Part 5 Book 2 Chapter 5 Present Progress

To-day the sewer¹ is clean, cold, straight, correct. It almost realizes the ideal of what is understood in England by the word "respectable." It is proper and grayish; laid out by rule and line; one might almost say as though it came out of a bandbox. It resembles a tradesman who has become a councillor of state. One can almost see distinctly there. The mire² there comports³ itself with decency⁴. At first, one might readily mistake it for one of those subterranean⁵ corridors, which were so common in former days, and so useful in flights of monarchs⁶ and princes, in those good old times, "when the people loved their kings." The present sewer is a beautiful sewer; the pure style reigns⁷ there; the classical rectilinear alexandrine which, driven out of poetry, appears to have taken refuge in architecture, seems mingled⁸ with all the stones of that long, dark and whitish vault⁹; each outlet¹⁰ is an arcade¹¹; the Rue¹² de Rivoli serves as pattern even in the sewer. However, if the geometrical line is in place anywhere, it is certainly in the drainage trench¹³ of a great city. There, everything should be subordinated to the shortest road. The sewer has, nowadays, assumed a certain official aspect. The very police reports, of which it sometimes forms the subject, no longer are wanting in respect towards it. The words which characterize it in administrative¹⁴ language are sonorous¹⁵ and dignified¹⁶. What used to be called a gut¹⁷ is now called a gallery; what used to be called a hole is now called a surveying orifice. Villon would no longer meet with his ancient temporary provisional lodging¹⁸. This net-work of cellars has its immemorial population of prowlers, rodents¹⁹, swarming²⁰ in greater numbers than ever; from time to time, an aged²¹ and veteran rat risks his head at the window of the sewer and surveys the Parisians; but even these vermin grow tame, so satisfied are they with their subterranean palace. The cesspool no longer retains anything of its primitive²² ferocity. The rain, which in former days soiled the sewer, now washes it. Nevertheless, do not trust yourself too much to it. Miasmas²³ still inhabit it. It is more hypocritical than irreproachable²⁴. The prefecture of police and the commission of health have done their best. But, in spite of all the processes of disinfection, it exhales²⁵, a vague, suspicious odor like Tartuffe after confession²⁶.

Let us confess, that, taking it all in all, this sweeping²⁷ is a homage²⁸ which the sewer pays to civilization, and as, from this point of view, Tartuffe's conscience is a progress over the Augean stables, it is certain that the sewers²⁹ of Paris have been improved.

It is more than progress; it is transmutation. Between the ancient and the present sewer there is a revolution. What has effected this revolution?

The man whom all the world forgets, and whom we have mentioned, Bruneseau.

今天的阴渠整洁、凉爽、笔直而又端正，它几乎实现了英国称之为“体面”①的那种理想的阴渠。它是体面的，浅灰色的，由直线拉齐，几乎可以说是笔直的。它好比是一个商人当上了政府顾问。里面几乎是明亮的。污泥在里面也循规蹈矩。乍看很可能被当作从前相当普遍的君主和王子逃亡时的一条地下长廊，那时是“老百姓爱戴他们君王”的好时光。今日的阴渠是条漂亮的阴沟，风格淳朴，被赶下诗坛的笔直的十二音节的古典诗好象躲进了这座建筑物之中，似乎已和阴暗微白的长拱廊的每块石块合而为一了，每个排水孔都是一个拱廊，里沃利街在污水沟方面也成了模范区。此外，如果说几何线条在什么地方合适的话，那就肯定是在一个大城市的粪窖中。在那儿，一切都要服从最短的路线。今日的阴渠已具有某种正式的外表。甚至警方在报告中提到它时也不再有失敬之处。官方文件中称呼它的字眼是高雅严肃的，过去叫做肠子的，现在称作长廊；以往人们叫做窟窿的，现在叫做眼孔。维庸将认不出他的临时旧居了。这个地窖网当然仍有它的古得无法追忆的啮齿类居民，现在比以往任何时候都要多；不时有一只有着老须的老鼠，冒险向沟窗外探头察看巴黎人；这只寄生鼠也习惯了，它对它的地下宫殿很满意。污沟已没有以往的狞恶相，从前雨水污染阴沟，现在冲洗一净。但也不能太放心，瘴疠仍然盘据在里面。更恰当地说，它是伪善的，而不是无可非议的。警署和公共卫生委员会也无法解决，尽管用上了一切改善环境卫生的办法，阴沟仍发出一股模糊可疑的气味，就象忏悔后的达尔杜弗一样。

①“体面”，原文为英文respectable。

无论如何，我们总得承认，打扫是阴渠向文明致敬，从这个观点看，达尔杜弗的良心较之奥革阿斯①的牛棚又前进了一步，巴黎的阴渠无疑得到了改良。

①奥革阿斯（Augias），希腊厄利斯国王，他的牛棚里养着三千头牛，牛棚有三十年没打扫过。

这不仅是进步，这是蜕变，在古老的阴渠和今日的阴渠之间，曾有过一次革命。谁进行了这次革命呢？

是被众人遗忘而我们提到的勃吕纳梭。

1 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

2 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

3 comports   

v.表现( comport的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She always comports herself with great dignity. 她的举止总是很端庄。
• He comports himself with modesty. 他表现得很谦虚。 来自辞典例句

4 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

5 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

6 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

7 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

8 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

9 vault   

n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室

参考例句：

• The vault of this cathedral is very high.这座天主教堂的拱顶非常高。
• The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。

10 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

11 arcade   

n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道

参考例句：

• At this time of the morning,the arcade was almost empty.在早晨的这个时候，拱廊街上几乎空无一人。
• In our shopping arcade,you can find different kinds of souvenir.在我们的拱廊市场，你可以发现许多的纪念品。

12 rue   

n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔

参考例句：

• You'll rue having failed in the examination.你会悔恨考试失败。
• You're going to rue this the longest day that you live.你要终身悔恨不尽呢。

13 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

14 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

15 sonorous   

adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇

参考例句：

• The sonorous voice of the speaker echoed round the room.那位演讲人洪亮的声音在室内回荡。
• He has a deep sonorous voice.他的声音深沉而洪亮。

16 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

17 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

18 lodging   

n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging. 账单包括吃、住费用。
• Where can you find lodging for the night? 你今晚在哪里借宿?

19 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

20 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

21 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

22 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

23 miasmas   

n.瘴气( miasma的名词复数 )；烟雾弥漫的空气；不良气氛或影响

参考例句：

24 irreproachable   

adj.不可指责的，无过失的

参考例句：

• It emerged that his past behavior was far from irreproachable.事实表明，他过去的行为绝非无可非议。
• She welcomed her unexpected visitor with irreproachable politeness.她以无可指责的礼仪接待了不速之客。

25 exhales   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的第三人称单数 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• He shivers, exhales, gets the ball and races back to his friends. 他浑身一颤，舒了口气，捡起球，跑回到他的朋友们那里。 来自互联网
• A smoker exhales in a pub in Richmond, London. 一名吸菸者在伦敦瑞旗蒙一家酒吧吞云吐雾。 来自互联网

26 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

27 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

28 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

29 sewers   

n.阴沟，污水管，下水道( sewer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sewers discharge out at sea. 下水道的污水排入海里。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Another municipal waste problem is street runoff into storm sewers. 有关都市废水的另外一个问题是进入雨水沟的街道雨水。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法