Book 10 Chapter 23

FROM GORKY Bennigsen went down the high-road to the bridge, which the officer on the knoll¹ had pointed² out to Pierre as the centre of the position, where by the riverside lay rows of sweet-scented, new-mown hay. They crossed the bridge to the village of Borodino, then turned to the left, and passing immense numbers of men and cannons³, came out on to the high knoll on which militiamen were at work excavating⁴. This was the redoubt, as yet unnamed, afterwards called Raevsky's redoubt, or the battery on the mound⁵.

Pierre did not take special notice of this redoubt. He did not dream that that spot would be more memorable⁶ for him than any other part of the plain of Borodino. Then they crossed a hollow to Semyonovskoye, where the soldiers were dragging away the last logs of the huts and barns. Then they rode on downhill and uphill again, across a field of rye, trampled⁷ and laid as though by hail, along the track newly made by the artillery⁸, over the ridges⁹ of the ploughed field, to the earthworks, at which the men were still at work.

Bennigsen halted at the earthworks, and looked in front at the redoubt of Shevardino, which had been ours the day before. Several horsemen could be descried¹⁰ upon it. The officers said that Napoleon and Murat were there. And all gazed eagerly at the little group of horsemen. Pierre too stared at them, trying to guess which of the scarcely discernible figures was Napoleon. At last the group of horsemen descended¹¹ the hill and passed out of sight.

Bennigsen began explaining to a general who had ridden up to him the whole position of our troops. Pierre listened to his words, straining every faculty¹² of his mind to grasp the essential points of the coming battle, but to his mortification¹³ he felt that his faculties¹⁴ were not equal to the task. He could make nothing of it. Bennigsen finished speaking, and noticing Pierre's listening face, he said, turning suddenly to him:

“It's not very interesting for you, I expect.”

“Oh, on the contrary, it's very interesting,” Pierre repeated, not quite truthfully.

From the earthworks they turned still more to the left of the road that ran winding¹⁶ through a thick, low-growing, birch wood. In the middle of the wood a brown hare with white feet popped out on the road before them, and was so frightened by the tramp of so many horses, that in its terror it hopped¹⁷ along the road just in front of them for a long while, rousing general laughter, and only when several voices shouted at it, dashed to one side and was lost in the thicket¹⁸. After a couple of versts of woodland, they came out on a clearing, where were the troops of Tutchkov's corps¹⁹, destined²⁰ to protect the left flank.

At this point, at the extreme left flank, Bennigsen talked a great deal with much heat; and gave instructions, of great importance from a military point of view, as it seemed to Pierre. Just in front of the spot where Tutchkov's troops were placed there rose a knoll, which was not occupied by troops. Bennigsen was loud in his criticism of this oversight²¹, saying that it was insane to leave a height that commanded the country round unoccupied and place troops just below it. Several generals expressed the same opinion. One in particular, with martial²² warmth, declared that they were doomed²³ there to certain destruction. Bennigsen, on his own responsibility, ordered the troops to be moved on to the high-road.

This change of position on the left flank made Pierre more than ever doubtful of his capacity for comprehending military matters. As he heard Bennigsen and the other generals criticising the position of the troops at the foot of the hill, Pierre fully¹⁵ grasped and shared their views. But that was why he could not imagine how the man who had placed them there could have made so gross and obvious a blunder.

Pierre did not know that the troops had not been placed there to defend their position, as Bennigsen supposed, but had been stationed in that concealed²⁴ spot in ambush²⁵, in order unobserved to deal a sudden blow at the enemy unawares. Bennigsen, ignorant of this project, moved the troops into a prominent position without saying anything about this change to the commander-in-chief.

贝尼格森离开戈尔基，顺着山坡大路向大桥进发，这就是军官指给皮埃尔看的那个阵地中心，那座桥旁边的河岸上堆放着刚割下来的，散发着香味的干草。他们驰过桥，进入波罗底诺，再向左转，经过大批的士兵和大炮，来到有士兵在那儿挖土的高岗。这个多面堡当时还没有命名，后来叫作拉耶夫斯基多面堡或者叫作高地炮台。

皮埃尔没有特别注意这个多面堡。他不知道，这个地方对他来说比波罗底诺战场任何其他地方，都更值得纪念。随后他们经过一条山沟来到谢苗诺夫斯科耶村，士兵们正在那儿从农舍和烘干室拖走最后剩余的木头。然后，他们又翻了一座山，经过一片像被冰雹砸平的黑麦地，沿着耕地上刚被炮兵踏出来的坎坷不平的道路驰到了正在构筑的突角堡①。

①突角堡是一种防御工事。——托尔斯泰注。

贝尼格森在突角堡停下来，向前眺望那昨天还属于我们的舍瓦尔金诺多面堡，看得见那儿几个骑马的人。军官们说，那里面有拿破仑，要不就有缪拉。大家都贪婪地望那一群骑马的人。皮埃尔也往那边看，极力猜测那几个影影绰绰的人影中哪一个是拿破仑，后来，骑马的人下了山岗就不见了。

贝尼格森对走到跟前的军官开始讲解我军的整个形势。皮埃尔听着贝尼格森的讲解，绞尽脑汁想弄清目前战役的真相，但是他很苦恼，觉得自己脑子不够用。他一点也没听懂。

贝尼格森停住了，看着仔细倾听的皮埃尔，忽然对他说：

“你大概不感兴趣吧？”

“啊，正相反，非常感兴趣。”皮埃尔说了违心的话。

他们离开突角堡向左转，在一片稠密的白桦树矮林中，沿着一条蜿蜒的小道前行。走到树林中时，一只白腿的褐色兔子跳到他们面前的路上，被众多的马蹄声吓得惊慌失措，在他们前面的路上跳上了很久，引起大家的注意和哄笑，直到几个人一齐吆喝它，才跳到路旁的密林里。在密林里又走了两三俄里，他们来到一片林间空地上，这儿驻扎着防守左翼的图奇科夫兵团的队伍。

在这极左翼的地方，贝尼格森激动地讲了很久，然后发布了一个皮埃尔觉得是重要的军事命令。在图奇科夫的队伍驻地前面有一个高地。这个高地没有驻扎军队。贝尼格森大声地批评这个错误。他说，不据守制高点而把军队放在山下面，简直是发疯。有几个将军也表示了同样的意见。其中一个特别具有军人的暴烈脾气，他说，把军队放在这儿是等着敌人来屠杀。贝尼格森自作主张，命令把军队都转移到高地上去。

左翼的部署，使皮埃尔更加怀疑自己对军事的理解能力。听贝尼格森和将军们批评军队驻在山上，皮埃尔完全明白他们所说的话，也赞成他们的意见；但是，正因为如此，他不能理解那个把军队放在山下的人怎么会犯这样明显、重大的错误。

皮埃尔不知道，这些军队布置在那儿，并不像贝尼格森所想的那样是为了守卫阵地，而是隐蔽起来打伏击的，也就是出其不意地打击来犯的敌人。贝尼格森不知道这一点，不向总司令报告，便自作主张把军队调到前面去。

1 knoll   

n.小山，小丘

参考例句：

• Silver had terrible hard work getting up the knoll.对于希尔弗来说，爬上那小山丘真不是件容易事。
• He crawled up a small knoll and surveyed the prospect.他慢腾腾地登上一个小丘，看了看周围的地形。

2 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

3 cannons   

n.加农炮，大炮，火炮( cannon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cannons bombarded enemy lines. 大炮轰击了敌军阵地。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• One company had been furnished with six cannons. 某连队装备了六门大炮。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 excavating   

v.挖掘( excavate的现在分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘

参考例句：

• A bulldozer was employed for excavating the foundations of the building. 推土机用来给楼房挖地基。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs. 一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。 来自辞典例句

5 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

6 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

7 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

8 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

9 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

10 descried   

adj.被注意到的，被发现的，被看到的

参考例句：

• He descried an island far away on the horizon. 他看到遥远的地平线上有个岛屿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At length we descried a light and a roof. 终于，我们远远看见了一点灯光，一所孤舍。 来自辞典例句

11 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

12 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

13 mortification   

n.耻辱，屈辱

参考例句：

• To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
• The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

14 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

16 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

17 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

18 thicket   

n.灌木丛，树林

参考例句：

• A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
• We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。

19 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

20 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

21 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

22 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

23 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

24 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

25 ambush   

n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击

参考例句：

• Our soldiers lay in ambush in the jungle for the enemy.我方战士埋伏在丛林中等待敌人。
• Four men led by a sergeant lay in ambush at the crossroads.由一名中士率领的四名士兵埋伏在十字路口。