双语小说连载:《董贝父子》第四章 Part 4

     'Ay, to be sure!' cried old Sol, 'quite right! Then, there were five hundred casks of such wine aboard; and all hands (except the first mate, first lieutenant, two seamen, and a lady, in a leaky boat) going to work to stave the casks, got drunk and died drunk, singing "Rule Britannia", when she settled and went down, and ending with one awful scream in chorus.'

      “完全正确！那时候船上有五百桶这样的葡萄酒；当船开始往下沉没的时候，除了一位大副、一位海军上尉、两名船员和一位女士乘着一条漏水的小船离开了以外，船上所有其他的船员都去把酒桶敲破，喝得酩酊大醉，并在醉中死去，一边还唱着英国的爱国国歌，最后同声发出了可怕的一声尖叫。”

      'But when the George the Second drove ashore, Uncle, on the coast of Cornwall, in a dismal gale, two hours before daybreak, on the fourth of March, 'seventy-one, she had near two hundred horses aboard; and the horses breaking loose down below, early in the gale, and tearing to and fro, and trampling each other to death, made such noises, and set up such human cries, that the crew believing the ship to be full of devils, some of the best men, losing heart and head, went overboard in despair, and only two were left alive, at last, to tell the tale.'

      “但是舅勇，当‘乔治第二’号在1971年3月4日黎明前两小时在可怕的大风中向康沃尔①岸急驶的时候，船上有近二百匹马；在大风开始刮起来的时候，这些马在下面的底舱中挣脱了缰绳，来回狂奔，相互踩死；它们发出了十分嘈杂的声音，并发出了像人一样的叫声，船员们都以为船上充满了鬼怪，甚至那些最勇敢的人也六神无主，张惶失措，绝望地从船上跳入水中，最后只剩下两个人还活下来，向人们叙说这段经历。”

      'And when,' said old Sol, 'when the Polyphemus  '

      'Private West India Trader, burden three hundred and fifty tons, Captain, John Brown of Deptford. Owners, Wiggs and Co.,' cried Walter.

      'The same,' said Sol; 'when she took fire, four days' sail with a fair wind out of Jamaica Harbour, in the night '

      “而当，”老所尔说道，“当‘波利菲默斯’号——”

      “这艘私人的西印度商船，载重量三百五十吨，船长是德普特福德人约翰·布朗。船主是威格斯公司，”沃尔特喊道。

      “就是这艘船，”所尔说道，“当它乘着顺风，从牙买加②港开出四天以后，在夜间着火了……”

      'There were two brothers on board,' interposed his nephew, speaking very fast and loud, 'and there not being room for both of them in the only boat that wasn't swamped, neither of them would consent to go, until the elder took the younger by the waist, and flung him in. And then the younger, rising in the boat, cried out, "Dear Edward, think of your promised wife at home. I'm only a boy. No one waits at home for me. Leap down into my place!" and flung himself in the sea!'

      “船上有两兄弟，”他的外甥打断他，说得很快，声音很大，“只有一条没有漏水的小船，但是装不下他们两人，兄弟两人谁也不同意到小船里去，后来哥哥抱着弟弟的腰，把他抛了进去。弟弟从小船中站起来喊道，‘亲爱的爱德华，想一想你在家中的未婚妻吧。我只是个孩子，家里没有人在等待我。跳到我这里来吧！’然后他自己就跳进海里去了！”

注释：swamp  n. 沼泽；湿地 vt. 使陷于沼泽；使沉没；使陷入困境
vi. 下沉；陷入沼泽；陷入困境；不知所措
例句：
1. That ditch drains water from the swamp.
那条沟于沼泽中的水排出。
2. In the swamp we were beset by mosquitoes.
我们在沼泽地受到蚊子的围攻。
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①康沃尔（Cornwall）：英国西南部的半岛。
②牙买加（Jamaica）：位于加勒比海北部，邻近古巴和海地，是加勒比海的第三大岛。