Animal Farm
Chapter 6
By the autumn the animals were tired but happy.
They had had a hard year, and after the sale of part of the hay and corn, the stores of food for the winter were none too plentiful, but the windmill compensated for everything. It was almost half built now.
After the harvest there was a stretch of clear dry weather, and the animals toiled harder than ever, thinking it well worth while to plod to and fro all day with blocks of stone if by doing so they could raise the walls another foot.
Boxer would even come out at nights and work for an hour or two on his own by the light of the harvest moon.
In their spare moments the animals would walk round and round the half-finished mill, admiring the strength and perpendicularity of its walls and marvelling that they should ever have been able to build anything so imposing.
Only old Benjamin refused to grow enthusiastic about the windmill, though, as usual, he would utter nothing beyond the cryptic remark that donkeys live a long time.
November came, with raging south-west winds.
Building had to stop because it was now too wet to mix the cement.
Finally there came a night when the gale was so violent that the farm buildings rocked on their foundations and several tiles were blown off the roof of the barn.
The hens woke up squawking with terror because they had all dreamed simultaneously of hearing a gun go off in the distance.
In the morning the animals came out of their stalls to find that the flagstaff had been blown down and an elm tree at the foot of the orchard had been plucked up like a radish.
They had just noticed this when a cry of despair broke from every animal's throat.
A terrible sight had met their eyes. The windmill was in ruins.
translation
- 到了秋天，动物们虽然疲惫但感到快乐。
- 他们度过了艰难的一年，在卖掉部分干草和玉米之后，冬天的食物储备并不充裕，但风车弥补了一切。它现在几乎已经建成一半了。
- 收割后，天气晴朗干燥，动物们比以往更加努力工作，他们认为整天来回搬运石块是值得的，因为这样一来他们可以把墙再砌高一英尺。
- 鲍克甚至在夜晚也会出来，借着丰收月的月光独自工作一两个小时。
- 在空闲的时候，动物们会绕着尚未完工的风车走来走去，欣赏它坚固而垂直的墙壁，惊叹于他们竟然能建造出如此壮观的建筑。
- 只有老本杰明对风车毫无热情，不过，像往常一样，他只是神秘兮兮地说了句“驴子活得长”。
- 十一月到了，西南风猛烈地吹着。
- 由于天气太湿无法搅拌水泥，建设不得不停止。
- 终于有一个夜晚，狂风如此猛烈，农场的建筑在地基上摇晃，谷仓屋顶被吹掉了几块瓦。
- 鸡群惊恐地醒来，嘎嘎大叫，因为它们都同时梦到远处传来了枪声。
- 早上，动物们从棚里出来，发现旗杆被吹倒了，果园边上的一棵榆树像萝卜一样被拔了出来。
- 他们刚注意到这一点，就听到每只动物都发出了绝望的叫声。
- 他们看到了可怕的一幕。风车变成了废墟。
vocabulary
[
{
"name": "none too",
"trans": [
"adv. 并不；一点也不"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "compensate",
"trans": [
"v. 赔偿，偿付；弥补，补偿；抵消；酬报（某人）"
],
"usphone": "'ˈkɑːmpenseɪt'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "a stretch of",
"trans": [
"一段，一片：指一段连续的区域或时间段。"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "stretch",
"trans": [
"n. 一片；伸展；弹性；舒展；",
"v. 伸展；延伸；伸出；舒展",
"adj. 有弹力的"
],
"usphone": "'stretʃ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "toil",
"trans": [
"v. （长时间地）苦干，辛勤劳作；艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉",
"n. （尤指体力上的）苦工，苦活；网，捕捉野兽的陷阱"
],
"usphone": "'tɔɪl'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "plod",
"trans": [
"vi. 辛勤工作；沉重地走",
"vt. 沉重缓慢地走",
"n. 辛勤工作；沉重的步伐"
],
"usphone": "'plɑːd'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "to and fro",
"trans": [
"来回地：指在一个方向上，然后在相反的方向上，多次来回移动。"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "half-finished",
"trans": [
"adj. 半成品的；半加工的"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "mill",
"trans": [
"n. 磨坊；工厂；磨粉机；面粉厂",
"v. 磨成粉"
],
"usphone": "'mɪl'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "strength",
"trans": [
"n. 强度；力量；实力；力气",
],
"usphone": "'streŋθ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "perpendicularity",
"trans": [
"n. 垂直；直立"
],
"usphone": "'ˌpɜːrpənˌdɪkjəˈlerəti'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "marvel",
"trans": [
"n. 令人惊异的人（或事），奇迹",
"v. 感到惊奇，大为赞叹"
],
"usphone": "'ˈmɑːrv(ə)l'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "nothing beyond",
"trans": [
"没有超出……的范围：表示某事物没有超出某个特定的范围或限制。",
"除此之外什么都没有"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "cryptic",
"trans": [
"adj. 神秘的，含义模糊的；[动] 隐藏的"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "raging",
"trans": [
"adj. 强烈的；狂怒的；激烈的，没完没了的；极其强大的，猛烈的；严重的，剧烈的；<非正式> 巨大的",
"v. 发怒，怒斥；猛烈地继续，激烈进行；迅速蔓延（***e 的现在分词形式）"
],
"usphone": "'ˈreɪdʒɪŋ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "gale",
"trans": [
"n. 大风，狂风；海上风暴；一阵笑声（或哭声等）"
],
"usphone": "'ɡeɪl'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "tile",
"trans": [
"n. 地砖；瓦片；（棋盘游戏的）棋子",
"v. 铺瓦；铺地砖；贴瓷砖；平铺显示"
],
"usphone": "'taɪl'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "squawking",
"trans": [
"v．发出尖厉的叫声，尖叫：指鸟类或其他动物发出的刺耳、响亮的叫声。"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "simultaneously",
"trans": [
"ˌsaɪm(ə)lˈteɪniəsli"
],
"usphone": "'adv. 同时地'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "go off",
"trans": [
"突然爆炸或发出巨响：指突然爆炸或发出巨响。",
"离开，离去：指离开或离去。",
"发出特定的声音：指发出特定的声音。"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "pluck up",
"trans": [
"根除，彻底消除：像拔除根部一样完全消除或根除某物。",
"假装，装出：假装某种外貌或状态，特别是在面对特定的压力或困境时。",
"振作起来，鼓起勇气：在特定的压力下，假装出一种勇敢或坚定的外表。"
],
"usphone": "'plʌk ʌp'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "radish",
"trans": [
"n. 小萝卜（可在色拉中生食）；萝卜植物"
],
"usphone": "'ˈrædɪʃ'",
"ukphone": "''"
}
]