Mark Twain-the Mirror of America单词句子

Mark Twain---Mirror of America

词汇

idyllic adj. :pastoral or picturesque；pleasing and simple 田园诗的；田园风光的；生动逼真的；质朴宜人的

cynical adj. :believing that people are notivated in all their actions only by selfishness；denying the

sincerity of peoples motives and actions，or the value of living 玩世不恭的；愤世嫉俗的

obsess v． :haunt or trouble in mind，esp. to an abnormal degree；preoccupy greatly 使分心；使心神困扰尤指精神反常、着迷

frailty n. :the quality or condition of being frail；weaknesses. Moral weakness

脆弱性；虚弱性尤指意志薄弱

tramp n. :the act of tramping；a journey on foot；hike 步行；徒步旅行

prospector n. :a person who prospects for valuable ores，oil，etc．

矿藏等的勘探者；探矿者starry—eyed adj. :with the eyes sparkling in a glow of wonder，romance，visionary dreams，etc．

过于理想的；不切实际的；盲目乐观的

acid—tongued adj. :sharp，sarcastic in speech 说话尖刻的

cynic n. :a cynical person 玩世不恭的人；好挖苦人的人；愤世嫉俗的人

navigable n. :wide and deep enough，or free enough from obstructions，to be traveled on byvessels

可行船的；可通航的；可航行的

attest n. :serve as proof of；demonstrate；make clear 作为„„的证据，为„„作证；论证；表明

artery n. :a main road or channel 干线，干道，大路；干渠

keelboat n. :a large，shallow freight boat with a keel，formerly used on the Mississippi，Missouri，etc．旧时密西西比河、密苏西河等用的龙骨船

flatboat n. :a boat with a flat bottom，for carrying freight in shallow waters or on rivers 平底船

molasses n. :a thick，usually dark brown syrup produced during／he refining of sugar，or from

sorghum，etc．糖蜜，糖浆

cub n. :an inexperienced，awkward youth 阅历浅的年轻人

cosmos n. :the universe considered as a harmonious and orderly system 宇宙

feud n. :a bitter，long—continued，and deadly quarrel，esp. between clans of families尤指部落或家族间的世仇，累世宿仇，夙怨，长期不和

lynch v． :Am．murderan accused personby mob action and without lawful trial，as by hanging美私刑处死

phonographic adj. :Am．of a phonograph or the sounds made by sb. 美留声机的，唱机的

teem v． :be full，as though ready to bring forth young；abound；swarm 充满；富于；大量地出现；涌现

flotsam n. :transient，unemployed people；vagrants 流离失所者，流浪者，游民；失业者；被毁掉的人

hustler n. :Am．slanga prostitute美俚妓女

thug n. :a rough，brutal hoodlum，gangster，robber，etc．恶棍；暴徒；强盗

motley adj. :having or composed of many different or clashing elements；heterogeneous 混乱的；杂乱的

succumb v． :①give way to；yield；submit ②die ①屈服，屈从常与 to 连用②死

epidemic n. :the rapid，widespread occurrence of a fad，fashion，etc．风尚、风气、爱好等的一时流行，风行

flirt v． :trifle or toy with玩弄，戏耍；做着玩；不认真地对待，不认真地考虑.常与 with连用

colossal adj. :1ike a colossus in size；huge；gigantic；enormous 巨大的，庞大的

rebuff v． :check or repulse 挫败；阻止broke adj. :colloq．having little or no money；bankrupt口无钱的，身无分文的；破了产的

hone v． :sharpen with or as with a hone 把„„放在磨石上磨

scathing adj. : searing；withering；injurious；harsh or caustic 严厉的，尖刻的

sluggish adj. :slow or slow moving；not active；dull行动缓慢的；迟钝的

sloth n. :a lazy person 懒汉

astound v． :bewilder with sudden surprise；astonish greatly；amaze 使震惊，使惊愕，使大吃一惊

tedious adj. :long or verbose and vearisome；tiresome；boring 冗长乏味的；使人厌倦的；沉闷的

travelogue n. :a lecture on travels usually accompanied by the showing of pictures 旅行见闻讲座

Sultan n. :a Moslem ruler 苏丹一些伊斯兰教国家统治者的称号

debunk v． :Am． colloq．expose the false or exaggerated claims，pretensions， etc． glamour，

美口揭露，揭发，揭穿

revere v． :regard with deep respect，love，and awe；venerate 尊敬，崇敬；敬畏

ingenuity n. :the quality of being ingenious；cleverness，originality，skill，etc．机灵，机智，足智多谋；独创性，创造力；熟练，巧妙

juvenile adj. :young and youthful 年轻的；青年的

pariah n. :any person despised or rejected by others；outcast 为社会所遗弃者；流浪者

puritanical adj. :extremely or excessively strict in matters of morals and religion 宗教或道德上极端拘谨的

panorama n. :an unlimited view in all directions 全景；全图

deplore v． :be regretful or sorry about 懊悔，悔恨，对„„深感遗憾

sap v． :undermine in any way；weaken；exhaust 削弱；耗竭clamor n. :a loud outcry；uproar

大声呼喊，喧嚷，喧嚣，吵闹

robust adj. :strong and healthy；full of vigor；hardy 健壮的；精力充沛的

haunt v． :appear or recur repeatedly to，often to the point of obsession思想、回忆等萦绕；疾病等缠住

pneumonia n. :inflammation or infection of the alveoli of the lungs of varying degrees ofseverity

and caused by any of a number of agents，such as bacteria or viruses 肺炎． itis

n. :inflammation of the meninges． as the result of infection by bacteria or viruses脑脊膜炎

epileptic n. :a person who has epilepsy 癫痫患者

pad v． :stuff，cover，or line with a pad or padding 填塞；衬填

crater n. :a bowl—shaped cavity，as at the mouth of a volcano or on the surface of the moon 碗形洞如火山口、环形山、月亮表面的坑状地方

crumble v． :fall to pieces；disintegrate；decay 破碎，破裂；使溃散，使瓦解，消灭

lament v. :feel or express deep sorrow for；mourn or grieve for 为„„而悲痛；哀悼；为„„而伤心

短语

every bit: (infml)equalIy；entirely 完全，同样地 例： He is every bit as mean as she is．他与她同样平庸。

in print: of a book available for sale from the publisher；(of a person’s work) printed in a book，efc．指书可买到，已出版 例: It was the first time he had seen his work in print．这是他第一次看见自己的作品出版。

soak up: to receive and absorb stll．接受并吸收 例： That child soaks up new facts like a sponge那孩子吸收新知识像海绵似的

succumb to: stop resisting；yield to，submit to 屈服，屈从例：

Several children have measles，and the others are bound to SUCcumb to it．有几个孩子患了麻疹，其他孩子也必然会被传染。

flirt with: to deal playfully or superficiMly with 不认真考虑、对待 例： I am flirting with the

idea of getting a job．我胡思乱想着要去找份工作。

of sorts: (derogative)of a poor or inferior type贬义差劲的，劣等 例： It was a meal of sorts，but nobody enjoyed it．这勉强算是一顿饭，谁都没有吃好。

all over: what one would expect 0f the person specified 正像所说的人一样 例： That sounds

like my sister all over．听起来跟我姐姐一模一样。

in earnest: seriously，not jokingly 严肃地，认真地 例： Both sides are deeply in earnest，with

passions that approximate those of civil war。双方都很坚决认真，像是鼓足劲要打一场内战似的。

句子

Most Americans remember Mark Twain as the father of Huck Finn's idyllic cruise through eternal

boyhood and Tom Sawyer's endless summer of freedom and adventure. In-deed, this nation's

best-loved author was every bit as ad-venturous, patriotic, romantic, and humorous as anyone has

ever imagined. I found another Twain as well – one who grew cynical, bitter, saddened by the

profound personal tragedies life dealt him, a man who became obsessed with the frailties of the

human race, who saw clearly ahead a black wall of night.

在大多数美国人的心目中，马克?吐温是位伟大作家，他描写了哈克?费恩永恒的童年时代中充满诗情画意的旅程和汤姆?索亚在漫长的夏日里自由自在历险探奇的故事。的确，这位美国最受人喜爱的作家的探索精神、爱国热情、浪漫气质及幽默笔调都达到了登峰造极的程度。但我发现还有另一个不同的马克?吐温——一个由于深受人生悲剧的打击而变得愤世嫉俗、尖酸刻薄的马克?吐温，一个为人类品质上的弱点而忧心忡忡、明显地看到前途是一片黑暗的人。

Mark Twain honed and experimented with his new writing muscles, but he had to leave the city

for a while because of some scathing columns he wrote. Attacks on the city government,

concerning such issues as mistreatment of Chinese, so angered officials that he fled to the

goldfields in the Sacramento Valley. His descriptions of the rough-country settlers there ring

familiarly in modern world accustomed to trend setting on the West Coast. "It was a splendid

population – for all the slow, sleepy, sluggish-brained sloths stayed It was that

population that gave to California a name for getting up astounding enterprises and rushing them

through with a magnificent dash and daring and a recklessness of cost or consequences, which she

bears unto this day – and when she projects a new surprise, the grave world smiles as usual, and

says 'Well, that is California all over. '"

马克?吐温磨练并试验了他的新笔力，但他却因写了一些尖锐的评论文章而被迫暂时离开这座城市。他围绕着虐待华人等一类问题对市政府提出的尖锐批评惹得一些官员大为恼火，因之他只好逃到萨克拉门托山谷的金矿区暂避风头。他对那儿的拓荒者们的描写使西海岸地区富有创新精神的现代人倍感亲切。“这儿的人们真是了不起——因为那些笨手笨脚、无精打采、呆头呆脑的懒汉都呆在家里„„正是那些人们为加利福尼亚赢得了这样的声誉：当他们着手进行一项宏伟的事业时，他们会不计代价或风险而以一种豪迈的气概和闯劲勇往直前，一千到底。加利福尼亚人至今仍保持着这样的声誉，因而，每当他们发起一项新的惊天动地的壮举时，那些素来稳重的人便会像往常一样微笑着说：‘看吧，这完全是加利福尼亚的风格’。”

Retold with his descriptive genius, the story was printed in newspapers across the United States

and became known as "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Mark Twain's

national reputation was now well established as "the wild humorist of the Pacific slope."

经过马克?吐温的生花妙笔改写之后，这个故事登在美国各地的报纸上，成了家喻户晓的“卡拉韦拉斯县有名的跳蛙”。至此，马克?吐温作为“太平洋海岸狂放的幽默大师”的声望已在全国范围内牢固地确立起来了。

On the river, and especially with Huck Finn, Twain found the ultimate expression of escape from

the pace he lived by and often deplored, from life's regularities and the energy-sapping clamor for

success.

通过对密西西比河，尤其是对哈克?费恩这一人物的描写，马克?吐温将自己想从那束缚着自己并常常令自己苦恼的生活步调中摆脱出来，从生活中的各种清规戒律以及为了事业成功而进行的艰苦挣扎中解放出来的愿望表达得淋漓尽致。