032 再次变化

旁白 neutral

Jerry and his family were very sad about leaving their horses behind

杰里和他的家人对于不得不抛下他们的马，感到非常难过。

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I was sad too

我也很难过。

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I'd never known such a good master since my days at Birtwick Park

自从离开伯特威克庄园后，我再没遇见过这么好的主人。

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When the Governor heard what was happening, he offered to buy Hotspur

庄主大人听说了这件事后，提出要买下“飞火”。

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There were other cab drivers who would have taken me, but Jerry said no

也有其他马车夫愿意要我，但杰里都拒绝了。

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He thought it was time to find me easier work

他觉得是该为我找些更轻松的活儿了。

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I was sold to a local baker who needed a horse

我被卖给了一个当地的面包师，他需要一匹马。

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Jerry had known him for a long time and thought he'd give me a good home

杰里和他打了很久的交道，认为他会给我一个不错的家。

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In a way he was right. The baker himself was kind and fair

从某种程度上说，他是对的。面包师本人很和善，也很公正。

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But he stayed busy in his shop, leaving the management of his delivery carts to his foreman

但他成天忙于店里的事，就把运送货物的马车管理事务都交给了他的工头。

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The foreman was always in a hurry

工头总是匆匆忙忙。

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He often added more weight to an already full load

他经常在已经满载的车上再加重量。

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My driver, Jakes, sometimes protested when the foreman overloaded my cart

当工头超载我的马车时，车夫杰克斯有时会提出抗议。

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" This horse isn't young," Jakes would say

“这匹马不年轻了，”杰克斯会说。

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" He shouldn't pull so much weight."

“他不该拉这么重的货物。”

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" Why make two trips if you can fit everything in one?" the foreman always replied

“如果能一趟装完，为什么要跑两趟呢？”工头总是这样回答。

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" Getting things done faster is better for business."

“更快地做完事情对生意好。”

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The heavy loads were bad enough

沉重的货物已经够糟糕了。

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To make things worse, all the drivers at this place used a checkrein, and Jakes was no exception

更糟的是，这个地方所有的车夫都用马颊缰，杰克斯也不例外。

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That made it difficult to pull even a normal load!

那让拉车变得困难，即使只是普通的货物！

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By the time I'd been there a few months, I could already feel myself losing strength and spirit

到那里才几个月，我已经感到自己体力和精神都在衰退。

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One day my cart was loaded even more heavily than usual

有一天，我的货车装得比平时更重。

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Part of our route took us up a very steep hill

我们路线中有一段要上一个很陡的坡。

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" Go on, Blackie," Jakes called, flicking the whip at me

“走啊，小黑，”杰克斯喊道，朝我挥了挥鞭子。

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I started up the hill, but could only go a short way before I had to stop

我开始上坡，但只走了一小段就不得不停下。

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Jakes urged me on, and I took a few more steps before I had to rest again

杰克斯催我继续，我又走了几步，就不得不再次休息。

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Jakes began to lose patience

杰克斯开始不耐烦了。

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" Go on, you lazy fellow!" he called, whipping me a little harder

“走啊，你这懒东西！”他喊道，鞭子抽得更用力了些。

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Once again I struggled on, pulling the heavy load a few more yards

我再次挣扎着往前，把沉重的货物又拉了几码。

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When I stopped to catch my breath, I felt the whip cut me again

当我停下来喘气时，又感到鞭子抽在我身上。

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I surged forward, but I couldn't move the cart much farther

我奋力前冲，但车子几乎没能再移动多远。

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The whip came again

皮鞭再次落在身上。

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It pained me, but it hurt even more to know that I was being punished while doing my very best

鞭打让我疼痛，但更让我痛心的是：我已经尽了全力，却还要受罚。

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" Excuse me, sir!" a sweet voice called out just as Jakes raised the whip again

“请等一下，先生！”就在杰克斯再次举起鞭子时，一个甜美的声音喊道。

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" Please don't whip your horse anymore

“请别再鞭打你的马了。

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The road is very steep, and I'm sure he's doing the best he can."

这坡很陡，我相信他已经尽了全力。”

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The speaker was a fine-looking lady

说话的是位模样端庄的女士。

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Jakes gave her a respectful nod as he answered

杰克斯恭敬地向她点点头，回答道。

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" If doing his best won't get us where we're going, he'll have to do a little more," he said

“如果尽了全力都到不了目的地，那他就得再使把劲儿。”他说。

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" It looks like a very heavy load," the lady said

“这车看起来非常重。”女士说。

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" Yes, it is," Jakes replied." But that's not my fault

“是的，确实超载了，”杰克斯答道，“但这不怪我。

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The foreman insisted on adding more to the cart, and now it's up to me to deliver it."

监工非要往车上加货，现在我只能负责运到。”

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He raised the whip again. The lady held up a hand

他又举起了鞭子。那位女士抬手制止。

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" Please, sir," she said in an earnest voice

“拜托，先生，”她恳切地说。

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" At least give the horse a fair chance

“至少给这匹马一个公平的机会。

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He can't use all his strength with his head held back that way

它的头被那样勒着，使不出全力。

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If you take off the checkrein, I'm sure he'll do better

如果你解开马颊缰，它肯定能拉得更好。

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Will you try it, please, as a favor to me?"

就当帮我个忙，请试试好吗？”

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Jakes looked surprised, but he tipped his hat

杰克斯很惊讶，但还是摘下帽子致意。

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" Anything to please a lady," he said

“只要能讨女士欢心就行，”他说。

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" How far would you like me to loosen it, ma'am?"

“您想让我松开多少，女士？”

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" All the way," she told him." Just give him his head."

“全部松开，”她告诉他，“让它的头自由就行。”

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Jakes shrugged and came forward

杰克斯耸耸肩，走了过来。

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When he unbuckled the checkrein, I could hardly believe the relief!

他解开马颊缰的那一刻，那种轻松简直让我难以置信！

旁白 neutral

I stretched forward immediately, and tossed my head several times to shake the painful stiffness from my neck and shoulders

我立刻向前伸展，连甩了好几次头，才甩掉脖子上和肩上的酸痛僵硬。

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" Poor fellow! It looks like you needed that," the lady said, patting me

“可怜的家伙！看来你正需要这样，”女士说着，轻轻拍了拍我。

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Jakes took me by the bridle." Come on, Blackie. Let's give it another try."

杰克斯牵住我的笼头。“来吧，小黑，咱们再试一次。”

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I put down my head and threw my strength against the load

我低下头，把力气都铆在货物上。

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The cart moved on, and this time I could pull it all the way up the hill

马车动了，这回我一口气把它拉上了坡顶。

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The lady walked along with us

那位女士一路陪着我们走。

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When we reached the top, she gave me another pat

到了坡顶，她又拍了拍我。

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" There, you see?" she told Jakes with a sweet smile

“看，对吧？”她对杰克斯甜甜一笑。

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" I hope you'll consider leaving off the checkrein from now on."

“希望你能考虑从此不再用马颊缰。”

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When she left, Jakes shook his head." That was a real lady," he said to himself

女士离开后，杰克斯摇着头自言自语：“这才是真正的淑女。”

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" She spoke to me as politely as if I were a gentleman rather than a humble cart driver."

“她对我说话那样客气，仿佛我是个绅士，而不是个卑微的马车夫。”

旁白 neutral

After that he loosened the checkrein a little

从那以后，他把马颊缰松开了一些。

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Even so, the heavy loads continued to wear me out

尽管如此，沉重的货物还是把我折磨得筋疲力尽。

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Before long the foreman brought in a younger horse to take my place

没过多久，监工就带来一匹更年轻的马接替我的活。

旁白 neutral

That left me to wonder once again what would become of me

我又不禁琢磨起自己未来的命运。