双语有声阅读：宽容（1）

Happy lived Mankind in the peaceful Valley of Ignorance.

 

在宁静的无知山谷里，人们过着幸福的生活。

To the north, to the south, to the west and to the east stretched the ridges¹ of the Hills Everlasting².

永恒的山脉向东西南北各个方向蜿蜒绵亘。

A little stream of Knowledge trickled³ slowly through a deep worn gully.

知识的小溪沿着深邃破败的溪谷缓缓地流着。

It came out of the Mountains of the Past.

它发源于昔日的荒山。

It lost itself in the Marshes⁴ of the Future.

它消失在未来的沼泽。

It was not much, as rivers go. But it was enough for the humble⁵ needs off the villagers.

这条小溪并不象江河那样彼澜滚滚，但对于需求浅薄的村民来说，已经绰有余裕。

In the evening, when they had watered their cattle and had filled their casks, they were content to sit down to enjoy life.

晚上，村民们饮毕牲口，灌满木桶，便心满意足地坐下来，尽享天伦之乐。

The old Men Who Knew were brought forth⁶ from the shady corners where they had spent their day, pondering over the mysterious pages of an old book.

守旧的老人们被搀扶出来，他们在荫凉角落里度过了整个白天。对着一本神秘莫测的古书苦思冥想。

They mumbled⁷ strange words to their grandchildren, who would have preferred to play with the pretty pebbles⁸, brought down from distant lands.

他们向儿孙们叨唠着古怪的字眼，可是孩子们却惦记着玩耍从远方捎来的漂亮石子。

Often these words were not very clear.

这些字眼的含意往往模糊不清。

But they were writ⁹ a thousand years ago by a forgotten race. Hence they were holy.

不过，它们是一千年前由一个已不为人所知的部族写下的，因此神圣而不可亵渎。

For in the Valley of Ignorance, whatever was old was venerable.

在无知山谷里，古老的东西总是受到尊敬。

And those who dared to gainsay¹⁰ the wisdom of the fathers were shunned¹¹ by all decent people.

谁否认祖先的智慧，谁就会遭到正人君子的冷落。

And so they kept their peace.

所以，大家都和睦相处。

Fear was ever with them.

恐惧总是陪伴着人们。

What if they should be refused the common share of the products of the garden?

谁要是得不到园中果实中应得的份额，又该怎么办呢？

Vague stories there were, whispered at night among the narrow streets of the little town, vague stories of men and women who had dared to ask questions.

深夜，在小镇的狭窄街巷里，人们低声讲述着情节模糊的往事，讲述那些敢于提出问题的男男女女。

They had gone forth, and never again had they been seen.

这些男男女女后来走了，再也没有回来。

A few had tried to scale the high walls of the rocky range that hid the sun.

另一些人曾试图攀登挡住太阳的岩石高墙。

1 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

2 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

3 trickled   

v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动

参考例句：

• Blood trickled down his face. 血从他脸上一滴滴流下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The tears trickled down her cheeks. 热泪一滴滴从她脸颊上滚下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

6 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。

7 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

8 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

9 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

10 gainsay   

v.否认，反驳

参考例句：

• She is a fine woman-that nobody can gainsay.她是个好女人无人能否认。
• No one will gainsay his integrity.没有人对他的正直有话可讲。

11 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》