Day2 动物初登场（6）山羊（Muriel ）&驴子（Benjamin）

After the horses came Muriel, the white goat, and Benjamin,the donkey. Benjamin was the oldest animal on the farm, and the worst tempered. He seldom talked, and when he did, it was usually to make some cynical remark—for instance, he would say that God had given him a tail to keep the flies off, but that he would sooner have had no tail and no flies. Alone among the animals on the farm he never laughed. If asked why, he would say that he saw nothing to laugh at. Nevertheless, without openly admitting it, he was devoted to Boxer; the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.​

内容解析

穆瑞尔（Muriel），是一头白山羊，常和本杰明在一起，没什么突出表现。

本杰明（Benjamin），男子名，源出希伯来语，意思是“幸运儿”。他是动物农场中年龄最大、脾气最坏、冷眼旁观、喜欢说怪话、看笑话的毛驴，代表了一些已经接受现实、不想改变的人。Benjamin的口头禅：Donkeys live a longtime. None of you has ever seen a dead donkey.

单词注释

donkey [ˈdɒŋkɪ] n. 驴子

tempered [ˈtempəd] adj. 缓和的，温和的

cynical [ˈsɪnɪk(ə)l] adj. 愤世嫉俗的；冷嘲的

for instance 例如，比如

nevertheless[nevəðəˈles] conj. 然而，不过 adv. 然而，不过；虽然如此

paddock [ˈpædək] n. 小牧场；围场

orchard [ˈɔːtʃəd] n. 果园，果树林

graze [greɪz] v. 吃草，放牧

side byside 并肩；一起

语法讲解

the two of them usually spent their Sundays together in the small paddock beyond the orchard, grazing side by side and never speaking.


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他俩常常一起在果园那边的小围场消磨周日时间，肩并着肩吃草，但从不交谈。

grazing 现在分词做伴随状语

beyond = on the otherside of  在…另一边、那一边