🔊 The mountains he had ever known were the three volcanoes, which came up to his knees. And he used the extinct volcano as a footstool. "From a mountain as high as this," he said to himself, "I shall be able to see the whole planet at one glance, and all the people ..."

他曾經認識的山,只有那三座火山,高度僅及他的膝蓋。他還把那座死火山當作腳凳。「從這樣高的山頂上,」他自言自語道,「我就能一眼望盡整個星球,還有所有的人……」

🔊

volcanoes /vɒlˈkeɪnəʊz/

n. 火山

🔊

extinct /ɪkˈstɪŋkt/

adj. 滅絕的；熄滅的

🔊

footstool /ˈfʊtstuːl/

n. 腳凳

🔊

glance /ɡlɑːns/

n. 一瞥,掃視

🔊 But he saw nothing, save peaks of rock that were sharpened like needles. "Good morning," he said courteously.

然而他什麼也沒看見,除了像針尖般鋒利的岩石山峰。「早安,」他禮貌地說道。

🔊

peaks /piːks/

n. 山峰；頂點

🔊

sharpened /ˈʃɑːpənd/

adj. 被削尖的；變鋒利的

🔊

courteously /ˈkɜːtiəsli/

adv. 有禮貌地,謙恭地

🔊 "Good morning—Good morning—Good morning," answered the echo.

「早安——早安——早安,」回聲答道。

🔊 "Who are you—Who are you—Who are you?" answered the echo.

「你是誰——你是誰——你是誰？」回聲答道。

🔊 "Be my friends. I am all alone," he said.

「做我的朋友吧。我好孤單,」他說。

🔊 "I am all alone—all alone—all alone," answered the echo.

「我好孤單——好孤單——好孤單,」回聲答道。

🔊 "What a queer planet!" he thought. "It is altogether dry, and altogether pointed, and altogether harsh and forbidding. And the people have no imagination. They repeat whatever one says to them..."

「多麼奇怪的星球啊！」他想。「這裡完全乾燥,完全尖銳,完全嚴酷而令人生畏。這裡的人毫無想像力。他們只會重複別人對他們說的話……」

🔊

queer /kwɪə(r)/

adj. 奇怪的,古怪的

🔊

altogether /ˌɔːltəˈɡeðə(r)/

adv. 完全地；總共

🔊

harsh /hɑːʃ/

adj. 嚴厲的；粗糙的；刺耳的

🔊

forbidding /fəˈbɪdɪŋ/

adj. 令人生畏的；險惡的

🔊

imagination /ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃn/

n. 想像力

Chapter XIX (第十九章)