Stardust Day 10

Part I Expressions

1. Coy     a.

Originally meaning "quiet and shy," today someone who is coy pretends to be shy in a playful manner —often as a form of flirting. If a politician is coy about something, he or she only gives vague statements on an issue for fear of committing to a position or angering his or her constituency. 

所以这个词有两个意思，一个是（对爱情等）假装害羞无知的，另一个是含糊其辞的，但需注意这种含糊其辞和害羞是有一定目的性的——“Common to both of these senses is the fact that a person uses coyness to subtly manipulate his or her audience.”

2. Come upon

(formal) to meet or find someone\ something by chance.偶然发现，偶然遇见

E.g. I walked for ten minutesalong the road and came upon that celebrity around the corner.

3. Wretched     a.

Feeling ill\ sickor unhappy

Part II Sentences

1. I am certain you would do a remarkable job of keeping off the rain, were it to rain…

这个句子乍一看平淡无奇，但如果给我这句话的中文翻译，即“我相信你能遮风避雨”，我多半只能写出“if it rains, you can provide me shelter\help me avoid rain”这种句子。这里的keep off是”prevent something from coming near”的意思，它还可以替代avoid，比如：keep off politics避免谈论政治, keep off fatty food避免吃高脂肪食物。这里用虚拟语气代替if的用法也值得一学。

2. They were wild mountains, inhibited by wild creatures.

这里的inhibit我已经很熟悉了，但每次总是不厌其烦地用live in，而忘记了这个词。

3. The heavy rain cut off all vision as effectively as the thickest fog.

这短短一句话类比了雨幕和浓雾，将雨势之大展现得极为生动，从这句话也学到一个表达“cut off the vision”，以后在写倾盆大雨和浓雾时都可以用。

Part III

When Tristran woke up, he found himself beneath a copper beech tree, who told him three true things after listening to his adventures. He followed the instructions of the tree, endeavored to catch the carriage driven by Primus and finally made it. He helped Primus to remove a fallen branch in his way and Primus agreed to offer him a ride. The two, not knowing they were after the same, made friends on the way through chatting.

Meanwhile, the witch queen arrived at the pass of Mount Belly and turned her chariot into a small inn. And she waited, with the trap already set, for the star. But in the heavy rain, Primus and Tristran found the inn and headed for it for shelter.

Part IV

第六章里Tristran又一次得到了来自别人的帮助，还成功搭乘了谨慎得不得了的Primus的马车。最让我惊讶的是，他竟然还和Primus相谈甚欢，赢得了Primus的信任。他太单纯、太善良，自己都前路未卜还挂念着星星女，对Primus也没有什么防备之心，还和他一起淋雨。Tristran这个人有一种魔力，这种魔力就来自他的善良。