动物庄园(英文版)

章节摘录

　　That gave the animals pause， and there was a hush. Muriel began to spell out the words. But Benjamin pushed her aside and in the midst of a deadly silence he read：　　“‘Alfred Simmonds， Horse Slaughterer and Glue Boiler， Willingdon. Dealer in Hides and Bone-Meal. Kennels Supplied.’ Do you not understand what that means· They are taking Boxer to the knacker’s！”　　A cry of horror burst from all the animals. At this moment the man on the box whipped up his horses and the van moved out of the yard at a smart trot. All the animals followed， crying out at the tops of their voices. Clover forced her way to the front. The van began to gather speed. Clover tried to stir her stout limbs to a gallop， and achieved a canter. “Boxer！” she cried. “Boxer！ Boxer！ Boxer！” And just at this moment， as though he had heard the uproar outside， Boxer’s face， with the white stripe down his nose， appeared at the small window at the back of the van.　　“Boxer！” cried Clover in a terrible voice. “Boxer！ Get out！ Get out quickly！ They're taking you to your death！”　　All the animals took up the cry of “Get out， Boxer， get out！” But the van was already gathering speed and drawing away from them. It was uncertain whether Boxer had understood what Clover had said. But a moment later his face disappeared from the window and there was the sound of a tremendous drumming of hoofs inside the van. He was trying to kick his way out. The time had been when a few kicks from Boxer's hoofs would have smashed the van to matchwood. But alas！ his strength had left him； and in a few moments the sound of drumming hoofs grew fainter and died away. In desperation the animals began appealing to the two horses which drew the van to stop. “Comrades， comrades！” they shouted. “Don’t take your own brother to his death！” But the stupid brutes， too ignorant to realise what was happening， merely set back their ears and quickened their pace. Boxer’s face did not reappear at the window. Too late， someone thought of racing ahead and shutting the five-barred gate； but in another moment the van was through it and rapidly disappearing down the road. Boxer was never seen again.　　Three days later it was announced that he had died in the hospital at Willingdon， in spite of receiving every attention a horse could have. Squealer came to announce the news to the others. He had， he said， been present during Boxer's last hours.　　“It was the most affecting sight I have ever seen！” said Squealer， lifting his trotter and wiping away a tear. “I was at his bedside at the very last. And at the end， almost too weak to speak， he whispered in my ear that his sole sorrow was to have passed on before the windmill was finished. ‘Forward， comrades！’ he whispered. ‘Forward in the name of the Rebellion. Long live Animal Farm！ Long live Comrade Napoleon！ Napoleon is always right.’ Those were his very last words， comrades.”　　Here Squealer’s demeanour suddenly changed. He fell silent for a moment， and his little eyes darted suspicious glances from side to side before he proceeded.　　It had come to his knowledge， he said， that a foolish and wicked rumour had been circulated at the time of Boxer’s removal. Some of the animals had noticed that the van which took Boxer away was marked “Horse Slaughterer，” and had actually jumped to the conclusion that Boxer was being sent to the knacker’s. It was almost unbelievable， said Squealer， that any animal could be so stupid. Surely， he cried indignantly， whisking his tail and skipping from side to side， surely they knew their beloved Leader， Comrade Napoleon， better than that· But the explanation was really very simple. The van had previously been the property of the knacker， and had been bought by the veterinary surgeon， who had not yet painted the old name out. That was how the mistake had arisen.　　The animals were enormously relieved to hear this. And when Squealer went on to give further graphic details of Boxer’s death-bed， the admirable care he had received， and the expensive medicines for which Napoleon had paid without a thought as to the cost， their last doubts disappeared and the sorrow that they felt for their comrade’s death was tempered by the thought that at least he had died happy.　　Napoleon himself appeared at the meeting on the following Sunday morning and pronounced a short oration in Boxer’s honour. It had not been possible， he said， to bring back their lamented comrade’s remains for interment on the farm， but he had ordered a large wreath to be made from the laurels in the farmhouse garden and sent down to be placed on Boxer’s grave. And in a few days’ time the pigs intended to hold a memorial banquet in Boxer’s honour. Napoleon ended his speech with a reminder of Boxer’s two favourite maxims， “I will work harder” and “Comrade Napoleon is always right”—maxims， he said， which every animal would do well to adopt as his own.　　On the day appointed for the banquet， a grocer’s van drove up from Willingdon and delivered a large wooden crate at the farmhouse. That night there was the sound of uproarious singing， which was followed by what sounded like a violent quarrel and ended at about eleven o’clock with a tremendous crash of glass. No one stirred in the farmhouse before noon on the following day， and the word went round that from somewhere or other the pigs had acquired the money to buy themselves another case of whisky.　　……

内容概要

乔治•奥威尔（George Orwell，1903年—1950年），英国小说家、散文家、记者和评论家。出生于印度，受教于英国伊顿公学，在缅甸当过警察，参加过西班牙内战。乔治•奥威尔一生短暂，颠沛流离，但始终以深邃的洞察力和犀利的文笔记录着他所生活的时代，并作出了超越时代的预言，被誉为 “一代人的冷峻良心”。其代表作为《一九八四》和《动物庄园》。

书籍目录

Chapter ⅠChapter ⅡChapter ⅢChapter ⅣChapter ⅤChapter ⅥChapter ⅦChapter ⅧChapter ⅨChapter Ⅹ

编辑推荐

　　“多一个人看奥威尔，就多了一份自由的保障。”　　乔治·奥威尔两大反乌托邦讽喻小说之一　　20世纪最杰出的政治寓言　　最佳的文学经典读物 最好的语言学习读本 

作者简介

《动物庄园》是乔治•奥威尔的著名反乌托邦寓言小说，自1945年首次出版以来流传甚广，被翻译成多种语言，改编成电影、话剧等，引起很大反响。本书被公认为20世纪最杰出的政治寓言，并被欧美15所名牌大学学生投票选为“影响我成长的十部作品”之一。本书讲述了一场“动物主义”革命酝酿、兴起和最终蜕变的故事：一群农庄中的动物不堪人类压迫，奋起反抗并建立自己的家园，然而这场革命最终由于领导者猪们的腐化独裁和动物们的愚昧盲从而变质，农庄再度恢复为不平等的专制社会。

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