美国语文第五册 第241期:最好的复仇(2)

 　　Humbled¹ by misery², he presented himself at the countinghouse of the wronged.  怀着痛苦的谦卑心情，来到格兰特兄弟的公司。

　　Mr. William Grant was there alone, and his first words to the delinquent³ were, “Shut the door, sir!” sternly uttered.  威廉·格兰特先生独自在办公室里，“关上门，先生。”他对品行低劣者开口说出第一句话，话语相当严厉。

　　The door was shut, and the libeler stood trembling before the libeled.  门关上了，那位诽谤者颤抖地站在受害人面前，

　　He told his tale and produced his certificate, which was instantly clutched by the injured merchant.  他说出了此行目的，拿出了他的商业执照，遭受肆意诬陷的威廉·格兰特先生很快抓住了这份执照，

　　“You wrote a pamphlet against us once!” exclaimed Mr. Grant.  “你写过宣传册恶意诬陷我们！”格兰特先生尖声高叫起来。

　　The suppliant⁴ expected to see his parchment thrown into the fire. But this was not its destination.  那位哀求者原以为那份羊皮文稿的执照文本会被扔进火里，但事情结局大出所料，

　　Mr. Grant took a pen, and writing something upon the document, handed it back to the bankrupt.  格兰特先生取出一支笔，在文件上写下几个字，然后将其递交与那位破产者。

　　He, poor wretch⁵, expected to see “rogue, scoundrel, libeler,” inscribed⁶;  那位可怜的穷光蛋仍然认为会看见“流氓、无赖或诽谤者”诸如此类字样出现在文件上，

　　but there was, in fair round characters, the signature of the firm.  万万没想到，他竟然看到了字体圆润的格兰特公司签名。

　　“We make it a rule,” said Mr. Grant, “我们立下规则，”格兰特先生说，

　　never to refuse signing the certificate of an honest tradesman, and we have never heard that you were anything else. 绝不会拒绝为诚信的商人签署证书，我们从未听说你有什么不可以。

　　The tears started into the poor man’s eyes.  眼泪涌入那位可怜人眼眶。

1 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

2 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 delinquent   

adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者

参考例句：

• Most delinquent children have deprived backgrounds.多数少年犯都有未受教育的背景。
• He is delinquent in paying his rent.他拖欠房租。

4 suppliant   

adj.哀恳的；n.恳求者，哀求者

参考例句：

• He asked for help in a suppliant attitude.他以恳求的态度要我帮忙。
• He knelt as a suppliant at the altar.他跪在祭坛前祈祷。

5 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

6 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》