双语有声阅读：狗的颂歌

Gentlemen of the jury, the best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful.

 

Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors¹ to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him perhaps when heneeds it most. A man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action.

 

The people who are prone² to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first tothrow the stone of malice³ when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

 

The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous⁴ is his dog.

 

Gentlemen of the jury, a man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness.He will sleep on the cold ground where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper⁵ master as if he were a prince.

 

When all other friends desert, he remains⁶. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces,he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

 

If fortune drives the master forth⁷ an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asksno higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger,to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away inthe cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness,faithful and true, evento death.

 

陪审团诸君：世上亲如手足的挚友可能会疏远叛离，反目成仇。含辛茹苦的父母面临的也许是儿女的忘恩负义。

 

有些人备受我们尊敬和爱戴，有些人是我们幸福之所依，声誉之所系；即便如此，他们也会背信弃义。人的钱财会失去，而且可能在急需之时偏偏散失殆尽。人的名誉也会因为一时的考虑不周而荡然无存。

 

当胜利与我们同行时，有些人往往向我们俯伏下跪,称颂致敬；但是当风云突变，失败的黑云压顶之时，最先落并下石的或许就是他们。

 

在这个私欲横流的世界上，一个人可能拥有的绝对无私的朋友乃是他的狗。它从不抛弃主人，永不忘恩负义，也永不心怀鬼胎。

 

陪审团诸君：无论在主人富裕之曰还是贫困之时，也无论主人健康无恙还是病入裔肓，守卫在他身边的始终是他的狗。

 

只要它能够貼近于主人，它就宁愿蜷伏于冰冷的地面，任寒风刺骨，冰雪袭身。它愿意亲吻主人的手，即便主人并未施与食物。它会舔舐主人在与这个粗暴的世界奋战中留下的伤口和痛处。它守候着睡梦中的赤贫如洗的主人就如同守候着君主王侯一般。

 

当所有的朋友都弃主人而去，唯有它仍留守在主人身旁。即使主人倾家荡产、身败名裂，它依然爱心如常宛若曰行中天。

 

一旦主人遭遇不幸被众人抛弃而举目无亲之时，忠贞不渝的狗别无他求，唯以伴随主人抵御危险和抗击敌人为荣。待到主人大限临近，最终被死神擭入怀抱，尸入凉冢，长眠黄泉，任凭其他朋友各奔东西，趴在主人墓旁的仍是这只高尚的狗。它的头伏于双爪之间，瞀觉地圆睁着抑郁的双眼，尽诚尽职，死而后已。

1 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。

2 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

3 malice   

n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋

参考例句：

• I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
• There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。

4 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

5 pauper   

n.贫民，被救济者，穷人

参考例句：

• You lived like a pauper when you had plenty of money.你有大把钱的时候，也活得像个乞丐。
• If you work conscientiously you'll only die a pauper.你按部就班地干，做到老也是穷死。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。