英语小达人 325 What's a Man?

 　　What's a Man?

　　男人是什么？
　　One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve calls out to God.
　　一天在伊甸园里，夏娃叫住了上帝。
　　"Lord, I have a problem!"
　　“上帝，我有个麻烦！”
　　"What's the problem, Eve?"
　　“你怎么啦，夏娃？”
　　"Lord, I know you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals and that hilarious 1 comedic snake, but I'm just not happy."
　　“上帝，我知道你创造了我，还给我准备了这么美丽的花园，所有这些好棒的动物和那条滑稽的蛇，可是我并不幸福。”
　　"Why is that, Eve?" came the reply from above.
　　“为什么呢？”上帝问。
　　"Lord, I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples."
　　“上帝，我很孤独，而且我太想吃苹果了。”
　　"Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you."
　　“那么，夏娃，我有一个办法，我为你创造一个男人。”
　　"What's a man, Lord?"
　　“上帝， 男人是什么？”
　　"Man will be a flawed creature, with many bad traits. He'll lie, cheat and be vainglorious 2; all in all, he'll give you a hard time.
　　“男人是一种有缺陷的生物，他有很多不好的习性，他会撒谎、欺骗还夸夸其谈。总之，和他在一起你会很难过。”
　　"But... he'll be bigger, faster, and will like to hunt and kill things. He will look silly when he's aroused.
　　“但是他的身材比你高大，速度也比你快，还喜欢猎杀。他生气的时候看起来会很愚蠢。”
　　"He will be witless and will revel 3 in childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about.
　　“他会失去理智，沉迷于一些幼稚的事情，比如打打闹闹或是把球踢来踢去什么的。”
　　"He won't be too smart, so he'll also need your advice to think properly."
　　“他不大聪明，会需要你的忠告。”
　　"Sounds great!" said Eve, with an ironically raised eyebrow 4.
　　“听起来不错嘛！”夏娃扬了扬眉毛，嘲讽地说。
　　"Well... you can have him on one condition."
　　“只是……有一个条件。”
　　"What's that, Lord?"
　　“什么条件？”
　　"As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant 5 and self-admiring...
　　“正如我说过的，他骄傲、自大又自负……”
　　"So you'll have to let him believe that I made him first.
　　“所以你要让他认为我是先创造了他。”
　　"Just remember, it's our little secret...
　　“记得这是我们的小秘密……”
　　"You know, woman to woman."
　　“你知道，女人间的小秘密。”
　　重点讲解：
　　1. call out
　　命令…出动，请求…出动；
　　eg. I called the doctor out.
　　我叫了医生。
　　eg. The fire brigade should always be called out to a house fire.
　　一旦房屋失火，就应该马上叫消防队来。
　　2. to death
　　（用于形容词或动词后，表示强调）……得要死；……得要命；
　　eg. Whereas 10 years ago I would have worried myself to death about it, now I accept it is part of the game.
　　10 年前我会为此担心得要命，但现在我接受了它是游戏的一部分。
　　eg. I went out last night, but not for very long. I was bored to death.
　　昨晚我出去了，但没有呆很久。我感觉无聊透了。
　　3. in that case
　　那样的话；在那种情况下；
　　eg. In that case we will not look on with folded arms.
　　在这种情况下，我们不会袖手旁观。
　　eg. In that case you'll have to clear yourself.
　　那样，你只得自行辩白了。
　　4. all in all
　　总的说来；从各方面来说；总之；
　　eg. All in all, it has been a great success.
　　总的来说，非常成功。
　　eg. He has his faults, but, all in all, he is a good helper.
　　他虽有缺点，但总的说来，他是一个好帮手。
　　5. revel in
　　陶醉于；沉湎于；
　　eg. Cats positively 6 revel in heat, whether natural or man-made.
　　猫确实喜暖，不管是自然的还是人工创造的温暖环境。
　　eg. Meg could walk in the conservatory 7 whenever she liked and revel in bouquets 8.
　　麦格不管什么时候都能到花房里去漫步，陶醉在那些花丛里。