英语小达人 233 Satan's Sister

 　　Satan's Sister

　　撒旦的妹妹

　　One Sunday morning, everyone in one beautiful, tiny town got up early and went to the local church.

　　星期天的早晨，一个美丽的小镇上的人们都早早地起床后来到教堂。

　　Before the service started, the towns-people were sitting in their pews and talking about their lives, their families, etc.

　　礼拜开始前，人们坐在长椅上聊着各自的生活和家人。

　　Suddenly, Satan appeared at the front of the church. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling¹ each other in a frantic² effort to get away from evil incarnate³.

　　突然，撒旦出现在教堂前面。所有人都开始尖叫着冲向大门，相互踩踏着、争抢着夺路逃离这邪恶的化身。

　　Soon everyone was evacuated⁴ from the church, except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving...seemingly oblivious⁵ to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence.

　　不久，人们都逃了出去，教堂里只剩下一个老人。他平静地坐在长椅上，一动不动，似乎对于上帝最大的敌人就在眼前浑然不觉。

　　Now this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Don't you know who I am?"

　　这使得撒旦有些困惑，于是他走到老人近前，问道：“你不认得我是谁吗？”

　　The man replie, "Yep, sure do."

　　老人答道：“不，我当然知道你是谁。”

　　Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?"

　　撒旦又问道：“那么你不怕我吗？”

　　"Nope, sure ain't," said the man.

　　“是的，我当然不怕你。”

　　Satan was a little perturbed⁶ at this and queried⁷, "Why aren't you afraid of me?"

　　撒旦有些不安了，问他：“你为什么不怕我？”

　　The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for over 50 years."

　　老人平静地答道：“我和你妹妹结婚五十多年了。”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. in an effort to do sth.

　　努力，试图做某事；

　　eg. She has been studying very hard in an effort to catch up with her classmates.

　　她学得非常努力，以便赶上她的同学。

　　eg. They attacked furiously in an effort to score a tying goal.

　　他们猛烈进攻，企图得一分以打成平局。

　　2. be oblivious to/of sth.

　　不知道的；未注意的；未觉察的；

　　eg. She lay motionless where she was, oblivious to pain.

　　她一动不动地躺在原地，已经感觉不到疼痛。

　　eg. Llewelyn appeared oblivious of his surroundings.

　　卢埃林看起来没有注意到他周围的情况。

　　3. in sb.'s presence

　　当着…的面；在…面前；

　　eg. Try not to allude⁸ to this matter in his presence because it annoys him to hear of it.

　　他在的时候千万别提及这件事，他听了要生气的。

　　eg. Don't say anything about anyone in their absence that you would not say in their presence.

　　不要在背后说那些你不会在别人面前说的话。

1 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

2 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

3 incarnate   

adj.化身的，人体化的，肉色的

参考例句：

• She was happiness incarnate.她是幸福的化身。
• That enemy officer is a devil incarnate.那个敌军军官简直是魔鬼的化身。

4 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

5 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

6 perturbed   

adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I am deeply perturbed by the alarming way the situation developing. 我对形势令人忧虑的发展深感不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother was much perturbed by my illness. 母亲为我的病甚感烦恼不安。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 queried   

v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问

参考例句：

• She queried what he said. 她对他说的话表示怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"What does he have to do?\" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

8 allude   

v.提及，暗指

参考例句：

• Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。