美国语文第六册 第158期:哥伦布的性格(4)

 With all the visionary fervor¹ of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. 他的想象力和极富有远见的热情，最心仪的梦想离现实太远。

He died in ignorance of the real grandeur² of his discovery. 他死于对自己发现真正的宏伟意义茫然无知上。

Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, 直到生命最后一刻，他都抱有这一想法，即他的所作所为仅仅为旧世界繁荣的商业开辟了一条新道路，

and had discovered some of the wild regions of the East. 仅仅在东方发现一些蛮荒地区而已。

What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent equal to the old world in magnitude, 这种虚幻的荣耀在他心里破灭了，殊不知他发现新大陆的重要意义在于其价值与旧大陆一般无二，

and separated by two vast oceans from all the earth hitherto known by civilized³ man! 将新旧大陆分开的两条世界上最大的大洋由此为世界所熟知！

How would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled amid the afflictions of age and the cares of penury⁴, 尽管饱受岁月的折磨、对生计的牵挂、易变的公众的忽视和薄情寡义的国王的不公正对待，

the neglect of a fickle⁵ public and the injustice⁶ of an ungrateful king, 但是那颗宽宏大量的心最终得到了慰藉。

could he have anticipated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discovered, 他期待的那些光辉的帝国已经从他发现的这个美丽的世界诞生，

and the nations, and tongues, and languages which were to fill its land with his renown⁷, and to revere⁸ and bless his name to the latest posterity⁹! 各个国家，各个民族和各种语言注定会将他的名声铭刻在这些土地上，永远尊敬他，求神赐福于他！

 

1 fervor   

n.热诚；热心；炽热

参考例句：

• They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.他们只关心自己的宗教热诚。
• The speech aroused nationalist fervor.这个演讲喚起了民族主义热情。

2 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

3 civilized   

a.有教养的，文雅的

参考例句：

• Racism is abhorrent to a civilized society. 文明社会憎恶种族主义。
• rising crime in our so-called civilized societies 在我们所谓文明社会中日益增多的犯罪行为

4 penury   

n.贫穷，拮据

参考例句：

• Hardship and penury wore him out before his time.受穷受苦使他未老先衰。
• A succession of bad harvest had reduced the small farmer to penury.连续歉收使得这个小农场主陷入了贫困境地。

5 fickle   

adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的

参考例句：

• Fluctuating prices usually base on a fickle public's demand.物价的波动往往是由于群众需求的不稳定而引起的。
• The weather is so fickle in summer.夏日的天气如此多变。

6 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

7 renown   

n.声誉，名望

参考例句：

• His renown has spread throughout the country.他的名声已传遍全国。
• She used to be a singer of some renown.她曾是位小有名气的歌手。

8 revere   

vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏

参考例句：

• Students revere the old professors.学生们十分尊敬那些老教授。
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven.中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。

9 posterity   

n.后裔，子孙，后代

参考例句：

• Few of his works will go down to posterity.他的作品没有几件会流传到后世。
• The names of those who died are recorded for posterity on a tablet at the back of the church.死者姓名都刻在教堂后面的一块石匾上以便后人铭记。