美丽新世界Brave New World 第1章(9)

 　　On Rack 10 rows of next generation's chemical workers were being trained in the toleration of lead, caustic¹ soda², tar³, chlorine.

　　第十道架上一排排下一代的化学工人正在承受着铅毒、苛性苏打、沥青和氯气伤害的锻炼。

　　The first of a batch⁴ of two hundred and fifty embryonic⁵ rocket-plane engineers was just passing the eleven hundred metre mark on Rack 3.

　　第三排架上是胚胎期的火箭飞机机械师，每批二百五十个，其中的头一个正从三号架的一千一百公尺点通过。

　　A special mechanism⁶ kept their containers in constant rotation⁷. "To improve their sense of balance," Mr. Foster explained.

　　一种特别的机械使它们的容器旋转个不停。“这是为了提高它们的平衡能力，”福斯特先生解释道，

　　"Doing repairs on the outside of a rocket in mid-air is a ticklish⁸ job.

　　“火箭进入太空之后，要到火箭外进行修理是很困难的活儿。

　　We slacken off the circulation when they're right way up, so that they're half starved, and double the flow of surrogate when they're upside down.

　　他们直立时我们便减缓转速，让他们感到很饥饿；他们倒立时我们就加倍供应代血剂。

　　They learn to associate topsy-turvydom with weli-being; in fact, they're only truly happy when they're standing⁹ on their heads.

　　这样，他们就把舒适跟倒立状态联系了起来。实际上他们只有倒立时才真正感到快活。”

　　"And now," Mr. Foster went on, "I'd like to show you some very interesting conditioning for Alpha Plus Intellectuals.

　　“现在，”福斯特先生说下去，“我要让你们看看对阿尔法加型知识分子的性格预定，那是很有趣的。

　　We have a big batch of them on Rack 5.

　　在五号架上我们有一大批阿尔法加，

　　First Gallery level," he called to two boys who had started to go down to the ground floor.

　　在第一道长廊，”他对已经开始往一楼下去的两个小伙子叫道。

　　"They're round about Metre 900," he explained. "You can't really do any useful intellectual conditioning till the foetuses have lost their tails. Follow me."

　　“他们大体在九百公尺附近，”他解释道，“在胚胎的尾巴消失以前实际上是无法设置智力条件的。跟我来。”

　　But the Director had looked at his watch. "Ten to three," he said.

　　但是主任已经在看他的表了。“差十分钟到三点，”他说，

　　"No time for the intellectual embryos¹⁰, I'm afraid. We must go up to the Nurseries before the children have finished their afternoon sleep."

　　“我担心的是没有时间看知识分子胚胎了。我们必须在孩子们午睡醒来之前赶回育婴室去。”

　　Mr. Foster was disappointed. "At least one glance at the Decanting¹¹ Room," he pleaded.

　　福斯特先生感到失望。“至少看看换瓶车间吧。”他请求。

　　"Very well then." The Director smiled indulgently. "Just one glance."

　　“那也行，”主任宽厚地笑了笑，“那就看看吧。”

1 caustic   

adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的

参考例句：

• He opened his mouth to make a caustic retort.他张嘴开始进行刻薄的反击。
• He enjoys making caustic remarks about other people.他喜欢挖苦别人。

2 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

3 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

4 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

5 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

6 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

7 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

8 ticklish   

adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理

参考例句：

• This massage method is not recommended for anyone who is very ticklish.这种按摩法不推荐给怕痒的人使用。
• The news is quite ticklish to the ear,这消息听起来使人觉得有些难办。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

10 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

11 decanting   

n.滗析（手续）v.将（酒等）自瓶中倒入另一容器( decant的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• It was exhausting work moving the heavy buckets, decanting the liquids. 搬动沉重的桶，滗出液体，这些都是使人精疲力竭的工作。 来自辞典例句
• To purify, separate, or remove(ore, for example) by washing, decanting, and settling. 淘洗，淘选，淘析用清洗、倾析和沉淀的方法来提纯、分离或清除（例如，矿石） 来自互联网