美国语文第五册 第4期:朗读者(4)

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　　I know you will ask no better reward for your trouble than the pleasure of carrying to this poor widow my order for her son's immediate¹ discharge. 相信你会高兴地带上我的手令，立刻解除那可怜寡妇孩子的兵役，我想，假若给你其他任何报酬，亦不会比这更开心吧。

　　Let me see whether you can write as well as you can read. 我要看看，你是否也能准确书写，像你的阅读那样棒。

　　Take this pen, and write as I dictate². 拿这支笔，写下我口授的话。

　　He then dictated³ an order, which Ernestine wrote, and he signed. 他接着口授了一份命令，欧内斯廷记录完毕，国王随后签上自己名字。

　　Calling one of his guards, he bade him go with the girl and see that the order was obeyed. 然后他又吩咐一个卫兵过来，安排他与姑娘一同前去执行他的命令。

　　How much happiness was Ernestine the means of bestowing⁴ through her good elocution,  通过感情真挚的阅读，获取这种特殊赠与，欧内斯廷简直快乐极了！

　　united to the happy circumstance that brought it to the knowledge of the King! 国王获悉了民情，内心产生共鸣，并最终授于树内。

　　First, there were her poor neighbors, to whom she could give instruction and entertainment. 起初，那些贫困邻居们从姑娘那里找到安慰，

　　Then, there was the poor widow who sent the petition, and who not only regained⁵ her son, 随后，送出请愿书的那位寡妇不仅能与儿子重新一起生活，

　　but received through Ernestine an order for him to paint the King's likeness⁶; 还接受了欧内斯廷带来的国王旨意，安排她的儿子前去宫廷为国王画像。

　　so that the poor boy soon rose to great distinction, and had more orders than he could attend to. 不久，那位贫苦人家孩子便迅速得以擢升，并获得更多的发展机会。

　　Words could not express his gratitude⁷, and that of his mother, to the little girl. 千言万语无法表达那位少年还有他的寡母对小姑娘欧内斯廷的深深感激之情。

　　And Ernestine had, moreover, the satisfaction of aiding her father to rise in the world, so that he became the King's chief gardener. 不仅如此，欧内斯廷的父亲后来成为国王的首席园艺师，在世界园林界赢得了声誉，这一点，让欧内斯廷非常自豪。

　　The King did not forget her, but had her well educated at his own expense. 国王并没有忘记这个小姑娘，花钱让她受到最好的教育。

　　As for the two pages, she was indirectly⁸ the means of doing them good, also; 至于那两位侍童，她亦间接帮助了他们。

　　for, ashamed of their bad reading, they commenced studying in earnest, till they overcame the faults that had offended the King. 由于对自己阅读能力深感羞愧，他们急切想重新获得学习机会。两人通过读书最终弥补了阅读能力的不足，

　　Both finally rose to distinction, one as a lawyer, and the other as a statesman;  随后皆获取了提升机会，一位做了律师，还有一位成了政治家，

　　and they owed their advancement⁹ in life chiefly to their good elocution. 他们把生命升华归功于极有裨益的开卷阅读。

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