英國語文第六冊(雙語):熱帶地區(qū)(二)(5)

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In the sands of Arabia the camel is a sacred and precious gift. That strong and patient beast of burden not only supplies the wandering Arab with the greater part of his simple wants: it serves also to secure his immemorial independence by placing the desert between the enemy and himself. Thus the Bedouin has ever been indomitable; and while in other parts of the world we find that the possession of an animal—the sable, the sea-otter—has entailed the curse of slavery upon whole nations, the dromedary in Arabia appears as the instrument of lasting freedom.

駱駝是阿拉伯半島的沙漠上神圣珍貴的賜贈，這個強(qiáng)壯而又耐力十足的馱獸不僅為流浪的阿拉伯人提供了大部分的簡易需求，還用沙漠將自己和敵人隔開來確保自己永恒的獨(dú)立，這也奠定了貝多因人不屈不撓的個性，然而在世界的其他地區(qū)我們發(fā)現(xiàn)對黑貂或者海癩的擁有卻將奴隸制的詛咒帶至了全國，阿拉伯的單峰駱駝則成了自由不滅的工具。

As the lion reigns in Africa, so the tiger is lord and master of the Indian jungles. He is a splendid animal—elegantly striped with black on a white and golden ground; graceful in every movement—but of a most sanguinary and cruel nature. The lengthened body resting on short legs, lacks the proud bearing of the lion; while the naked head, the wildly rolling eye, the scarlet tongue constantly lolling from the jaws, and the whole expression of the tiger's physiognomy, indicate an insatiable thirst for blood, a pitiless ferocity, which he wreaks indiscriminately on every living thing that comes within his grasp. In the bamboo jungle on the banks of pools and rivers, he waits for the approaching herd; there he seeks his prey, or rather multiplies his murders, for he often leaves the nylghau still writhing in the agony of death, to throw himself upon new victims, whose bodies he rends with his claws, and then plunges his head into the gaping wound, to absorb in deep and luxurious draughts the blood whose fountains he has just laid open.

正如獅子統(tǒng)治著非洲一樣，老虎也是印第安叢林的主人。它們有著極好的外觀—白色和黃色的皮毛上鑲飾著高貴的黑色。它們舉止優(yōu)雅，然而天性卻最血腥殘忍。它們身長腿短，缺乏獅子的傲氣；但是那赤裸的腦袋、那滴溜溜轉(zhuǎn)動的眼睛、那條在嘴里耷拉著的鮮紅的舌頭、還有整個的面相，無不彰顯著它們對鮮血的貪得無厭，那是一種無情的殘暴。它們會對自己能抓到的所有生物痛下黑手、毫不留情。它們會在竹林的池塘和河岸上等待著牛群的到來，它們尋找著獵物，確切說是放大殺戮，因?yàn)樗鼈儠３G下在死亡中掙扎的羚羊而去攻擊新的受害者，它們會用爪子將之撕裂，之后將頭探入獵物的傷口深處吮吸噴泉般涌出的鮮血。

Nothing can be more delightful than the aspect of a Javanese savanna, to which clumps of noble trees, planted by Nature's hand, impart a park-like character; yet, even during the daytime, the traveller rarely ventures to cross these beautiful wilds without being accompanied by a numerous retinue. The horses frequently stand still, trembling all over, when their road leads them along some denser patch of the jungle, rising like an island from the grassy plain; for their acute scent informs them that a tiger lies concealed in the thicket but a few paces from their path.

沒有什么景色比爪哇稀樹大草原更能讓人愉悅了，那一叢叢高貴挺拔的大樹，是大自然將之種下，賦予其莊園般的特征。然而，即使在白天，旅行者們也會對獨(dú)自穿越這片美麗的荒野心存忌憚。馬兒們在穿行至這片像島嶼般從草原上拔地而起的密林間時也會頻繁駐足而立、渾身顫抖，因?yàn)樗鼈兠翡J的嗅覺告訴它們：不遠(yuǎn)處的灌木叢中潛伏著一只老虎。