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Boxer's split hoof was a long time in healing.
鮑克瑟蹄掌上的裂口過了很長時間才痊愈。
They had started the rebuilding of the windmill the day after the victory celebrations were ended.
慶祝活動結束后第二天，動物們就開始第三次建造風車了。
Boxer refused to take even a day off work, and made it a point of honour not to let it be seen that he was in pain.
對此，鮑克瑟哪里肯閑著，他一天不干活都不行，于是就忍住傷痛不讓他們有所察覺。
In the evenings he would admit privately to Clover that the hoof troubled him a great deal.
到了晚上他悄悄告訴克拉弗，他的掌子疼得厲害。
Clover treated the hoof with poultices of herbs which she prepared by chewing them, and both she and Benjamin urged Boxer to work less hard.
克拉弗就用嘴巴嚼著草藥給他敷上，她和本杰明一起懇求鮑克瑟干活輕一點。
"A horse's lungs do not last for ever," she said to him.
她對他說："馬肺又不能永保不衰。"
But Boxer would not listen.
但鮑克瑟不聽。
He had, he said, only one real ambition left--to see the windmill well under way before he reached the age for retirement.
他說，他剩下的唯一一個心愿就是在他到退休年齡之前，能看到風車建設順利進行。
At the beginning, when the laws of Animal Farm were first formulated, the retiring age had been fixed for horses and pigs at twelve,
想當初，當動物莊園初次制定律法時，退休年齡分別規定為：馬和豬十二歲，
for cows at fourteen, for dogs at nine, for sheep at seven, and for hens and geese at five.
牛十四歲，狗九歲，羊七歲，雞和鵝五歲。
Liberal old-age pensions had been agreed upon.
還允諾要發給充足的養老津貼。
As yet no animal had actually retired on pension, but of late the subject had been discussed more and more.
雖然至今還沒有一個動物真正領過養老津貼，但近來這個話題討論得越來越多了。
Now that the small field beyond the orchard had been set aside for barley,
眼下，因為蘋果園那邊的那塊小牧場已被留作大麥田，
it was rumoured that a corner of the large pasture was to be fenced off and turned into a grazing-ground for superannuated animals.
就又有小道消息說大牧場的一角要圍起來給退休動物留作牧場用。
For a horse, it was said, the pension would be five pounds of corn a day and, in winter, fifteen pounds of hay, with a carrot or possibly an apple on public holidays.
據說，每匹馬的養老津貼是每天五磅谷子，到冬天是每天十五磅干草，公共節假日里還發給一根胡蘿卜，或者盡量給一個蘋果。
Boxer's twelfth birthday was due in the late summer of the following year.
鮑克瑟的十二歲生日就在來年的夏末。
Meanwhile life was hard.
這個時期的生活十分艱苦。
The winter was as cold as the last one had been, and food was even shorter.
冬天象去年一樣冷，食物也更少了。
Once again all rations were reduced, except those of the pigs and the dogs.
除了那些豬和狗以外，所有動物的飼料糧再次減少。
A too rigid equality in rations, Squealer explained, would have been contrary to the principles of Animalism.
斯奎拉解釋說，在定量上過于教條的平等是違背動物主義原則的。
In any case he had no difficulty in proving to the other animals that they were NOT in reality short of food, whatever the appearances might be.
不論在什么情況下，他都毫不費力地向其他動物證明，無論表面現象是什么，他們事實上并不缺糧。
