動物農(nóng)場 Animal Farm 第2章(2)

At the beginning they met with much stupidity and apathy.

起初，他們針對的是那些遲鈍和麻木的動物。

Some of the animals talked of the duty of loyalty to Mr. Jones, whom they referred to as "Master,"

這些動物中，有一些還大談什么對瓊斯先生的忠誠的義務(wù)，把他視為“主人”，

or made elementary remarks such as "Mr. Jones feeds us. If he were gone, we should starve to death."

提出很多淺薄的看法，比如“瓊斯先生喂養(yǎng)我們，如果他走了，我們會餓死的”。

Others asked such questions as "Why should we care what happens after we are dead?"

還有的問到這樣的問題：“我們干嘛要關(guān)心我們死后才能發(fā)生的事情?”

or "If this Rebellion is to happen anyway, what difference does it make whether we work for it or not?".

或者問：“如果造反注定要發(fā)生，我們干不干又有什么關(guān)系?”

And the pigs had great difficulty in making them see that this was contrary to the spirit of Animalism.

因而，豬就下了很大的功夫，教他們懂得這些說法都是與動物主義相悖離的。

The stupidest questions of all were asked by Mollie, the white mare.

其中，最愚蠢的問題是那匹白雌馬莫麗提出來的。

The very first question she asked Snowball was: "Will there still be sugar after the Rebellion?"

她向斯諾鮑最先問的問題是：“造反以后還有糖嗎?”

"No," said Snowball firmly. "We have no means of making sugar on this farm.

“沒有”，斯諾鮑堅(jiān)定地說，“我們沒有辦法在莊園制糖。

Besides, you do not need sugar. You will have all the oats and hay you want."

再說，你不需要糖，而你想要的燕麥和草料你都會有的”。

"And shall I still be allowed to wear ribbons in my mane?" asked Mollie.

“那我還能在鬃毛上扎飾帶嗎?”莫麗問。

"Comrade," said Snowball, "those ribbons that you are so devoted to are the badge of slavery.

“同志”，斯諾鮑說，“那些你如此鐘愛的飾帶全是奴隸的標(biāo)記。

Can you not understand that liberty is worth more than ribbons?"

你難道不明白自由比飾帶更有價(jià)值嗎?”

Mollie agreed, but she did not sound very convinced.

莫麗同意了，但聽起來并不十分肯定。

The pigs had an even harder struggle to counteract the lies put about by Moses, the tame raven.

豬面對的更困難的事情，是對付那只馴順了的烏鴉摩西散布的謊言。

Moses, who was Mr. Jones's especial pet, was a spy and a tale-bearer, but he was also a clever talker.

摩西這個(gè)瓊斯先生的特殊寵物，是個(gè)尖細(xì)和饒舌的家伙，還是個(gè)靈巧的說客。

He claimed to know of the existence of a mysterious country called Sugar-candy Mountain, to which all animals went when they died.

他聲稱他知道有一個(gè)叫做“蜜糖山”的神秘國度，那里是所有動物死后的歸宿。

It was situated somewhere up in the sky, a little distance beyond the clouds, Moses said.

摩西說，它就在天空中云層上面的不遠(yuǎn)處。

In Sugar-candy Mountain it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges.

在蜜糖山，每周七天，天天都是星期天，一年四季都有苜蓿，在那里，方糖和亞麻子餅就長在樹籬上。

The animals hated Moses because he told tales and did no work, but some of them believed in Sugar-candy Mountain.

動物們憎惡摩西，因?yàn)樗庹f閑話而不干活，但動物中也有相信蜜糖山的。

And the pigs had to argue very hard to persuade them that there was no such place.

所以，豬不得不竭力爭辯，教動物們相信根本就不存在那么一個(gè)地方。