大蓝鲸读书笔记《The Godfather》Chapter 01

For Anthony Cleri

Book One

Chapter 01

Behind every great fortune there is a crime.

Amerigo Bonasera sat in New York Criminal Court Number 3 and waited for justice; vengeance on the men who had so cruelly hurt his daughter, who had tried to dishonor her.

The judge, a formidably heavy-featured man, rolled up the sleeves of his black robe as if to physically chastise the two young men standing before the bench. His face was cold with majestic contempt. But there was something false in all this that Amerigo Bonasera sensed but did not yet understand.

"You acted like the worst kind of degenerates," the judge said harshly. Yes, yes, thought Amerigo Bonasera. Animals. Animals. The two young men, glossy hair crew cut, scrubbed clean-cut faces composed into humble contrition, bowed their heads in submission.

The judge went on. "You acted like wild beasts in a jungle and you are fortunate you did not sexually molest that poor girl or I'd put you behind bars for twenty years." The judge paused, his eyes beneath impressively thick brows flickered slyly toward the sallow-faced Amerigo Bonasera, then lowered to a stack of probation reports before him. He frowned and shrugged as if convinced against his own natural desire. He spoke again.

"But because of your youth, your clean records, because of your fine families, and because the law in its majesty does not seek vengeance, I hereby sentence you to three years' confinement to the penitentiary. Sentence to be suspended."

词汇

1. Amerigo Bonasera：（人名）亚美利哥·勃纳瑟拉；

2. vengeance ：['vendʒəns], n. 复仇；报复；报仇 the act of punishing or harming sb in return for what they
   have done to you, your family or friends

3. formidably： [fər'mɪdəblɪ]， adv. 可怕地

   formidable: adj. 可怕的；令人敬畏的；难对付的

4. chastise ：[tʃæ'staɪz]，v. 批评；指责；责备；体罚，这里翻译成严惩比较好

   ~ sb (for sth/for doing sth)

5. majestic：[məˈdʒɛstik]，adj. 宏伟的，威严的

   majesty : ['mædʒəsti]， n. 威严；庄严

6. contempt：[kən'tempt]，n. 蔑视；轻蔑

7. degenerate：[dɪˈdʒenəreɪt]，v. 退化；堕落； adj. 堕落的；n. 堕落的人

8. harshly：[ˈhɑrʃlɪ]， adv. 严厉地，苛刻地

9. glossy：['ɡlɔsi]，adj. 光滑的；光彩夺目的；n. 用光亮纸印刷的杂志

10. crew cut：平头

11. scrub： [skrʌb]， n. 擦洗；刷洗；灌木丛 v. 擦洗，刷洗；取消（原有安排）；adj. 矮小的；不中用的；

12. humble ：['hʌmb(ə)l]，v.谦逊；低声下气；虚心；贬低 adj. 谦逊的；虚心的

13. contrition：[kən'trɪʃ(ə)n]， n. 悔恨

14. submission：[səb'mɪʃ(ə)n]， n. 提交；屈服；投降

15. molest ：[mə'lest]，v. 对（儿童）性骚扰；攻击；伤害

16. flicker ：['flɪkər]， n. 闪烁；忽隐忽现；扑动；〈美〉金翼啄木鸟 v. 闪烁；闪变；(树叶等)摆动；假装昏倒

17. slyly：adv. 狡狯地；躲躲闪闪地；奸诈地

18. sallow：['sæloʊ]，adj. 灰黄的；蜡黄的 n. 黄华柳 v. (使)成[变成]灰黄色

19. probation：[prə'beɪʃ(ə)n]，n. 缓刑；试用期；试读；缓刑制

20. frown：[fraʊn]， n. 皱眉 v. 皱眉

21. shrug：[ʃrʌɡ]， n. 耸肩（表示不知道或不在乎）；带袖短披肩 v. 耸肩（表示不知道或不在乎）

22. confinement：[kən'faɪnmənt]， n. 禁闭；监禁；分娩；产期

23. penitentiary：[.penɪ'tenʃəri]，adj. 悔改的；苦行赎罪的；〈美〉应监禁的; n. 监狱;教养院（文中应该是这个意思）

24. Sentence to be suspended：该判决缓期执行

25. sentence：['sent(ə)ns]，n. 句子；判决；判刑；宣判; v. 判决；判刑；宣判

26. suspend：[sə'spend]，v. 悬浮；暂停；悬挂；停止

单词详解

1. vengeance：['vendʒəns], n. 复仇；报复；报仇

   同义词： revenge,retribution,reprisal,retaliation,punishment

   with a vengeance(informal):程度更深地；出乎意料地to a greater degree than is expected or usual

   例句1：Some said he was the bird "Jingwei" , which would filled up the sea for vengeance .精卫填海是为了报复！我都忘了这个典故了，小学课本里的吗？

   例句2：One might think such an experience would sour me to love and bring back, with a vengeance, my scowling hostility to romance. 也许有人认为这样一段经历会让我憎恶爱情，让我对浪漫爱情的敌意重新唤起。 突然发现多了两个单词不认识，哈哈，sour：动词恶化的意思，名词是酸味。scowl：皱眉头，和前面的frown好像是同义词，现在分词作表语，令人皱眉的。hostility ： 名词敌意。

2. formidably： [fər'mɪdəblɪ]， adv. 可怕地

   同义词：horrendously,worryingly,disturbingly,fearfully,terribly

   例句1: But the US university system remains a formidably well-funded generator of research. 但是美国的大学体系仍然是拥有最强资金的研发机构。这里副词用以修饰形容词。虽然翻译中没有明确说可怕，但是最强这俩字还是可以让人害怕的，新广告法里都不能这么讲了。

   formidable：可怕的，令人敬畏的，形容词。例句：A formidable Polish beauty, Lola was an exotic nouveau-riche specimen who taught her daughter the power of a good story. 这位令人敬畏的波兰美女罗拉是外来暴发户的样本，她让女儿有了领悟一个好故事的能力。虽然看上去这句话不知所云，为什么一个波兰美女就令人敬畏了？forbid这个单词有禁止的意思，为啥我要说这个，可能一个formidable波大美女，会forbid我想入非非。这个例句选的不好。

3. chastise ：[tʃæ'staɪz]，v. 批评；指责；责备；体罚

   例句：So, your wife caught you and now she's going to chastise you. Well, you're just going to have to take your medicine. 所以你得老婆抓到你，现在要惩罚你了。你将不得不忍受处罚。为什么抓到你就要惩罚你呢，有个词是chase，追逐，追赶，追捕的意思，可能在chastise你之前，已经chase了很久了，现在抓到你的小辫辫，就好好惩罚你了！还好我没有老婆，真是可怕。

4. majestic：[məˈdʒɛstik]，adj. 宏伟的，威严的

   可以形容人威严，也可以形容建筑宏伟。名词形式majesty

   例句1：His speech is magnificent and majestic, he has a clear mind and a good sense of humor, and he is ready to devote his time and talents. 他的演讲雄伟壮丽，他有清晰的头脑，很好的幽默感，他乐于付出他的时间和才能。 好像是在夸我？

   例句2：'Of course he thinks about you, Your Majesty, 'I said. 大写形式，表示陛下，皇帝老儿肯定很威严的吧。

5. contempt：[kən'tempt]，n. 蔑视；轻蔑

   例句：The unbelief of the general and his contempt for the Lord made him see the grain but not eat of it. 军长的不信和他对神的蔑视，使他亲眼看见但却不得吃。 这个军长好悲催，居然敢contempt神，神就tempt你，让你看的见吃不着。tempt（v. 诱惑；引诱）活像一个绿茶婊，跟前面那个波兰美女一样，formidable！

后记

天哪，没想到这么短短的几段话，有这么多我不太熟悉的单词，其中包括一些形容人面貌的词汇，表示神情动作的，还有sentence我一直只知道是句子的意思，在这里有判决的意思，在特定的语境中，确实能够更好的理解词汇的另一个意思。