“Yes, this is Mongrel—and not a half-bad horse, either.”
“Right you are!”
“Thorndike, it’s Andalusian! and when that’s said, all’s said.”
“Andalusian and Oregonian, Antonio! Put it that way, and you have my vote. Being a native up there, I know. You being Andalusian-born—”
“Can speak with authority for that patch of paradise? Well, I can. Like the Don! like Sancho! This is the correct Andalusian dawn now—crisp, fresh, dewy, fragrant5, pungent—”
Blow soft o’er Ceylon’s isle—’
—git up, you old cow! stumbling like that when we’ve just been praising you! out on a scout7 and can’t live up to the honor any better than that? Antonio, how long have you been out here in the Plains and the Rockies?”
“More than thirteen years.”
“It’s a long time. Don’t you ever get homesick?”
“Not till now.”
“Why now?—after such a long cure.”
“These preparations of the retiring commandant’s have started it up.”
“Of course. It’s natural.”
“It keeps me thinking about Spain. I know the region where the Seventh’s child’s aunt lives; I know all the lovely country for miles around; I’ll bet I’ve seen her aunt’s villa8 many a time; I’ll bet I’ve been in it in those pleasant old times when I was a Spanish gentleman.”
“They say the child is wild to see Spain.”
“It’s so; I know it from what I hear.”
“Haven’t you talked with her about it?”
“No. I’ve avoided it. I should soon be as wild as she is. That would not be comfortable.”
“I wish I was going, Antonio. There’s two things I’d give a lot to see. One’s a railroad.”
“She’ll see one when she strikes Missouri.”
“The other’s a bull-fight.”
“I’ve seen lots of them; I wish I could see another.”
“I don’t know anything about it, except in a mixed-up, foggy way, Antonio, but I know enough to know it’s grand sport.”
“The grandest in the world! There’s no other sport that begins with it. I’ll tell you what I’ve seen, then you can judge. It was my first, and it’s as vivid to me now as it was when I saw it. It was a Sunday afternoon, and beautiful weather, and my uncle, the priest, took me as a reward for being a good boy and because of my own accord and without anybody asking me I had bankrupted my savings-box and given the money to a mission that was civilizing9 the Chinese and sweetening their lives and softening10 their hearts with the gentle teachings of our religion, and I wish you could have seen what we saw that day, Thorndike.
“The amphitheatre was packed, from the bull-ring to the highest row—twelve thousand people in one circling mass, one slanting11, solid mass—royalties, nobles, clergy12, ladies, gentlemen, state officials, generals, admirals, soldiers, sailors, lawyers, thieves, merchants, brokers13, cooks, housemaids, scullery-maids, doubtful women, dudes, gamblers, beggars, loafers, tramps, American ladies, gentlemen, preachers, English ladies, gentlemen, preachers, German ditto, French ditto, and so on and so on, all the world represented: Spaniards to admire and praise, foreigners to enjoy and go home and find fault—there they were, one solid, sloping, circling sweep of rippling14 and flashing color under the downpour of the summer sun—just a garden, a gaudy, gorgeous flower-garden! Children munching15 oranges, six thousand fans fluttering and glimmering16, everybody happy, everybody chatting gayly with their intimates, lovely girl-faces smiling recognition and salutation to other lovely girl-faces, gray old ladies and gentlemen dealing17 in the like exchanges with each other—ah, such a picture of cheery contentment and glad anticipation18! not a mean spirit, nor a sordid19 soul, nor a sad heart there—ah, Thorndike, I wish I could see it again.
“They clear it. The great gate is flung open, and the procession marches in, splendidly costumed and glittering: the marshals of the day, then the picadores on horseback, then the matadores on foot, each surrounded by his quadrille of chulos. They march to the box of the city fathers, and formally salute24. The key is thrown, the bull-gate is unlocked. Another bugle blast—the gate flies open, the bull plunges26 in, furious, trembling, blinking in the blinding light, and stands there, a magnificent creature, centre of those multitudinous and admiring eyes, brave, ready for battle, his attitude a challenge. He sees his enemy: horsemen sitting motionless, with long spears in rest, upon blindfolded27 broken-down nags28, lean and starved, fit only for sport and sacrifice, then the carrion-heap.
“The bull makes a rush, with murder in his eye, but a picador meets him with a spear-thrust in the shoulder. He flinches29 with the pain, and the picador skips out of danger. A burst of applause for the picador, hisses30 for the bull. Some shout ‘Cow!’ at the bull, and call him offensive names. But he is not listening to them, he is there for business; he is not minding the cloak-bearers that come fluttering around to confuse him; he chases this way, he chases that way, and hither and yon, scattering31 the nimble banderillos in every direction like a spray, and receiving their maddening darts32 in his neck as they dodge33 and fly—oh, but it’s a lively spectacle, and brings down the house! Ah, you should hear the thundering roar that goes up when the game is at its wildest and brilliant things are done!
“Oh, that first bull, that day, was great! From the moment the spirit of war rose to flood-tide in him and he got down to his work, he began to do wonders. He tore his way through his persecutors, flinging one of them clear over the parapet; he bowled a horse and his rider down, and plunged34 straight for the next, got home with his horns, wounding both horse and man; on again, here and there and this way and that; and one after another he tore the bowels35 out of two horses so that they gushed36 to the ground, and ripped a third one so badly that although they rushed him to cover and shoved his bowels back and stuffed the rents with tow and rode him against the bull again, he couldn’t make the trip; he tried to gallop37, under the spur, but soon reeled and tottered38 and fell, all in a heap. For a while, that bull-ring was the most thrilling and glorious and inspiring sight that ever was seen. The bull absolutely cleared it, and stood there alone! monarch39 of the place. The people went mad for pride in him, and joy and delight, and you couldn’t hear yourself think, for the roar and boom and crash of applause.”
“Antonio, it carries me clear out of myself just to hear you tell it; it must have been perfectly40 splendid. If I live, I’ll see a bull-fight yet before I die. Did they kill him?”
“Oh yes; that is what the bull is for. They tired him out, and got him at last. He kept rushing the matador23, who always slipped smartly and gracefully41 aside in time, waiting for a sure chance; and at last it came; the bull made a deadly plunge25 for him—was avoided neatly42, and as he sped by, the long sword glided43 silently into him, between left shoulder and spine—in and in, to the hilt. He crumpled44 down, dying.”
“Ah, Antonio, it is the noblest sport that ever was. I would give a year of my life to see it. Is the bull always killed?”
“Yes. Sometimes a bull is timid, finding himself in so strange a place, and he stands trembling, or tries to retreat. Then everybody despises him for his cowardice45 and wants him punished and made ridiculous; so they hough him from behind, and it is the funniest thing in the world to see him hobbling around on his severed46 legs; the whole vast house goes into hurricanes of laughter over it; I have laughed till the tears ran down my cheeks to see it. When he has furnished all the sport he can, he is not any longer useful, and is killed.”
“Well, it is perfectly grand, Antonio, perfectly beautiful. Burning a nigger don’t begin.”
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收听单词发音
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1
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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2
buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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3
pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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5
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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6
spicy
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| adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的 | |
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7
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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8
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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9
civilizing
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| v.使文明，使开化( civilize的现在分词 ) | |
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10
softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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11
slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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12
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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13
brokers
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| n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排… | |
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14
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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15
munching
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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16
glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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17
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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18
anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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19
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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21
bugle
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| n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集 | |
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22
cleaves
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的第三人称单数 ) | |
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23
matador
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| n.斗牛士 | |
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24
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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25
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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plunges
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| n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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27
blindfolded
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| v.（尤指用布）挡住（某人）的视线( blindfold的过去式 )；蒙住（某人）的眼睛；使不理解；蒙骗 | |
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28
nags
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| n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责 | |
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29
flinches
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| v.（因危险和痛苦）退缩，畏惧( flinch的第三人称单数 ) | |
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30
hisses
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| 嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
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31
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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32
darts
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| n.掷飞镖游戏；飞镖( dart的名词复数 )；急驰，飞奔v.投掷，投射( dart的第三人称单数 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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33
dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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34
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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35
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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36
gushed
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| v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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37
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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38
tottered
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| v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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39
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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40
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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41
gracefully
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| ad.大大方方地；优美地 | |
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42
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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43
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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44
crumpled
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| adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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45
cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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46
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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