吹小号的天鹅 第73期:费城(2)

 A boy in the front seat of the boat pulled an air rifle from under his jacket and began shooting BB shots at Louis's trumpet¹.

一个坐在前座的男孩从他的夹克里掏出一把汽枪，朝路易斯的小号开起枪来。

Whenever a shot hit the horn, it made a pinging sound.

每射中一次小号，就会发出砰的一声。

So the "Cradle Song" sounded something like this:

于是这首“摇篮曲”听起来就像这样：

The children on the boat roared with laughter when they heard this, but the grown-up passengers were angry.

游艇上的孩子们都听得大笑起来，可大乘客们却很生气。

One of them seized the boy's rifle.

他们中的一个抓住了那个男孩的汽枪。

Another went home that night and wrote a letter to the Boston Globe urging a stronger gun-control law.

另一个在当晚回家以后给《波士顿环球报》写了一封信，极力要求制定一个更为强硬的枪支管理法。

On some afternoons, at the end of the day, people gathered on the shores of the lake to listen while Louis played taps.

有些下午，在黄昏时分，人们会聚到湖岸边听路易斯吹熄灯号。

It was a peaceful scene, a memorable² hour.

这是一个平静的场面，一个值得回忆的时刻。

吹小号的天鹅

The Swan Boat had never enjoyed such popularity or made such a lot of money for the owner.

天鹅游艇从来没有享有过这么大的声誉，也没有为游艇老板挣过这么多的钱。

But Louis knew that the boats would not run all winter.

不过路易斯知道，游艇不会整个冬天都开下去的。

In a few days, the boats would be hauled out for the season, to wait quietly for the arrival of spring.

几天之后，这些船将会被拉上岸过冬，静静地等着春天的到来。

One day, when Louis was waiting for the boat to take its passengers aboard,一天，路易斯正在等游客上船的时候，

a Western Union messenger boy appeared on a bicycle.

一名西部联合公司的电报投递员骑着一辆自行车过来了。

"I have a telegram for the swan," he said.

“有一份给这只天鹅的电报，”他说。

The Boatman seemed surprised, but he took the telegram and handed it to Louis, who opened it promptly³.

游艇老板显得很吃惊，可他还是接过电报并把它递给了路易斯，路易斯立刻打开了电报。

It was from a man in Philadelphia. The message said:

那是费城的一个男人拍来的。上面写道：

CAN OFFER YOU FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS A WEEK FOR NIGHTCLUB SPOT. TEN WEEK ENGAGEMENT. PLEASE REPLY. (signed) ABE ("LUCKY") LUCAS HOTEL NEMO夜总会每周可付你五百美元。签约十周。请回复。（签名）阿贝 （“幸运”）卢卡斯，内莫饭店Louis did some quick figuring.

路易斯算得很快。

Five hundred dollars a week for ten weeks--that was five thousand dollars.

五百美元一周，共十周——那就是五千美元。

Five thousand dollars would easily pay his father's debt to the music store.

如果有了五千美元，就能很轻松地付清他父亲对乐器店的欠债了。

He took his slate⁴ and wrote: OFFER ACCEPTED. ARRIVE TOMORROW.

他拿起他的石板写道：接受出价。明日抵达。

MEET ME AT BIRD LAKE IN THE ZOO.

在动物园的鸟湖接我。

SPLASHDOWN WILL BE AT FOUR FIFTY-TWO P.m. HOPE THIS WILL BE A CONVENIENT TIME FOR YOU.

下午四点五十二分降落。希望你那时正好有空。

Louis showed the message to the Western Union boy, who copied it on a telegraph blank.

路易斯把这回信拿给西部联合公司的投递员看，他把它抄到了一份空电报上。

"Send it collect!" wrote Louis. The messenger nodded and rode away.

“由收报人付费！”路易斯写。投递员点点头，骑车走了。

 

1 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

2 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

3 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

4 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？