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在蔚蓝大海的最深处，有个完全不同于陆地的海底世界。六位美丽的人鱼公主生活在这里，她们对大海以外的世界充满了好奇和渴望，尤其是年纪最小、最美丽的那位小公主。得到老祖母的应允后，公主们依次在各自年满十五岁的那一天见识到了人类世界的美好和不同。几位人鱼公主浮出海面后都见到了什么景象呢？
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Far out in the sea the water is as blue as the petals of the most beautiful corn-flower , and as clear as the purest glass. But it is very deep, deeper than any cable will sound; many steeples must be placed one above the other to reach from the ground to the surface of the water. And down there live the sea-people.
Now, you must not believe there is nothing down there but the naked sand; no,—the strangest trees and plants grow there, so pliable in their stalks and leaves that at the least motion of the water they move just as if they had life. All fishes, great and small,
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《海的女儿》是安徒生创作的一篇经典童话故事，英文名是The Little Sea-Maid或The Little Mermaid。sea-maid或mermaid都是“美人鱼”的意思，所以一些版本也会将其译为《小美人鱼》或《人鱼公主》。
故事开始于一片遥远大海的深处，那里的海水湛蓝得好像蓝色的矢车菊，又清澈得好像剔透的水晶。海水深到任何锚索都无法测量它的深度。就算把许多个尖塔一个个堆叠起来，都不能从海底延伸到海面。结合后文可知，在这片海里，住着一位海王，他就像中国古代神话中统领水族的龙王一样，是整片海域中至高无上的统治者。一同生活在这里的，还有他的一众臣民。海底并不是只有光秃秃的黄沙，实际上那里有着许多地面上都看不到的奇花异草，每当海水轻轻涌动，它们柔韧异常的枝干和叶片就会随着水波轻荡起来，昭示出勃勃生机。
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n.
花瓣
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n.
矢车菊
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n.
锚索；锚链
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n.
尖塔，尖顶
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adj.
柔韧的，柔软的
glide among the twigs , just as here the birds do in the trees. In the deepest spot of all lies the Sea-king's castle : the walls are of coral , and the tall, Gothic windows of the clearest amber ; shells form the roof, and they open and shut according as the water flows. It looks lovely, for in each shell lie gleaming pearls, a single one of which would have great value in a queen's diadem .
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鱼儿们在这些枝干中游动，仿若空中的飞鸟在林间穿梭。这里的glide表示“（鱼儿）游动”，原意是“滑行，滑翔”。因为原文中将海中鱼儿与林间鸟儿并列提及，所以使用glide比常用的表示“游动”的swim更恰如其分。glide中的gl-前缀，强调单词中包含“光，光滑”的意味。
在海底的最深处，就是海王城堡的所在了。这座城堡的墙壁由珊瑚砌成；尖顶的哥特式高窗则由最纯净的琥珀制成；屋顶铺满了贝壳，每只贝壳里都有一颗闪闪发光的珍珠，随意摘取一颗，都十分适宜镶嵌在皇后的皇冠上。贝壳们随着海水流动的频率一张一翕，看上去美极了。gleaming在这里表示“闪闪发光的”，强调持续闪动的微弱光芒，它来自动词gleam，意为“发微光”。因这里是修饰珍珠的光彩，它往往更为温润而柔美，而非钻石般夺目耀眼，所以gleaming用在这里就非常恰当。同时，gleaming中再次出现前面提到的gl-前缀，也印证了gl-前缀包含“光，光滑”的意思。
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n.
小枝，嫩枝
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n.
地点，场所
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n.
城堡
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n.
珊瑚
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n.
琥珀
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n.
壳
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n.
王冠
The Sea-king below there had been a widower for many years, while his old mother kept house for him. She was a clever woman, but proud of her rank, so she wore twelve oysters on her tail, while the other great people were only allowed to wear six. Beyond this she was deserving of great praise , especially because she was very fond of her grand-daughters, the little Sea-princesses. These were six pretty children; but the youngest was the most beautiful of all.Her skin was as clear and as fine as a rose leaf; her eyes were as blue as the deepest sea; but, like all the rest, she had no feet, for her body ended in a fish-tail.
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海王已经做了很多年的鳏夫，年迈的母亲为他管理家务。她是一个很聪明的女人，尤其自傲于高贵的出身。这里clever意指“聪明的”，特指带着孩子气的小聪明。与其意思相近的表达还有smart或wise，这两个词的词义更多地倾向于表示“智慧的”。这位海王的母亲怎么体现自身的高贵呢？她的鱼尾上有十二只牡蛎，人鱼中其他达官显贵则至多佩戴六只。除此之外，她在其他方面就非常值得称道了，对小孙女们——也就是六个小公主，格外地关爱有加。她们六个都非常漂亮，特别是最小的那一个。
这位最小的公主，皮肤细嫩得像是玫瑰花瓣，眼睛的颜色像是深海一样蓝。可和其他人鱼公主一样，她没有人类的下肢，取代双腿的是一条长长的鱼尾。
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n.
鳏夫
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n.
表扬，赞美
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adj.
喜爱的，慈爱的
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喜爱
All day long they could play in the castle, down in the halls, where living flowers grew out of the walls. The great amber windows were opened, and then the fishes swam in to them, just as the swallows fly in to us when we open our windows; but the fishes swam straight up to the Princesses, ate out of their hands, and let themselves be stroked .
Outside the castle was a great garden with bright red and dark blue flowers; the fruit glowed like gold, and the flowers like flames of fire; and they continually kept moving their stalks and leaves.
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六个小公主终日无忧无虑地在城堡大厅的每一个角落游荡玩闹，那里的墙上有盛放的鲜花。琥珀镶嵌的大窗敞开着，鱼儿就这样从窗外游了进来，游到公主们身边，在她们的小手里找东西吃，还信赖地让她们轻抚自己的身体。stroke在这里指“轻抚”，这也是这个词的原意，除此之外，它还有“（天才的）举动”“一击”和“中风”等含义。在本系列《西游记之猴王出世》一书的文段精读中，对其释义有更详尽的讲解。
回到文中，城堡外面有一个漂亮的花园，花园里长满了鲜红和深蓝色的鲜花，它们的果实像金子一样闪亮，盛开的花朵就像火焰一般，花枝和叶子还在不停地摇动。这里的glow就是“发光”的意思，强调有一定温度的东西发出微弱而稳定的光，这就和前面“盛开的花朵像火焰一般”呼应上了，且gl-前缀又一次出现，依然含有“光”的含义。
· n. 燕子
The earth itself was the finest sand, but blue as the flame of brimstone . A peculiar blue radiance lay upon everything down there: one would have thought oneself high in the air, with the canopy of heaven above and around, rather than at the bottom of the deep sea. During a calm the sun could be seen; it appeared like a purple flower, from which all light streamed out.
Each of the little Princesses had her own little place in the garden, where she might dig and plant at her good pleasure. One gave her flower-bed the form of a whale; another thought it better to make hers like a little sea-woman: but the youngest made hers quite round, like the sun and had flowers which gleamed red as the
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花园里的沙子又细又干净，蓝得像是硫黄发出来的火焰。处处都闪着一种奇异的蓝光，使人仿佛置身天空而非海底。peculiar表示“奇怪的，奇异的”。当大海沉静的时候，从这片花园里抬头就能看到太阳，透过波光，太阳就像一朵紫色的花，从它的花萼里射出各色光彩。
每一位小公主在花园中都有属于自己的一块儿地方，随她们任意栽种修剪。有的花坛被布置成鲸鱼的形状，有的被布置成一个小人鱼的形状。故事的主人公海的女儿——也就是最年幼的人鱼公主，把自己的花坛布置得圆圆的，里面栽满了像太阳一样红彤彤的花朵。
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n.
硫黄
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n.
光辉
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n.
顶罩，华盖
sun itself. She was a strange child, quiet and thoughtful , and when the other sisters made a display of the beautiful things they had received out of wrecked ships, she would have nothing beyond the red flowers which resembled the sun, except a pretty marble statue . This was a figure of a charming boy, hewn out of white clear stone, which had sunk down to the bottom of the sea from a wreck .
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小美人鱼是个看起来有些内向古怪的孩子，文文静静，不爱说话，总喜欢思考。strange在这里表示“古怪的”，quiet表示“文静的”，thoughtful则表示“爱思考的”。这三个形容词，把小美人鱼的性格就大致表现出来了。
每当小美人鱼的姐姐们把她们从失事船只里得到的奇珍异宝拿出来装饰自己的花园时，小美人鱼的花园里却只有那些像太阳一样的红色花朵。除此之外，她还有一个漂亮的大理石雕像。
这座雕像是用一块洁白无瑕的石头雕刻而成的英俊少年，是随着一艘沉船落入海底的。
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v.
像，与……相似
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n.
大理石
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n.
雕像
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v.
砍成，劈出（某种形状、某物）
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n.
沉船，遇难船
She planted a pink weeping willow beside this statue; the tree grew famously , and hung its fresh branches over the statue towards the blue sandy ground, where the shadow showed violet, and moved like the branches themselves; it seemed as if the ends of the branches and the roots were playing together and wished to kiss each other.
There was no greater pleasure for her than to hear of the world of men above them. The old grandmother had to tell all she knew of ships and towns, of men and animals. It seemed particularly
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小美人鱼特别喜欢这座雕像，自从得到它之后，就视若珍宝，作为点缀，还在它的旁边栽种上了一株粉红色的可爱垂柳。枝条垂在白色英俊少年雕像的上方，在蓝色的细沙上倒映出紫色的阴影。想想看：整个大花园的不同花坛里，有的被布置修剪成小鲸鱼造型，有的花坛形状像个小人鱼，还有栽满红花的圆形花坛，蓝色的细沙，粉红色的小小垂柳……在安徒生的这则故事中，这一幅有着高饱和度色彩的画面，像是出自某个颇有天赋又用色大胆明艳的孩子笔下，令人感觉童趣满满，天真又烂漫。
对生活在海底世界的小美人鱼来说，最大的乐趣就是听到关于陆地上人类世界的故事。为此，疼爱小孙女的祖母不得不搜肠刮肚，把她所知的所有关于船只、城市、人类和动物的故事讲给她听。
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adj.
（有些树木）有下垂枝条的
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adv.
极好地；著名地
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n.
树枝，分枝
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adj.
沙地的，多沙的
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n.
（植物的）根，根茎
beautiful to her that up on the earth the flowers shed fragrance , for they had none down at the bottom of the sea, and that the trees were green, and that the f ishes which one saw there among the trees could sing so loud and clear that it was a pleasure to hear them. What the grandmother called fishes were the little birds; the Princess could not understand them in any other way, for she had never seen a bird.
“When you have reached your fifteenth year,” said the grandmother, “you shall have leave to rise up out of the sea, to sit on the rocks in the moonlight, and to see the great ships as they sail by. Then you will see forests and towns!”
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一些对人类来说只是寻常的小事，在小美人鱼听来，却成了极有意思的奇闻。比如，不同于海底世界，陆地上生长的花儿是散发着馥郁香气的，森林是绿色的，穿梭于林间那些“鱼儿”嗓音清亮悠扬，唱起歌来特别悦耳动听。祖母口中的fishes（不同种类的鱼），实际指的是鸟儿，因为小美人鱼从没见过鸟，祖母担心她不理解，才这样描述。随着祖母的娓娓道来，小美人鱼在心中构建出了一个于她来说梦幻般的世界，她被彻底迷住了。出于对这一切的好奇和向往，她便问老祖母，自己什么时候才能见识真实的人类世界。
祖母告诉她，等到她年满十五岁时，就可以浮出大海，坐在被月光笼罩着的石头上，看到那些行驶的巨轮，还能看到森林和城市。
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v.
散发出光；流，洒
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n.
芳香，香气
In the next year one of the sisters was fifteen years of age, but each of the others was one year younger than the next; so that the youngest had full five years to wait before she could come up from the bottom of the sea, and find how our world looked. But one promised to tell the others what she had seen and what she had thought the most beautiful on the first day of her visit; for their grandmother could not tell them enough—there was so much about which they wanted information.
No one was more anxious about these things than the youngest—just that one who had the longest time to wait, and who was always quiet and thoughtful. Many a night she stood by the open window, and looked up through the dark blue water at the fishes splashing with their fins and tails. Moon and stars she could
文段精读
这六位小公主中，年纪最大的也要到第二年才满十五岁，而其他姐妹的年龄依次小一岁，所以小美人鱼作为最小的一个，还要再足足等够五年才能一偿夙愿，这对她来说太漫长了。好在几个姐妹约定，每当一位公主到了祖母允许的年龄，游赏回来后，都要把自己的所见所闻说给余下的姐妹听，分享各自初访人间看到的最美的事物。年复一年，祖母讲给她们的那些太有限，实在无法满足她们对外面世界的好奇和渴求。
对外面的世界最渴望、最好奇的孩子，反而要等得最久。不知多少个夜晚，小美人鱼站在敞开着的窗子旁边，透过深蓝色的海水向上凝望，她能看到鱼儿摇动尾巴溅起的水花。
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v.
泼溅着水行进，拍打着水游
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n.
（鱼的）鳍
see; they certainly shone quite faintly, but through the water they looked much larger than they appear in our eyes. When something like a black cloud passed among them, she knew that it was either a whale swimming over her head, or a ship with many people: they certainly did not think that a pretty little sea-maid was standing down below stretching up her white hands towards the keel of their ship.
Now the eldest Princess was fifteen years old, and might mount up to the surface of the sea.
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月亮和星星也能看到，虽然海水使它们的光芒暗淡，却也比岸上看着放大了很多。如果有一块儿黑云从其下浮过，那么不是一只巨大的鲸鱼，就是一条载满人的船只。船上的旅人永远不会知道，在大海的最深处，在他们所乘坐船只正下方，正有一位美丽的人鱼公主，向他们的方向伸出了一双满载着憧憬的白皙双手。
这一年，年岁最长的公主年满十五岁了，她终于能浮升出水面，看一看外面的世界了。文中的mount表示“浮，升”，这个词在本系列丛书另外一本——英文版《西游记之猴王出世》中有过讲解，出现在菩提祖师登上宝座的情景中，也曾出现在《哈利·波特与魔法石》小说中主角骑着飞天扫帚的情节里。在本篇中，mount再次出现，虽具体释义不同，但与前面二者的相似之处就是这些动作中都包含了上升的意象和趋势。
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n.
（传说中的）美人鱼
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n.
（船的）龙骨
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adj.
年龄最大的
When she came back, she had a hundred things to tell,—but the finest thing, she said, was to lie in the moonshine on a sand-bank in the quiet sea, and to look at the neighboring coast, with the large town, where the lights twinkled like a hundred stars, and to hear the music and the noise and clamor of carriages and men, to see the many church steeples, and to hear the sound of the bells. Just because she could not get up to these, she longed for them more than for anything.
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这位人鱼公主回来后，关于岸上的世界，虽有太多事要同妹妹们讲，但在她心中，最美妙的事情莫过于在海面风平浪静时，躺在沐浴着月光的沙滩上，看着灯火通明的大城市——那里明亮得就像有千百颗恒星的光在照耀，听着美妙的音乐、车水马龙的声音等各类尘世的喧嚣。有时也远不止这些，她还能模糊地看到远处教堂的尖塔，听到那里的钟声。
正因为这些都是她远不能及的地方，所以就更令她渴求了。long最常见是作为形容词，表示“长的”，但当它作动词时，比如在文中此处，就表示“渴望，渴求”，特别是用在渴望一些难以企及的愿望时。联系前文中的情节，美人鱼初次上岸，亲眼见到繁华的人类世界，灯火交相辉映下的街景，欢闹熙攘的人群。然而不管她多想融入其中，都因为生而便有的一条长长的美丽鱼尾而止步岸边。这种对本不属于自己的东西异常向往，但求而不得的心情，用动词long来表达，就非常合适了。
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n.
喧闹，吵闹声
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n.
马车
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n.
教堂
O how the youngest sister listened! and afterwards when she stood at the open window and looked up through the dark-blue water, she thought of the great city with all its bustle and noise; and then she thought she could hear the church bells ringing, even down to the depth where she was.
In the following year, the second sister received permission to mount upward through the water and to swim whither she pleased. She rose up just as the sun was setting, and this spectacle , she said, was the most beautiful.The whole sky looked gold, and as to the clouds, she could not properly describe their beauty. They sailed away over her head, purple and violet -colored, but far quicker than
文段精读
姐姐的叙述令小美人鱼听入了神。当她又一次在夜间来到窗边，透过海水向上望时，想到姐姐说的那些大城市里的喧闹声，她仿佛能听到教堂的钟声向大海深处的她飘来。
时间又过去了一年，第二个姐姐也年满十五岁，可以浮上海面了。她跳出大海的一刻恰好是日落时分，那幕景象就成了她口中最美的存在。整片天空布满了金色的光辉，云彩的美甚至没法用语言描述出来，它们在她头顶飘过，一会儿是紫红色的，一会儿又是紫罗兰色的。这里的purple表示“紫色的，紫红色的”，violet表示“蓝紫色的，紫罗兰色的”。两种色彩都可归为紫色系，但purple更倾向于对所有紫色的统称，violet则单指偏冷色调的蓝紫色、紫罗兰花的颜色。
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n.
喧闹，繁忙
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n.
壮观的场面，景象
the clouds there flew a flight of wild swans , like a long white veil, over the water towards where the sun stood. She swam towards them; but the sun sank, and the roseate hue faded on the sea and in the clouds.
In the following year the next sister went up. She was the boldest of them all, and therefore she swam up a broad stream that poured its waters into the sea. She saw glorious green hills clothed with vines ; palaces and castles shone forth from amid splendid woods; she heard how all the birds sang; and the sun shone so
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比这些云漂浮得更快的，是一群野天鹅，它们像一条长长的白色轻纱一样掠过水面，朝太阳所在的地方游去，人鱼公主也不自觉随着这个方向游去。但太阳落下去了，玫瑰色的晚霞也在云与海面间渐渐消失了。
接下来的一年过去后，就轮到第三个姐姐了。她是所有姐妹中胆子最大的一个，因此她选择游向一条终将注入大海的宽阔溪流中。boldest在文中指“最大胆的”，原形是bold，即“大胆的”。这个词在本系列的英文版《西游记之猴王出世》中讲解过，强调主语天生胆大、敢于冒险。这位最大胆的美人鱼在她选择的溪流中游着，她看到一座座爬满藤蔓的美丽青山，宫殿和城堡在郁郁葱葱的树林中显现，她还能听到鸟儿在林间欢快地唱着歌。
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n.
（一起飞行的）鸟群
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n.
天鹅
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n.
颜色，色调
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v.
逐渐消失
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n.
藤，藤蔓
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adv.
向前
warm that she was often obliged to dive under the water to cool her glowing face. In a little bay she found a whole swarm of little mortals. They were quite naked , and splashed about in the water; she wanted to play with them, but they fled in affright and a little black animal came,—it was a dog, but she had never seen a dog,—and it barked at her so terribly that she became frightened, and tried to gain the open sea. But she could never forget the glorious woods, the green hills, and the pretty children, who could swim in the water, though they had not fish-tails.
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阳光太暖和了，她时不时就要潜到水里，好使得自己被晒得发热发红的面庞获得片刻清凉舒爽。glowing在此处用作形容词，意为“灼热的”，前面出现过它的动词原形glow，它们都与有一定热度的东西相关联。当美人鱼游到一个小河湾时，碰到了一群人间的孩子们，他们光着身子，在河水中游来游去。
她想同他们一起玩耍，但孩子们却被她吓跑了。这时一条小黑狗主动向她靠近，但她并不清楚这是什么动物，只见小狗冲她凶狠地吠了起来，这叫声吓得不明所以的人鱼立即逃入了熟悉的大海中。回到大海怀抱的人鱼却再也忘不掉那些美丽的森林、翠绿的山丘，还有那些可爱的孩子们，虽然他们并不像她常见的鱼儿那样长着尾巴，但却能在水中游闹嬉戏。
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v.
潜水
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n.
大群；人群
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of
一大群
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adj.
裸露的
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n.
惊吓，惊骇
The fourth sister was not so bold: she remained out in the midst of the wild sea, and declared that just there it was most beautiful. One could see for many miles around, and the sky above looked like a bell of glass. She had seen ships, but only in the far distance—they looked like sea-gulls ; and the funny dolphins had thrown somersaults , and the great whales spouted out water from their nostrils , so that it looked like hundreds of fountains all around.
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回顾第三个姐姐的所见所闻，她在树木掩映下看到的那座宫殿，将在后文的重要情节中再次出现。相比之下第四位姐姐就没那么大胆了，她选择停留在大海的中央。她认为最惬意的事就是在海面上瞭望四周的风景，彼时的天空就像一个玻璃钟悬在大海上。
远远地，她看到船只驶过，就像一只只海鸥。还有那些翻筋斗的有趣的海豚，以及体型巨大的鲸鱼从鼻孔里喷出水来，它们就像被无数的喷泉围绕着。somersault意为“翻滚，筋斗”，这又是一个曾出现在英文版《西游记之猴王出世》中的词，“筋斗云”中的“筋斗”就是用的这个词。不难看出英文小说中有许多词是近似和相通的，其中所描述的动作，还有常出现的一些形容词也基本大同小异，精读完一本后再读剩下的，会感到难度是依次下降的。读完本系列图书后，会为今后阅读英文原版小说打下很好的词汇基础。
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v.
断言，宣称
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n.
海鸥
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n.
海豚
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v.
（鲸鱼）从呼吸孔中喷出水柱
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n.
鼻孔
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n.
喷泉
Now came the turn of the fifth sister. Her birthday came in the winter, and so she saw what the others had not seen the first time. The sea looked quite green, and great icebergs were floating about; each one separated like a pearl , she said, and yet was much taller than the church steeples built by men. They showed themselves in the strangest forms, and shone like diamonds . She had seated herself upon one of the greatest of all, and let the wind play with her long hair; and all the sailing ships tacked about in a very rapid way beyond where she sat. But toward evening the sky became
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回到文中，现在轮到第五位美人鱼公主了，她的生日恰好在冬天。当她浮出海面的时候，见识到了一个与前面四个姐姐第一次所看到的景色全然不同的一片美丽的冰雪世界。
冬季的大海看起来是青绿色的，海面上随处可见漂浮着的巨大的冰山，每一座冰山都像一颗莹白的珍珠。它们比人类建造的教堂尖塔还要高得多，以各种奇形怪状的造型出现，又像钻石那样闪耀着道道光彩。
她曾坐在一座最大的冰山上，海风恣意吹着她的细密长发，所有路过的船只全都以极快的速度避开她坐的冰山，绕道而行。
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n.
冰山
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v.
（使）漂浮，（使）浮动
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n.
珍珠
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n.
钻石
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v.
戗风行驶，蜿蜒航行
covered with clouds, it thundered and lightened, and the black waves lifted the great ice-blocks high up, and let them glow in the red glare. On all the ships the sails were reefed , and there was fear and anguish . But she sat quietly upon her floating iceberg, and saw the forked blue flashes dart into the sea.
Each of the sisters, as she came up for the first time to the surface of the water, was delighted with the new and beautiful sights she saw; but as they now had permission, as grown-up girls, to go whenever they liked, it became indifferent to them. They
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黄昏时分，天空突然乌云密布，电闪雷鸣。黑色的巨浪掀起整块整块的冰面，使它们在血红色的雷电中闪着光。
所有船只都收起了帆，船上的人们惧怕暴风雨中的大海，惊慌和恐怖的氛围在海面上蔓延，可人鱼却无波无澜，继续坐在自己的冰山上，看着蓝色的闪电弯曲着射进反着光的大海里。
五位人鱼公主都见过大海以外的世界了。当她们十五岁第一次离开大海，都为那些从未见过的新鲜事物而兴奋。可随时间推移，浮出海面不再是奢望，变得触手可及，那些东西却反而不再吸引她们，失去了原有的吸引力，变成平淡生活中可有可无的一部分。
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v.
打雷，发出雷鸣般的响声
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v.
收帆，卷起缩帆部
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n.
剧痛，极度痛苦
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adj.
分岔的，分成两部分
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n.
闪光
wished themselves back again, and after a month had elapsed they said it was best of all down below, for there one felt so comfortably at home.
Many an evening hour the five sisters took one another by the arm and rose up in a row over the water. They had splendid voices, more charming than any mortal could have; and when a storm was approaching, so that they could apprehend that ships would go down, they swam on before the ships and sang lovely songs, which told how beautiful it was at the bottom of the sea, and exhorted the sailors not to be afraid to come down. But these could not
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家对她们来说才是最舒适和温馨的地方。就像那些没有见识过大海，也从未坐过游轮出海的人们，当登上巨轮那一刻，大多数人会异常兴奋，可当新奇感不再时，再美的风景都会变成一种常态。这五位人鱼公主亦是如此，新鲜感褪去后，还是觉得海底世界自由快活。
但海平面以外的世界似乎成了她们生活中的一种调剂。在黄昏时分，五个姐妹经常手挽着手浮出海面，站成一排，一同唱出动听的歌曲——人鱼的嗓音比任何人类的声音都要美妙。暴风雨即将降临前，她们认为有些船只可能快要出事时，就用人鱼的语言唱出美丽的歌谣。歌中颂扬着海底世界的美丽和可爱，安慰水手们不要害怕沉入海底。
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v.
消逝
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n.
暴风雨
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v.
忠告，劝诫
understand the words, and thought it was the storm sighing; and they did not see the splendors below, for if the ships sank they were drowned , and came as corpses to the Sea-king's palace.
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水手们自然是听不懂人鱼语言的，即便听懂了那些歌词，他们中恐怕也没人会期待自己能在海底世界体验到这些美好事物。因为沉船后他们根本无法存活，只能变成尸体抵达海王的宫殿。
现在只剩下海的女儿——最小的人鱼公主从未体验过大海以外的世界了。当她终于到了十五岁那一天，被允许浮出海面时，又会有什么样独属于她的奇遇呢？
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v.
（使）淹死
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n.
尸体
双语名作一词通 在语境中记单词
glide v. 滑行；滑动
1 All fishes, great and small, glide among the twigs, just as here the birds do in the trees.
大大小小的鱼儿，都在这些海底的树枝间灵活游动，就像鸟儿在树枝间穿梭。
——《海的女儿》
2 The Phantom glided on into a street.
幽灵飘进了一条街道。
——《圣诞颂歌》
3 The gleaming pink boiled-sweet boat glided up to the riverbank.
亮光闪闪的粉红色硬糖船漂到河边。
——《查理与巧克力工厂》
4 But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away.
可是摄魂怪没有动弹，卢平低声说了句什么，魔杖里就冒出一道银色的东西，朝着摄魂怪射去，摄魂怪转过身，飘飘悠悠地走了。
——《哈利·波特与阿兹卡班囚徒》
gleaming adj. 闪闪发光的
1 It looks lovely, for in each shell lie gleaming pearls, a single one of which would have great value in a queen's diadem.
那看上去美极了，因为每颗贝壳里都含有一颗闪闪发光的珍珠，随便哪一颗都能成为皇后王冠上的装饰。
——《海的女儿》
2 The peacock-blue ceiling was inlaid with gleaming golden symbols that were continually moving and changing like some enormous heavenly notice board.
孔雀蓝的天花板上镶嵌着闪闪发光的金色符号，不停地活动着、变化着，像是一个巨大的高空布告栏。
——《哈利·波特与凤凰社》
3 Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleamin g bottle.
哈利拿出箱底的袜子，抽出了一个闪闪发光的小瓶子。
——《哈利·波特与混血王子》
4 The snowflakes in her hair quickly melted into gleaming droplets as she unwrapped her scarf and put her hands to her mouth to blow on them.
她刘海上的雪花很快融成晶莹的水珠，她解开红围巾，把双手放在嘴边呵着。
——《三体之黑暗森林》
glow v. 发出微弱而稳定的光
1 Outside the castle was a great garden with bright red and dark blue flowers; the fruit glowed like gold, and the flowers like flames of fire.
宫殿外面有一个很大的花园，里边生长着许多火红和深蓝色的花；它们的果实像金子一样闪亮，花朵开得像燃烧着的火。
——《海的女儿》
2 When I saw the coloured clouds glowing in the sky a little while back I, your mother and everyone else in the inner palace burned incense and worshipped.
我才见早空彩霞，就于宫院内同你母亲等众焚香启秤。
——《西游记》
3 It was spinning very fast in the palm of Ron's hand and glowing brilliantly.
窥镜在罗恩手心里转得飞快，发出耀眼的光芒。
——《哈利·波特与阿兹卡班囚徒》
4 Even as Harry watched, the chains on the arms of the chair glowed suddenly gold and snaked their way up Karkaroff's arms, binding him there.
就在哈利注视的时候，椅子扶手上的锁链突然发出金光，然后像蛇一样缠到卡卡洛夫的胳膊上，把他绑在了那里。
——《哈利·波特与火焰杯》
5 The night sky became especially clear, and the stars glowed like a field of silver bonfires.
夜空变得异常晴朗，群星像一片银色的火焰。
——《三体》