美国语文第六册 第89期:快活的老先生(2)

 　　He lived in the house by the hawthorn¹ lane, With roses and woodbine over the door; 他住在山楂树巷的一幢房子里，门口掩映玫瑰和忍冬；

　　His rooms were quiet, and neat, and plain, But a spirit of comfort there held reign², And made him forget he was old and poor. 他的房间静谧，整洁又简朴，但充满温馨和惬意，他简直忘了自己年事已高又贫穷。

　　"I need so little," he often said; “我无所求，”他常说。

　　"And my friends and relatives here below Won't litigate over me when I am dead," Said the jolly old pedagogue³, long ago. “我死时，我的朋友和亲戚在阴间不会起诉我的。”很久以前，这个欢快的老先生说。

　　But the pleasantest times he had of all, Were the sociable⁴ hours he used to pass, 他的全部快活的时光就是那几小时与人交流的时间，

　　With his chair tipped back to a neighbor's wall, Making an unceremonious call, Over a pipe and a friendly glass: 他的椅子向后抵着邻家的墙，随意叫人给他拿来烟斗和花镜

　　This was the finest pleasure, he said, Of the many he tasted here below: 这是最纯粹的快乐，他说，他在那里已经尝试很多回了：

　　"Who has no cronies had better be dead," Said the jolly old pedagogue, long ago. “没有朋友的人生不如死，”很久以前，这个欢快的老先生说。

　　The jolly old pedagogue's wrinkled face Melted all over in sunshiny smiles; 这个欢快的老先生那张闪闪发光的脸绽出愉快的微笑；

　　He stirred his glass with an old-school grace, Chuckled⁵, and sipped⁶, and prattled⁷ apace, Till the house grew merry from cellar to tiles. 他扶了一下花镜，姿势那般优雅，咯咯一笑，呷了一口茶，像孩子般天真无邪地说着什么，直到整幢房子从地窖到瓦片都透着欢乐。

1 hawthorn   

山楂

参考例句：

• A cuckoo began calling from a hawthorn tree.一只布谷鸟开始在一株山楂树里咕咕地呼叫。
• Much of the track had become overgrown with hawthorn.小路上很多地方都长满了山楂树。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 pedagogue   

n.教师

参考例句：

• The pedagogue is correcting the paper with a new pen.这位教师正用一支新笔批改论文。
• Misfortune is a good pedagogue.不幸是良好的教师。

4 sociable   

adj.好交际的，友好的，合群的

参考例句：

• Roger is a very sociable person.罗杰是个非常好交际的人。
• Some children have more sociable personalities than others.有些孩子比其他孩子更善于交际。

5 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

6 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

7 prattled   

v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的过去式和过去分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯

参考例句：

• She prattled on about her children all evening. 她整个晚上没完没了地唠叨她的孩子们的事。
• The water prattled over the rocks. 水在石上淙淙地流过。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》