【荆棘鸟】第三章 01

Section Two

  1921-1928 Ralph

  The road to Drogheda brought back no memories of his youth, thought Father Ralph de Bricassart, eyes half shut against the glare as his new Daimler bounced along in the rutted wheel tracks that marched through the long silver grass. No lovely misty¹ green Ireland, this. And Drogheda? No battlefield, no high seat of power. Or was that strictly² true? Better disciplined these days but acute as ever, his sense of humor conjured³ in his mind an image of a Cromwellian Mary Carson dealing⁴ out her particular brand of imperial malevolence⁵. Not such a highflown comparison, either; the lady surely wielded⁶ as much power and controlled as many individuals as any puissant⁷ war lord of elder days.

  The last gate loomed⁸ up through a stand of box and stringybark; the car came to a throbbing⁹ halt. Clapping a disreputable grey broad-brimmed hat on his head to ward¹⁰ off the sun, Father Ralph got out, plodded¹¹ to the steel bolt on the wooden strut¹², pulled it back and flung the gate open with weary impatience¹³. There were twenty-seven gates between the presbytery in Gillanbone and Drogheda homestead, each one meaning he had to stop, get out of the car, open the gate, get into the car and drive it through, stop, get out, go back to close the gate, then get in the car again and proceed to the next one. Many and many a time he longed to dispense¹⁴ with at least half the ritual, scoot on down the track leaving the gates open like a series of astonished mouths behind him; but even the awesome¹⁵ aura of his calling would not prevent the owners of the gates from tarring and feathering him for it. He wished horses were as fast and efficient as cars, because one could open and close gates from the back of a horse without dismounting.

  "Nothing is given without a disadvantage in it," he said, patting the dashboard of the new Daimler and starting off down the last mile of the grassy¹⁶, treeless Home Paddock, the gate firmly bolted behind him. Even to an Irishman used to castles and mansions¹⁷, this Australian homestead was imposing¹⁸. Drogheda was the oldest and the biggest property in the district, and had been endowed by its late doting¹⁹ owner with a fitting residence.

 

荆棘鸟　　第三章

    拉尔夫·德·布里克萨特神父的那辆崭新的戴姆勒汽车在那穿越一片长长

的、银白色的草地的小路上向前行驶着，路上布满了车辙的印痕、强烈的阳光刺得

他半闭着眼睛。他思量着。这条通往德罗海达的道路没有给他带来什么年轻时代的

回忆，这不是爱尔兰那可爱的雾气迷漫的绿色草地。德罗海达会是什么样呢？没有

战场、没有权力的宝座。这是一点也不假的。这些日子他的幽默感有所收敛，但其

强烈程度却不减往日。他在头脑里勾画出了一个克伦威尔式的玛丽·卡森的形

象，她正在滥施她独特的、帝王般的淫威。其实也用不着这样夸张的比喻；毫无疑

问，女人在行使权力和控制别人方面是丝毫不亚于往日那些强权在握的军阀的。

 

    穿过一片黄杨树和桉树，最后一道大门已经在望了，汽车颤动了一下，戛然停

住。拉尔夫神父把一顶破破烂烂的灰色的宽边帽戴到头上，遮挡阳光。他走下车来。

慢慢地向木柱上的钢插销走去；他把插销往后一拉，不耐烦地猛然拉开大门。在基

兰博神父邸宅和德罗海达邸宅之间总共有27道大门，每一道门都意味着他要停下来，

走出汽车，打开门，再回到汽车里，驱车穿过去，然后再停车，再出来，返回去关

上大门，然后再回汽车，向下道门开去。有无数次了，他都渴望能至少把这种程序

省去一半，一路开下去，让那些门像一串受惊的嘴巴似地张开着留在他身后。但是，

尽管他有令人敬畏的职业，如果他这样做的话，他一定会受到大门主人的重罚的。

他真希望马匹能和汽车跑得一样快，一样有效，因为这样你就可以从马背上开门关

门，而用不着下来了。

 

    “无一物无其弊啊。”他说着，拍了拍那辆崭新的戴姆勒汽车的仪表板，驶过

了最后那一英里不见树木的草地，来到了这个围场府邸；大门在他身后牢牢地拴住

了。

1 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

2 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

3 conjured   

用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• He conjured them with his dying breath to look after his children. 他临终时恳求他们照顾他的孩子。
• His very funny joke soon conjured my anger away. 他讲了个十分有趣的笑话，使得我的怒气顿消。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 malevolence   

n.恶意，狠毒

参考例句：

• I had always been aware of a frame of malevolence under his urbanity. 我常常觉察到，在他温文尔雅的下面掩藏着一种恶意。 来自辞典例句

6 wielded   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道，好人受气
• He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者，但实际上是别人掌握实权。

7 puissant   

adj.强有力的

参考例句：

• The young man has a puissant body.这个年轻人有一副强壮的身体。
• Global shipbuilding industry is puissant in conformity burst forth.全球造船业在整合中强力迸发。

8 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 throbbing   

a. 跳动的,悸动的

参考例句：

• My heart is throbbing and I'm shaking. 我的心在猛烈跳动，身子在不住颤抖。
• There was a throbbing in her temples. 她的太阳穴直跳。

10 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

11 plodded   

v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作）

参考例句：

• Our horses plodded down the muddy track. 我们的马沿着泥泞小路蹒跚而行。
• He plodded away all night at his project to get it finished. 他通宵埋头苦干以便做完专题研究。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 strut   

v.肿胀，鼓起；大摇大摆地走；炫耀；支撑；撑开；n.高视阔步；支柱，撑杆

参考例句：

• The circulation economy development needs the green science and technology innovation as the strut.循环经济的发展需要绿色科技创新生态化作为支撑。
• Now we'll strut arm and arm.这会儿咱们可以手挽着手儿，高视阔步地走了。

13 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

14 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

15 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

16 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

17 mansions   

n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fifth Avenue was boarded up where the rich had deserted their mansions. 第五大道上的富翁们已经出去避暑，空出的宅第都已锁好了门窗，钉上了木板。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Oh, the mansions, the lights, the perfume, the loaded boudoirs and tables! 啊，那些高楼大厦、华灯、香水、藏金收银的闺房还有摆满山珍海味的餐桌！ 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

18 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

19 doting   

adj.溺爱的，宠爱的

参考例句：

• His doting parents bought him his first racing bike at 13.宠爱他的父母在他13岁时就给他买了第一辆竞速自行车。
• The doting husband catered to his wife's every wish.这位宠爱妻子的丈夫总是高度满足太太的各项要求。