美国语文第六册 第57期:我的演说经历(6)

 　　and should as soon think of counterfeiting¹ another's look or step or voice, or of modulating² my own by a pitch pipe 一提到演说，就会想到伪造其他人的表情，步伐或声音，抑或通过为笛子定调的方法来调整我自己的音调

　　(as the ancient orators³ did, with whom oratory⁴ was acting⁵ elocution, a branch of the dramatic art), （就像古代演说家那样，在他们看来演说术就是表演朗诵，属于戏剧的一个分支），

　　as of adopting or imitating the gestures and tones of the most celebrated⁶ rhetorician I ever saw. 采用或模仿我曾见过的最著名的演说家的姿势和声音。

　　The result was rather encouraging. 结果相当令人鼓舞。

　　My mother and sister were both satisfied. 我妈妈和姐姐都很满意。

　　At any rate, they said nothing to the contrary. 不管怎样，她们没有说让我气馁的话。

　　Being only in my nineteenth year, what might I not be able to accomplish after a little more experience! 鉴于当时只有十九岁，我不可能做得更好了。

　　How little did I think, while rehearsing before my mother and sister, 在我妈妈和姐姐面前朗诵时，我的顾虑很少，

　　that anything serious would ever come of it, or that I was laying the foundations of character for life, 任何一点点麻烦都会克服，或者说我以生活中的人物性格为基础，

　　or that I was beginning what I should not be able to finish within the next forty or fifty years following. 抑或我开始做的事情在接下来四十年或五十年之内都无法完成。

　　Yet so it was. I had broken the ice without knowing it. 然而，事实就是如此。我不用先了解就打破了这层坚冰。

　　These things were but the foreshadowing of what happened long afterward⁷. 这些事情只不过预言了长久以后将要发生的一切而已。

1 counterfeiting   

n.伪造v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was sent to prison for counterfeiting five-dollar bills. 他因伪造5美元的钞票被捕入狱。 来自辞典例句
• National bureau released securities, certificates with security anti-counterfeiting paper technical standards. 国家质量技术监督局发布了证券、证件用安全性防伪纸张技术标准。 来自互联网

2 modulating   

调整( modulate的现在分词 )； （对波幅、频率的）调制； 转调； 调整或改变（嗓音）的音调

参考例句：

• In his horn solo,he kept modulating from key to key. 他在喇叭独奏时不断地变调。
• Water vapour and clouds are the primary variables modulating direct solar absorption. 水汽和云是调节直接太阳吸收的主要要素。

3 orators   

n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The hired orators continued to pour forth their streams of eloquence. 那些雇来的演说家继续滔滔不绝地施展辩才。 来自辞典例句
• Their ears are too full of bugles and drums and the fine words from stay-at-home orators. 人们的耳朵被军号声和战声以及呆在这的演说家们的漂亮言辞塞得太满了。 来自飘（部分）

4 oratory   

n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞

参考例句：

• I admire the oratory of some politicians.我佩服某些政治家的辩才。
• He dazzled the crowd with his oratory.他的雄辩口才使听众赞叹不已。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。