美国语文第六册 第25期:受惊的艺术家(1)

 　　It may not be known to all the admirers of the genius of Albert Durer, that that famous engraver¹ was endowed with a "better half," 对所有崇拜阿尔伯特·丢勒艺术天才的人来说他们也许不晓得的是，那位著名雕刻家有“贤内助”，

　　so peevish² in temper, that she was the torment³ not only of his own life, but also of his pupils and domestics. 由于他脾气乖戾，因此她不但在他自己的生活中饱受折磨，而且累及他的学生和家庭。

　　Some of the former were cunning enough to purchase peace for themselves by conciliating the common tyrant⁴, 他从前的学生都非常狡猾，通过取悦这位共同的暴君来达到相安无事的目的，

　　but woe⁵ to those unwilling⁶ or unable to offer aught in propitiation. 可是对那些倒霉蛋来说，他们不愿意或者说无法提供任何让他满意的东西。

　　Even the wiser ones were spared only by having their offenses⁷ visited upon a scapegoat⁸. 甚至更明智的人也只有通过惩罚替罪羊，来发泄心中的不快。

　　This unfortunate individual was Samuel Duhobret, a disciple⁹ whom Durer had admitted into his school out of charity. 这位不幸的家伙叫萨缪尔·杜霍布赖特，丢勒出于慈悲心肠才允许忝列门下。

　　He was employed in painting signs and the coarser tapestry¹⁰ then used in Germany. 他受雇于在标牌上在粗制挂毯上涂色，然后将这些产品运往德国。

　　He was about forty years of age, little, ugly, and humpbacked; 他大约四十岁上下的样子，身材矮小，相貌丑陋，而且背驼得厉害。

　　he was the butt¹¹ of every ill joke among his fellow disciples¹², and was picked out as an object of especial dislike by Madame Durer. 在丢勒的这些学徒中间，杜霍布赖特是大家恶作剧的对象，每个恶毒的笑话都离不开他，尤其不受丢勒夫人喜欢，是她的眼中钉。

　　But he bore all with patience, and ate, without complaint, the scanty¹³ crusts given him every day for dinner, while his companions often fared sumptuously¹⁴. 杜霍布赖特耐心地忍受着这一切，毫无怨言地承受下来，每天晚餐只给他很少的圆面包，而他的同伴则吃得很丰盛。

　　Poor Samuel had not a spice of envy or malice¹⁵ in his heart. 可怜的萨缪尔在心里竟然没有一丝妒忌和怨恨。

　　He would, at any time, have toiled¹⁶ half the night to assist or serve those who were wont¹⁷ oftenest to laugh at him, or abuse him loudest for his stupidity. 在任何时候，他都埋头干到半夜三更，来协助或为那些经常嘲笑他、高声骂他笨蛋的人打下手。

1 engraver   

n.雕刻师，雕工

参考例句：

• He was a sketcher and a copper-plate engraver. 他也是杰出的素描家和铜版画家。 来自辞典例句
• He was once an engraver in a printing factory. 他以前是印刷厂的一名刻工。 来自互联网

2 peevish   

adj.易怒的，坏脾气的

参考例句：

• A peevish child is unhappy and makes others unhappy.一个脾气暴躁的孩子自己不高兴也使别人不高兴。
• She glared down at me with a peevish expression on her face.她低头瞪着我，一脸怒气。

3 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

4 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

5 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

6 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

7 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

8 scapegoat   

n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊

参考例句：

• He has been made a scapegoat for the company's failures.他成了公司倒闭的替罪羊。
• They ask me to join the party so that I'll be their scapegoat when trouble comes.他们想叫我入伙，出了乱子，好让我替他们垫背。

9 disciple   

n.信徒，门徒，追随者

参考例句：

• Your disciple failed to welcome you.你的徒弟没能迎接你。
• He was an ardent disciple of Gandhi.他是甘地的忠实信徒。

10 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

11 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

12 disciples   

n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一

参考例句：

• Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

13 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

14 sumptuously   

奢侈地，豪华地

参考例句：

• The hall was sumptuously decorated. 大厅装饰得富丽堂皇。
• This government building is sumptuously appointed. 这座政府办公大楼布置得极为豪华。

15 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

16 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

17 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。