美国语文第五册 第33期:尊重安息日(3)

 　　"Come along, follow me," said the stranger, “哎，先听我说，”陌生人说，

　　I am going to see a person who says his name is William Reed, of Kingston, near Taunton. 我正在找从金斯敦来的一个叫威廉.瑞德的人，不错，金斯敦确实离陶顿很近。

　　Come and confront him. If you prove to be indeed he who you say you are, I have glorious news for you. 倘若你能证实你所言不虚，我可有天大好事要告诉你。

　　Your uncle is dead, and has left an immense fortune, which I will put you in possession of when all legal doubts are removed. 你的叔叔去世了，他留下一笔巨额遗产，你可以拥有这笔财产，当然你必须通过所有相关的法律认证。

　　They went by the coach; saw the pretended William Reed, and proved him to be an impostor. 两人坐马车赶回威廉.瑞德的家乡，见到了那个冒牌的威廉.瑞德，最后查明他是个骗子。

　　The stranger, who was a pious¹ attorney, was soon legally satisfied of the barber's identity, 原来，那位陌生人是位敬业的律师，他很快便获得了理发匠威廉.瑞德的合法身份证明，

　　and told him that he had advertised him in vain. 他还告诉理发匠自己曾登过广告寻找，最终一无所获。

　　Providence² had now thrown him in his way in a most extraordinary manner,  如今天遂人意，

　　and he had great pleasure in transferring a great many thousand pounds to a worthy³ man, the rightful heir of the property. 他感到非常高兴，能将这份巨额财产交给值得拥有的人，一份财产的合法继承人，

　　Thus was man's extremity⁴ God's opportunity. 这真是踏破铁鞋无觅处的天赐良机。

　　Had the poor barber possessed⁵ one half-penny, or even had credit for a candle, he might have remained unknown for years; 倘若，当时那位贫困潦倒的理发匠手里还有半便士，如果不是一根蜡烛的诚信，或许接下来很多年，理发匠仍然默默无闻。

　　but he trusted God, who never said, "Seek ye my face," in vain. 他，相信上帝，而上帝将证明，“信任，永远不会徒劳。”

1 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

3 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

4 extremity   

n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度

参考例句：

• I hope you will help them in their extremity.我希望你能帮助在穷途末路的他们。
• What shall we do in this extremity?在这种极其困难的情况下我们该怎么办呢？

5 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。