Animal Farm
Chapter 1 (P9-10)
“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing.
He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits.
Yet he is lord of all the animals.
He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.
Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet/ there is not one of us/ that owns more than his bare skin.
You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year?
And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves?
Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies.
And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens?
The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men.
And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age?
Each was sold/ at a year old - you will never see one of them again.
In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?
“And even the miserable lives we lead/ are not allowed to reach their natural span.
For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones.
I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children.
Such is the natural life of a pig.
But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end.
You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you/ will scream your lives out/ at the block/ within a year.
To that horror/ we all must come/ - cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone.
Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate.
You, Boxer, the very day that/ those great muscles of yours/ lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds.
As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.
comprehend
- 这里的 "lead" 意指 "live out" 或 "pass through"，即“度过”或“经历”。因此，"the miserable lives we lead" 可以理解为“我们所度过的悲惨生活”。
- "natural span" 指的是一个生命体从出生到自然死亡的整个期间，即自然寿命或天年。它通常用来描述生物在没有外部干预（如疾病、意外、屠宰等）的情况下可能达到的年龄。
- "the very day" 在这里指的是“就在那一天”或“正好在那一天”，用来强调某个事件将在特定的、确切的时间发生。
translation
- 人类是唯一一种只消费不生产的生物。
- 他不产奶，不下蛋，拉犁太弱，跑得不够快去抓兔子。
- 然而他却是所有动物的主人。
- 他让他们工作，只给他们最基本的食物以免他们饿死，剩下的全都留给自己。
- 我们的劳动翻耕了土地，我们的粪便为其施肥，然而我们中没有一个拥有超过自己皮肤所覆盖的东西。
- 在我面前的你们这些奶牛，去年你们产了多少千加仑的牛奶？
- 那么那些本应用来养育健壮小牛犊的牛奶，它们都去哪儿了呢？
- 每一滴都被我们的敌人喝掉了。
- 还有你们母鸡，去年你们下了多少蛋，又有多少蛋孵化成了小鸡？
- 其余的蛋都被拿去市场上卖了，为琼斯和他的手下赚钱。
- 还有你，克洛弗，你生的那四匹小马驹都去哪儿了？他们本应成为你老年时的依靠和快乐。
- 每一匹都在一岁的时候被卖掉了——你再也见不到它们中的任何一匹。
- 作为你们四次生育和在田间所有劳动的回报，除了仅够生存的口粮和一个畜栏，你们还得到过什么？
- 即便我们所度过的悲惨生活，也不被允许自然地走到尽头。
- 至于我自己，我并不抱怨，因为我是幸运者之一。
- 我十二岁，已经生过四百多个孩子了。
- 这就是猪的自然生活。
- 但最终没有一个动物能逃过那残忍的刀。
- 坐在我前面的你们这些小猪，每一只都在不到一年的时间里将在屠宰台上惨叫着结束生命。
- 面对那个恐怖，我们所有人都必须去面对 —— 奶牛、猪、鸡、绵羊，每一个。
- 即便是马和狗，命运也好不到哪里去。
- 你，鲍克瑟，就在你那强壮的肌肉失去力量的那一天，琼斯会把你卖给宰马场的人，他们会割断你的喉咙，把你的肉煮了喂给猎狐犬。
- 至于那些狗，当它们年老牙齿掉光时，琼斯会给它们的脖子绑上砖头，然后在最近的池塘里淹死它们。
vocabulary
[
{
"name": "plough",
"trans": [
"n. 犁；北斗星",
"v. 犁（田）；耕（地）；翻（土）"
],
"usphone": "'plaʊ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "lord",
"trans": [
"n. 主；主人；领主；大人",
"v. 作威作福"
],
"usphone": "'lɔːrd'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "bare minimum",
"trans": [
"最低限度"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "the rest",
"trans": [
"剩余部分；其余者"
],
"usphone": "'ðə rest'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "till",
"trans": [
"v. 耕作，犁地",
"n. 钱柜；抽屉；(橱柜中)放贵重物的格子或抽屉；【地】冰碛土(物)",
"prep. 直到…为止；直到…才…；在…前(不…)",
"conj. 直到…为止；在…之前"
],
"usphone": "'tɪl'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "dung",
"trans": [
"n. （动物的）粪，粪肥；肮脏的东西",
"v. （动物）排泄粪便；施粪肥于"
],
"usphone": "'dʌŋ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "fertilise",
"trans": [
"v. 使……受精；施肥于；使……肥沃（*****ze 的英式拼写"
],
"usphone": "'ˈfɜːrtəlaɪz'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "gallon",
"trans": [
"n. 加仑（液量单位，英制合 4.55 升，美制合 3.79 升）；<非正式>大量液体（****s of）",
""
],
"usphone": "'ˈɡælən'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "breeding",
"trans": [
"n. 繁殖，生育；（动物的）饲养，（植物的）培植；教养",
"v. 交配繁殖；饲养，培育；养育，培养（**** 的现在分词）"
],
"usphone": "'ˈbriːdɪŋ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "sturdy",
"trans": [
"adj. 结实的，坚固的；（人或身体）强壮的，健壮的；坚决的，坚定的",
"n. （绦虫幼虫在脑中形成包囊使绵羊产生的）晕倒病，蹒跚病"
],
"usphone": "'ˈstɜːrdi'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "calves",
"trans": [
"n. 小牛；小腿；腓；呆子（calf 的复数）"
],
"usphone": "'kævz'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "drop",
"trans": [
"n. 滴；水珠；少量；微量",
"v. 使落下；（故意）降下；累倒；累垮"
],
"usphone": "'drɒp'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "go down",
"trans": [
"被吞咽；被接受；被记住",
"下降；离开大学；遭受失败；发生；日落"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "hen",
"trans": [
"n. 母鸡；雌禽；<苏格兰>（小）姑娘；用于其他鸟的名称（尤指秧鸡科水鸟）；雌龙虾（或螃蟹、鲑鱼）"
],
"usphone": "'hen'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "hatch",
"trans": [
"v. 孵化；策划；在…上画影线；创造",
"n. 孵化；【船】入孔；舱口盖；小门"
],
"usphone": "'hætʃ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "bear",
"trans": [
"v. 生育（孩子）；（树，植物）结（果实），长出（花）( ****ing, bore, borne, ****s )；承受，容忍；承担，担负（责任）；具有，带有（特征或特点）；装备，布置；手持，携带；（车，船）运输，运送；写有，刻有；以（姓名，头衔）相称；见证，作证；经得起；拐弯",
"n. 熊；（在证券市场等）卖空的人"
],
"usphone": "'ber'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "confinement",
"trans": [
"n. 监禁，关押；分娩，生产"
],
"usphone": "'kənˈfaɪnmənt'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "ration",
"trans": [
"n. 配给量，定量；（尤指发给作战士兵的）口粮配给，口粮定量；合理（正常）的量；粮食供应，食物储备；应得之量",
"v. 对（供应品）定量供应，实行配给；对（某人）实行定量供给，配给"
],
"usphone": "'ˈræʃ(ə)n'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "grumble",
"trans": [
"v. 抱怨，嘟囔；咕隆，发轰隆声；（内脏）间歇性地闹病",
"n. 抱怨，牢骚；咕隆声"
],
"usphone": "'ˈɡrʌmb(ə)l'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "knife",
"trans": [
"n. 餐刀；刀子，刀具，匕首；手术刀",
"v. 用刀伤害（或杀害）；如刀般划过"
],
"usphone": "'naɪf'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "porker",
"trans": [
"n. 肥小猪，食用猪"
],
"usphone": "'ˈpɔːrkər'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "scream",
"trans": [
"v. （因伤痛、害怕、激动等）尖叫；（向某人或为某事）高声喊",
"n. 尖叫；尖锐刺耳的声音；可笑的人（或物）"
],
"usphone": "'skriːm'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "fate",
"trans": [
"n. 命运",
"v. 注定"
],
"usphone": "'feɪt'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "knacker",
"trans": [
"n. 屠马业者；收买废屋船业者",
"vt. 阉割；杀死"
],
"usphone": "'ˈnækər'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "boil",
"trans": [
"v. （使）沸腾，煮沸，烧开；用开水煮；怒火中烧；（海，云）翻腾",
"n. 煮沸，沸腾；疖，皮下脓肿；激昂，兴奋；突然浮上来食鱼饵"
],
"usphone": "'bɔɪl'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "toothless",
"trans": [
"adj. 无牙的；无齿的；人微言轻的；没有权威的"
],
"usphone": "'ˈtuːθləs'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "tie",
"trans": [
"v. 绑；束缚；捆绑；约束",
"n. 领带；联系；关系；束缚"
],
"usphone": "'taɪ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "pond",
"trans": [
"n. 池塘；水池（尤指人工的）",
"v. 把…挖成池塘；堵(溪流)水成池 (back； up)"
],
"usphone": "'pɒnd'",
"ukphone": "''"
}
]