作者：（法）维克多·雨果
出版社：航空工业出版社
格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT
床头灯英语5000词纯英文：巴黎圣母院试读：
版权信息书名：床头灯英语5000词纯英文：巴黎圣母院作者：（法）维克多·雨果排版：昷一出版社：航空工业出版社出版时间：2011-01-01ISBN：9787801838919本书由中航出版传媒有限责任公司授权北京当当科文电子商务有限公司制作与发行。— · 版权所有 侵权必究 · —前 言◆英语是语言的帝国
全球60亿人中,有3. 8亿人的母语是英语,2. 5亿人的第二母语是英语, 12. 3亿人学习英语,33. 6亿人和英语有关。全世界电视节目的75%、电子邮件的80%、网络的85%、软件源代码的100%都使用英语。40~ 50年后,全球将有50%的人精通英语。全球约有6000种语言,21世纪末其中的90%将消亡。届时英语作为主导语言的地位将进一步得到提升。
目前中国大约有4亿人在学英语,超过英国和美国的人口总和,这是中国努力与时代接轨、与国际接轨的一个重要标志,大量中国人熟练掌握国际通用语言是中华民族走向繁荣富强的必要保障。
◆全民学英语运动
中国近20年来兴起了一场轰轰烈烈的全民学英语的运动。其规模之大,范围之广,古今中外前所未有。
学生、教师、公务员、公司职员、商店店员、出租车司机等,各行各业,都在学英语。其学习过程的漫长,也令人感叹。从幼儿园、小学、中学、大学、硕士、博士,到毕业工作,出国,直至退休,一直都在学,英语的学习可谓是终生性的。
◆英语学了多年之后的尴尬
中国人学了多年英语之后,如果冷静地反省一下多年努力的成效,不难发现自己的英语水平令人十分尴尬。这里将具体表现列举一二。
●读任何原版的英语杂志,如Times(时代)、Newsweek(新闻周刊)、The Economists(经济学家),或者原版小说,如Jane Eyre(简·爱)、Gone with the Wind(飘)等,必须借助词典,因为我们随时都可能读不懂。即便查阅大部头的词典,我们常常还是不能理解文意,将文意理解得面目全非。最为可悲的是我们中很多人已经屈从于这种一知半解的阅读状态,甚至有人还荒唐地认为英语本身就是一门模模糊糊的语言,这样当然就更谈不上尝到读原汁原味英语的乐趣了。
●学习和探索专业知识的主流载体仍然是汉语。但我们必须清楚:整个现代科学体系基本是用英语来描述和表达的,译成汉语会有一定程度的失真,而且必然导致滞后。
●英语表达是一个更大的问题。主要体现在用英语写作以及用英语深入交谈上。事实上,大多数人只能用简单的英语来进行粗略的表述,无法顺利地参加国际学术会议或者进行国际贸易谈判。即便是学术水平很高的专家,在国际刊物上发表论文时,只能请仅懂英语不懂专业的人翻译。一篇在很多老外眼中不伦不类的论文就这样产生了。客观地讲,即使采用不太高的标准来衡量,在中国英语学习的失败率也应该在99%以上。
◆来自西方的教育理念
中国人读英语有个缺点,学习缺乏渐进性。他们习惯于读满篇都是生词的文章,以为这样“收获”才最大。结果他们的阅读不断地被查词典打断,一小时只能看两三页,读起来自然索然无味,最后只能作罢。这是中国人学英语的通病!读的文章几乎全部达到了语言学家所说的“frustration level”(使学生感到沮丧的程度)。
西方的语言学家和心理学家对英语学习者的阅读状况进行了大量的研究,结论令人非常吃惊:最适宜阅读的难度比我们长期所处的、我们所习惯的、我们头脑中定位的难度要低得多!只有文中生词量小到足以保证阅读的持续性时,语言吸收的效果才最好,语言水平的提高也最快。举个形象的例子:上山是从峭壁直接艰难攀登还是走平缓的盘山路好?显然,能够从峭壁登顶者寥寥无几!即使其能勉强成功,也远远落后于沿坦途行进者。
◆犹太民族的启示
曾经有人说:全世界的金钱装在美国人的口袋里,而美国人的金钱却装在犹太人的脑袋里。据统计,犹太人占世界总人口约0. 3%,却掌握着世界经济命脉。在全世界最富有的企业家中,犹太人占50%以上。无论是过去和现在,在知名的经济巨头中犹太人占有绝对的比例。如第一个亿万巨富、石油大王洛克菲勒,“美国股神”巴菲特,华尔街的缔造者摩根,花旗集团董事长威尔,“打开个人计算机直销大门”的戴尔,坐在全球软件头把交椅“甲骨文公司”的艾利森,华纳电影公司创办人华纳,电影世界的领头羊斯皮尔伯格,他们都是犹太人。
犹太人成就的背后就是他们的噬书习惯。联合国教科文组织调查表明,全世界读书最多的民族是犹太民族。其中以色列在人均拥有图书和出版社以及每年人均读书的比例上,超过了世界上任何一个国家,成为世界之最,平均每人每年读书64本。与之反差很大的是中华民族,平均每人每年读书0. 7本。这之中有阅读习惯的中国人虽占5%,却掌握着中国80%的财富。一句话,阅读,特别是经典名著的阅读,是一个人和民族崛起的最根本方法。
阅读不能改变人生的起点,但它可以改变人生的终点。不论出身高贵与卑贱,阅读都能改变人生的坐标和轨迹。
◆通往英语自由境界的阶梯
英语的自由境界指的是用英语自由地学习和工作;自由地阅读英文原版书刊和资料;自如地用英语表达和交流;自然地用英语进行思维;自主地用英语撰写论文和著作。
一个英语达到自由境界的人,他的生活也常常是令人羡慕的。清晨随手拿起一份国外的报纸或者杂志,一边喝着浓浓的咖啡,一边轻松、惬意地阅读。可以用英语自由地进行实质性的交谈和撰写书面材料。能够自由地在英文网页上荡漾,能够随时了解国外的最新科技动态或最新的商贸行情。自己的生存空间不再受到国界的限制,无论是交友、择偶,还是发展自己的事业,都有更宽的、跨国度的选择。
有一定英语基础的读者要想“修成正果”,达到英语的自由境界,最缺少的就是可读之书。市面上的英语读物粗粗看来似乎琳琅满目,但稍一细读就会发现这些语料要么是难度过低,词汇量只有一、两千词的相当于中学水平的简写本;要么是令人望而生畏、读之更是倍受挫折的原著,语料难度脱节甚至是“代沟”,严重地阻碍了英语中高级学习者对英语的掌握。床头灯英语5000词系列填补了这方面的空白,为读者打造了到达英语自由境界的阶梯。
◆本套读物的特色———真正适合中高级英语学习者的原汁原味英语读物
●难度适中:本套读物用英语中核心5000词写成,对于难以理解之处均有注释,使你躺在床上不用翻词典就能顺利地读下去,在不知不觉中走向英语自由境界。
●语言地道:美国作家执笔,用流畅的现代英语写成,并保留了原著的语言特色。
●选材经典:皆为一生中不可不读的作品,读之可提高英语水平、积淀西方文化和提高人生境界。
●情节曲折:让你徜徉在一个又一个迥异奇妙的书中世界。……
◆“床头灯”英语系列读物的使用方法:
●整个床头灯系列包含儿童、中学生、3000词、5000词、6500词等不同层次。你可以选择不用查字典你就能保证阅读的持续性的级别进入,这个级别最少读30本,体会一下用英语读懂名著的感觉———英语形成语感、自信心增强。然后乘胜追击,读下一个级别的,每个级别读30本以上。
●使用床头灯英语学习读本(英汉对照版)练写作:看书中汉语部分,然后你试着翻译成英文,再把你翻译的英文与书上的英文对比。
本套读物是通向英语自由王国的钥匙,是通往英语最高境界的签证。在中国走向世界的道路上,英语水平决定工资水平!让每天阅读半小时“床头灯”成为你生活中的一部分。我相信这才是英语成功的真谛。
与股神巴菲特吃一顿午餐要花几百万美金,这使人们注意到了与名人交流的昂贵。而与比巴菲特更著名的大家近距离沟通,只需要去读“床头灯”。王若平 于北京人物关系表
La Esmeralda拉·爱斯梅拉达:贝内特先生的大女儿
Quasimodo伽西莫多:圣母院敲钟人
Dom Claude Frollo堂·克洛德·孚罗洛:圣母院副主教
Phoebus弗比斯:国王弓箭队队长
Pierre Gringoire皮埃尔·甘果瓦:贫穷而无能的迂腐诗人
The Sacked Nun,Sister Gudule(or Paquette la Chantefleurie)隐修女居第尔(巴格特·拉·尚特孚勒):爱斯梅拉达之母
Clopin Trouillefou克洛潘·图意弗:“奇迹王国”国王,率领群丐攻打圣母院营救爱斯梅拉达
Jehan Frollo若望·孚罗洛:副主教的弟弟,攻打圣母院时为伽西莫多所杀
Fleur-de-Lys孚勒尔·德·莉丝:贵族小组,弗比斯的未婚妻
Jacques Charmolue雅克·沙尔莫吕:副主教的下属
King Louis XI国王路易十一:下旨绞死爱斯梅拉达故事梗概
吉卜赛女郎爱斯梅拉达美丽、纯洁而善良,在巴黎街头卖艺为生。道貌岸然的圣母院副主教出于占有欲望,指使敲钟人伽西莫多将她掳来,却为军官弗比斯所救,伽西莫多被处以笞刑。刑场上,爱斯梅拉达不计前仇,在世人的鄙夷中为奇丑的伽西莫多送水解渴,使他刹那间沐浴在爱与美的圣洁光环中,第一次体味到人间的温情。伽西莫多从此将自己的全部爱意乃至生命寄托在她身上,不离不弃,无怨无求。姑娘却出于对异性的盲目美化,痴恋上了只是觊觎她美貌的弗比斯。副主教的欲望愈演愈烈,达到了“得不到就要毁灭”的地步,他刺伤弗比斯,嫁祸爱斯梅拉达,将她判处死刑,不料姑娘却在临刑前被伽西莫多救进圣母院避难。巴黎贫民出于义愤,攻打圣母院营救爱斯梅拉达,却先被不明真相的伽西莫多阻拦抵挡,后被国王军队屠杀镇压。副主教趁乱劫走爱斯梅拉达,当他的淫欲再次被严辞拒绝后,便无情地将她送上绞架处死。伽西莫多发现真相,杀死副主教,在姑娘遗体旁抚尸殉情。
爱斯梅拉达赢得了副主教、伽西莫多、弗比斯和诗人甘果瓦的“爱”,四个男人由于本质不同,对她的“爱”也大相径庭———占有欲望之爱、圣洁仰慕之爱、肉体淫欲之爱和虚无诗化之爱。四种“爱”均未建立在双方精神和肉体高度契合的基础之上,因而都不是真正意义上的爱情;而爱斯梅拉达对弗比斯的爱也只是盲目臆造之爱,她爱上了自己创造的一个幻想:一个拥有迷人外表和善良内心的男人、一个完美得根本不存在的男人。《巴黎圣母院》中没有真正完美的爱情,有的只是一个残酷而无奈的现实,这便是作者在《序言》中所说的“命运”。PREFACE
A few years ago, while visiting Notre Dame, the author of this book found,in an obscure corner of one of the towers, the following word, engraved by hand upon the wall—’A N A T K H.
That it had been a hand of the Middle Ages which had inscribed them there, the author is certain, but it was the fatal and melancholy meaning contained in the word which especially struck the author deeply.
He questioned himself. He sought to define who could have been that soul in torment which had not been willing to quit this world without leaving this stigma of crime or unhappiness upon the brow of the ancient church.
The man who wrote that word upon the wall disappeared from the midst of the generations of many, many centuries ago; the word, in its turn, has been removed from the wall of the church; the church will, perhaps,itself soon disappear from the face of the earth.
It is upon this word that this book is founded.
March, 1831.
注释
Notre Dame巴黎圣母院。位于巴黎市中心塞纳河上的斯德岛,一一六三年兴建,一三四五年完工,有九十米的主尖塔及其两侧六十九米高的钟楼。
obscure[əb'skjuə]adj.不易看清的,隐藏的;不著名的。如:Thomas Hardy’s novel, Jude the obscure
’ANATKH:希腊文,意为命运
inscribe[in'skraib]v.(在某物上)写,题(尤指作正式纪念)
the fatal and melancholy meaning“命运”一词由本书主人公副主教有感于善终要被恶毁灭而在自己良知未泯时刻下的。爱斯梅拉达的善良、无知、盲信与最后被绞杀,伽西莫多的丑陋、忠诚与执着,副主教良知与邪恶的内心冲突以及最后良知被邪恶完全取代等均是必然的,均是不可改变的、宿命的(fatal),而其中的过程令人扼腕,可谓字字泣血,故又是悲惨的(melanchly)。作者对这个悲惨且不合理的“命运”深恶痛绝,却又无计可施,只能寄希望于时间———时间的流逝使一切趋于毁灭,其中必将包括这“命运”———于是便有了《序言》中的第四段。
torment['tɔːment] n.折磨;造成折磨、痛苦的人或事物。如:the boy is a real torment.
stigma['stiցmə]n.耻辱的标志,“命运”一词有浓厚的人文主义色彩,这在崇尚神学的中世纪,是为人不齿的。CHAPTER 1A Play
Three hundred and forty-eight years, six months, and nineteen days ago, the Parisians awoke to the sound of all the bells of the city ringing.
The sixth of January,1482, is not, however, a day of which history has preserved the memory. There was nothing notable in the event which thus set the bells and the bourgeois of Paris in an excited state from early morning. It was merely the Epiphany and the Feast of Fools.
On that day, there was to be a great fire on the Place de Grève and a play at the Palais de Justice.So the crowd of citizens, having closed their houses and shops, thronged from every direction towards the two spots designated.
Those who crowded at the law courts did so because they knew that the Flemish ambassadors, who had arrived two days previously for a visit with the king, intended to be present at the presentation of the play and at the election of the Pope of the Fools, which was also to take place in the grand hall.
It was no easy matter on that day to force one’s way into that grand hall. Thousands of people thronged the windows, the doors, the roofs, gazing at the palace. Hence, discomfort,impatience, weariness, the liberty of a day of cynicism and foolishness, had already imparted a harsh and bitter accent to the noise of these people who were shut in. The time for the play to begin had already long passed, and a storm, which was only rumbling in the distance as yet, was floating on the surface of this crowd. It was Jehan Frollo, a young scholar, who struck the first spark from it.
“The play,or else, my advice is that we should hang the guards of the courts,”he cried.
“Well said,”replied the people.
A grand applause followed. The four poor guards standing near the stage turned pale and exchanged glances. The crowd hurled itself towards them, and they already saw the frail wooden railing, which separated them from it, giving way and bending before the pressure of the throng.
It was a critical moment.
Just then, the curtain of the dressing room was raised and a person appeared, the mere sight of whom suddenly stopped the crowd. The personage, trembling in every limb, advanced to the edge of the stage, bowing numerous times. In the meanwhile, peace had gradually been restored.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,”he said,“Today, you will have the treat of seeing a most wonderful play. As for myself, I shall be acting in the part of Jupiter. We thank you for your patience. As soon as his eminence, the cardinal, arrives, we shall begin.”
“Begin instantly! The play immediately!”shrieked the people.“Hang the actors!”
Poor Jupiter, tired, frightened, pale beneath his rouge, bowed and trembled and stammered:“His eminence—the ambassadors—.”He did not know what to say. In truth, he was afraid of being hung. Hung by the people for waiting, hung by the cardinal for not having waited. He saw between the two dilemmas only a gallows.
Luckily, someone came to rescue him from his embarrassment, and assume the responsibility.
An individual, dressed in black, who was standing in the free space around the stage and whom no one had yet caught sight of,approached the stage and made a sign to the poor sufferer.
“Michel Giborne!”
“Yes?”said Jupiter.
“Begin at once,”continued the other,“Satisfy the people.”
Jupiter breathed once more.
“Ladies and gentlemen,”he cried,at the top of his lungs to the crowd, which continued to shout at him,“we are going to begin at once.”
“Hooray for Jupiter!”shouted the crowd.
The hand clapping was deafening, and Jupiter had already withdrawn under his curtain, while the hall still trembled with applause.
In the meanwhile, the personage who had so magically turned the storm into dead calm had modestly retreated, only to be plucked by the sleeve by two young women, who had heard his words to Jupiter.
“Sir,”said one of them.
The man approached the railing that separated him from the crowd.
“Yes?”he asked, with eagerness.
“What is the play to be performed?”the same woman asked shyly.
“The Good Judgment of Madame the Virgin. A morality.”
“Oh, I so liked the one two years ago,”exclaimed the other girl,“The singing was wonderful. Will this one have singing?”
“Well-no. But it will be better than the one to which you refer,”said the man, seeming annoyed.
“Do you promise us that this mystery will be fine?”
“Without doubt,”he replied; then he added, with a certain emphasis,“I am the author of it.”
“Truly?”said the young girls, quite surprised.
“Truly!”replied the poet.“My name is Pierre Gringoire.”
Just then the music of high and low instruments immediately became audible from the interior of the stage; the curtain was raised; four persons in colorful clothing and painted faces emerged from it and began an introduction, which we gladly spare the reader.
In that crowd there was no ear more attentive, no heart that beat more excitedly than that of the author, Pierre Gringoire, who had not been able to resist, a moment before, the joy of telling his name to two pretty girls.
Unfortunately, his proudest moment was soon interrupted when the door of the reserved gallery opened,and the ringing voice of the usher announced abruptly,“His eminence, the cardinal!”
The entrance of his eminence upset the audience. All heads turned towards the gallery. It was no longer possible to hear one’s self.“The cardinal! The cardinal!”repeated all mouths. The play suddenly stopped short.
The great man directed his course slowly towards his velvet chair with the air of thinking of something quite different. His staff invaded the gallery in his train, not without causing increased noise and curiosity among the audience.
Once the cardinal and his staff were seated, the usher announced the arrival of the representatives of the Duke of Austria, the Flemish ambassadors. A deep si-lence settled over the assembly as the forty-eight ambassadors entered and took their places in the gallery.
Among the newcomers, one man stood out especially. He had a lofty stature, with a large face and broad shoulders. Presuming that he was some groom who had stolen in, the usher stopped him.
“Hold, my friend, you cannot pass!”
The man shouldered him aside.
“What does this fool want with me?”said he very loudly.
“Your name?”demanded the usher.
“Jacques Coppenole.”
“Your title?”
“Tailor.”
The usher recoiled. One might bring one’s self to announce lawyers and town councilmen, but a tailor was too much.
The cardinal was on thorns. All the people were staring and listening.
“Usher,”called the cardinal, aloud,“Just announce him as clerk and allow the man entrance.”
Coppenole heard this, however, and protested.
“No! Thanks all the same, but there’s no shame in being a tailor! and I’ll not make my entrance under any other title!”
Laughter and applause burst forth from the crowd. The arrogant air of the Coppenole tailor, by humiliating the cardinal and his court, had touched in all these common souls that latent sentiment of dignity still vague and indistinct in the fifteenth century.
The large man made his way past the usher and took his seat among the other ambassadors.
Meanwhile, the cardinal bit his lip, and turned toward the stage. There stood a small group of actors and one very nervous and pale man, dressed in black. This man was, of course, Pierre Gringoire. From the moment of the cardinal’s entrance, Gringoire had never ceased to tremble for the safety of his play. At first he had begged the actors, who had stopped in suspense, to continue, and to raise their voices; then, perceiving that no one was listening, he had stopped them.
The cardinal, discovering that the play had been interrupted by his entrance, said aloud:“Continue, continue. Never mind that I’ve missed the beginning. I’ll be reading my book all the while, anyway.”
The play then, much to Gringoire’s relief, continued on from where it had stopped.
It was,in fact,an ingenious and quite dramatic composition. Nevertheless,all was over; none of the beautiful lines had been felt nor understood by the audience. On the entrance of the cardinal, one would have said that an invisible magic thread had suddenly drawn all glances from the stage to the gallery.
With what bitterness did Gringoire watch his masterpiece crumble away bit by bit! Then the final blow occurred.
Master Coppenole, the tailor, rose and,interrupting the play, addressed the entire hall:
“Ladies and gents of Paris! I don’t know whether that is what you call a play, but it is not amusing. I was promised a feast of fools, with the election of a pope. We have our Pope of Fools in my country also, but this is the way we manage it; we collect a crowd like this one here, then each person in turn passes his head through a hole and makes a face at the rest; the one who makes the ugliest,is elected pope. Would you like to make your pope after the fashion of my country?At all events,it will be less wearisome than to watch this play.”
Gringoire would have liked to argue, but rage deprived him of words. Moreover, the suggestion of the popular tailor was received with such enthusiasm that all resistance was useless. Gringoire simply hid his face between his two hands.
注释
Epiphany[i'pifəni]n.显现节,主显节(每年一月六日纪念耶稣显灵的节日)。
Place de Grève格雷沃广场,位于塞纳河的河滩上,以缓慢坡度朝塞纳河倾斜。
the Palais de Justice司法宫,位于塞纳河环绕的西岱岛,是法国历史上最早修建的王宫,后成为巴黎各级法院的办公场所。现在法国最高法院就设在这里。一进司法宫则是用精美雕塑装饰的大厅,这原是法国国王的接待大厅,也是巴黎民众在节假日狂欢的场所,本书故事即发生在这里。
Flemish['flemiʃ]当时欧洲的一个旧管区,后分属比利时和法国,当时与法国国王的关系好比是我国春秋时代的诸侯国与周天子。
cynicism['sinisizəm]n.愤世嫉俗的态度。另有cynic(古希腊哲学)犬儒学派成员。
shut sb./oneself in(sth.)将某人(自己)关在某处。如:We are shut in by the hills.
hurl[həːl]v.猛扑、猛扔
treat[triːt]n.乐事、乐趣(尤指意料之外或难得的);(习语)a dutch treat各自付费、均摊的聚餐、娱乐等;trick or treat万圣节前夕儿童挨家索要糖果的用语,若不给则搞恶作剧。
Jupiter朱庇特,希腊神话中掌管宇宙的大神,即罗马神话中的宙斯;另有含义为“木星”。
eminence['eminəns]n.阁下(对红衣主教的敬称)
cardinal['kɑːdinəl]n.红衣主教;另有:archbishop['ɑːtʃ'biʃəp]n.大主教
play[plei]n.圣迹剧,中世纪人根据圣母、耶稣或圣徒们的事迹写成的一种戏剧。
dilemma[di'lemə]n.进退维谷的困境;习语:on the horn of a dilemma进退维谷
gallows['ցæləuz]n.绞架
approach[ə'prəutʃ]v.走近
at the top of one’s lungs以最大音量、嗓门(说,喊)
Hooray[hu'rei]n.叫好声
deafening[defniŋ]adj.震耳欲聋的;习语:turn a deaf ear to(sb.sth.)对…充耳不闻,不肯听取某人的说某物的事。deaf-aid助听器
pluck[plʌk]v.拽,拉;pluck at sth.
morality[mɔːræləti]n.道德寓意剧,这是现代戏剧的雏形,在本书背景的中世纪很是普及,另外还有“神秘剧”,“奇迹剧”。
spare[spɛə]v.饶恕,宽恕。此处指introduction(开场白)佶屈聱牙,不堪入耳。作者不转述给读者,自然是免了耳朵的一大劫难。
abruptly[ə'brʌptli]adv.突然地,意外地
short[ʃɔːt]adv.突然地,中止地
with the air of doing一副正在干某事的样子
invade[in'veid]v.涌入(多对目的地有不好的影响)
lofty['lɔ(ː)fti]adj.(思想、目标)高尚、崇高的
groom[ցrum,ցruːm]n.马夫
hold[həuld]v.保持原位,不能移动
title[taitl]n.(人名前表示地位、职业、婚否等的)称号,头衔,职称,称谓
recoil[ri'kɔil]v.退缩,犹豫;recoil on sb.(指有害行动)还治其人之身,报应
bring one’s self to do sth.使自己做出决定,使自己宣布。如:The jury brought it’s self to approve a verdict.
be on thorns(习语)出于烦恼、尴尬的境地
burst forth猛力冲出,爆出
latent['leitənt]adj.潜在的,不活跃的
vague[veiց]adj.含糊的,不明确的
bite one’s lip咬自己的嘴唇,形容竭力掩饰尴尬的内心。
in supense暂停,停止
all the while(习语)在与此同时的所有时间里,可见教皇对戏毫不关心,知识分子的尴尬境地可窥豹一斑。
to Gringoire’s relief,to one’s relief使某人松了口气的是…
ingenious[in'dʒiːnjəs]adj.别出心裁、有新意的
crumble away渐渐垮掉,走向衰落
bit by bit一点一点地,逐渐的
gent[ցent,dʒent]n.(古代或幽默的称谓)绅士,先生,又有the gents男厕所
pope[pəup]n.(天主教)教皇,最高统治者
make a face做鬼脸
after the fashion of仿效…习俗、规矩等
at all events无论怎样
hid his face between his two hands双手掩面CHAPTER 2Quasimodo
In the twinkling of an eye, all was ready to execute Coppenole’s idea. The little chapel situated opposite the stage was selected for the scene of the grinning match. All contestants were to stick their heads through a small, glassless window there.
In less than an instant, the chapel was crowded with competitors.
During the uproar, the cardinal retired, with all his staff, under the pretext of business and prayer. The Flemish ambassadors remained, however. And from then on, the field was open to all foolishness.
The face-making began. The first face which appeared at the opening evoked inextinguishable laughter from the crowd. A second and third face followed, then another and another; and the laughter and delight went on increasing. All was universal joy. The grand hall was no longer anything but a vast furnace of rudeness and merry-making.
As for Gringoire, the first moment of depression having passed, he had regained his composure. A fancy seized him to go and appear in his turn at the window of the chapel, were it only for the pleasure of making a nasty face at that ungrateful people.
“No,”he thought to himself,“that would not be worthy of us; no, vengeance! I won’t waste my time and energy any further on these uncultured fools.”
Suddenly, a great cry of‘Hooray’! went up among the crowd. The Pope of the Fools had been elected.
There was, in fact, a marvelously hideous face which was beaming at that moment through the hole in the rose window. This face outdid all others before it by a long way. Master Coppenole himself applauded. We shall not try to give the reader an idea of that oddlyshaped nose, that horseshoe mouth; that little left eye obstructed with a red, bushy, bristling eyebrow, while the right eye disappeared entirely beneath an enormous growth; of those teeth in disarray, broken here and there; of that cruel lip, upon which one of these teeth rested, like the tusk of an elephant;and above all,of the expression spread over the whole; of that mixture of malice, amazement, and sadness.
The people made the lucky Pope of the Fools come forth in triumph. But it was then that surprise and admiration attained their highest pitch; the awful look was his actual face.
Or rather, his whole person was an awful look. A huge head,bristling with red hair; between his shoulders an enormous hump; a system of thighs and legs so strangely out of coordination that they could touch each other only at the knees, and, viewed from the front, resembled the crescents of two curved blades joined by the handles; large feet, monstrous hands; and, with all this deformity, an indescribable air of vigor, quickness, and courage. Such was the Pope whom the Fools had just chosen for themselves. One would have pronounced him a giant who had been broken and badly put together again.
When this creature appeared on the threshold of the chapel, motionless, squat,and almost as broad as he was tall; the people recognized him on the instant, and shouted with one voice.
“It’s Quasimodo, the bell-ringer! The hunchback of Notre-Dame!”
“Oh! The horrible monkey!”said someone in the crowd.
“He’s the devil,”added another.
Master Coppenole,in amazement, approached him.
“Goodness you possess the handsomest ugliness that I have ever seen in my life. You would deserve to be pope at Rome, as well as at Paris. Let us spend the day drinking together!”
Quasimodo made no reply.
“Good God!”said the tailor,“Are you deaf?”
He was, in truth, deaf. Nevertheless, he began to grow impatient with Coppenole’s behavior, and suddenly turned towards him with so formidable a showing of teeth that the Flemish giant quickly jumped back.
Just then,all the beggars and homeless people joined with the scholars and approached Quasimodo with a cardboard hat, and the robe of the Pope of the Fools. Quasimodo allowed them to dress him. Then they made him seat himself on a litter. Twelve officers of the fraternity of fools raised him on their shoulders; and a sort of bitter and disdainful joy lighted up the sad face of the hunchback, when he saw beneath his deformed feet all those heads of handsome, straight, well-made men. Then the ragged and howling procession set out on its march, according to custom,around the streets and squares.
When Pierre Gringoire saw Quasimodo, Coppenole, and the deafening escort of the pope of fools quit the hall amid great uproar, he quickly took advantage of the moment to regroup his actors and start the play once again.
Just as the actors were beginning to recite their lines, one fellow
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