MintReading,Black Beauty.
《黑骏马》作者安娜塞维尔由于腿脚不便,一生与马为伴。在生命的最后几年,他比较细腻真实的,从马的视角,讲述了Darkie的故事。Darkie 诚实可靠,温和谦逊,友善勇敢,历经磨难却也不失本心。这本是一匹马的自述,却也是社会人性的缩影。黑俊马,谢谢你提醒我们善待动物。
安娜曾经说:
“My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop,and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.”
“如果我们看到我们有力量去制止的残忍,之行和不义之事,而没制止,我们也参与了共同犯罪。”
I.文中提到给马儿吃燕麦(oat):
其实早在公元476年,人们就已经用燕麦来喂马了,而日耳曼军队还率先用燕麦做军粮,挥师南下灭了西罗马帝国。在其他文学作品里面也有对马吃燕麦的描述。一期三五年出版的小说《格列佛游记》中,格列佛在一个叫慧国(Houyhnhnms)的地方遇到了一群会说话的马,他们就以燕麦为待客的高级食品。在《包法利夫人》中,咯你为博士去病人家做手术,第一件事就是去亲自走进马棚,看看病人家喂马有没有用燕麦,因为不想让自己的坐骑饿着。可见,燕麦,在过去一直是喂马的上乘之选。
II.装备。
人类为了驯化马儿,发明了一系列马具,来一些专有名词帮助理解。
bit 是马嚼子,金属制,是马龙头bridle的一部分。马儿把它含在嘴里,在骑手嘞紧缰绳时起到良好的“刹车”作用。
人们需要骑马或让马儿拉车的时候:
首先给马刷毛(brush the loose hair and dirt off the horse's back)。这一步非常重要,因为如果不刷掉马代谢掉的毛发,一旦马的汗水将毛打湿,马会想要抖落它,骑手会很酸爽。
然后,在马的头上套上马笼头,再安装马鞍(saddle),如果马蹄没有钉铁片(iron shoes),要检查是否有泥巴,杂草之类的塞在马蹄缝里(hoof care)。在整个过程中,马儿可能会觉得不舒服,所以要温柔的抚摸它们,和它们交流来calm them down.
Dig your well before you're thirsty. 口渴前就先挖好井。
1.There is only one way to win hearts and that is to make oneself like unto those of whom one would be loved.
只有一种方法可以赢得人心,那就是让自己像一个值得爱的人。
2.Success doesn't measure a human being, effort does.
衡量一个人的标准不是成功,而是他为此做出的努力。
3.Emotion is contagious.
情绪会传染。
4.A joy-filled home is like your own personal art museum.
一个充满欢愉的家就像你自己的私人艺术馆。
5.To become original you have to try something new, which means accepting some measure of risk.
要创新,你就得尝试些新的东西,也就意味着要承受一定程度的风险。
6.Life might take you down different roads. But each of you gets to decide which one to take.
生活也许会将你带往不同的路,但决定该走哪条的是你自己。
7.What I know for sure is that pleasure is engery reciprocated. What you put out comes back.
我很确信的是,快乐是一种能量的互换: 你释放出去的,也会回到你身边。
8.Everything seems simple until you think about it.
认真思考之前,每件事看起来都很简单。
9.Life might take you down different roads. But each of you gets to decide which one to take.
生活也许会将你带往不同的路,但决定该走哪条的是你自己。
10.It's possible to go on, no matter how impossible it seems.
不管机会看起来多么渺茫,总是可以继续坚持下去的。
11.I learned from him that often contradiction is the clearest way to truth.
他教会我,否认往往会最清楚地揭示真相。
12.It's not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It's whether or not our work fulfills us.
每天朝九晚五,真正让我们开心的并不是赚多少钱,而是这份工作是否能让我们觉得充实。
13.The whole world had changed. Only the fairy tales remained the same.
整个世界都变了,只有童话故事还是老样子。
14.Thus, have I had thee as a dream doth flatter. In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.
我曾拥有你,像一个美梦。在梦里称王,醒来却是一场空。
15.Victory won't come to me unless I go to it.
胜利是不会向我走来的,我必须自己走向胜利。