Black Beauty - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I must not forget to mention one part of my training, which I have always considered a very great advantage.

My master sent me to another farmer’s field on the edge of the railway.

I joined some sheep and cows there.

I shall never forget the first train that ran by.

I was feeding (吃东西) quietly on an open land that separated the field from the railway.

Suddenly I heard a strange sound at a distance.

Before I knew, a long black train flew by with loud noises and smoke.

I couldn’t breathe.

I turned and ran to the further side of the field as fast as I could.

I stood there, breathing heavily with surprise and fear.

In the course of the day, many other trains went by, and sometimes made an awful loud sound.

I thought it very dreadful, but the cows went on eating very quietly, and hardly raised their heads when the black scary thing rushed by loudly.

For the first few days, I could not feed (吃东西) in peace.

As I found that this terrible creature never came into the field, or did me any harm, I started paying no attention to it.

And very soon I cared as little about the passing of a train as the cows and sheep did.

Since then I had seen many horses that were very alarmed and uneasy at the sight or sound of a train engine.

Thanks to my good master’s care, I was not afraid at railway stations (火车站) or in my own stable.

My master often drove me together with my mother, because she was steady and could teach me how to go better.

She told me that the better I worked, the better I should be treated, and that it was wisest always to do my best to please my master.

She said, “There are different kinds of men.

Some, like our master, are good and gentle, and some are bad and cruel.

Besides, there are many foolish and careless men who ruin their horses for no good reason.

I hope you will fall into good hands.

A horse never knows who may buy him, or who may drive him.

It is all chance for us. Always do your best wherever you are, and keep up your good name.”

It was early in May. A man from Squire Gordon’s took me away to the hall.

My master said, “Good-bye, Darkie. Be a good horse, and always do your best.”

I could not say “good-bye”, so I put my nose into his hand.

He patted me kindly and I left my first home.

Squire Gordon’s park was by the village of Birtwick.

There was room for many horses and carriages.

The stable into which I was taken was very big, with four good separate spaces.

A large swinging window opened into the yard, which made it fresh and pleasant.

The first space was a large square one, shut in behind with a wooden gate.

The others were common spaces—good, but not nearly so large.

My space was called a loose box. It was clean, sweet and airy.

The horse that was put into it was not tied up. Instead, he was left loose to do as he liked.

The sides of the box were not very high, and so the horse could see all that went on through the iron bars at the top.

I never was in a better box than that.

The groom (马夫) gave me some very nice oats.

He patted me, spoke kindly, and then went away.

When I had eaten my corn, I looked round.

In the space next to mine stood a little fat, gray pony (小马) .

He had thick hair on his head and a big tail.

His head was pretty and his nose was small.

I put my head up to the iron bars at the top of my box, and said, “How do you do? What is your name?”

He turned round as far as the rope around his head would allow, held up his head, and said,

“My name is Merrylegs. Are you going to live next door to me in the box?”

I said, “Yes.”

“Well, then,” he said, “I hope you are a patient horse. I do not like any one next door who bites.”

Just then a horse’s head looked over from the space beyond.

Her ears were laid back, and her eyes showed anger.

This was a tall, red-brown female horse, with a long handsome neck.

She looked across to me and said,

“So it is you who have turned me out of my box. It is a very strange thing for a young male horse like you to come and turn a lady out of her own home.”

“What?” I said, “I have turned no one out. The man who brought me put me here, and I had nothing to do with it.

And I am not a young horse. I have turned four years old and I am a grown-up horse. I never had a quarrel yet with any horse, and it is my wish to live in peace.”

“Well,” she said, “we’ll see. Of course, I do not want to quarrel with a young thing like you.”

I said no more.

Black Beauty - Chapter 2

When she went out in the afternoon, Merrylegs said, “Ginger has a bad habit of biting and losing control of her actions.

When she was in the loose box, she used to easily lose control.

One day she bit James in the arm and he bled.

Miss Flora and Miss Jessie, who are very fond of me, were afraid to come into the stable.

I wanted to see them very much. I hope they will now come again, if you do not bite or lose control.”

I told him I never bit anything but grass and corn, and could not think what pleasure Ginger found in biting.

“Well, I don’t think she enjoys it,” says Merrylegs, “it is just a bad habit.

She said that no one was ever kind to her, and why should she not bite?

Of course, it is a very bad habit. But I am sure, if all she says is true, she must have been treated very badly before she came here.

John does all he can to please her, and James also. Our master never hits a horse if he or she acts right.”

“You see,” he went on, with a wise look, “I am twelve years old and I know a great deal.

I can tell you there is not a better place for a horse all around the country than this.

John has been here for fourteen years and taken best care of us. And you never saw such a kind boy as James.

It is all Ginger’s own fault that she did not stay in that box.

【背景知识】

1. 今天，Darkie搬家（换主人）了，新主人是Mr. Gorden，所在的地方叫Birtwick Park。Birtwick Park是作者杜撰的一个地方，她虽然在12岁的时候随家人一起搬到了伦敦，但是会常常和自己的兄弟Philip回到Norfolk看望自己的祖父母。Anna的祖父母住在巴克斯顿镇（Buxton）一处叫Dudwick Farm的地方，也就是在这个Farm里，Anna第一次学会了骑马。所以有人认为，Birtwick Park这个名字的灵感就来源于这里。也有人认为，Birtwick Park的灵感来源于Anna在伦敦的家附近的Tracy Park，我们一起来看看Tracy Park长什么样：

Black Beauty - Chapter 2

2.今天还有新马出场，我们来认识一下：

Pony：矮种马。根据国际马联（International Federation for Equestrian Sports，FEI）的定义，149cm或151cm以下的成年马便可以称为pony。矮种马的主要特征是鬃毛、马尾、体毛较厚，小短腿，骨质较重，脑袋小，脖子粗等。矮种马天资聪颖、性情温顺、适应性强、耐渴耐劳，容易与人亲近，可以说是一种天然的萌物。

目前国际上比较出名的pony，当属来自苏格兰的设得兰矮种马（Shetland pony）。设得兰矮种马起源于英国苏格兰东北部的设得兰群岛（Shetland Islands），并以此命名。设得兰矮种马的身高普遍在107厘米以下，它们对自然环境的适应能力很强，耐粗饲和严寒。1890年设得兰矮种马协会成立，英国女王伊丽莎白曾任设得兰矮种马登记会名誉会长，英国皇家贵族对设得兰矮种马尤其偏爱和重视。那这个听起来666的设得兰矮种马到底长什么样子呢？

Black Beauty - Chapter 2

其实咱们国家也有一种挺出名的矮种马，叫德保矮马，主要生长于广西德保、靖西等百色地区。据考证，它是西汉时期“果下马”的后代。咱们这种土生土长的德保矮马比我们上面提到的设得兰马还要矮，同样是一种稀有品种~ 无图无真相：

Black Beauty - Chapter 2

【一词多义/熟词生义】

1. 「course」： 常见的意思有“课程、一道菜”，这里表示“进程、过程”，短语「 in the course of 」意思是在…期间。

原句：In the course of the day, many other trains went by, and sometimes made an awful loud sound.

2. 「stable」：平时我们常见的意思是形容词“稳定的、稳固的”，今天在文中做名词，表示“马厩”。

原句：Thanks to my good master’s care, I was not afraid at railway stations or in my own stable.

3.「chance」：在这里不是表示“机会”，而是表示“运气、机缘”~

原句：It is all chance for us.

4.「corn」：这个单词比较特殊~ 在英式英语里，corn可以作各类谷类粮食作物的集合名词，包括小麦、燕麦、大麦、黑麦、玉米等，还可以指这些作物的谷粒；而在美式英语里，corn则只表示玉米或玉米粒。

【句子解析】

1. I thought it very dreadful, but the cows went on eating very quietly, and hardly raised their heads when the black scary thing rushed by loudly.

「hardly」：几乎不，简直不，等于almost not，barely，rarely，大家别望文生义把它想成是hard的副词哦~ 来个栗子：He hardly ever passes his exams.  他几乎就没通过一次考试。

“我”总被奔驰而过的火车和它们的轰鸣声吓得不轻，却惊讶的发现这些牛儿毫不受影响，继续淡定地吃草…

2. And very soon I cared as little about the passing of a train as the cows and sheep did.

「as……as」的基本意义是“与……一样”，常用结构为：as + 形容词/副词 + as + 名词/代词/从句。大家不要看到这个句子中的两个as之间这么长，就被吓到啦~ 为了方便理解，我们把about后面那一堆移到前面去：I cared about the passing of a train as little as the cows and sheep did. 这样是不是顺多了~

虽然两个as之间通常接形容词或副词的原级，但如果涉及数量或程度，可用“as much+不可数名词+as”和“as many+复数名词+as”这样的结构，来两个例子：

You’ve made as many mistakes as I have. 你犯的错误和我犯的一样多。

He haven’t got as much money as I thought. 他不像我想像中那么有钱。

这句话就是说，我很快就和那些奶牛和绵羊一样，不去在意火车经过了。

3. She told me that the better I worked, the better I should be treated…

「the better…the better」是一个“the+比较级，the+比较级”的用法，意为“越……越……”，表示一方的程度随着另一方的变化而变化。我们来举两个例子：

The more I read the book, the more I liked it. 这本书我越看越喜欢。

The earlier you start,the sooner you’ll be back. 你出发得越早，回来得越快。

麻麻说，你表现地越好/越努力工作，主人才会对你越好呀~

4. I hope you will fall into good hands.

「fall into good hands」 落入好人手中。 那落入坏人手中怎么说呢？不是bad hands哦，而是「fall into the wrong hands」，来举个例子：The government should assure that the relief fund would not fall into the wrong hands. 政府应该确保赈灾基金不会落入坏人之手。

麻麻对Darkie说，儿啊，我希望你能遇到一个好主人。不过作为一匹马，遇见什么样的主人完全看运气。你无论在哪儿都要好好表现，保持美名。Darkie后来的一生中，他都把妈妈的这些话铭记于心。

5. The stable into which I was taken was very big, with four good separate spaces.

这里的「which」指代的是「stable」，为什么前面有一个into呢？因为还原过来的短语是：take sb./sth. into the stable，所以这个介词into不能省哦~

“我”被带进了一个很宽敞的马厩，那儿有四个独立的隔栏。

6. My space was called a loose box. It was clean, sweet and airy. The horse that was put into it was not tied up.

「loose box」：牲畜的独立隔间。这段话介绍了这种隔间的样子：干净且通风良好，动物可以在内自由活动。所以Darkie在里面不会被绳子拴着，非常舒服自在。他可以通过单间两边上面的铁栅栏看外面的世界。大概就是这个样子的~

The horse / that was put into it / was not tied up. 这句话这样划分下意群，是不是明白多啦~ 「that was put into it」是在修饰「horse」，这句话简化后就是：The horse was not tied up.

7. He turned round as far as the rope around his head would allow,…

「as far as」表示“像……那么远；直到；远到”，举个例子：I'll keep you company as far as the station. 我将与你结伴直到车站。这个短语还有一个很常用的搭配：as far as I am concerned 就我来说……大家在写作的时候可以用上~

由于Merrylegs拴着缰绳，他只能在绳子允许的限度之内转过头来跟“我”说话。

8. “So it is you who have turned me out of my box. It is a very strange thing for a young male horse like you to come and turn a lady out of her own home.”

「it is…who/that…」是一个强调句型，强调的是「you」，是“你”把我赶出了我的隔间。如何判断一个句子是不是强调句呢？去掉「it is」和「that/who」后，如果句子依然完整，结构不受影响，那这个句子就是强调句啦~ 这个句子去掉后即：You have turned me out of my box. 结构仍然完整，所以它是一个强调句欧~

「turn sb out」：（尤指把某人从其长期居住处）撵走，赶出。举个例子：The drunk man was turned out of the bar. 醉汉被赶出了酒吧。

这句话的意思就是，Ginger把被赶出单人间的怨气发在了新来的Darkie身上，埋怨他作为一个年轻男子竟然占了她一个女子的地盘。

9. I told him I never bit anything but grass and corn, and could not think what pleasure Ginger found in biting.

「but」在这里意思是“除……之外”，等于except。举个例子：Nobody shows up on his show but his friends. 除了他的朋友们，没人来看他的演出。

除了青草和谷物，Darkie从不咬其他的东西，所以他很费解Ginger到底有什么好乱咬的。