美国语文第五册 第230期:捕捉野马(6)

 　　The mare¹ struggled fiercely, kicking and biting, and striking with her fore² feet,  那母马狂暴地挣脱，前后尥蹄，连踢带咬，

　　but a noose³ was slipped over her head, and her struggles were in vain.  可一条套索套上它的头颈，顷刻之间，它的拼命挣扎完全失去意义。

　　It was some time, however, before she gave over rearing and plunging⁴, and lashing⁵ out with her feet on every side.  然而，好大一会儿工夫，那母马狂乱地尥蹄乱跳，前蹄后蹄死命猛踢，

　　The two rangers⁶ then led her along the valley, by two strong lariats,  两位骑手用两条结实的绳索死死拽住马，

　　which enabled them to keep at a sufficient distance on each side to be out of the reach of her hoofs⁷,  沿着河谷兜转，绳索很长，骑手与马匹才能保持相当距离，确保不会被马踢到。

　　and whenever she struck out in one direction she was jerked in the other.  无论马朝哪边拼命挣脱，另一边绳索亦会紧紧拴着它动弹不得。

　　In this way her spirit was gradually subdued⁸. 最后，那马终于被驯服地安静下来。

　　As to Tonish, who had marred⁹ the whole scene by his precipitancy,  那位由于鲁莽草率而打乱整个围猎计划的托尼斯，

　　he had been more successful than he deserved, having managed to catch a beautiful cream-colored colt about seven months old,  此行收获不小，他捕获了一匹大约七个月大小的奶油色马驹，

　　that had not strength to keep up with its companions.  那弱小马驹实在无力跟上马群。

　　The mercurial¹⁰ little Frenchman was beside himself with exultation¹¹.  那位活泼机智、矮小的法国佬大喜过望地站在托尼斯身边，

　　It was amusing to see him with his prize.  看着托尼斯收获，开怀放肆地大笑起来。

　　The colt would rear and kick, and struggle to get free, when Tonish would take him about the neck,  小马驹后尥前踢，挣扎着想逃走，突然，托尼斯一把抓住它的脖子，

　　wrestle¹² with him, jump on his back, and cut as many antics as a monkey with a kitten.  朝它打个响亮呼哨，一个鹞子翻身跃到它的背上，像猴子耍逗小猫般尽情作乐，扮出一连串滑稽不堪的怪脸。

　　Nothing surprised me more, however, than to witness how soon these poor animals,  没有任何事情能比这更让人激动不已，看着这些可怜的野马，

　　thus taken from the unbounded freedom of the prairie, yielded to the dominion¹³ of man.  如此迅捷地被人们从它们无拘无束、自由生活的大草原上掳走，从此，它们不得不屈从人的意志。

　　In the course of two or three days the mare and colt went with the led horses and became quite docile¹⁴.  两三天内，那匹母马和小马驹将被牵到备用马群中，很快将接受人为残酷的驯服。

1 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

2 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

3 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

4 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 lashing   

n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The speaker was lashing the crowd. 演讲人正在煽动人群。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rain was lashing the windows. 雨急打着窗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

7 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

8 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

9 marred   

adj. 被损毁, 污损的

参考例句：

• The game was marred by the behaviour of drunken fans. 喝醉了的球迷行为不轨，把比赛给搅了。
• Bad diction marred the effectiveness of his speech. 措词不当影响了他演说的效果。

10 mercurial   

adj.善变的，活泼的

参考例句：

• He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.他是个反复无常的人，因此对他的行为无法预言。
• Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers.我们的欲望与嫌恶是变化无常的统治者。

11 exultation   

n.狂喜，得意

参考例句：

• It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字，他屏住呼吸，乐得脸上放光。
• He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。

12 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

13 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

14 docile   

adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的

参考例句：

• Circus monkeys are trained to be very docile and obedient.马戏团的猴子训练得服服贴贴的。
• He is a docile and well-behaved child.他是个温顺且彬彬有礼的孩子。