- 美国语文读本5（英汉双语图文版）
- (美)威廉·H·麦加菲
- 3092字
- 2020-12-04 15:57:21
LESSON 1 THE GOOD READER 一名优秀的朗读者
1.It is told of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, that, as he was seated one day in his private room, a written petition[1] was brought to him with the request that it should be immediately read.The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other cause, had so dazzled his eyes that he found it diffi cult to make out a single word of the writing.
2.His private secretary happened to be absent; and the soldier who brought the petition could not read.There was a page, or favorite boy servant, waiting in the hall, and upon him the King called.The page was a son of one of the noblemen of the court, but proved to be a very poor reader.
3.In the first place, he did not articulate[2] distinctly.He huddled his words together in the utterance, as if they were syllables of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible.His pronunciation was bad, and he did not modulate[3] his voice so as to bring out the meaning of what he read.Every sentence was uttered with a dismal monotony[4] of voice, as if it did not diff er in any respect from that which preceded it.
4.“Stop!” said the King, impatiently.“Is it an auctioneer’s list of goods to be sold that you are hurrying over? Send your companion to me.” Another page who stood at the door now entered, and to him the King gave the petition.The second page began by hemming and clearing his throat in such an aff ected[5] manner that the King jokingly asked him whether he had not slept in the public garden, with the gate open, the night before.
5.The second page had a good share of self-conceit, however, and so was not greatly confused by the King’s jest.He determined that he would avoid the mistake which his comrade had made.So he commenced reading the petition slowly and with great formality, emphasizing every word, and prolonging the articulation of every syllable.But his manner was so tedious that the King cried out, “Stop! are you reciting a lesson in the elementary sounds? Out of the room! But no: stay! Send me that little girl who is sitting there by the fountain.”
6.The girl thus pointed out by the King was a daughter of one of the laborers employed by the royal gardener; and she had come to help her father weed the flower beds.It chanced that, like many of the poor people in Prussia, she had received a good education.She was somewhat alarmed when she found herself in the King’s presence, but took courage when the King told her that he only wanted her to read for him, as his eyes were weak.
7.Now, Ernestine (for this was the name of the little girl) was fond of reading aloud, and often many of the neighbors would assemble at her father’s house to hear her; those who could not read themselves would come to her, also, with their letters from distant friends or children, and she thus formed the habit of reading various sorts of handwriting promptly and well.
8.The King gave her the petition, and she rapidly glanced through the opening lines to get some idea of what it was about.As she read, her eyes began to glisten, and her breast to heave.“What is the matter?”asked the King; “don’t you know how to read?” “Oh, yes! sire,”she replied, addressing him with the title usually applied to him: “I will now read it, if you please.”
9.The two pages were about to leave the room.“Remain,” said the King.The little girl began to read the petition.It was from a poor widow, whose only son had been drafted[6] to serve in the army, although his health was delicate and his pursuits had been such as to unfi t him for military life.His father had been killed in battle, and the son had a strong desire to become a portrait painter.
10.The writer told her story in a simple, concise[7] manner, that carried to the heart a belief of its truth; and Ernestine read it with so much feeling, and with an articulation so just, in tones so pure and distinct, that when she had fi nished, the King, into whose eyes the tears had started, exclaimed, “Oh! now I understand what it is all about; but I might never have known, certainly I never should have felt, its meaning had I trusted to these young gentlemen, whom I now dismiss from my service for one year, advising them to occupy their time in learning to read.”
11.“As for you, my young lady,” continued the King, “I know you will ask no better reward for your trouble than the pleasure of carrying to this poor widow my order for her son’s immediate discharge[8].Let me see whether you can write as well as you can read.Take this pen, and write as I dictate[9].” He then dictated an order, which Ernestine wrote, and he signed.Calling one of his guards, he bade him go with the girl and see that the order was obeyed.
12.How much happiness was Ernestine the means of bestowing through her good elocution, united to the happy circumstance that brought it to the knowledge of the King! First, there were her poor neighbors, to whom she could give instruction and entertainment.Then, there was the poor widow who sent the petition, and who not only regained her son, but received through Ernestine an order for him to paint the King’s likeness; so that the poor boy soon rose to great distinction[10], and had more orders than he could attend to.Words could not express[11] his gratitude, and that of his mother, to the little girl.
13.And Ernestine had, moreover, the satisfaction of aiding her father to rise in the world, so that he became the King’s chief gardener.The King did not forget her, but had her well educated at his own expense.As for the two pages, she was indirectly the means of doing them good, also; for, ashamed of their bad reading, they commenced studying in earnest, till they overcame the faults that had off ended the King.Both fi nally rose to distinction, one as a lawyer, and the other as a statesman; and they owed their advancement in life chiefl y to their good elocution.
NOTES.—Fredorick II.of Prussia (b.1712, d.1788), or Frederick the Great, as he was called, was one of the greatest of German rulers.He was distinguished for his military exploits, for his wise and just government, and for his literary attainments.He wrote many able works in the French language.Many pleasant anecdotes are told of this king, of which the one given in the lesson is a fair sample.
【中文阅读】
1.有一天，普鲁士国王腓特烈大帝坐在他的私人房间里，士兵呈上一份请愿信，呈请国王立即审阅。当时，国王刚刚从狩猎场返回，刺眼的阳光，或是其他一些原因，影响了他的视力，他发现自己看不清信上的任何一个字。
2.他的私人秘书正巧不在场，而为他送来这份请愿信的士兵也不识字。当时，有一个男侍，或者不如说一位乖巧侍童，正等候在大厅里，于是腓特烈大帝召唤了他。这个男侍是一位宫廷贵族的儿子，但国王很快发现，他是个糟糕的朗读者。
3.首先，他的发音不够清晰。他吐字很含糊，听起来，有些词语音节应该很长，可他总是急不可耐地含糊读完。他的发音也很糟糕，并没有根据这封请愿信的意思而调整他的语调。他所表述的每个句子都是令人沮丧的单调声音，毫无抑扬顿挫之感或音调变化，似乎句子之间不存在任何差别。
4.“够了！”国王不耐烦地打断了他，“这难道是一份你急着卖掉的拍卖货物清单？叫你的同伴过来见我。”于是，正站在门口等候的另一名男侍进来了，国王将请愿书交给他。这个男侍做作地清了清嗓子，然后才开始朗读。国王诙谐地问他，昨晚是不是虽然没在公园里过夜，但睡觉时门却整晚没关。
5.这个男侍相当自负，对国王的俏皮话，似乎不太在意。他决定避免犯下他的同伴所犯的错误，于是，他开始慢慢地、庄重地读这封请愿书，强调每一个字，拉长每一个发音，但他读得如此乏味造作，国王不禁大声呵斥：“够了！你难道是在按基本发音背诵课文吗？给我滚出去！不，等等，留下来！把那个坐在喷泉旁的小女孩给我叫来。”
6.国王说的这名女孩，是宫廷花师所雇佣人的女儿，那天，她是来帮助父亲给宫廷花圃除草的。碰巧的是，像许多普鲁士的穷人一样，她接受过良好的教育。当发现自己正站在国王面前时，她多少有点惊慌，但国王告诉她，由于他眼睛看不清，只希望她能为自己读一封请愿信，她才稍稍鼓起了勇气。
7.欧丝婷（小女孩名字）喜欢大声朗读，她的许多邻居经常聚集在她家中来听她读书；那些不识字的人，会带着他们远方朋友或孩子的来信来找她帮忙。她因此养成了朗读各种各样手写信件的习惯，读得既快速又好听。
8.国王将请愿书交给她，她迅速浏览了开篇几行字，很快理解了信里的意思。当她看这封信的时候，她眼中泪光闪烁，呼吸急速。“怎么了？”国王问，“难道你不知道该怎么读？”“哦，我知道！陛下，”她回答道，用尊敬的语气对他说，“如果您愿意的话，我现在就开始为您读这封信。”
9.那两名男侍想退出房间。“留下。”国王下令。小女孩开始读这封请愿信。这封信是一位穷苦的寡妇写的，她唯一的儿子被征募去军队服役，尽管他身虚体弱，志向亦不在行伍。他的父亲已经在战场上牺牲了，而这个少年还有个梦寐以求的愿望，想成为一名肖像画家。
10.这个寡妇在信里用质朴简洁的语言讲述了她的遭遇，文字中流露出的真切情感令人动容。欧丝婷满怀深情地读着它，她的发音如此清晰，语调如此纯正，抑扬顿挫，以至于当她读完的时候，国王也忍不住流泪了，他惊呼道：“天哪！现在我才明白这封信里说的是什么。但是，如果听信那些年轻贵族的话，我将永远无从了解，准确地说，永远不会像现在这样感受到这封信的深刻含义。现在，我要将那些家伙辞退一年，让他们好好学学如何朗读。”
11.“至于你，我的孩子，”国王继续说，“我要派你去向这位穷苦的寡妇传达我的旨意：她的儿子不用服兵役了。我想，为她传达这样一个令人高兴的消息，大概是对你为我读信的最好奖赏。来吧，让我看看你是否能准确书写，像你的阅读那么棒。拿着这支笔，写下我的口谕。”接着，他口述了一份命令，欧丝婷将它写下来，国王随后签上了自己的名字。他叫来一个卫兵，吩咐他跟着这个女孩去传达国王的旨意。
12.通过感情真挚的阅读，让国王获悉了民情，欧丝婷简直快乐极了！首先，那些贫困的邻居们从她那儿得到了指导与安慰。其次，呈送请愿信的可怜寡妇不仅重新与儿子一起生活，而且还从欧丝婷那里得到国王的旨意，安排她的儿子为国王画像。这个穷苦孩子很快就出人头地，得到很多让他画像的订单，忙都忙不过来了，千言万语都无法表达出这位少年和他的寡母对小姑娘欧丝婷的深深感激之情。
13.不仅如此，欧丝婷的父亲后来被提拔为国王的首席园丁，在世界园林界赢得了声誉，这一点，让欧丝婷非常自豪。国王没有忘记她，花钱让她接受了良好的教育。至于那两名男侍，他们也间接从她身上受益。由于为自己糟糕的朗读能力而感到羞愧，他们开始认真学习，直到克服了原先触怒国王的那些阅读障碍。他们最终也出人头地了，一位做了律师，另一位成了政治家，他们将所获得的成就归功于良好的演说能力。
【注释】
[1] Petition, a formal request.
[2] Articulate, to utter the elementary sounds.
[3] Modulate, to vary or infl ect.
[4] Monotony, lack of variety.
[5] Aff ected, unnatural and silly.
[6] Drafted, selected by lot.
[7] Concise, brief and full of meaning.
[8] Discharge, release.
[9] Dictate, to utter so that another may write down.
[10] Distinction, honorable and notable position.
[11] Express, to make known the feelings of.