Analytical reading-Part 36

John Steinbeck

A Leader of the People

J

ody lay in his bed and thought of the impossible world of Indians and buffaloes, a world that had ceased to be forever. He wished he could have been living in that heroic time, but he knew he was not of heroic timber. No one living now, save possibly Billy Buck, was worthy to do the things that had been done. A race of giants had lived then, fearless men, men of staunchness unknown in this day. Jody thought of the wide plains and of the wagons moving across like centipedes. He thought of Grandfather on a huge white horse, marshaling the people. Across his mind marched the great phantoms, and they marched off the earth and they were gone.

                He came back to the ranch for a moment, then. He heard the dull rushing sound that space and silence make. He heard one of the dogs, out in the doghouse, scratching a flea and bumping his elbow against the floor with every stroke. Then the wind arose again and the black cypress groaned and Jody went to sleep.

                He was up half an hour before the triangle sounded for breakfast. He closed the screen door and went out into the cool blue morning. The birds were noisy in the dawn and the ranch cats came down from the hills like blunt snakes. They had been hunting gophers in the dark, and although the four cats were full of gopher meat, they sat in a semi-circle at the back door and mewed piteously for milk. Doubletree Mutt and Smasher moved sniffing along the edge of the brush, performing the duty with rigid ceremony, but when Jody whistled, their heads jerked up and their tails waved. They plunged down to him, wriggling their skins and yawning. Jody patted their heads seriously, and moved on to the weathered scrap pile. He selected an old broom handle and a short piece of inch-square scrap wood. From his pocket he took a shoelace and tied the ends of the sticks loosely together to make a flail. He whistled his new weapon through the air and struck the ground experimentally, while the dogs leaped aside and whined with apprehension.

Comments:

Mark the spelling of cease and seize!

to cease—to stop

a cessation—a stoppage

ceaseless—constant, continual, continuous, endless, everlasting, incessant, interminable, permanent, perpetual, unending, never-ending, non-stop

to seize—to catch hold of

a seizure of power—заграбване на властта

seized lands—occupied territories

Mark:     cypress—кипарис (бот.)  Cyprus—Кипър (геогр.)                   а Cypriot—кипърец

to be of heroic timber—to be of heroic stuff—присъщи са ми героични качества

                      say, except Billy Buck . . .

                      but Billy Buck, perhaps . . .

                      with the possible exception of Billy Buck . . .

No one           living now, save possibly Billy Buck . . .

                      maybe excluding Billy Buck . . .

                      probably apart from Billy Buck . . .

                      Billy Buck being the sole likely exception . . .

to be a staunch opponent of—твърдо се противопоставям на

to be a stout antagonist of—заемам непоколебима позиция срещу

to offer stiff resistance to—жестоко се съпротивлявам на

to counter resolutely—решително парирам

to marshal an army—оглавявам армия/командвам войски

to marshal a country’s resources—привеждам в готовност ресурсите на страната

to introduce martial law—въвеждам военно положение

to court-martial—изправям пред военен съд

to bump into—to collide withÞto bump into somebody—to run into, to meet by chance

head bumper—предна броня

a bumper harvest—рекордни добиви, обилна реколта

a bumpy road—неравен път

a bump on the head—подутина

a stroke of the brush—a touch of the brush

a stroke of luck—късмет

to rush somebody—to hurry somebody

rush hours—върхови часове на градския транспорт

a gopher—лалугер

consciousness of duty done—съзнание за изпълнен дълг

to do/perform  one’s duty—изпълнявам дълга си      to do or die—боря се до смърт

dutiful—лоялен, покорен, изпълнителен

to pay duty—плащам мито

duty-free—безмитен

scrap-wood, scrap-iron

to scrape—стържа

a scraper—скрепер (земекопна машина)

to scrape through—to survive with difficulty

a skyscraper—небостъргач

to weather events—to live through them

weather-beaten—овехтял, избелял; (прен.) очукан от живота: a weather-beaten face

something keeps rumbling and grumbling in the mind for weeks thereafter—нещо продължава да тътне и ечи оттогава насам