原文:
I knew that the scent of my blood—so much sweeter to him than any other person's blood, truly like wine beside water to an alcoholic—caused him actual pain from the burning thirst it engendered. But he didn't seem to shy away from itas much as he once had. I could only dimly imagine the Herculean effort behind this simple gesture.
試譯:
我很清楚的是,我的血對他來說,比其他任何人的血都要香甜,就好像酒鬼偏愛於酒而不是白開水一樣,而由此引發的饑渴對他也造成了真切的痛苦。但是他似乎沒有跟以往那樣避之不及了。我僅能通過這細微的神姿大致想像他內心的極度克制。
出處:
The twilight saga: Eclipse-chapter 1. 《暮光之城》第三部《月食》-第一章
釋疑:
1、shy away(from sth)
都知道「shy」的意思是「害羞的」,可這是它作為形容詞的意思,用作動詞什麼意思呢?牛津詞典解釋如下:
~ (at sth)( especially of a horse 尤指馬 ) to turn away with a sudden movement because it is afraid or surprised 被嚇退;被驚走
例句:
My horse shied at the unfamiliar noise. 這陌生的聲音把我的馬驚了。
shy away(from sth)是一條動詞短語,意為:
to avoid doing sth because you are nervous or frightened 畏避;迴避;躲避;避免做
例句:
Hugh never shied away from his responsibilities. 該自己承擔的責任,休從不迴避。
2、engender
解釋:[ VN ] ( formal ) to make a feeling or situation exist 產生,引起(某種感覺或情況)
例句:The issue engendered arguments. 這個問題引起了爭論。
3、Herculean
這個單詞是不是很熟悉?Herculesor Heracles(赫拉克勒斯)總該聽說過吧,他是希臘神話中的英雄人物,通過完成十二項十分艱巨的任務(「赫拉克勒斯的功績」)而證明了他的勇氣和力量。Herculean也就由此發源而來,意為:[ usually before noun] needing a lot of strength, determination or effort 費力的;需要決心的;艱巨的。舉個例子:
a Herculeantask 艱巨的任務
以上就是本期分享了,感謝各位朋友的關注和閱讀,咱們下期再見^^
往期內容請戳:讀原著學英文:putty in sb's hand