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It is told of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, that, as he was seated one day in his private room, a written petition was brought to him with the request that it should be immediately read.
傳說，一天，普魯士國王弗里德里希大帝坐在屋里，他的衛兵給他送來一份書面請愿書。書中注明，請求國王即刻閱讀。
The King had just returned from hunting, and the glare of the sun, or some other cause, had so dazzled his eyes that he found it difficult to make out a single word of the writing.
當時，國王剛剛結束打獵回宮，因為陽光刺眼，或某些其他原因，他頭昏眼花，一個字也很難看清。
His private secretary happened to be absent; and the soldier who brought the petition could not read.
國王的私人秘書碰巧不在宮內，送來請愿書的衛兵也不識字。
There was a page, or favorite boy servant, waiting in the hall, and upon him the King called.
當時有位男侍，或者不如說一位乖巧侍童正在大廳當班伺候，國王吩咐他過來。
The page was a son of one of the noblemen of the court, but proved to be a very poor reader.
那位侍童是宮廷某位貴族的兒子，可隨后證實，他的閱讀能力相當糟糕。
In the first place, he did not articulate distinctly.
一上來，那位侍童發音就不夠清晰，
He huddled his words together in the utterance, as if they were syllables of one long word, which he must get through with as speedily as possible.
那些詞語在他嘴里居然咕囔成串，雜亂無章地快速蹦出。聽起來，有的詞語音節應該很長，可他似乎總是急不可耐地含糊讀完。
His pronunciation was bad, and he did not modulate his voice so as to bring out the meaning of what he read.
他的發音很糟，無法表現文字的準確含義。
Every sentence was uttered with a dismal monotony of voice, as if it did not differ in any respect from that which preceded it.
與此同時，他所表述的所有話語無不沉悶呆板，毫無抑揚頓挫之感或音調變化，似乎詞語間不存在任何差異。
"Stop!" said the King, impatiently.
“停下！”國王不耐心地說，
Is it an auctioneer's list of goods to be sold that you are hurrying over?
莫非你是公開清單、急于拍賣物品的拍賣師，那么草草念完？
Send your companion to me.
把你的同伴叫來！
Another page who stood at the door now entered, and to him the King gave the petition.
很快，大廳門口守候的另一位侍童來到國王身邊，國王將請愿書交給了他。
The second page began by hemming and clearing his throat in such an affected manner,
那侍童裝模作樣地清了清嗓子，
that the King jokingly asked him whether he had not slept in the public garden, with the gate open, the night before.
國王詼諧地問他，是不是他昨晚沒在公園里過夜，但睡覺時門卻整晚沒關。
