美国语文第五册 第140期:遗嘱(3)

 　　No, I believe not. But, since the heirs at law are all convened¹,  当然，我觉得挺好。好了，既然法律上所有相关继承人都已到场，

　　I shall now proceed to open the last will and testament² of your deceased relative, according to law. 接下来，依据法律，我将当众打开死者遗言与遗嘱。

　　(While the Squire³ is breaking the seal,) （法官正打开密封）

　　It is a trying thing to leave all one's possessions, Squire; in this manner. 法官大人，以这种方式馈赠个人财产，还真是让人悲伤心痛。

　　It really makes me feel melancholy⁴ when I look around and see everything but the venerable owner of these goods.  当我看到周围房产地产，只是看不见德高望重的主人，难免也心酸难过，

　　Well did the Preacher say, “All is vanity.”  还是圣父说得好，“凡事皆虚空。”

　　Please to be seated, gentlemen.  请坐，诸位先生。

　　(He puts on his spectacles and begins to read slowly.) （他戴上眼镜，开始缓慢地读了起来。）

　　Imprimis; whereas, my nephew, Francis Millington, by his disobedience and ungrateful conduct,  首先，鉴于我的侄子、弗朗西斯. 米林顿忤逆不孝以及忘恩负义的种种行为，

　　has shown himself unworthy of my bounty⁵, and incapable⁶ of managing my large estate,  证明他不配获取我的财产赠与，更无能力管理我的大宗资产，

　　I do hereby give and bequeath all my houses, farms, stocks, bonds, moneys, and property, both personal and real,  兹此，我愿将我的房产、农庄、股票、债券、现金以及所有财产，无论个人名下或实质意义而言，

　　to my dear cousins, Samuel Swipes, of Malt Street, brewer⁷, and Christopher Currie, of Fly Court, saddler. 授予我亲爱的表弟们——麦芽街酿酒人塞缪尔·斯威伯以及裁缝院制皮商克里斯托弗·柯里。

　　(The Squire here takes off his spectacles, and begins to wipe them very leisurely⁸.) （法官随后取下眼镜，悠闲自得地擦拭一番。）

1 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

2 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

3 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

4 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

5 bounty   

n.慷慨的赠予物，奖金；慷慨，大方；施与

参考例句：

• He is famous for his bounty to the poor.他因对穷人慷慨相助而出名。
• We received a bounty from the government.我们收到政府给予的一笔补助金。

6 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

7 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

8 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。