Animal Farm
Chapter 9
But if there were hardships to be borne, they were partly offset by the fact that life nowadays had a greater dignity than it had had before.
There were more songs, more speeches, more processions.
Napoleon had commanded that once a week there should be held something called a Spontaneous Demonstration, the object of which was to celebrate the struggles and triumphs of Animal Farm.
At the appointed time the animals would leave their work and march round the precincts of the farm in military formation, with the pigs leading, then the horses, then the cows, then the sheep, and then the poultry.
The dogs flanked the procession and at the head of all marched Napoleon's black cockerel.
Boxer and Clover always carried between them a green banner/ marked with the hoof and the horn/ and the caption, “Long live Comrade Napoleon!”
Afterwards there were recitations of poems composed in Napoleon's honour, and a speech by Squealer giving particulars of the latest increases in the production of foodstuffs, and on occasion a shot was fired from the gun.
The sheep were the greatest devotees of the Spontaneous Demonstration, and if anyone complained (as a few animals sometimes did, when no pigs or dogs were near) that they wasted time and meant a lot of standing about in the cold, the sheep were sure to silence him with a tremendous bleating of “Four legs good, two legs bad!”
But by and large the animals enjoyed these celebrations.
They found it comforting to be reminded that, after all, they were truly their own masters and that the work they did/ was for their own benefit.
So that, what with the songs, the processions, Squealer's lists of figures, the thunder of the gun, the crowing of the cockerel, and the fluttering of the flag, they were able to forget that their bellies were empty, at least part of the time.
translation
- 不过，如果生活中还有什么艰难要承受的话，也在一定程度上被如今生活更具尊严这一点所弥补。
- 有了更多的歌曲、更多的演讲、更多的游行。
- 拿破仑下令每周要举行一次所谓的‘自发示威’，目的是庆祝动物农庄的斗争与胜利。
- 在规定的时间，动物们会停止工作，按军事队形绕着农庄四周行进，走在最前面的是猪，然后是马，其次是牛、羊，最后是家禽。
- 队伍两侧由狗护卫，最前方走着拿破仑的那只黑色小公鸡。
- 拳击手和三叶总是一起扛着一面绿色旗帜，上面印有蹄子和角的标志，标语写着：‘拿破仑同志万岁！
- 随后会有为歌颂拿破仑而作的诗歌朗诵，以及由 Squealer 发表的演讲，详细汇报最新的粮食产量增长情况，有时还会鸣放一枪以示庆祝。
- 羊群是‘自发示威’最狂热的拥护者，如果有谁抱怨（有时确实有少数动物在周围没有猪或狗的时候会抱怨）说这些活动既浪费时间，又让他们在寒冷中站上半天，羊群一定会用震耳欲聋的‘四条腿好，两条腿坏！’来让他闭嘴。
- 但总的来说，动物们还是喜欢这些庆典的。
- 他们觉得被提醒自己毕竟是真正的主人，自己所做的工作也是为了自己的利益，这让他们感到安慰。
- 因此，有了歌曲、游行、尖叫者列出的数据、枪声的轰鸣、公鸡的啼鸣和旗帜的飘扬，他们至少在一部分时间里能够忘记自己的肚子是空的。
vocabulary
[
{
"name": "borne",
"trans": [
"v. 忍受；负荷；结果实；生子女（bear 的过去分词）"
],
"usphone": "'bɔːrn'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "partly",
"trans": [
"adv. 在某种程度上，部分地"
],
"usphone": "'ˈpɑːrtli'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "offset",
"trans": [
"v. 补偿，抵销，抵消；衬托出；使偏离直线方向，使与……不在一条直线上；（墨水，刚印好的页面）转印下一页",
"n. 抵消物，补偿；偏离量，偏离距离；（测绘）支距；（电压或电流的）偏离；侧枝，短匐茎；（山的）支脉；（建筑）壁阶；胶印法",
"adj. 胶印的，平版印刷的；偏离中心的，偏置的"
],
"usphone": "'ˈɔːfset'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "procession",
"trans": [
"n. （人或车辆的）行列，队伍；一连串的人（或物）；（神学）圣灵流出"
],
"usphone": "'prəˈseʃ(ə)n'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "spontaneous",
"trans": [
"adj. 自发的，非筹划安排的；（程序，事件）自发的，自然的；（人）天真率直的；（生物）（机体活动）本能的"
],
"usphone": "'spɑːnˈteɪniəs'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "demonstration",
"trans": [
"n. 演示，展示；游行，示威；证实；表达，表露"
],
"usphone": "'ˌdemənˈstreɪʃ(ə)n'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "march",
"trans": [
"v. 齐步走，行军；快步走；强迫（某人）一起走，押送；游行示威；进行，进展",
"n. 三月（******）；示威游行；行进，行军；稳步发展；进行曲"
],
"usphone": "'mɑːrtʃ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "precinct",
"trans": [
"n. 选区；管理区；管辖区"
],
"usphone": "'ˈpriːsɪŋkt'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "military",
"trans": [
"adj. 军事的，军队的；陆军的；军人般的，军人作风的",
"n. 军人，军方"
],
"usphone": "'ˈmɪləteri'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "poultry",
"trans": [
"n. 家禽；家禽肉"
],
"usphone": "'ˈpoʊltri'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "flank",
"trans": [
"n. 胁腹；（军队或球队的）翼侧，侧面；（大型物体的）一侧，一边",
"v. 侧面有；位于……的两侧；侧攻"
],
"usphone": "'flæŋk'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "marked with",
"trans": [
"标记为",
"以……为特征"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "caption",
"trans": [
"n. （图片的）说明文字；（电影或电视的）字幕；（法律文件的）开端部分",
"v. 给……加文字说明"
],
"usphone": "'ˈkæpʃ(ə)n'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "recitations",
"trans": [
"背诵"
],
"usphone": "'ˌresɪˈteɪʃənz'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "particular",
"trans": [
"adj. 详细的，详尽的；特定的，某一的；格外的，特别的；讲究的，挑剔的；特殊的，独特的；",
"n. 一点，一个细节； 详细资料，详情（particulars）；（哲学）（与普遍性相对的）特殊性"
],
"usphone": "'pərˈtɪkjələr'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "foodstuff",
"trans": [
"n. 食品，食物；粮食，食料"
],
"usphone": "'ˈfuːdstʌf'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "on occasion",
"trans": [
"偶尔，有时候"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "devotee",
"trans": [
"n. 信徒；爱好者"
],
"usphone": "'ˌdevəˈtiː'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "stand about",
"trans": [
"闲立无事"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "by and large",
"trans": [
"总的来说，大体上，一般而言"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "crow",
"trans": [
"n. （公鸡或像公鸡的）啼叫声；乌鸦；克劳人（分布在美国西部的美洲土著居民）；<非正式>妇人，丑妇",
"v. 欢叫，高兴地说；自鸣得意"
],
"usphone": "'kroʊ'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "belly",
"trans": [
"n. 腹部；肚子；（物体的）圆形或凸起部分；腹部…形的",
"adj. 有腹的；膨胀的；凸起的；张满的",
"v. 胀满；鼓起"
],
"usphone": "'ˈbeli'",
"ukphone": "''"
},
{
"name": "at least",
"trans": [
"至少：表示最小的数量、程度或条件。"
],
"usphone": "''",
"ukphone": "''"
}
]