动物农场Animal Farm 第3章(2)

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　　比如，这年年底，收完玉米后，因为庄园里没有打谷机和脱粒机，

　　they had to tread it out in the ancient style and blow away the chaff¹ with their breath, since the farm possessed² no threshing machine.

　　他们就有那种古老的方式，踩来踩去地把玉米粒弄下来，再靠嘴巴把秣壳吹掉。

　　But the pigs with their cleverness and Boxer³ with his tremendous muscles always pulled them through.

　　但是猪的机灵和鲍克瑟的力大无比总能使他们顺利度过难关。

　　Boxer was the admiration⁴ of everybody.

　　动物们对鲍克瑟赞叹不已。

　　He had been a hard worker even in Jones's time, but now he seemed more like three horses than one.

　　即使在琼斯时期，鲍克瑟就一直是个勤劳而持之以恒的好劳力，而今，他更是一个顶三个。

　　There were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest on his mighty⁵ shoulders.

　　那一双强劲的肩膀，常常象是承担了庄园里所有的活计。

　　From morning to night he was pushing and pulling, always at the spot where the work was hardest.

　　从早到晚，他不停地拉呀推呀，总是出现在工作最艰苦的地方。

　　He had made an arrangement with one of the cockerels to call him in the mornings half an hour earlier than anyone else,

　　他早就和一只小公鸡约好，每天早晨，小公鸡提前半小时叫醒他，

　　and would put in some volunteer labour at whatever seemed to be most needed, before the regular day's work began.

　　他就在正式上工之前先干一些志愿活，而这些活看起来也是最急需的。

　　His answer to every problem, every setback⁶, was "I will work harder!"--which he had adopted as his personal motto.

　　无论遇到什么困难和挫折，鲍克瑟的回答总是：“我要更加努力工作”，这句话也是他一直引用的座右铭。

　　But everyone worked according to his capacity.

　　但是，每个动物都只能量力而行。

　　The hens and ducks, for instance, saved five bushels of corn at the harvest by gathering⁷ up the stray grains.

　　比如鸡和鸭子，收获时单靠他们捡拾零落的谷粒，就节约了五蒲式耳的玉米。

　　Nobody stole, nobody grumbled⁸ over his rations⁹.

　　没有谁偷吃，也没有谁为自己的口粮抱怨。

　　The quarrelling and biting and jealousy¹⁰ which had been normal features of life in the old days had almost disappeared.

　　那些过去习以为常的争吵、咬斗和嫉妒也几乎一扫而光。

　　Nobody shirked--or almost nobody.

　　没有或者说几乎没有动物开小差逃工。

　　Mollie, it was true, was not good at getting up in the mornings, and had a way of leaving work early on the ground that there was a stone in her hoof¹¹.

　　不过，倒真有这样的事：莫丽不太习惯早晨起来，她还有一个坏毛病，常常借故蹄子里夹了个石子，便丢下地里的活，早早溜走了。

　　And the behaviour of the cat was somewhat peculiar¹².

　　猫的表现也多少与众不同。

　　It was soon noticed that when there was work to be done the cat could never be found.

　　每当有活干的时候，大家就发现怎么也找不到猫了。

　　She would vanish for hours on end, and then reappear at meal-times, or in the evening after work was over, as though nothing had happened.

　　她会连续几小时不见踪影，直到吃饭时，或者收工后，才若无其事一般重新露面。

　　But she always made such excellent excuses, and purred so affectionately, that it was impossible not to believe in her good intentions.

　　可是她总有绝妙的理由，咕咕噜噜地说着，简直真诚得叫谁也没法怀疑她动机良好。

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