods to be sold that you are hurrying over? 莫非你是公开清单、急于拍卖物品的拍卖师，那么草草念完？

Send your companion to me. 把你的同伴叫来！

Another page who stood at the door now entered, and to him the King gave the petition. 很快，大厅门口守候的另一位侍童来到国王身边，国王将请愿书交给了他。

The second page began by hemming⁶ and clearing his throat in such an affected⁷ manner, 那侍童装模作样地清了清嗓子，

that the King jokingly asked him whether he had not slept in the public garden, with the gate open, the night before. 国王诙谐地问他，是不是他昨晚没在公园里过夜，但睡觉时门却整晚没关。

 

1 huddled   

挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
• We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。

2 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

3 syllables   

n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a word with two syllables 双音节单词
• 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

4 modulate   

v.调整，调节(音的强弱)；变调

参考例句：

• Please modulate the sound on the TV.请调节一下电视的音量。
• This system could modulate the voice signal effectively.这个系统可以对语音信号进行有效的调制。

5 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

6 hemming   

卷边

参考例句：

• "Now stop hemming and hawing, and tell me about it, Edward. "别再这个那个的啦，跟我说说吧，爱德华。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
• All ideas of stopping holes and hemming in the German intruders are vicious. 一切想要堵塞缺口和围困德国侵略军的办法都是错误的。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。