美国语文第六册 第19期:生活中通常貌似真实的计划(1)

 　　Omar, the son of Hassan, had passed seventy-five years in honor and prosperity. 哈桑的儿子奥马尔在尊享荣誉和富有中，已经过了七十五岁。

　　The favor of three successive caliphs had filled his house with gold and silver; 接连三任哈里发的眷顾，使他的宅邸里堆满了金银财宝，

　　and whenever he appeared, the benedictions¹ of the people proclaimed his passage. 不论何时只要他一现身，人们都会夹道欢呼，向他祝福。

　　Terrestrial happiness is of short continuance. 世俗的幸福都是短暂的，

　　The brightness of the flame is wasting its fuel; the fragrant² flower is passing away in its own odors. 火苗的亮度需要燃料来维持，再芬芳的鲜花也有暗香凋零的时候。

　　The vigor³ of Omar began to fail; the curls of beauty fell from his head; strength departed from his hands, and agility⁴ from his feet. 奥马尔的精力开始衰弱了。一绺鬈发从他头上倏然落下。他的双手没了往昔过人的力量，双腿也不再那么敏捷了。

　　He gave back to the caliph the keys of trust, and the seals of secrecy⁵; 于是，他向哈里发交还了信任的钥匙，还有严守秘密的印信，

　　and sought no other pleasure for the remainder of life than the converse⁶ of the wise and the gratitude⁷ of the good. 在余生不再追求其他快乐，但求明智和乐善。

　　The powers of his mind were yet unimpaired. 他的思维还未受损害。

　　His chamber⁸ was filled by visitants, eager to catch the dictates⁹ of experience, and officious to pay the tribute of admiration¹⁰. 他家的客厅里宾客如云。这些人热衷于聆听奥马尔讲述过往的经历，过分殷勤地奉上赞美阿谀之辞。

　　Caleb, the son of the viceroy of Egypt, entered every day early, and retired¹¹ late. 埃及总督的儿子卡勒卜每天早早到场，很晚才离去。

　　He was beautiful and eloquent¹²; Omar admired his wit, and loved his docility¹³. 他仪容风雅，谈吐不俗。奥马尔欣赏他的才智，喜欢他温驯的样子。

1 benedictions   

n.祝福( benediction的名词复数 )；（礼拜结束时的）赐福祈祷；恩赐；（大写）（罗马天主教）祈求上帝赐福的仪式

参考例句：

2 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

3 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

4 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

5 secrecy   

n.秘密，保密，隐蔽

参考例句：

• All the researchers on the project are sworn to secrecy.该项目的所有研究人员都按要求起誓保守秘密。
• Complete secrecy surrounded the meeting.会议在绝对机密的环境中进行。

6 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

7 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

8 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

9 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

11 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

12 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

13 docility   

n.容易教，易驾驶，驯服

参考例句：

• He was trying to plant the seed of revolt, arouse that placid peasant docility. 他想撒下反叛的种子，唤醒这个安分驯良的农民的觉悟。 来自辞典例句
• With unusual docility, Nancy stood up and followed him as he left the newsroom. 南希以难得的顺从站起身来，尾随着他离开了新闻编辑室。 来自辞典例句