《伤残的树》用词: reprove, vicarious, desecrate, gregarious, babble, kinsman, hanker for, rapacity, saunter, panoplied

儒琴英语咀嚼《伤残的树》(The Crippled Tree)一书的用词。《伤残的树》是英籍女作家韩素音自传之一。写她的中国父亲在欧洲留学时与她比利时母亲恋爱结合的故事,以及她在童年时期的生活见闻。韩素音的英文造诣在当代英美文坛堪称一流,其精美、清丽、雅洁的文笔早在西方评论界获得公认。

英语文学词汇 Literature Terms

111. reprove
verb [ T ] formal /rɪˈpruːv/
to tell someone that you disapprove of their bad or silly behavior
责备;斥责;指责

When friends reproved him, he replied: “even the Dragon Throne quakes when a foreigners shouts,” for he knew that no magistrate would dare to protect him against the Catholic bishop. ( Page 63)

112. vicarious
adjective [ before noun ]/vɪˈker.i.əs/
experienced as a result of watching, listening to, or reading about the activities of other people, rather than by doing the activities yourself
间接感受到的;间接获得的 (Cambridge)

She had flower shoes on her small feet, the shoes that each bride sews and embroiders for herself, and which male guests peep at covertly, for it is the only thing one sees of a bride, and the perfection of the embroidery, the tininess of the foot, procured them pleasure, vicarious enchantment. ( Page 63)

113. desecrate
verb [ T ]/ˈdes.ə.kreɪt/
to damage or show no respect towards something holy or very much respected
亵渎,玷污

My grandfather Taohung wrote: ” if your son becomes a Christian, kill him, for he will desecrate the graves.” I learnt this maxim almost as soon as I could read. ( Page 63)

114. gregarious
adjective /ɡrɪˈɡer.i.əs/
(of a person) fond of company; sociable.
(人)爱交际的,不喜独处的

On the narrowing horizon of my old man’s mind my happy childhood lingers, a sunrise frolic in a heaven of gregarious shouts. ( Page 64)

115. babble
noun [ U ]/ˈbæb.əl/
the sound of people talking simultaneously; a continuous low or confused sound, especially the sound of several people talking
乱哄哄的声音(尤指多人唧唧喳喳的同时说话声)

Even in the midst of a babble of relatives, I could shut eyes and ears, abstract myself. No one minded inattention in a young scholar; much was forgiven me, because I was brilliant. ( Page 65)

116. kinsman
noun [ C ]/ˈkɪnz.mən/
(in anthropological or formal use) a man who is one of a person’s blood relations; a man who belongs to the same family as someone else
家属;亲属;亲戚

… a China of palaces and bridges, of satins and gardens, of mountains and rivers wildly beautiful, of obedient servants and benevolent kinsmen. ( Page 65)

117. hanker after/for sth
— phrasal verb with hanker verb /ˈhæŋ.kɚ/ (Cambridge)
to have a strong wish for something, especially if you cannot or should not have it
渴望,热切希望拥有(尤指无法得到或不该拥有的东西)

….China was a land of exotic beauty, ancient traditions, and the restless minds of Europeans hankered for the imagined order and serenity of a China that did not exist. ( Page 65)

118. rapacity
noun [ U ]/rəˈpæs.ə.t̬i/
aggressive greed; the quality of having or showing a strong wish to take things for yourself, usually using unfair methods or force:
贪婪; 贪得无厌

….my wife’s people the Whites, had come to fulfill their rapacity, their greed for possession of lands not theirs, their wealth built upon our disastrous misery. (Page 66)

119. saunter
verb & noun
walk in a slow, relaxed manner, without hurry or effort; to walk in a slow and relaxed way, often in no particular direction
闲逛,漫步

At the New Year the four gates if the city were thrown open, throng of people sauntered in and out of the walls to go walking in the fields, to visit the temple of Chuko Liang and in the west city, … ( Page 66)

120. panoplied
1.panoplied – equipped with the complete arms and armor of a warriorpanoplied – equipped with the complete arms and armor of a warrior
2.panoplied – in ceremonial attire and paraphernalia
装饰漂亮的;全套披甲的

The streets were clean with new sand, and in the west city, the Manchu section, the panoplied bannermen on horseback went by, spurring their steeds with embroidered boots, and peacock feathers of their hats stirred in their canter. (page 66)

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