美国语文第五册 第226期:捕捉野马(2)

 　　The whole had the appearance of a broad, beautiful tract¹ of pasture land,  牧场景色美丽寥廓，和谐安谧，

　　on the highly ornamented² estate of some gentleman farmer, with his cattle grazing about the lawns and meadows.  宛如不失绅士优雅风度的农夫，从容悠闲地放牧他的牛群，好一派浓郁迷人的田园风光。

　　A council of war was now held, and it was determined³ to profit by the present favorable opportunity,  就如何捕捉这群野马，我们召开了战前会，抓住目前有利机遇乃是上策，

　　and try our hand at the grand hunting maneuver⁴ which is called “ringing the wild horse.”  采取最为有效的捕猎计谋，即通常所说的“打围野马”。

　　This requires a large party of horsemen, well mounted.  这一计划不仅需要相当多的骑手，且需骑手技艺超群，

　　They extend themselves in each direction, at a certain distance apart,  还须拥有不同角度条件下驾驭控制马的过人能力,甚至离马相当距离也能游刃有余地掌控身体的超凡骑术

　　and gradually form a ring of two or three miles in circumference⁵, so as to surround the game.  这样，才能从两三英里外形成包围圈围住马群。

　　This must be done with extreme care, for the wild horse is the most readily alarmed inhabitant of the prairie,  这种打围需要极度谨慎小心，因为野马对草原原住民最为警觉，

　　and can scent⁶ a hunter a great distance, if to windward. 如果顺风，很远都能嗅到猎人的气味。

　　The ring being formed, two or three ride toward the horses, which start off in an opposite direction.  包围圈一旦形成，两三个骑手就冲向马群，最初冲击方向往往与最后打围方向相反，

　　Whenever they approach the bounds of the ring, however, a huntsman presents himself, and turns them from their course.  直到骑手抵达包围圈边界，猎人才最终出现。

　　In this way they are checked, and driven back at every point, and kept galloping⁷ round and round this magic circle,  这种方式逼迫马群偏转原来路线，马群在每一设伏点皆受到拦阻驱逐，因此它们就会围绕骑手布下的神奇围圈不停地飞奔疾驰，

　　until, being completely tired down, it is easy for hunters to ride up beside them and throw the lariat⁸ over their heads.  直到彻底精疲力竭。这时，猎人们才飞奔上马，疾驰飞奔中扔出套索，紧紧地套牢马匹。

1 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

2 ornamented   

adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ornamented her dress with lace. 她用花边装饰衣服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

5 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

6 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

7 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

8 lariat   

n.系绳，套索；v.用套索套捕

参考例句：

• The lariat hitched on one of his ears.套索套住了他的一只耳朵。
• Will Rogers,often referred to as the nation's Poet Lariat about only rope tricks.经常被国人称为“套索诗人”的威尔·罗杰斯可不只会玩绳子。