名著精讀《飄》第三章 第7節

But Gerald remained Gerald. His habits of living and his ideas changed, but his manners he would not change, even had he been able to change them. He admired the drawling elegance of the wealthy rice and cotton planters, who rode into Savannah from their moss-hung kingdoms, mounted on thoroughbred horses and followed by the carriages of their equally elegant ladies and the wagons of their slaves. But Gerald could never attain elegance. Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears, but his own brisk brogue clung to his tongue. He liked the casual grace with which they conducted affairs of importance, risking a fortune, a plantation or a slave on the turn of a card and writing off their losses with careless good humor and no more ado than when they scattered pennies to pickaninnies.

然而，傑拉爾德還是傑拉爾德。他的生活習慣和思想變了，但他不願改變自己的態度，即使他能夠改變。他羨慕那種稻米棉花的富裕地主，羨慕他們慢條斯理，溫文爾雅地騎着純種馬，後面是載着他們文質彬彬的太太們馬車和奴隸們的大車，從他們的古舊王國向薩凡納迤邐而來。可是傑拉爾德永遠也學不會文雅。他們那種懶洋洋的含糊不清的聲音，他沉得特別悅耳，但他們自己那輕快的土腔卻總是吊在舌頭上擺脫不了。他們處理重大事務時，在一張牌上賭押一筆財產、一個農場或一個奴隸時，以及像向黑人孩子撒錢幣僅的將他們的損失愜意地輕輕勾銷時，那種滿不在乎地神氣是他十分喜愛的。

But Gerald had known poverty, and he could never learn to lose money with good humor or good grace. They were a pleasant race, these coastal Georgians, with their soft-voiced, quick rages and their charming inconsistencies, and Gerald liked them. But there was a brisk and restless vitality about the young Irishman, fresh from a country where winds blew wet and chill, where misty swamps held no fevers, that set him apart from these indolent gentle-folk of semi-tropical weather and malarial marshes.

然而傑拉爾德已經懂得什麼叫貧窮，因此永遠學不會愜意而體面地輸錢。他們是個快樂的民族，這些海濱佐治亞人，聲音柔和，容易生氣，有時前後矛盾得十分可愛，所以傑拉爾德喜歡他們。不過，這位年輕的愛爾蘭人身上充滿了活潑好動的生機，他是剛剛從一個風冷霧溫但多霧的沼澤不產生熱病的因家出來的，這便把他同這些出生亞熱帶氣候和瘴氣溫地中的懶惰紳士們截然分開了。

ling adj. 慢吞吞的，有氣無力的

He drawled a reply.
他無精打采地回答。

t[maunt] v. 登上，爬上，配上 n. 乘用馬，底板，支架，爬上 n. 山，峯

He mounted the horse and rode off.
他騎上馬走了。

oughbred n. 純種動物(尤指馬)，有教養的人 adj. 純種(馬)的，有教養的

red adj. 模糊的，含糊的，難辨的 動詞blur的過去式和過去分詞

I have to have my set fixed. It's get blurred.
我得請人修我的電視機了。它的圖像模糊不清。

tation n. 種植園，大農場，殖民地

There were hundreds of slaves in the plantation.
這個種植園裏有數百名奴隸。

ter n. 散佈，零星少量 vt. 驅散，散播 vi. 分散，消散

The farmers were scattering seed on the fields.
農夫把種子撒在田裏。

aninny n. 黑人的小孩，小孩子

nsistency n. 不一致，不調和，矛盾

She noticed several minor inconsistencies in his argument.
她覺察到他的論點有幾處略微有些自相矛盾。

less['restlis] adj. 不安寧的，焦慮的，靜不下來的，得不到休息的

The boy was restless from hunger.
男孩因飢餓而變得焦躁不安。

lity[vai'tæliti] n. 活力，生命力

She is full of youth and vitality.
她充滿了青春和活力。

p n. 沼澤，溼地 v. 淹沒，陷於沼澤

The heavy rain has turned the small garden into a swamp.
大雨使這小花園變成了一塊沼澤地。

lent adj. 懶惰的，慢性的

I don't want to make friends with indolent persons.
我不喜歡和懶惰的人交朋友。

rial adj. 瘧疾的

h n. 沼澤，溼地

It's dangerous to be alone in the marsh.
一個人在沼澤地裏是很危險的。

Gerald remained Gerald. His habits of living and his ideas changed, but his manners he would not change, even had he been able to change them.

【難句解析】最後一句had he been able to...是部分倒裝，是把謂語動詞的一部分（這裏是had）放到主語之前，起強調作用；

【句子翻譯】然而，傑拉爾德還是傑拉爾德。他的生活習慣和思想變了，但他不願改變自己的態度，即使他能夠改變。

liked the casual grace with which they conducted affairs of importance, risking a fortune, a plantation or a slave on the turn of a card and writing off their losses with careless good humor and no more ado than when they scattered pennies to pickaninnies.

【難句解析】這句話的主幹是He liked the casual grace，後面的全部即with aninnies是定語從句，修飾grace；write off的意思是“勾銷”，例句：Far better to write off what will never be paid. 把那些永遠不能得以償還的債務一筆勾銷是好得多的一種壯舉；

【句子翻譯】他們處理重大事務時，在一張牌上賭押一筆財產、一個農場或一個奴隸時，以及像向黑人孩子撒錢幣僅的將他們的損失愜意地輕輕勾銷時，那種滿不在乎地神氣是他十分喜愛的。

there was a brisk and restless vitality about the young Irishman, fresh from a country where winds blew wet and chill, where misty swamps held no fevers, that set him apart from these indolent gentle-folk of semi-tropical weather and malarial marshes.

【難句解析】這句話的主幹是But there was a vitality that set him apart from...; 中間的fresh from a fevers是非限制性定語從句，修飾the young Irishman；set sb. apart from...“將某人與...區分開來”；

【句子翻譯】不過，這位年輕的愛爾蘭人身上充滿了活潑好動的生機，他是剛剛從一個風冷霧溫但多霧的沼澤不產生熱病的因家出來的，這便把他同這些出生亞熱帶氣候和瘴氣溫地中的懶惰紳士們截然分開了。