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● telling fortunes with flowers：用花算命（通常是数花的花瓣，是种消遣）。speaking of sleepy things：讲些叫人打瞌睡的事情。可能话没有说完，就会睡着了的。
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● floated through the afternoon：一下午就这么飘荡过去了。假如就时间言，through不过是“整个下午这么过去”的意思。但是细看文意，作者似乎要把时间化成空间，afternoon是一个海，他们是在乘桴浮海，through简直就是“渡过”的意思。
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● sunsilvered：因阳光照耀色如镀银。as the sunsilvered leaves belonged=as the sunsilvered leaves belonged there：树叶和树不可分，彼此是一家；他们三人同树叶一样，也是属于这棵树的。dwelling：住在那边的。whippoorwills：怪鸱，和主语we同位。他们三人，高踞树巅，食于斯，寝于斯，就像三只怪鸟。
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现代英文选评注 Two Mutes两哑巴
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Carson McCullers (1917—1967)
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本文节录自长篇小说《心是个寂寞的猎者》（The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter，1940）的第一章。全书以聋哑人John Singer为主角，充满怜悯与同情心。作者卡森·麦克乐斯女士出生于美国乔治亚州，其文章作风之朴素率直与同情心之深厚，论者比之于英国的D. H. Lawrence与十九世纪俄国作家Dostoyevsky。本文句法均甚简单平稳，值得学者效法。
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In the town there were two mutes, and they were always together. Early every morning they would come out from the house where they lived and walk arm in arm down the street to work. The two friends were very different. The one who always steered the way was an obese and dreamy Greek. In the summer he would come out wearing a yellow or green polo shirt stuffed sloppily into his trousers in front and hanging loose behind. When it was colder he wore over this a shapeless gray sweater. His face was round and oily, with half-closed eyelids and lips that curved in a gentle, stupid smile. The other was tall. His eyes had a quick, intelligent expression. He was always immaculate and very soberly dressed.
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● 第二句的动词would come… and walk…中的would表示过去的习惯。
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● steered the way：领路。两哑巴之中，一个个性较强，已于此句点明。obese：肥硕的。Greek：美国各国移民都有，此人乃希腊人。
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● polo：马球。polo shirt：一种运动衬衫，类似“香港衫”。
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● sloppily=carelessly。stuffed：塞。衬衫前摆潦潦草草地塞在裤腰里，后摆松松地挂在外面。
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● sweater：（羊）毛衫。此字是wore的宾语。over this之this代表 polo shirt。
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● immaculate：洁净无垢。soberly：朴素地。
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Every morning the two friends walked silently together until they reached the main street of the town. Then when they came to a certain fruit and candy store they paused for a moment on the sidewalk outside. The Greek, Spiros Antonapoulos, worked for his cousin, who owned the fruit store. His job was to make candies and sweets, uncrate the fruits, and to keep the place clean. The thin mute, John Singer, nearly always put his hand on his friend’s arm and looked for a second into his face before leaving him. Then after this good-bye Singer crossed the street and walked on alone to the jewelry store where he worked as a silverware engraver.
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● paused：稍停。每天早晨，两人一同上班。到了肥哑巴所服务的糖果鲜果店门前，他们必定停一下。停住了，瘦哑巴要同他告别。第五句叙Singer如何的依依不舍：拉着朋友的臂膊，眼睛细细地对他看。天天见面的尚且如此难分难舍，哑巴心里如何寂寞，不言自明。
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● crate（名词）：篓子。uncrate（动词）：从篓中取出。同样的，打开包裹是unpack，解开绳子是unstring。
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silverware：银器。engraver：刻花匠。
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In the late afternoon the friends would meet again. Singer came back to the fruit store and waited until Antonapoulos was ready to go home. In the dusk the two mutes walked slowly home together. At home Singer was always talking to Antonapoulos. His hands shaped the words in a swift series of designs. His face was eager and his gray-green eyes sparkled brightly. With his thin, strong hands he told Antonapoulos all that had happened during the day.
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● 第四句was always talking表示“停了又说”，“总是在那里说”。
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● 哑巴怎么能说话呢？他是用手势代替语言的。series of designs：一连串的手势图样。
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● eager：形容迫不及待的神气。眼睛里还发着光。心中有话，即使是很不重要的话，也非吐不可。
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Antonapoulos sat back lazily and looked at Singer. It was seldom that he ever moved his hands to speak at all—and then it was to say that he wanted to eat or sleep or to drink. These three things he always said with the same vague, fumbling signs. At night, if he were not too drunk, he would kneel down before his bed and pray awhile. Then his plump hands shaped the words “Holy Jesus,” or “God,” or “Darling Mary.” These were the only words Antonapoulos ever said. Singer never knew just how much his friend understood of all the things he told him. But it did not matter.
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● 那希腊人只是懒洋洋地坐着，对他的朋友看着。他除了本能的要求之外，似乎没有什么理智活动，也没有什么话要说的。
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