美丽新世界Brave New World 第1章(4)

 　　"For in nature it takes thirty years for two hundred eggs to reach maturity¹.

　　“因为在自然状态下，要让两百个卵子成熟需要三十年之久。

　　But our business is to stabilize² the population at this moment, here and now.

　　但我们现在的任务是稳定人口，稳定在此时此地的水平。

　　Dribbling³ out twins over a quarter of a century–what would be the use of that?"

　　花四分之一个世纪去生产少数几个多生子——那能有什么用处？”

　　Obviously, no use at all. But Podsnap's Technique had immensely accelerated the process of ripening⁴.

　　显然毫无用处。但是泼孜纳普技术却大大加速了成熟的过程。

　　They could make sure of at least a hundred and fifty mature eggs within two years.

　　他们有把握在两年之内至少生产出二百五十个成熟的卵子。

　　Fertilize⁵ and bokanovskify–in other words, multiply by seventy-two–and you get an average of nearly eleven thousand brothers

　　然后让它们受精，再波坎诺夫斯基化——换句话说，乘以七十二，于是你得到差不多一万一千个兄弟姐妹，

　　and sisters in a hundred and fifty batches⁶ of identical twins, all within two years of the same age.

　　一百五十批恒等多生子女，全都在两年之内出生，年龄一样大。

　　"And in exceptional cases we can make one ovary yield us over fifteen thousand adult individuals."

　　“在特殊的例外情况下我们可以用一个卵子培养出一万五千个成年人。”

　　Beckoning⁷ to a fair-haired, ruddy young man who happened to be passing at the moment.

　　主任向一个浅色头发的壮健青年招了招手——那人正好路过。

　　"Mr. Foster," he called. The ruddy young man approached. "Can you tell us the record for a single ovary, Mr. Foster?"

　　“福斯特先生。”他叫道。那壮健的青年走了过来。“你能够告诉我们一个卵子的最高记录是多少么？”

　　"Sixteen thousand and twelve in this Centre," Mr. Foster replied without hesitation⁸.

　　“在本中心是一万六千零一十二个。”福斯特先生毫不犹豫地回答。

　　He spoke⁹ very quickly, had a vivacious¹⁰ blue eye, and took an evident pleasure in quoting figures.

　　他长着一对快活的蓝眼睛，说话迅速，显然很以引述数字为乐。

　　"Sixteen thousand and twelve; in one hundred and eighty-nine batches of identicals.

　　“一万六千零一十二个，共是一百八十九批恒等多生子。

　　But of course they've done much better," he rattled¹¹ on, "in some of the tropical Centres.

　　但是在赤道的有些孵化中心”他滔滔不绝地说了下去，

　　Singapore has often produced over sixteen thousand five hundred; and Mombasa has actually touched the seventeen thousand mark.

　　“成绩还要好得多。新加坡的产量常常超过一万六千五百个；而蒙巴萨实际上已达到一万七千的指标。

　　But then they have unfair advantages. You should see the way a negro ovary responds to pituitary!

　　但是他们的条件优越。你要是能看看黑人卵子对新液的反应就好了！

　　It's quite astonishing, when you're used to working with European material.

　　你若是习惯于使用欧洲材料的话，黑人卵子的反应会叫你大吃一惊的。

　　Still," he added, with a laugh (but the light of combat was in his eyes and the lift of his chin was challenging), "still, we mean to beat them if we can.

　　不过，”他笑了笑，又说（但眼里却有战斗的光彩，翘起的下巴也带有挑战意味），“不过，只要有可能我们还是想超过他们。

　　I'm working on a wonderful Delta-Minus ovary at this moment. Only just eighteen months old.

　　目前我正在培养一个惊人的德尔塔加卵子，只有十八个月时间，

　　Over twelve thousand seven hundred children already, either decanted¹² or in embryo¹³. And still going strong. We'll beat them yet."

　　却已经有一千二百七十个孩子，有的已经换瓶，有的还处于胚胎状态，可仍然健壮。我们还有可能超过蒙巴萨。”

　　"That's the spirit I like!" cried the Director, and clapped Mr. Foster on the shouder.

　　“我喜欢的就是这种精神户主任拍了拍福斯特先生的肩膀，叫道，

　　"Come along with us, and give these boys the benefit of your expert knowledge."

　　“跟我们一块走走吧，让孩子们有幸获得你的专门知识。”

　　Mr. Foster smiled modestly. "With pleasure." They went.

　　福斯特先生客气地笑了笑。“乐意效劳。”便一起走了。

　　In the Bottling Room all was harmonious¹⁴ bustle¹⁵ and ordered activity.

　　装瓶室一片繁忙，却节奏和谐，井井有条。

　　Flaps of fresh sow's peritoneum ready cut to the proper size came shooting up in little lifts from the Organ Store in the sub-basement.

　　切成适当大小的新鲜母猪腹膜片从大楼次底层的器官库里由小电梯里送出来，吱的一声，然后是咔哒！

　　Whizz and then, click! the lift-hatches hew¹⁶ open; the bottle-liner had only to reach out a hand, take the flap, insert, smooth-down,

　　电梯孵化器打开；装瓶线上的人只须伸出一只手，抓住腹膜片，塞进瓶里，按平，

　　and before the lined bottle had had time to travel out of reach along the endless band, whizz, click!

　　已经装好的瓶子还没有沿着运输线走开，吱，咔哒！

　　another flap of peritoneum had shot up from the depths, ready to be slipped into yet another bottle, the next of that slow interminable procession on the band.

　　又一块腹膜片已经从下面冒了出来，只等着被塞进另一个瓶子——那缓慢的传送带上的无穷的行列里的下一个瓶子。

1 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

2 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

3 dribbling   

n.（燃料或油从系统内）漏泄v.流口水( dribble的现在分词 )；（使液体）滴下或作细流；运球，带球

参考例句：

• Basic skills include swimming, dribbling, passing, marking, tackling, throwing, catching and shooting. 个人基本技术包括游泳、带球、传球、盯人、抢截、抛球、接球和射门。 来自互联网
• Carol: [Laurie starts dribbling again] Now do that for ten minutes. 卡罗：（萝莉开始再度运球）现在那样做十分钟。 来自互联网

4 ripening   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成

参考例句：

• The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• When the summer crop is ripening, the autumn crop has to be sowed. 夏季作物成熟时，就得播种秋季作物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。

6 batches   

一批( batch的名词复数 )； 一炉； （食物、药物等的）一批生产的量； 成批作业

参考例句：

• The prisoners were led out in batches and shot. 这些囚犯被分批带出去枪毙了。
• The stainless drum may be used to make larger batches. 不锈钢转数设备可用来加工批量大的料。

7 beckoning   

adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• An even more beautiful future is beckoning us on. 一个更加美好的未来在召唤我们继续前进。 来自辞典例句
• He saw a youth of great radiance beckoning to him. 他看见一个丰神飘逸的少年向他招手。 来自辞典例句

8 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 vivacious   

adj.活泼的，快活的

参考例句：

• She is an artless,vivacious girl.她是一个天真活泼的女孩。
• The picture has a vivacious artistic conception.这幅画气韵生动。

11 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

12 decanted   

v.将（酒等）自瓶中倒入另一容器( decant的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Afterwards the aqueous solution from above the nitroglycerine was decanted. 然后倒出硝化甘油之上的水溶液。 来自辞典例句
• The coated particles are centrifuged and the liquid decanted. 将包覆的颗粒进行离心，除去液体。 来自辞典例句

13 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

14 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

15 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

16 hew   

v.砍；伐；削

参考例句：

• Hew a path through the underbrush.在灌木丛中砍出一条小路。
• Plant a sapling as tall as yourself and hew it off when it is two times high of you.种一棵与自己身高一样的树苗，长到比自己高两倍时砍掉它。