Lesson 22 By heart

Then, squinting his eyes, he said:

接著，他斜著眼，說：

Lesson 22 By heart

'The light is dim.Read the letter to me'.

“光線太暗，請(qǐng)給我讀一下這封信。”

Lesson 22 By heart

And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler.

說完，他一下子把信遞給獄卒。

Lesson 22 By heart

Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either,

獄卒發(fā)現(xiàn)自己連一個(gè)字也記不住，

Lesson 22 By heart

the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire, I must get my glasses.'

“陛下，這兒光線的確太暗了，我得去眼鏡拿來。”

Lesson 22 By heart

With this, he hurried off the stage.

他一邊說著，一邊匆匆下臺(tái)。

Lesson 22 By heart

Much to the aristocrat's amusement,

貴族感到非常好笑的是

Lesson 22 By heart

the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.

一會(huì)兒工夫，獄卒重新登臺(tái)，拿來一副眼鏡以及平時(shí)使用的那封信，然后為那囚犯念了起來。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten.

在決定什么能吃而什么不能吃的時(shí)候，人們往往變得不合情理。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

If you lived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you would consider octopus a great delicacy.

比如，如果你住在地中海地區(qū)，你會(huì)把章魚視作是美味佳肴，

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive.

同時(shí)不能理解為什么有人一見章魚就惡心。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat -- the normally accepted practice in many northern countries.

另一方面，你一想到動(dòng)物油炸土豆就會(huì)反胃，但這在北方許多國家卻是一種普通的烹任方法。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives.

不無遺憾的是， 我們中的大部分人，生來就只吃某幾種食品，而且一輩子都這樣。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail.

沒有一種生物所受到的贊美和厭惡會(huì)超過花園里常見的蝸牛了。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world.

蝸牛加酒燒煮后，便成了世界上許多地方的一道珍奇的名菜。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food.

有不計(jì)其數(shù)的人們從小就知道蝸牛可做菜。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

My friend, Robert, lives in a country where snails are despised.

但我的朋友羅伯特卻住在一個(gè)厭惡蝸牛的國家中。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

As his flat is in a large town, he has no garden of his own.

他住在大城市里的一所公寓里，沒有自己的花園。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

For years he has been asking me to collect snails from my garden and take them to him.

多年來，他一直讓我把我園子里的蝸牛收集起來給他捎去。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

The idea never appealed to me very much,

一開始，他的這一想法沒有引起我多大興趣。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

but one day, after heavy shower, I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants.

后來有一天，一場(chǎng)大雨后，我在花園里漫無目的散步，突然注意到許許多多蝸牛在我的一些心愛的花木上慢悠悠的蠕動(dòng)著。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

Acting on a sudden impulse, I collected several dozen, put them in a paper bag, and took them to Robert.

我一時(shí)沖動(dòng)，逮了幾十只，裝進(jìn)一只紙袋里，帶著去找羅伯特。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

Robert was delighted to see me and equally pleased with my little gift.

羅伯特見到我很高興，對(duì)我的薄禮也感到滿意。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

I left the bag in the hall and Robert and I went into the living room where we talked for a couple of hours.

我把紙袋放在門廳里，與羅伯特一起進(jìn)了起居室，在那里聊了好幾個(gè)鐘頭。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stay to dinner.

我把蝸牛的事已忘得一干二凈，羅伯特突然提出一定要我留下來吃晚飯，這才提醒了我。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

Snails would, of course, be the main dish.

蝸牛當(dāng)然是道主菜。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room.

我并不喜歡這個(gè)主意，所以我勉強(qiáng)跟著羅伯特走進(jìn)了起居室。

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

To our dismay, we saw that there were snails everywhere:

讓人沮喪的是，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)到處都是蝸牛：

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

they had escaped from the paper bag and had taken complete possession of the hall!

它們從紙袋里逃了出來，爬得滿廳都是！

Lesson 23 One man's meat is another man's poison

I have never been able to look at a snail since then.

從那以后，我再也不能看一眼蝸牛了。