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小美人鱼终于到了十五岁，得以亲见向往已久的另一个世界。她遇到了一艘热闹的大船，船上众人正为一位英俊的王子庆祝生日。热闹的歌舞声中，小美人鱼的目光无法从王子身上移开片刻。正在这时，暴风雨侵袭了平静的海面。懵懂的小美人鱼和无力对抗汹涌波涛的年轻王子之间，接下来会发生些什么故事呢？
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本章重点单词讲解
本章外教原文朗读
When the sisters thus rose up, arm in arm, in the evening time, through the water, the little sister stood all alone looking after them; and she felt as if she must weep; but the sea-maid has no tears and for this reason she suffers far more acutely .
“O if I were only fifteen years old!” said she. “I know I shall love the world up there very much, and the people who live and dwell there.”
At last she was really fifteen years old.
“Now, you see, you are grown up,” said the grandmother, the old dowager . “Come, let me adorn you like your sisters.”
And she put a wreath of white lilies in the little maid's hair, but each flower was half a pearl; and the old lady let eight great oysters attach themselves to the Princess’ tail, in token of her high rank.
文段精读
对小美人鱼来说，这最后的一年显得格外漫长而煎熬，终于，继五位姐姐之后，小美人鱼到了十五岁，可以去外面的世界看看了。
老祖母很有仪式感，对每位人鱼公主的外出都格外重视，这次也不例外。她把小美人鱼打扮得如同前几个姐姐一样漂亮，在她头上戴了一个白色的百合花环，不同的是，每一片花瓣都是由半颗珍珠做成的。祖母又将八只大牡蛎贴附于小美人鱼的鱼尾上，以显示人鱼公主身份的高贵。
·
adv.
剧烈地，尖锐地
·
n.
贵妇
·
v.
装饰，装扮
·
n.
花环；花冠
·
n.
百合
·
n.
象征，标志
·
表示，作为……的标志
“But that hurts so!” said the little Sea-maid.
“Yes, pride must suffer pain,” replied the old lady.
O how glad she would have been to shake off all the tokens of rank and lay aside the heavy wreath! Her red flowers in the garden suited her better; but she could not help it. “Farewell!” she said, and then she rose, light and clear as a water-bubble, up through the sea.
The sun had just set when she lifted her head above the sea, but all the clouds still shone like roses and gold, and in the pale red sky the evening-stars gleamed bright and beautiful. The air was
文段精读
前文提到过，老祖母格外自傲于高贵的身份，佩戴了十二只牡蛎，给人鱼公主们戴八只，仅次于自己，说明她格外看重自己的孙女们。但小美人鱼却有些吃不消，八只大大的牡蛎贴在身上，实在令她感到不适。
祖母不以为意，认为想要漂亮和派头自然要付出代价，为此吃点苦头也是值得的。小美人鱼太想摆脱这些加于身上的繁复装饰了，和这些比起来，她觉得还是自己花坛中的那些红艳艳的花儿更适合自己，但她并不敢忤逆祖母的意愿，只能说句再会，然后毫不犹豫地一跃，像个轻盈的水泡一般跃出了海面。那一刻，太阳刚刚落下，云彩还闪着暗红和金色的光。在朦胧的暮色中，金星已开始微弱地闪烁出它独有的美丽光华。gleam在此处复现，还是“发微光”的意思。
·
v.
合（某人）心意；适合
·
adj.
（颜色）浅的，淡的
mild and fresh, and the sea quite calm. There lay a great ship with three masts ; one single sail only was set, for not a breeze stirred , and around in the shrouds and on the yards sat the sailors. There was music and singing, and as the evening closed in, hundreds of colored lanterns were lighted up, and looked as if the f lags of every nation were waving in the air. The little Sea-maid swam straight to
文段精读
这时的海面风平浪静，空气温和清新。近处停着一艘有三根桅杆的大船，因为没有一丝微风吹动，船上就只挂起了一面帆。这里stir表示“微动”的意思。在《哈利·波特与密室》中，这个词在同一章节出现了三次之多。为营救珍妮，哈利只身一人来到地下密室，仿佛听见了什么动静。这个“动静”，就是stir。伏地魔为阻止哈利的营救，放出了密室巨蛇，巨蛇在雕像中不停地搅动，这个“搅动”，又是stir。最终，哈利战胜了伏地魔，救下珍妮，珍妮慢慢苏醒，这个“苏醒”，还是stir。stir本意是“打扰”，相当于disturb，而“微动、搅动、苏醒”，都包含引起别人注意的意思，和“打扰”相关联。
水手们无事，就闲坐在甲板上和索具中间。
船上回荡着音乐和歌声，当夜幕降临时，各色各样的灯笼亮了起来，仿佛各国的国旗在空中飘扬。
·
adj.
温和的
·
n.
桅杆，柱
·
n.
微风，和风
·
n.
（船桅或中桅的）左右支索，侧支索
·
n.
旗帜，国旗
the cabin window, and each time the sea lifted her up she could look through the panes , which were clear as crystal , and see many people standing within dressed in their best.
文段精读
小美人鱼游到船舱的窗户旁，海浪一次次将她托举起来，每当这时，她就能透过窗户看到里面有许多身着华服之人。cabin在这里指“船舱”，即船中空间不大的小隔间，一般供水手居住。这个词本身指“小木屋，小屋子”。说到“小屋子”的表达，在英文原著中，基本可归为三类。第一种就是上文出现的cabin，这个词在表示“小屋子”时，经常指的是贫困之人的住所。第二种是hut，例如我们生活中常见的必胜客比萨的英文标识，就是Pizza Hut，即“比萨小屋”的意思。又例如《哈利·波特》中海格居住的小破房子，也用的是hut。总之，它强调的是简陋的、临时搭建的小房子。第三种是cottage，在《哈利·波特与混血王子》中，伏地魔的父亲骑在马上，与一位姑娘一同巡山。姑娘指着伏地魔母亲所在的茅草小屋，问伏地魔的父亲那间破房子是否是他家的，伏地魔的父亲没有承认。那间屋子就被称为cottage，它一般指乡间的茅草小屋、村舍等。
·
n.
（窗户或门上的）一块玻璃，窗格
·
n.
结晶；水晶
But the handsomest of all was the young Prince with the great black eyes: he was certainly not much more than sixteen years old; it was his birthday, and that was the cause of all this feasting. The sailors were dancing upon deck ; and when the young Prince came out, more than a hundred rockets rose into the air; they shone like day, so that the little Sea-maid was quite startled, and dived under the water; but soon she put out her head again, and then it seemed just as if all the stars of heaven were falling down upon her.
文段精读
在这群穿着讲究的体面人当中，最英俊的就是那位有着一双又大又黑双目的年轻王子。他的年纪还不到十六岁，今天是他的生日，船上众人正热闹地为他庆祝。handsomest在文中是“最英俊的”之意，是形容词的最高级，其原形是handsome。除了形容人“英俊的，帅气的”之外，在形容物的时候，handsome还有“精美的”之意。例如在《哈利·波特与魔法石》英文原著中，哈利·波特斗败伏地魔后，躺在医院疗养，好友海格前来探望，带来一本精美的相册，形容相册精美就用的handsome这个词。
船舱外的甲板上，水手们在跳舞。当王子走出船舱时，一百多发烟火齐齐向空中射出，天空顷刻亮如白昼。rocket在这里并非常见的“火箭/火箭弹”之意，而是表示“烟火”。烟火在英文中还有种更加常见的表达，即fire-work。这一百多发烟火的动静，把小美人鱼吓得沉入水中，但不一会儿，她又好奇地伸头仰望，这时，她看到天空中像有千万颗星星向她坠落。
· n. 甲板，舱面
She had never seen such fire-works. Great suns spurted fire all around, glorious fiery fishes flew up into the blue air, and everything was mirrored in the clear blue sea. The ship itself was so brightly lit up that every separate rope could be seen, and the people therefore appeared the more plainly . O how handsome the young Prince was! And he pressed the people's hands and smiled, while the music rang out in the glorious night.
文段精读
她从没见过这样神奇又美丽的烟火，火光反射在清明而平静的大海上。mirror在这里作动词，表示“反射，映照”，它常用作名词，意为“镜子”。整个船上灯火通明，所有的人，甚至一根根的绳子都在亮光下清清楚楚。plainly在这里是“清晰地”的意思，其原形是plain，有“朴素的，素净的”之意。在名著《双城记》中，开头就讲世界上有两对国王和王后，一对是英国的国王和王后，另一对是法国的国王和王后。两位国王都有着一副大大的下巴，两位王后的相貌上却不同。法国王后长得很漂亮，原文中说她有一张迷人的面孔（a queen with a fair face），英国王后就有些逊色了，她的相貌平平无奇（a queen with a plain face）。由此可以看出，plain形容相貌时是指相貌平平的意思。在烟火的辉映下，年轻的王子看上去更加英俊迷人了。音乐在夜空中回荡着，风度翩翩的王子与在场的每个人握手，微笑致意。
·
v.
喷射，喷出
·
adj.
绚丽的；极其愉快的
·
adj.
火红的；充满激情
It became late; but the little Sea-maid could not turn her eyes from the ship and from the beautiful Prince. The colored lanterns were extinguished, rockets ceased to fly into the air, and no more cannons were fired; but there was a murmuring and a buzzing deep down in the sea; and she sat on the water, swaying up and down, so that she could look into the cabin. But as the ship got more way, one sail after another was spread. And now the waves rose higher, great clouds came up, and in the distance there was lightning. O! it was going to be fearful weather, therefore the sailors furled the sails. The great ship flew in swift career over the wild sea: the waters rose up like great black mountains, which wanted to roll
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夜更深了，但此时小美人鱼的目光却无法从这艘船上移开，或者说，无法从王子身上移开。彩色的灯笼熄灭了，船上的一切重归寂静，可大海深处却变得不再平静，海水暗涌着，发出低沉的轰鸣声。小美人鱼仍旧待在船舱的窗旁，在海面上一起一伏地漂着，盯着船里的王子。可船只摇晃得越来越快，船帆已经展开，浪越来越高了。乌云遮住了天空，远处出现了闪电。暴风雨将至，船帆又被收了起来，巨轮在汹涌的海面上摇摇晃晃地急驶着。海浪像巨大的黑色山脉一样高涨，仿佛要折断和淹没桅杆。
·
n.
大炮；自动机关炮
·
n.
嗡嗡声，嘈杂声
·
v.
收拢，卷起
·
n.
迅速的前进；猛冲
·
v.
翻滚；翻转
over the masts; but like a swan the ship dived into the valleys between these high waves , and then let itself be lifted on high again. To the little Sea-maid this seemed merry sport, but to the sailors it appeared very differently. The ship groaned and creaked; the thick planks were bent by the heavy blows; the sea broke into the ship; the mainmast snapped in two like a thin reed, and the ship lay over on her side, while the water rushed into the hold.
文段精读
巨大的船只在海浪中就像一只天鹅，一会儿俯冲，一会儿高涨。小美人鱼觉得很有趣。merry在这里表示“有趣的，好玩的”。此外，这个词也可以表示“高兴的，愉快的”，与常用的happy不同，merry强调的是一种无拘无束的洒脱，它更多地表现在行为上，特别是在困境或令人不快的局面中仍保有一种乐观天性。happy则强调因感到满足而持续的一种内心状态。所以圣诞节时我们一般以Merry Christmas为问候语，祝愿彼此在这一天中能够忘却烦恼，享受当下。而新年到来之际，我们则用Happy New Year期盼大家在新的一年中幸福快乐。
小美人鱼生于海，长于海，不理解人类在这一刻即将被大海吞噬的恐惧。船只在浪涛中呻吟着发出嘎吱嘎吱的响声，海水从裂缝中冲到甲板上，厚厚的木板最终还是被猛烈的海水冲垮了，船桅像芦苇一样被从中折断了。船开始慢慢倾斜，水也渐渐灌入船舱。
·
n.
山谷，流域
·
n.
海浪
·
v.
呻吟，叹息
·
n.
木板，板条
·
n.
（船的）主桅
·
v.
（咔嚓一声）断裂，折断
Now the little Sea-maid saw that the people were in peril ; she herself was obliged to take care to avoid the beams and fragments of the ship which were floating about on the waters. One moment it was so pitch dark that not a single object could be described , but when it lightened it became so bright that she could distinguish every one on board. She looked particularly for the young Prince, and when the ship parted she saw him sink into the sea. Then she
文段精读
小美人鱼这时才意识到船上的人有危险了，就连她自己也得小心翼翼避开散落在水面上的船只残骸。peril表示“巨大的危险，危难”。这个词在本系列另一本英文小说《猴爪》中出现过，老怀特与儿子对弈过程中，棋差一招，致使自己的棋局陷于危机，就是用的这个peril。它与danger同有“危险”之意，但相对于peril而言，danger表达的危险大多是可以避免的，没有那么紧迫；而peril指代的危险程度一般要高于danger，所带来的危害也更加严重，且刻不容缓。回到文中，就在这份迫在眉睫的危机中，天空变得一片漆黑，无法视物，当一道闪电划过天空时，整个船上的画面又闪现在小美人鱼眼前，她得以看清船上的每一个人。她特别留意那位年轻的王子。当船只彻底断裂成两截，她看到王子正被卷入滚滚的浪涛之中。part作名词时表示“部分”，但在文中作为动词时，就变成“使分开，分成部分”的意思了。
·
n.
碎片，残存部分
·
n.
沥青
·
dark
非常黑，伸手不见五指的
·
v.
描述，形容
·
v.
看清，认出
was very glad, for now he would come down to her.But then she remembered that people could not live in the water, and that when he got down to her father's palace he would certainly be dead. No, he must not die: so she swam about among the beams and planks that strewed the surface, quite forgetting that one of them might have crushed her. Diving down deep under the water, she again rose high up among the waves, and in this way she at last came to the Prince, who could scarcely swim longer in that stormy sea. His arms and legs began to fail him, his beautiful eyes closed, and he would have died had the little Sea-maid not come. She held his
文段精读
看到这一幕，小美人鱼一开始感到很高兴，因为她觉得王子这样就能和自己在一起了。但随后便意识到人类在水中无法存活，当王子来到她父亲的宫殿时，他肯定会死掉的。小美人鱼不想让王子就这样死去，于是不顾一切地在漂着船梁和木板的海面上寻找王子，完全忘记这些东西可能会将自己砸得粉身碎骨。beam在这里表示“横梁，船梁”。小美人鱼看海面上没有她要找的人，就潜入了黑暗的水中，随海浪起起伏伏，直到找到王子。在汹涌的波涛中，王子已经筋疲力尽。
王子的四肢开始支撑不住，那双迷人的眼睛也闭上了。如果不是小美人鱼及时赶到，他一定没救了。fail是“衰弱，失灵，无法正常工作”的意思，his arms and legs began to fail him可以理解为“他的四肢渐渐衰弱无力，不听使唤了”。
· v. 散播，撒满
head up over the water, and then allowed the waves to carry her and him whither they listed.
When the morning came the storm had passed by. Of the ship not a fragment was to be seen. The sun came up red and shining out of the water; it was as if its beams brought back the hue of life to the cheeks of the Prince, but his eyes remained closed.
文段精读
就在这个危急的时刻，小美人鱼找到了王子，她把他的头托出水面，暂且让海浪载着他们随波漂流。
天明时分，暴风雨停下来了，但那条船却连一块碎片都看不到了。红彤彤的太阳从水面上冉冉升起，发出耀眼的光芒。这束光使王子的面颊重新恢复了生命的光彩，但他的双目仍是紧闭。beam在不同场景中再次出现，这里就是“光线，光柱”的意思了。面颊还能红润起来，说明王子此时还幸运地活着，可他紧闭的双眼却让小美人鱼犯了愁。她将如何唤醒沉睡的王子？故事接下来又会如何发展呢？
·
adv.
到哪里，去哪儿
·
v.
保持不变，一直是
双语名作一词通 在语境中记单词
plainly adv. 明白地，清晰地
1 The ship itself was so brightly lit up that every separate rope could be seen, and the people therefore appeared the more plainly .
整艘船都被照得通亮，连上面的绳子都根根分明，船上的人当然更能看得清楚了。
——《海的女儿》
2 She could see it quite plainly through the glass, and she tried her best to climb up one of the legs of the table, but it was too slippery.
透过玻璃她可以看得清清楚楚，她顺着一条桌子腿尽力往上爬，可是太滑了。
——《爱丽丝梦游仙境》
3 Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake.
可现在确实有一封信，地址清清楚楚，不会有错。
——《哈利·波特与魔法石》
4 He threw Hermione many covert glances, plainly fearing an angry outburst, but for all the notice she took of him he might not have been there.
他偷偷瞥着赫敏，显然害怕她发作，但赫敏却只当他根本不存在一样。
——《哈利·波特与死亡圣器》
5 He was staring hard at Fudge, as though seeing him plainly for the first time.
他犀利地盯着福吉，似乎第一次清清楚楚地看透了他。
——《哈利·波特与火焰杯》
merry adj. 有趣的；高兴的
1 To the little Sea-maid this seemed merry sport, but to the sailors it appeared very differently.
小美人鱼觉得这是一种很有趣的航行，可水手们却显然并不这样觉得。
——《海的女儿》
2 Long life to him! A merry Christmas and a happy new year! He'll be very merry and very happy, I have no doubt!
祝愿他长寿、圣诞快乐以及新年快乐。无疑，他会非常快乐，非常幸福！
——《圣诞颂歌》
3 Harry could still see the blond-haired youth's face; it was merry , wild; there was a Fred and George-ish air of triumphant trickery about him.
哈利还能看到那个金发少年的脸，快乐狂放，带着一种弗雷德和乔治式的、恶作剧成功的得意神态。
——《哈利·波特与死亡圣器》
4 “Oh, that's all right,” he cried, with a merry laugh.
“啊，那就没关系了。”他高兴地笑了。
——《福尔摩斯探案之血字的研究》
peril n. 危难
1 Now the little Sea-maid saw that the people were in peril ; she herself was obliged to take care to avoid the beams and fragments of the ship which were floating about on the waters
这时小美人鱼才知道他们遭遇到了危险，她自己也得当心那些漂在水面上的船梁和船只残骸。
——《海的女儿》
2 “I . . . I think I do see something . . . something that concerns you. . . Why, I sense something . . . something dark . . . some grave peril . . .”
“我……我觉得我确实看见了什么……是关于你的……啊，我感觉到了某种东西……某种黑色的东西……某种巨大的危险……”
——《哈利·波特与凤凰社》
3 Whenever the perils of his mental roadway terrified him, he found comfort in the stars overhead.
每当这条思想之路的艰险让他望而生畏时，头顶的星空便给他以安慰。
——《三体之黑暗森林》
4 The three of them thanked Monkey for delivering them from dire peril , then asked where the demons had gone.
他三人脱得灾危，谢了行者，却问：“妖魔哪里去了？”
——《西游记》
5 It was a shock to me to hear that I had placed my friends in such horrible peril .
听到我的朋友们为我遭受这样的危险，我心里实在是万分不安。
——《福尔摩斯探案之四签名》
part v. 分开；分离；分别
1 She looked particularly for the young prince, and when the ship parted she saw him sink into the sea.
她格外留意那位王子，当这艘船裂开的时候，她看到他沉入大海。
——《海的女儿》
2 “I’d like a few words with you before we part . In private. Perhaps in here?”
“分别前我想跟你说几句话，不想让别人听见。要不就在这里？”
——《哈利·波特与混血王子》
3 Someone yelled, “The commander is here!” The crowd parted to form a path.
有人喊：“统帅来了！”人群让开了一条路。
——《三体》
4 Why was he filled with gladness when he heard them give each other Merry Christmas, as they parted at cross-roads and bye-ways, for their several homes!
为什么听着他们在十字路口和岔路口归家前互道“圣诞快乐”时，他自己也是满心的欢喜呢？
——《圣诞颂歌》