动物农场Animal Farm 第3章(5)

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　　鲍克瑟只能学到字母D。

　　He would trace out A, B, C, D, in the dust with his great hoof², and then would stand staring at the letters with his ears back,

　　他会用硕大的蹄子在尘土上摹写出A、B、C、D，然后，站在那里，翘着耳朵，目不转睛地盯着，

　　sometimes shaking his forelock, trying with all his might to remember what came next and never succeeding.

　　而且还不时抖动一下额毛，竭尽全力地想下一个字母，可总是想不起来。

　　On several occasions, indeed, he did learn E, F, G, H, but by the time he knew them, it was always discovered that he had forgotten A, B, C, and D.

　　有好几次，真的，他确实学到了E、F、G、H，但等他学会了这几个，又总是发现他已经忘了A、B、C、D。

　　Finally he decided³ to be content with the first four letters, and used to write them out once or twice every day to refresh his memory.

　　最后，他决定满足于头四个字母，并在每天坚持写上一两遍，以加强记忆。

　　Mollie refused to learn any but the six letters which spelt her own name.

　　莫丽除了那六个拼出她自己名字的字母Mollie外，再也不肯学点别的。

　　She would form these very neatly⁴ out of pieces of twig⁵, and would then decorate them with a flower or two and walk round them admiring them.

　　她会用几根细嫩的树枝，非常灵巧地拼出她的名字，然后用一两支鲜花装饰一下，再绕着它们走几圈，赞叹一番。

　　None of the other animals on the farm could get further than the letter A.

　　庄园里的其他动物都只学会了一个字母A。

　　It was also found that the stupider animals, such as the sheep, hens, and ducks, were unable to learn the Seven Commandments by heart.

　　另外还有一点，那些比较迟钝的动物，如羊、鸡、鸭子等，还没有学会熟记“七诫”。

　　After much thought Snowball declared that the Seven Commandments could in effect be reduced to a single maxim⁶, namely: "Four legs good, two legs bad."

　　于是，斯诺鲍经过反复思忖，宣布“七诫”实际上可以简化为一条准则，那就是“四条腿好，两条腿坏”。

　　This, he said, contained the essential principle of Animalism.

　　他说，这条准则包含了动物主义的基本原则。

　　Whoever had thoroughly⁷ grasped it would be safe from human influences.

　　无论是谁，一旦完全掌握了这个准则，便免除了受到人类影响的危险。

　　The birds at first objected, since it seemed to them that they also had two legs, but Snowball proved to them that this was not so.

　　起初，禽鸟们首先表示反对，因为他们好像也只有两条腿，到斯诺鲍向他们证明这其实不然。

　　"A bird's wing, comrades," he said, "is an organ of propulsion and not of manipulation.

　　“同志们”，他说道，“禽鸟的翅膀，是一种推动行进的器官，而不是用来操作和控制的。

　　It should therefore be regarded as a leg.

　　因此，它和腿是一回事。

　　The distinguishing mark of man is the HAND, the instrument with which he does all his mischief⁸."

　　而人的不同特点是手，那是他们作恶多端的器官。”

　　The birds did not understand Snowball's long words, but they accepted his explanation.

　　对这一番长篇大论，禽鸟们并没有弄懂，但他们接受了斯诺鲍的解释。

　　And all the humbler animals set to work to learn the new maxim by heart.

　　同时，所有这类反应较慢的动物，都开始郑重其事地在心里熟记这个新准则。

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