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The great theme was at Prescott’s disposal. In order to feel sure-footed in the language, he went over his Spanish grammar again. Then he began to read all round the subject. Beginning with the general laws of nations, the constitutional history of England, the histories of the continental countries, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, the general history of Spain, before he settled on his special field.
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● at Prescott’s disposal：听他调遣，任他应用。sure-footed：脚头站稳；有充分把握。went over：从头研究一遍。
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● all round the subject：一切有关本题的书籍。
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● constitutional history：宪法史。
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● the continental countries：欧陆各国，以别于英国。his special field：特定的范围，即Ferdinand和Isabella统治西班牙的那一段时期。
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The book was a ten-year task: three and a half years of study before he wrote the opening sentence, three months for chapter one, seven months for the final chapter, two years for condensing and abridging. He had the text set up in type and caused four copies to be printed, for his friends to correct and criticize. Prescott, as he painfully scrawled his chapters, never guessed how hungry his countrymen were for the brilliant glow and colour that he gave them, the pageantry of kings and queens and battles. This was the romance that American longed for. When it was published, the book was a universal triumph.
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● ten-year task：费时十年的工作。
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● condensing：缩短。abridging：节略。材料太多，书虽写成，可删之处尚多，最后费了两年功夫，大加修削。
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● text：书的正文（不连附注或图片等）。set up in type：排印成书。type是印刷用之活字（铅字）。caused four copies to be printed：先印四本，并不发卖，专供朋友评阅正误之用，为的是要精益求精。
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● scrawled：潦草地写；并不是普氏写得潦草，其奈目力不济，写不清楚乎？hungry…for：嗷嗷待哺。the brilliant glow and colour：光华夺目，色彩绮丽的文字。that he gave them是定语从句：他所写给他们看的。the pageantry和glow and colour是“同位语”。帝王后妃和各处战事的描写，无不有声有色，热闹有趣，一幕接着一幕，无异是化装游行或盛大赛会。普氏辛辛苦苦写这部书时，决想不到他这一类的描写会受到美国人这样的欢迎。
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现代英文选评注 Man and Woman男与女
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Erskine Caldwell (1903—1987)
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欧司金·考特威尔生于美国乔治亚州。他是美国当代大小说家之一，曾与海明威、福克纳、司坦培克等齐名，描写美国南部（尤其是乔治亚州）贫穷没落的农村生活，最擅胜场。
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这里所选的一篇短篇小说，篇幅无多，文字十分简单，几乎无需注解。然而其深刻动人之处，却耐人寻味。其描写结构都值得我国短篇小说作家的参考。
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本文采自The Pocket Book of Erskine Caldwell Stories。
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They came slowly up the road through the colorless dawn like shadows left behind by the night. There was no motion in their bodies, and yet their feet scuffed up dust that settled behind them as quickly as it was raised. They lifted their eyes with each step they took, peering toward the horizon for the first red rays of the sun.
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● 第一段点出小说的时间和地点。时间是黑夜已过，旭日未升，地点是公路上。人物只是模模糊糊的They。有多少人呢？是些什么人呢？这里尚未说明，但标题是“男与女”，我们可以暂且假定是一男一女。他们的身形我们还看不清楚，他们只是像“黑夜所遗留下来的影子”。他们的动作我们也看不见，只是他们的脚步拖起（scuffed up）了灰尘，脚步步步向前，灰尘也在他们身后旋起旋落（settled）。
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● scuffed本是不及物动词，解作“拖着脚步走路”，这里是及物动词。peering：眯着眼睛看。
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● 描写文最难运用的是形容词，以及由形容词转化出来的副词。本文形容词用得很少，都很简单。这一段里可以说只有两个形容词是用作描写的，一个是colorless (dawn)，一个是red (rays)，都很传神而有力量。描写黎明景色，中英文都有很多滥调，如“天空露出鱼肚白色”，“美丽的朝霞”等，这种美丽的字眼，比之本文的两个简单的形容词，到底哪一种更为妥贴，哪一种更能显出作者炼字的功夫，请读者自己下判断吧。同样的，slowly是个很简单的副词，但这里用这么一个字也够了，作者可说是惜墨如金也。slowly前面的came，是从读者的立场而言：假定读者看他们往前走“来”。用了went，就变成愈走愈远，came则表示愈走愈近。
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The woman held her lower lip clamped tightly between her teeth. It hurt her to do that, but it was the only way she could urge herself forward step after step. There was no other way to drag her feet one behind the other, mile after mile. She whimpered occasionally, but she did not cry out.
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“It’s time to stop and rest again,” Ring said.
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She did not answer him.
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They kept on.
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