26. 宇宙之王（讲解）

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For what the king fundamentally insisted upon was that his authority should be respected. He tolerated no disobedience. He was an absolute monarch. But, because he was a very good man, he made his orders reasonable.

"If I ordered a general," he would say, by way of example, "if I ordered a general to change himself into a sea bird, and if the general did not obey me, that would not be the fault of the general. It would be my fault."

"May I sit down?" came now a timid inquiry from the little prince.

"I order you to do so," the king answered him, and majestically gathered in a fold of his ermine mantle.

But the little prince was wondering . . . The planet was tiny. Over what could this king really rule?

"Sire," he said to him, "I beg that you will excuse my asking you a question--"

"I order you to ask me a question," the king hastened to assure him.

"Sire--over what do you rule?"

"Over everything," said the king, with magnificent simplicity.

"Over everything?"

The king made a gesture, which took in his planet, the other planets, and all the stars.

"Over all that?" asked the little prince.

"Over all that," the king answered.

For his rule was not only absolute: it was also universal.

"And the stars obey you?"

"Certainly they do," the king said. "They obey instantly. I do not permit insubordination."

语言点

- fundamentally：adv. 基本地
- insist：v. 坚决要求；例：I insist you tell me! 我一定要你告诉我！
- authority：n. 权力，威信；例：to speak with authority 用权威的口吻讲话
- tolerate：v. 容许，忍受；例：I will not tolerate this sort of behaviour! 我不会容忍这种行为！
- disobedience：n. 不服从
- absolute：adj. 绝对的
- monarch：n. 君主
- general：n. 将军
- obey：v. 服从；例：to obey orders 服从命令
- timid：adj. 胆怯的 / 羞怯的；例：a timid smile 害羞的微笑
- inquiry：n. 询问；例：to make an inquiry about sth. 查问某事 = to inquire about sth.
- fold：n. 褶
- mantle：n. 覆盖层 / 披风；例：a mantle of snow 一层雪
- sire：n. 陛下
- hasten：v. 赶紧
- gesture：n. 示意动作 / 表示；例：that was a nice gesture 那是个很好的表示
- universal：adj. 普遍的；例：universal healthcare 全民医保
- permit：v. 允许；同义词：allow、tolerate
- insubordination：n. 不服从 / 违抗命令