吹小号的天鹅 第74期:费城(3)

 Louis stepped back into the water, the boat's lines were cast off, and Louis led the way.

路易斯回到水中时，船的缆绳已经解开了。路易斯忙游到前面导航。

He knew it was his last appearance with the Swan Boat, and he felt a little sad.

他知道这是他最后一次和天鹅游艇在一起了，因此他觉得有点儿伤感。

It was a warm, quiet Sunday afternoon, the last Sunday in September.

这是一个温暖的，宁静的星期日下午，也是九月里的最后一个星期日。

Louis played all his favorite tunes¹: "Lazy River," "Beautiful Dreamer," "Oh, Ever in the Greening Spring,"

路易斯吹起了他喜爱的所有曲子：“缓缓的河”，“梦中的美人”，“哦，又到了绿色的春天”，

"Now the Day Is Over," and then, as the boat neared the dock, he raised his trumpet² and blew taps.

“现在白天已经过去”，最后，等船靠近码头的时候，他举起他的小号吹起了熄灯号。

The last note echoed from the walls of the Ritz and lingered over the Public Garden.

最后的旋律回荡在里兹的墙壁之间，盘旋在大众公园的上空。

It was a sad farewell. For the people of Boston, it meant the end of summer.

这是忧伤的别离之音。对波士顿人来说，这声音意味着夏天的结束。

For the Boatman, it meant the end of the best week of business he had ever had.

对游艇老板来说，这声音意味着他生意最好的这星期的结束。

For Louis, it meant the end of another chapter in his adventurous³ life,

对路易斯来说，这声音意味着他在外面的大世界里

out in the big world, trying to earn enough money to get his father and himself out of trouble.

为挣够钱解决他父亲和他自己的麻烦而开始的尝试告一段落，他的又一章冒险生涯也随之而宣告结束。

Louis slept peacefully that night, being very careful that his moneybag was safe.

那一晚，路易斯小心地守着他的钱袋，安静地睡了。

Next day he flew to Philadelphia to keep his appointment with Mr. Lucas, the man who had sent the telegram.

第二天，他如约飞向费城，准备与卢卡斯先生，那个拍电报的人约会。

Louis had no trouble finding Philadelphia.

路易斯没费多大力气就找到了费城。

Almost anybody can find Philadelphia who tries.

如果尽力的话，差不多谁都能找得到费城。

Louis simply rose into the air with all his things around his neck,

路易斯就这么带着他脖子上的那些东西在天空中飞起来，

and when he was about a thousand feet high, he followed the railroad tracks to Providence⁴, New London, New Haven⁵,

等他差不多飞到一千英尺高时，便沿着火车道线一直往前飞，飞过了普罗维登斯，新伦敦，纽黑文，

Bridgeport, Stamford, Cos Cob, Greenwich, Port Chester, Rye, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Pelham, Mount Vernon, and the Bronx.

布里奇波特，斯坦福德，科斯科布，格林威治，切斯特港，拉伊，玛玛欧耐克，新罗歇尔，佩勒姆，弗农山，还有布朗克斯区这些地方。

When he saw the Empire State Building, he veered⁶ off to the right,

当他看到帝国大厦时，就转身向右，

crossed the Hudson River, and followed the railroad tracks to Newark and Trenton and points south.

越过哈得逊河，又沿着铁路经过纽华克和塔伦顿，才一直往南飞去。

At half past four, he reached the Schuylkill River.

四点半时，他飞到了斯古吉尔河。

Just beyond, he spied the Philadelphia Zoo. Bird Lake looked very attractive from the air.

从那里又飞了一小会儿，他就看到了费城动物园。从空中鸟瞰下去，鸟湖显得格外有吸引力。

It was crowded with waterfowl of all kinds --ducks and geese mostly.

那里有成群的各种水鸟--最多的是鸭子和鹅。

Louis thought he also saw two or three swans.

路易斯觉得他也看到了两三只天鹅。

He circled, picked an open spot, and exactly at four fifty-two he splashed down.

他盘旋着，直到选好一块开阔地，才打着水花降落下来，那时刚好是四点五十二分。

His trumpet banged against his slate⁷, his slate knocked against his medal,

他的小号撞着他的石板，他的石板敲着他的奖章，

his medal rapped against his chalk pencil, and his chalk pencil on its string wound itself around his moneybag.

他的奖章碰着他的石笔，他那用绳子栓住的石笔绕在他的钱袋上。

All in all, the splashdown caused quite a commotion⁸.

总之，他的空降完全引起了一通大乱。

The ducks and geese were not expecting anything like this to happen

鸭子和鹅们从没料到会发生这种事儿

a big white Trumpeter Swan dropping down out of the sky, loaded with personal possessions.

居然会有一只白白的大号手天鹅带着他的许多私人物品从天上掉下来。

Louis paid no attention to the other birds. He had a date to keep.

路易斯没去在意其他的鸟儿。他还有个约会要赴呢。

1 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

4 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

5 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

6 veered   

v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的过去式和过去分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转

参考例句：

• The bus veered onto the wrong side of the road. 公共汽车突然驶入了逆行道。
• The truck veered off the road and crashed into a tree. 卡车突然驶离公路撞上了一棵树。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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？

8 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。