吹小号的天鹅 第79期:塞蕾娜(2)

 One day, about a week before Christmas, a great storm came up. The sky grew dark.

一天，大约在圣诞节的前一周，来了一场强烈的大风暴。天空变暗了。

The wind blew a howling gale¹. It made a whining² noise.

风怒号着刮来刮去。这引起了一片抱怨声。

Windows rattled³. Shutters⁴ came off their hinges.

窗子嘎嘎乱叫。百叶窗挣脱了他们的铰链。

Old newspapers and candy wrappers were picked up by the wind and scattered⁵ like confetti.

旧报纸和糖纸被风扯得像婚礼上撒的五彩碎纸一样，在空中乱扬。

Many of the creatures in the Zoo became restless and uneasy.

动物园里的很多动物都变得焦躁不安了。

Over in the Elephant House, the elephants trumpeted⁶ in alarm.

大象馆那边，大象们在惊号。

Lions roared and paced back and forth⁷.

狮子们咆哮着走来走去。

The Great Black Cockatoo screamed.

大黑凤头鹦鹉吓得尖叫起来。

吹小号的天鹅

Keepers rushed here and there, shutting doors and windows and making everything secure against the awful force of the gale.

管理员们到处奔忙着，关上门和窗户，力图让一切都能在这场可怕的风暴中安然无恙。

The waters of Bird Lake were ruffled⁸ by the strong, mighty⁹ wind, and for a while the lake looked like a small ocean.

鸟湖里的水被强猛的风搅动着，不久便变得像一个小海洋了。

Many of the water birds sought protection on the island.

很多水鸟都在岛上寻觅着安全的庇护所。

Louis rode out the gale on the lake, in the lee of the island.

路易斯搏击着湖上的狂风，向岛上的避风处奔去。

He faced the wind and kept paddling with his feet, his eyes bright with wonder at the strength of the blast.

他迎着风不停地用他的脚划着水，风暴的威力令他的眼里闪出惊奇的光。

Suddenly he saw an object in the sky. It was coming down out of the clouds.

突然，他看到天空中出现了一个物体。它正在冲过云层向这里来。

At first, he couldn't make out what it was.

开始，他还辨不清那到底是什么东西。

"Maybe it's a flying saucer," he thought.

“那大概是飞碟，”他想。

Then he realized that it was a large white bird, struggling desperately¹⁰ to come in against the wind.

接着他才明白那是一只白色大鸟，正在不顾一切地想要逆风而降。

Its wings were beating rapidly.

它的翅膀拍打得很快。

In a moment it splashed down and flopped¹¹ ashore¹², where it lay sprawled¹³ out, almost as if it were dead.

眨眼间，它就溅落下来，艰难地爬上岸，伸开四肢躺在那里，几乎像是死了一样。

Louis stared and stared and stared. Then he looked again.

路易斯盯住它看了又看。然后他又端详了半天。

"It looks like a swan," he thought.

“它好像一只天鹅，”他想。

It was a swan.

它就是一只天鹅。

"It looks like a Trumpeter Swan," he thought.

“它好像一只号手天鹅，”他想。

It was a Trumpeter Swan.

它就是一只号手天鹅。

"My goodness," said Louis to himself, "it looks like Serena.

“天哪，”路易斯自语，“它好像塞蕾娜。

It is Serena. She's here at last. My prayers have been answered!"

就是塞蕾娜。她终于来这儿了。我的祈祷应验了！”

1 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

2 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

3 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

4 shutters   

百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门

参考例句：

• The shop-front is fitted with rolling shutters. 那商店的店门装有卷门。
• The shutters thumped the wall in the wind. 在风中百叶窗砰砰地碰在墙上。

5 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

6 trumpeted   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soldiers trumpeted and bugled. 士兵们吹喇叭鸣号角。
• The radio trumpeted the presidential campaign across the country. 电台在全国范围大力宣传总统竞选运动。

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 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

9 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

13 sprawled   

v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
• He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。