吹小号的天鹅 第1期:萨姆(1)

 　　Chapter 1 Sam

　　第一章 萨姆

　　Walking back to camp through the swamp, Sam wondered whether to tell his father what he had seen.

　　萨姆一面从沼泽地往营地走，一面犹豫着，不知是否该把他刚才看见的一切告诉爸爸。

　　"I know one thing," he said to himself.

　　“我只清楚一点，”他自语道。

　　"I'm going back to that little pond again tomorrow. And I'd like to go alone.

　　“那就是明天我打算再到那个小池塘去。我还是愿意一个人去。

　　If I tell my father what I saw today, he will want to go with me.

　　如果我把今天看到的告诉爸爸，他就会想和我一起去的。

　　I'm not sure that's a very good idea."

　　我觉得那未必是个好主意。”

　　吹小号的天鹅

　　Sam was eleven. His last name was Beaver¹.

　　萨姆十一岁了。他姓比弗。

　　He was strong for his age and had black hair and dark eyes like an Indian.

　　就他这个年龄来说，他长得很壮实。他的头发和眼睛都是黑色的，就像一个印第安人。

　　Sam walked like an Indian, too, putting one foot straight in front of the other and making very little noise.

　　萨姆走路的姿态也像一个印第安人，步子呈一条直线，发出的响动很小。

　　The swamp through which he was traveling was a wild place

　　他刚才去的那个沼泽地是个荒凉的地方

　　there was no trail, and it was boggy² underfoot, which made walking difficult.

　　那里没有人迹，沼泽很多，非常难走。

　　Every four or five minutes Sam took his compass out of his pocket and checked his course to make sure he was headed in a westerly direction.

　　每过四、五分钟萨姆就从兜里掏出他的罗盘检查一下方位，看自己是不是在一直往西走。

　　Canada is a big place. Much of it is wilderness³.

　　加拿大是一个很大的地方。它的多数地方都罕有人迹。

　　To get lost in the woods and swamps of western Canada would be a serious matter.

　　如果在加拿大的西部森林和沼泽迷路可是件麻烦的事情。

　　As he trudged⁴ on, the boy's mind was full of the wonder of what he had seen.

　　在往营地跋涉的路上，这个男孩子的脑子里都是刚才见到的那些奇妙的东西。

　　Not many people in the world have seen the nest of a Trumpeter Swan.

　　在这世上并没有多少人亲眼见过一个号手天鹅的窝的。

　　Sam had found one on the lonely pond on this day in spring.

　　可萨姆却在这个春日从那个僻静的池塘边上发现了一个。

　　He had seen the two great white birds with their long white necks and black bills.

　　他看见了两只有着雪白的长脖子和黑喙的白色大鸟。

　　Nothing he had ever seen before in all his life had made him feel quite the way he felt, on that wild little pond, in the presence of those two enormous swans.

　　他这辈子所见过的任何东西给他的感觉都和那两只庞大的天鹅从那个小野塘出现时给他的感觉不同。他们比他见过的任何鸟儿都大得多。

　　They were so much bigger than any bird he had ever seen before. The nest was big, too--a mound⁵ of sticks and grasses.

　　那个窝也很大——是用一堆树枝和草棍铺成的。

　　The female was sitting on eggs; the male glided⁶ slowly back and forth⁷, guarding her.

　　雌天鹅正坐在里面孵蛋；公鹅则在附近慢慢来回游动着，守护着她。

　　When Sam reached camp, tired and hungry, he found his father frying a couple of fish for lunch.

　　当萨姆走回营地时，已经又累又饿了，他发现父亲正在煎两条鱼当午饭呢。

　　"Where have you been?" asked Mr. Beaver.

　　“你去哪儿了？”比弗先生问。

　　"Exploring," replied Sam. "I walked over to a pond about a mile and a half from here. It's the one we see from the air as we're coming in.

　　“探险，”萨姆回答，“我到离这里一里半远的池塘那儿去了。它就是我们来时在空中见到的那个。”

　　It isn't much of a place--nowhere near as big as this lake we're on."

　　那地方很小--远不如我们身边的这个湖大。

　　"Did you see anything over there?" asked his father.

　　“你在那边看到什么了吗？”他的父亲问。

　　"Well," said Sam, "it's a swampy⁸ pond with a lot of reeds and cattails.

　　“唔，”萨姆说，“它不过是个生着许多芦苇和香蒲的沼泽地而已。

　　I don't think it would be any good for fishing. And it's hard to get to--you have to cross a swamp."

　　我不认为去那里钓鱼会有什么意思。而且路也很难走--因为你不得不穿越一个沼泽地。”

　　"See anything?" repeated Mr. Beaver.

　　“你看到什么了吗？”比弗先生又问了一遍。

　　"I saw a muskrat," said Sam, "and a few Red-winged Blackbirds."

　　“我看见了一只麝鼠，”萨姆说，“还有几只红翼歌鸫。”

　　Mr. Beaver looked up from the wood stove, where the fish were sizzling in a pan.

　　比弗先生抬起头，不再去看正在柴炉上的煎锅里咝咝做响的鱼。

　　"Sam," he said, "I know you like to go exploring. But don't forget--these woods and marshes⁹ are not like the country around home in Montana.

　　“萨姆，”他说，“我知道你喜欢探险。不过可别忘了--这些森林和沼泽与我们蒙大拿家乡附近的那些不同。

　　If you ever go over to that pond again, be careful you don't get lost.

　　如果你再去那个池塘，千万要小心，不要迷路。

　　I don't like you crossing swamps. They're treacherous¹⁰. You could step into a soggy place and get bogged¹¹ down, and there wouldn't be anybody to pull you out."

　　我不愿意你去穿越沼泽。它们是很可怕的。你很可能会一步走错陷到沼泽里的，那里可不会有人来把你拉出来。”

　　"I'll be careful," said Sam.

　　“我会小心的。”萨姆说。

1 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

2 boggy   

adj.沼泽多的

参考例句：

• Of, resembling, or characterized by a marsh or marshes; boggy. 沼泽般的，湿软的：类似沼泽地的，沼泽地所特有的；多沼泽的。 来自互联网
• The boggy is out of order, would be instead another one! 球车坏了，需要更换一部。 来自互联网

3 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mound   

n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫

参考例句：

• The explorers climbed a mound to survey the land around them.勘探者爬上土丘去勘测周围的土地。
• The mound can be used as our screen.这个土丘可做我们的掩蔽物。

6 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 swampy   

adj.沼泽的，湿地的

参考例句：

• Malaria is still rampant in some swampy regions.疟疾在一些沼泽地区仍很猖獗。
• An ox as grazing in a swampy meadow.一头牛在一块泥泞的草地上吃草。

9 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。

11 bogged   

adj.陷于泥沼的v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的过去式和过去分词 )；妨碍，阻碍

参考例句：

• The professor bogged down in the middle of his speech. 教授的演讲只说了一半便讲不下去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The tractor is bogged down in the mud. 拖拉机陷入了泥沼。 来自《简明英汉词典》