美丽新世界Brave New World 第18章(15)

 　　The Savage¹ had retreated towards cover, and now, in the posture² of an animal at bay,

　　野蛮人已往隐蔽处退却，摆出一副暴虎凭河的架势，

　　stood with his back to the wall of the lighthouse, staring from face to face in speechless horror, like a man out of his senses.

　　此刻正背对着灯塔，瞪着眼前的一张张面孔，恐怖得说不出话来，像个疯子。

　　From this stupor³ he was aroused to a more immediate⁴ sense of reality by the impact on his cheek of a well-aimed packet of chewing-gum.

　　一包口香糖准确地打在他脸上，把他从茫然状态惊醒过来，让他感觉到了更为直接的现实。

　　A shock of startling pain–and he was broad awake, awake and fiercely angry.

　　一阵惊人的疼痛，他完全清醒了，清醒而且暴跳如雷。

　　"Go away!" he shouted.

　　“滚！”他大叫。

　　The ape had spoken; there was a burst of laughter and hand-clapping.

　　猴子说话了！欢笑和掌声爆发。

　　"Good old Savage! Hurrah⁵, hurrah!" And through the babel he heard cries of: "Whip, whip, the whip!"

　　“可爱的老蛮子！乌拉！乌拉！”他从杂乱的人声里听见了叫喊，“鞭子，鞭子，鞭子！”

　　Acting⁶ on the word's suggestion, he seized the bunch of knotted cords from its nail behind the door and shook it at his tormentors.

　　这话启发了他，他抓住门背后钉子上那把打了结的绳，对折磨他的人们摇晃起来。

　　There was a yell of ironical⁷ applause.

　　一阵带讽刺意味的欢呼爆出。

　　Menacingly he advanced towards them. A woman cried out in fear.

　　他气势汹汹地向他们扑去。一个妇女吓得叫了起来。

　　The line wavered at its most immediately threatened point, then stiffened⁸ again, stood firm.

　　人群里受到最直接威胁的几个人犹豫了一下，却随即稳住了，站定了。

　　The consciousness of being in overwhelming force had given these sightseers a courage which the Savage had not expected of them.

　　数量上的绝对优势给了观光者们勇气，这可是出乎野蛮人对他们的估计之外的。

　　Taken aback, he halted and looked round.

　　他倒退了一步，站住了，四面看看。

　　"Why don't you leave me alone?" There was an almost plaintive⁹ note in his anger.

　　“你们为什么就不能够让我安静安静？”他的愤怒中几乎带着悲凉。

　　"Have a few magnesium¹⁰-salted almonds!" said the man who, if the Savage were to advance, would be the first to be attacked.

　　“吃点镁盐杏仁吧！”那人递出了一包杏仁，野蛮人若是进攻他就会首当其冲。

　　He held out a packet. "They're really very good, you know," he added, with a rather nervous smile of propitation.

　　你知道，”他带着颇有些紧张的微笑，和解地说下去，

　　And the magnesium salts will help to keep you young.

　　镁盐可以让你永远年轻。

1 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

2 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

3 stupor   

v.昏迷；不省人事

参考例句：

• As the whisky took effect, he gradually fell into a drunken stupor.随着威士忌酒力发作，他逐渐醉得不省人事。
• The noise of someone banging at the door roused her from her stupor.梆梆的敲门声把她从昏迷中唤醒了。

4 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

5 hurrah   

int.好哇，万岁，乌拉

参考例句：

• We hurrah when we see the soldiers go by.我们看到士兵经过时向他们欢呼。
• The assistants raised a formidable hurrah.助手们发出了一片震天的欢呼声。

6 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。

7 ironical   

adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironical end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• From his general demeanour I didn't get the impression that he was being ironical.从他整体的行为来看，我不觉得他是在讲反话。

8 stiffened   

加强的

参考例句：

• He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去，这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
• She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。

9 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

10 magnesium   

n.镁

参考例句：

• Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
• The water contains high amounts of magnesium.这水含有大量的镁。