名著阅读

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，杰拉尔德还是杰拉尔德。他的生活习惯和思想变了，但他不愿改变自己的态度，即使他能够改变。他羡慕那种稻米棉花的富裕地主，羡慕他们慢条斯理，温文尔雅地骑着纯种马，后面是载着他们文质彬彬的太太们马车和奴隶们的大车，从他们的古旧王国向萨凡纳迤逦而来。可是杰拉尔德永远也学不会文雅。他们那种懒洋洋的含糊不清的声音，他沉得特别悦耳，但他们自己那轻快的土腔却总是吊在舌头上摆脱不了。他们处理重大事务时，在一张牌上赌押一笔财产、一个农场或一个奴隶时，以及像向黑人孩子撒钱币仅的将他们的损失惬意地轻轻勾销时，那种满不在乎地神气是他十分喜爱的。

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.

然而杰拉尔德已经懂得什么叫贫穷，因此永远学不会惬意而体面地输钱。他们是个快乐的民族，这些海滨佐治亚人，声音柔和，容易生气，有时前后矛盾得十分可爱，所以杰拉尔德喜欢他们。不过，这位年轻的爱尔兰人身上充满了活泼好动的生机，他是刚刚从一个风冷雾温但多雾的沼泽不产生热病的因家出来的，这便把他同这些出生亚热带气候和瘴气温地中的懒惰绅士们截然分开了。

词汇释义

1.drawling adj. 慢吞吞的，有气无力的

He drawled a reply.
他无精打采地回答。

2.mount[maunt] v. 登上，爬上，配上 n. 乘用马，底板，支架，爬上 n. 山，峰

He mounted the horse and rode off.
他骑上马走了。

3.thoroughbred n. 纯种动物(尤指马)，有教养的人 adj. 纯种(马)的，有教养的

4.blurred adj. 模糊的，含糊的，难辨的 动词blur的过去式和过去分词

I have to have my set fixed. It's get blurred.
我得请人修我的电视机了。它的图像模糊不清。

5.plantation n. 种植园，大农场，殖民地

There were hundreds of slaves in the plantation.
这个种植园里有数百名奴隶。

6.scatter n. 散布，零星少量 vt. 驱散，散播 vi. 分散，消散

The farmers were scattering seed on the fields.
农夫把种子撒在田里。

7.pickaninny n. 黑人的小孩，小孩子

8.inconsistency n. 不一致，不调和，矛盾

She noticed several minor inconsistencies in his argument.
她觉察到他的论点有几处略微有些自相矛盾。

9.restless['restlis] adj. 不安宁的，焦虑的，静不下来的，得不到休息的

The boy was restless from hunger.
男孩因饥饿而变得焦躁不安。

10.vitality[vai'tæliti] n. 活力，生命力

She is full of youth and vitality.
她充满了青春和活力。

11.swamp n. 沼泽，湿地 v. 淹没，陷于沼泽

The heavy rain has turned the small garden into a swamp.
大雨使这小花园变成了一块沼泽地。

12.indolent adj. 懒惰的，慢性的

I don't want to make friends with indolent persons.
我不喜欢和懒惰的人交朋友。

13.malarial adj. 疟疾的

14.marsh n. 沼泽，湿地

It's dangerous to be alone in the marsh.
一个人在沼泽地里是很危险的。

难句解析

1.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.

【难句解析】最后一句had he been able to...是部分倒装，是把谓语动词的一部分（这里是had）放到主语之前，起强调作用；

【句子翻译】然而，杰拉尔德还是杰拉尔德。他的生活习惯和思想变了，但他不愿改变自己的态度，即使他能够改变。

2.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.

【难句解析】这句话的主干是He liked the casual grace，后面的全部即with which...pickaninnies是定语从句，修饰grace；write off的意思是“勾销”，例句：Far better to write off what will never be paid. 把那些永远不能得以偿还的债务一笔勾销是好得多的一种壮举；

【句子翻译】他们处理重大事务时，在一张牌上赌押一笔财产、一个农场或一个奴隶时，以及像向黑人孩子撒钱币仅的将他们的损失惬意地轻轻勾销时，那种满不在乎地神气是他十分喜爱的。

3.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.

【难句解析】这句话的主干是But there was a vitality that set him apart from...; 中间的fresh from a country...no fevers是非限制性定语从句，修饰the young Irishman；set sb. apart from...“将某人与...区分开来”；

【句子翻译】不过，这位年轻的爱尔兰人身上充满了活泼好动的生机，他是刚刚从一个风冷雾温但多雾的沼泽不产生热病的因家出来的，这便把他同这些出生亚热带气候和瘴气温地中的懒惰绅士们截然分开了。