双语有声阅读：宽容(4)

I have found the road to a better home.

 

我已经找到一条通往更美好的家园的大道，

 

I have seen the promise of a happier life. Follow me and I shall lead you thither¹.

 

我已经看到幸福生活的曙光。跟我来吧，我带领你们奔向那里。

 

For the smile of the Gods is the same there as here and everywhere.

 

上帝的笑容不只是在这儿，也在其它地方。

 

He stopped and there went up a great cry of horror.

 

他停住了，人群里发出一声恐怖的吼叫。

 

Blasphemy²! cried the Old Men. Blasphemy and sacrilege!

 

亵渎，这是对神圣的亵渎。守旧老人叫喊着。

 

A fit punishment for his crime! He has lost his reason.

 

给他的罪行以应有的惩罚吧！他已经丧失理智，

 

He dares to scoff³ at the Law as it was written down a thousand years ago.

 

胆敢嘲弄一千年前定下的律法。

 

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He deserves to die!

 

他死有余辜！

 

And they took up heavy stones.

 

人们举起了沉重的石块。

 

And they killed him.

 

人们杀死了这个漫游者。

 

And his body they threw at the foot of the cliffs, that it might lie there as a warning to all who questioned the wisdom of the ancestors.

 

人们把他的尸体扔到山崖脚下，借以警告敢于怀疑祖先智慧的人，杀一儆百。

 

Then it happened a short time later that there was a great drought.

 

没过多久，爆发了一场特大干旱。

 

The little Brook⁵ of Knowledge ran dry. The cattle died of thirst.

 

潺潺的知识小溪枯竭了，牲畜因干渴而死去，

 

The harvest perished in the fields, and there was hunger in the Valley of Ignorance.

 

粮食在田野里枯萎，无知山谷里饥声遍野。

 

The Old Men Who Knew, however, were not disheartened.

 

不过，守旧老人们并没有灰心。

 

Everything would all come right in the end, they prophesied⁶, for so it was writ⁴ in their most Holy Chapters.

 

他们预言说，一切都会转危为安，至少那些最神圣的篇章是这样写的。

 

Besides, they themselves needed but little food.

 

况且，只要一点食物就足够了。

 

They were so very old.

 

他们已经很老了，

 

Winter came.

 

冬天降临了。

 

The village was deserted⁷.

 

村庄里空荡荡的，人稀烟少。

 

More than half of the populace died from sheer want.

 

半数以上的人由于饥寒交迫已经离开人世。

 

The only hope for those who survived lay beyond the mountains.

 

活着的人把唯一希望寄托在山脉那边。

 

But the Law said No!

 

但是律法却说，不行！

 

And the Law must be obeyed.

 

律法必须遵守。

 

One night there was a rebellion.

 

一天夜里爆发了叛乱。

 

Despair gave courage to those whom fear had forced into silence.

 

失望把勇气赋予那些由于恐惧而逆来顺受的人们。

 

Feebly the Old Men protested.

 

守旧老人们无力地抗争着。

1 thither   

adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的

参考例句：

• He wandered hither and thither looking for a playmate.他逛来逛去找玩伴。
• He tramped hither and thither.他到处流浪。

2 blasphemy   

n.亵渎，渎神

参考例句：

• His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。
• You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！

3 scoff   

n.嘲笑，笑柄，愚弄；v.嘲笑，嘲弄，愚弄，狼吞虎咽

参考例句：

• You are not supposed to scoff at religion.你不该嘲弄宗教。
• He was the scoff of the town.他成为全城的笑柄。

4 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。

5 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

6 prophesied   

v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She prophesied that she would win a gold medal. 她预言自己将赢得金牌。
• She prophesied the tragic outcome. 她预言有悲惨的结果。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。