He — for there could be no doubt of his sex, though the fashion of the time did something to disguise it — was in the act of slicing at the head of a Moor which swung from the rafters. It was the colour of an old football, and more or less the shape of one, save for the sunken cheeks and a strand or two of coarse, dry hair, like the hair on a cocoanut. Orlando’s father, or perhaps his grandfather, had struck it from the shoulders of a vast Pagan who had started up under the moon in the barbarian fields of Africa; and now it swung, gently, perpetually, in the breeze which never ceased blowing through the attic rooms of the gigantic house of the lord who had slain him.

disguise   [disˈɡaiz]vt.假扮, 化装; 伪装;掩盖, 掩饰
slice   [slais]vt.切
moor [muə]n.荒野, 旷野
Moor   [muə]n.摩尔人(非洲西北部伊斯兰教民族)
rafter   [ˈrɑ:ftə]n.椽
coarse   [kɔ:s]adj.粗的, 粗糙的,粗野的, 粗鲁的
sunken   [ˈsʌŋkən]adj.沉没的, 沉入水底的,凹陷的; 下陷的
pagan   [ˈpeiɡən]n.异教徒, 非基督教徒
perpetually   adv.永恒地,终身地
slay [slei]vt.杀死, 宰杀, 杀戮(slew [slu:]; slain[slein])


tint   [tint]n.带白的颜色, 淡色 vt.染色; 着色于…
well-set   [ˈwelˈset]adj.结构牢固的

He was careful to avoid meeting anyone. There was Stubbs, the gardener, coming along the path. He hid behind a tree till he had passed. He let himself out at a little gate in the garden wall. He skirted all stables, kennels, breweries, carpenters’ shops, washhouses, places where they make tallow candles, kill oxen, forge horse-shoes, stitch jerkins — for the house was a town ringing with men at work at their various crafts — and gained the ferny path leading uphill through the park unseen. There is perhaps a kinship among qualities; one draws another along with it; and the biographer should here call attention to the fact that this clumsiness is often mated with a love of solitude. Having stumbled over a chest, Orlando naturally loved solitary places, vast views, and to feel himself for ever and ever and ever alone.

skirt   [skə:t]vt. & vi.位于…的边缘; 沿…的边缘走;绕开, 避开
stable   [ˈsteibl]adj.稳定的; 安定的;n. 马房, 牛棚
kennel   [ˈkenl]n.狗窝;养狗场
brewery   [ˈbru:əri]n.酿造厂, 啤酒厂
tallow   [ˈtæləu]n.牛脂,动物脂
forge   [fɔ:dʒ]vt.锻造
stitch   [stitʃ]n.(缝纫或编织中的)一针 vt.缝(合), 缝缀
jerkin   [ˈdʒə:kin]n.男用无袖短上衣,短上衣
ferny   [ˈfə:ni]adj.蕨类的
kinship   [ˈkinʃip]n.血族关系
clumsiness   n.笨拙,简陋,丑陋
solitude   [ˈsɔlitju:d]n.独居; 孤独;荒僻的地方; 人迹罕至的地方
stumble   [ˈstʌmbl]vi.绊脚;(说话、演奏等)出错