3.A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale委员会赛跑和一个长故事-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《爱丽丝漫游奇境记Alice's Adventures in Wonderland》

3 A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank-the birds with draggled feathers,the animals with their fur clinging⑤close to them,and all dripping⑥wet,cross⑦，and uncomfortable. The first question of course was,how to get dry again:they had a consultation about this,and after a few minutes it seemed quite natural to Alice to find herself talking familiarly with them,as if she had known them all her life.Indeed,she had quite a long argument with the Lory, who at last turned sulky⑨，and would only say,“T'm older than you, and must know better."And this Alice would not allow,without knowing how old it was,and as the Lory positively refused to tell its age,there was no more to be said. At last the Mouse,who seemed to be a person of some authority among them,called out "Sit down,all of you,and listen to me!I'll soon make you dry enough!"They all sat down at once,in a large ring,with the Mouse in the middle.Alice kept her eyes anxiously fixed on it,for she felt sure she would catch a bad cold if she did not get dry very soon. ·030· 3 ①caucus/"kok3s/n.干部会i ②tale /teil/n传说，故事 委员会赛跑和一个长故事 ③assemble/h'semba/.聚集， 聚集在岸上的这一群的确是奇形怪状 集合 ④draggle /draegl拖脏，拖 的一鸟儿身上的羽毛耷拉了下来，小兽的毛 湿 ⑤cling /klin/y.粘紧，紧贴 都紧贴在身上，全都湿漉漉的直往下滴水，又 ⑥dnip/drip/v.滴下，漏水 恼火，又难受。 ⑦cross/krs/a.生气的 consultation /konsol'teifon/ 现在，首要的问题当然是先把身上弄干。 n请教，谘询 它们为这个问题商量了一阵。几分钟以后，艾 丽丝就似乎十分自然地和它们亲热地交谈起来， 好像从小就认得它们似的，她甚至和鹦鹉争论 了好一阵子，最后惹得鹦鹉生了气，只是说： ②suky/SAlki/a.生气的（阴沉 的) “我的年纪比你大，肯定比你懂得多。”可艾丽 丝不愿意承认这一点，她不知道鹦鹉到底有多 positively /pozativli/ad. 然地 大，而鹦鹉呢，又硬不肯说出自己的年龄，于 ID refuse/ri'fju:zlg拒绝 是就没有什么话好说了。 authority/:'0itin权威 最后，那只耗子像是大伙儿中间的一个权 威似的，喊道：“大家都坐下，听我说！我很快 就会把你们都弄得干干的！”大家马上围成一大 圈坐下，把耗子围在当中。艾丽丝焦急地盯着 它，因为她很清楚，要是不立刻把身上弄干， 就会得重伤风。 ·031· Alice's Adventures in Wonderland “Ahem!”said the Mouse with an important air①.“Are you all ready?This is the driest thing I know.Silence all round,if you please! William the Conqueror②，whose cause③was favoured④by the pope⑤， was soon submitted to by the English,who wanted leaders,and had been of late much accustomed⑦to usurpation⑧and conquest⑨.Edwin and Morcar,the earls of Mercia and Northumbria-" “Ugh!”said the Lory,with a shiver. “I beg your pardon！”said the Mouse,frowning,but very politely..“Did you speak？” “NotI！”said the Lory,hastily. “I thought you did,”said the Mouse.“I proceedD.‘Edwin and Morcar,the earls of Mercia and Northumbria,declared for him;and even Stigand,the patriotic archbishop of Canterbury,found it advisable'" “Found what?”said the Duck. “Found it,,”the Mouse replied rather crossly:“of course you know what 'it'means..” “I know what‘it'means well enough,when I find a thing,”said the Duck:"it's generally a frog,or a worm.The question is,what did the archbishop find?” The Mouse did not notice this question,but hurriedly went on," found it advisable to go with Edgar Atheling to meet William and offer him the crown.William's conduct 5 at first was moderate.But the insolence of his Normans-'How are you getting on now,my dear?" it continued,turning to Alice as it spoke. “As wet as ever,”said Alice in a melancholy tone:“'it doesn't ·032· 艾丽丝漫游奇境记 ①aire/m样子，神态 “阿哼！”耗子神气 十足地说，“都准备好了 ②conqueror /konkara/i征服 者 吗？我所知道的最最干 ③cause/k:z/n事业 ④favour /feiva/v.偏爱，赞同 巴巴的事儿要数这一桩 pope /paup/n.罗马教皇 了。请大家肃静！‘征服 ⑥submit /sab'mit/以.使服从， 屈服 者威廉的事业是得到教皇支持的，他很快就使 accustomed /a'kAstamd/a. 习惯了的 英国臣服，因为英国需要领袖，而且近年来连 usurpation /ju:zo:'peifon/n. 慕夺，霸占 遭篡位与外国征服，已习以为常。埃德温和莫 ⑨conquest/'konkwest//n.征服 frown /fraun/,装眉头 卡，亦即梅尔西亚和诺森伯利亚的伯爵一’” “呃！”鹦鹉打了个冷战。 @proceed/prm'sidv继续 “请原谅！”耗子皱起眉头，但是彬彬有礼 地问道，“你说话了吗？” patriotic /paetri'otik,peitri- a爱国的 “我没说！”鹦鹉急忙说道。 13 archbishop /'a:t fbifap/n. 主教 “我当是你说了，”耗子说，“我接着讲下去。 advisable /ad'vaizabl/a. 埃德温和莫卡，亦即梅尔西亚和诺森伯利亚的伯 智的，可取的 爵，也公开声明拥戴他；甚至坎特伯雷的爱国的 大主教施蒂甘德，也发现这是可取的一” “发现什么？”鸭子说。 “发现这个，”耗子有点生气地回答道，“你 当然知道‘这个’是什么意思。” “我完全知道‘这个’是什么意思，那是在 我发现了一个东西的时候，”鸭子说，“这个东 15 conduct /'kondAkt,-dokt/n. 西通常是一只青蛙或是一条蚯蚓。问题是：大 行为，品行 moderate /modorit/a.适度 主教发现了什么？” 的 insolence /'insalans/n傲慢， 耗子并不理睬这个问题，只是急急忙忙地 无礼 18 melancholy /melankoli/a. 说下去，“‘一发现这是可取的，即和埃德加· 忧沉的，愁思的 阿塞林一起去迎接威廉，并把王冠奉献给他 威廉的行为起初尚有节制，但他手下诺曼底人 的专横一’你现在觉得怎么样，亲爱的？”它 一边说着，一边转过身来问艾丽丝。 “还跟原来一样湿，”艾丽丝忧愁地说，“好 ·033· Alice's Adventures in Wonderland seem to dry me at all.” “In that case,”said the Dodo solemnly,rising to its feet,.“I move that the meeting adjourn②，for the immediate adoption③of more energetic④remedies⑤-” “Speak English！”said the Eaglet..“Idon't know the meaning of half those long words,and,what's more,I don't believe you do eiher!"And the Eaglet bent down its head to hide a smile:some of the other birds tittered audibly "What I was going to say,"said the Dodo in an offended tone, "was,that the best thing to get us dry would be a Caucus-race." "What is a Caucus-race?"said Alice;not that she much wanted to know,but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that somebody ought to speak,and no one else seemed inclined to say anything. “Why,”said the Dodo,“the best way to explain it is to do it.” (And,as you might like to try the thing yourself some winter-day,I will tell you how the Dodo managed it. First it marked out a race-course,in a sort of circle,("the exact shape doesn't matter,"it said,)and then all the party were placed along the course,here and there.There was no "One,two,three,and away!but they began running when they liked,and left off when they liked,so that it was not easy to know when the race was over.However, when they had been running half an hour or so,and were quite dry again,the Dodo suddenly called out“The race is over！”and they all crowded round it,panting,and asking "But who has won?" This question the Dodo could not answer without a great deal of thought,and it stood for a long time with one finger pressed upon its forehead(the position in which you usually see Shakespeare,in the pictures of him),while the rest waited in silence.At last the Dodo said “Everybody has won,and all must have prizes..” ·034· 艾丽丝漫游奇境记 ①move/mu:v/v.提议，要求 像一点儿也没有把我身上弄干。” ②adjourn /a'd3anl延期，休 会 “既然这样，”渡渡鸟庄严地站起来说道， ③adoption'dopfan//n.采用， “我提议休会，以便立即采取更有效的补救措 采纳 ④energetic/en'd3ctik/a.积 施 极的，有力的 “说英国话！”小鹰说，“这些长字眼儿的意 ⑤remedy /remidi/n.治疗法， 补教 思我连一半都不懂，而且我相信你也不懂！”小 @titter/titv.吃吃地笑，偷笑 鹰低下头来暗笑；有几只鸟儿也吃吃地笑出声 audibly'o:dbli/ad.可听见 地 来了。 “我要说的是，”渡渡鸟很不高兴地说，“要 把我们身上弄干，最好的办法是委员会赛跑。” “委员会赛跑是什么？”艾丽丝说，倒不是 因为她很想知道，而是因为渡渡鸟停住不说了， 愈incline to倾向于，想 好像认为应该有人出来说话似的，可又似乎谁 都不想开口。 “这个嘛，”渡渡鸟说，“要解释这件事，最 好的办法是做它一回。”（在冬天什么时候，你 们或许也想亲身试一试，因此我告诉你们，渡 渡鸟是怎么做的。) ⑨exact /ig'zekt/a精确的 它先画个圆圈似的跑道(“确切的形状是什 么，没有关系，”它说)，随后大家沿着跑道随 便地东站一个，西站一个。也不叫“一、二、 三、跑！”，谁愿意开始就开始，愿意停就停， 因此这场赛跑什么时候才算跑完，倒不大容易 看得出来。然而当它们跑了半个来小时，身上 )pant /paent/.喘息 已经很干的时候，渡渡鸟突然喊一声“赛跑结 束！”于是大家团团围住了它，气吁吁地问道： ⑩press/pres/u技，压 “可是谁赢了？” 12 forehead /'forid,'fo:hed/n 这个问题，渡渡鸟得好好考虑一阵才回答 额 B3 position /p3'zibn/n.姿势， 得上来。它站了好久，一只手指按着前额（就 姿态 像你常常看到画片上的莎士比亚的那种姿势)， 大家都静悄悄地等着。最后渡渡鸟说，“每个人 都赢了，全都应该得奖。” ·035· Alice's Adventures in Wonderland "But who is to give the prizes?"quite a chorus of voices asked. "Why,she,of course,"said the Dodo,pointing to Alice with one finger;and the whole party at once crowded round her,calling out,in a confused②way,“Prizes！Prizes！”caucus Alice had no idea what to do,and in despair she put her hand in her pocket,and pulled out a box of comfits (luckily the salt-water had not got into it),and handed them round as prizes.There was exactly one a-piece,all round. "But she must have a prize herself,you know,"said the Mouse. “Of course,”the Dodo replied very gravely⑤，“What else have you got in your pocket?"it went on,turning to Alice. “Only a thimble,”said Alice sadly. “Hand it over here,”said the Dodo. Then they all crowded round her once more,while the Dodo solemnly presented the thimble,saying "We beg your acceptance of this elegant thimble";and,when it had finished this short speech,they all cheered. Alice thought the whole thing very absurd but they all looked so grave that she did not dare to laugh;and,as she could not think of anything to say,she simply bowed,and took the thimble,looking as solemn as she could. The next thing was to eat the comfits:this caused some noise and confusion,as the large birds complained that they could not taste theirs,and the small ones choked and had to be patted on the back. However,it was over at last,and they sat down again in a ring,and begged the Mouse to tell them something more. ·036· 艾丽丝爱游奇境记 “可是谁给奖呢？”大家齐声问道。 ①chorus/ko:ras/n齐声说道 “当然是她啰，”渡渡鸟说，伸出一只手 指指着艾丽丝，大家就立刻围住了她，七嘴 ②confused/kan'fju:zd/a.混乱 八舌地嚷道：“发奖，发奖！”艾丽丝不知道 的 ③despair/dis'pea/n绝望 该怎么办才好，她无可奈何地把手伸进衣 ④comfit"kAmfit/n糖果，酒 馅的巧克力 袋，摸出一盒糖果（幸亏没有渗进咸水）， 就依次分给它们作为奖赏，恰好各得一块。 “可是，她自己不是 ⑤gravely /'greivli/ad.严肃地， 也该领奖吗？”耗子说。 壮重地 “当然。”渡渡鸟非 ⑥thimble/0imb/n顶针 常庄严地回答道，“你的 口袋里还有别的东西 吗？”他转身问艾丽丝 道。 ⑦elegant /eligant/a.优雅的， 精美的 “只有一个顶针了。”艾丽丝难过地说。 “把它交给我。”渡渡鸟说。 ⑧absurd/hb's3:d/a.荒唐的 接着大家又团团围住了她，渡渡鸟一本正 经地把顶针赠送给她，一边说，“我们请你接受 这只精致的顶针。”它一说完这篇简短的演说 词，大家都欢呼起来。 艾丽丝心想，这件事太荒唐了，但是大家 ⑨confusion/kan'fju:3n/n.混 乱 的神色都那么庄重，所以她不敢笑，但是由于 choke /tfauk/塞息 想不出什么话可说，她就简单地鞠了一个躬， ①pat/paet/v.轻拍 尽力装出严肃的样子，接过顶针。 下一步轮到吃糖果了。这也引起了一阵吵 闹和混乱，大鸟们抱怨说，它们连糖果是什么 滋味都没尝到，小鸟们却又噎得透不过气来， 还得让人家在背上拍两下。可是这件事终于过 去，大家又坐成一圈，要求耗子再给他们讲些 什么。 ·037· Alice's Adventures in Wonderland "You promised to tell me your history,you know,"said Alice, “and why it is you hate-C and D,”she added in a whisper①，half afraid that it would be offended again. “Mine is a long and a sad tale！”said the Mouse,turning to Alice, and sighing②. "It is a long tail,certainly,"said Alice,looking down with wonder at the Mouse's tail;"but why do you call it sad?"And she kept on puzzling about it while the Mouse was speaking,so that her idea of the tale was something like this: Fury said to a mouse,That he met in the house, “Let us both go to law③： I will prosecute④ you.- Come,I'll take no denial; We must have a trial: For really this morning ·038· 艾丽丝爱游奇境记 “你不是答应过要把你的历史告诉我吗？” 艾丽丝说，“你为什么恨—C和D四？”她低声 ①whisper/(h)wispa/v.耳语 补充道，怕又得罪了耗子。 “我的故事说来真是又长又伤心！”耗子转 ②sigh/sail v.叹息 身向艾丽丝叹口气说。 “你的尾巴确实很长，”艾丽丝惊奇地朝 下看着耗子尾巴说，“可是你干吗说它伤心呢？” 她对这一点一直感到摸不着头脑，可是耗子却 不停地说下去，因此在她脑子里，这个故事差 不多成了这个样子： 狗儿猛子 在屋里 遇到 耗子， 对它说， “咱们一 起上 公堂： ③lawb:ln法律 我要 告你。— 来吧，我 ④prosecute'prosikju:t/.起 诉 不许你 拒绝； 我们必须 过过堂： 因为 ⑤denial/di'naial/n否认，拒绝 今天 早晨 我 ⑥trial /trai/n.审讯 确实 [1】英语中表示“猫”和“狗”的单词cat和dog分别是以字母c和d开 头的。 [2]英语中表示“故事”和“尾巴的单词tale和ail发音相同。 ·039·