读者文摘:悬在路堤上的汽车

It was rush hour on the morning of June 1 in the West Texas city of San Angelo.

6月1日早上，德克萨斯州西部城市圣安杰洛正处于交通高峰期。

Heather Santellano, 36, was driving her white 2012 Mazda on Houston Harte Frontage Road with her nine-year-old daughter and ten-year-old son in the back.

36岁的希瑟·桑特拉诺开着她的白色2012年产马自达行驶在休斯顿哈特临街，她9岁的女儿和10岁的儿子坐在后面。

Suddenly, a red pickup¹ truck cut them off. Santellano turned the wheel hard to the right,

突然，一辆红色的小货车拦住了他们。桑特拉诺把方向盘用力向右转，

sending the Mazda skidding² off the road and down an embankment that ended in a drop-off after about 50 feet.

汽车在行驶50英尺后滑出公路，沿着一条堤岸滑下。

If the car didn't stop, it would go airborne and plunge³ onto the road some 20 feet below.

如果这个汽车没有停的话，它会飞到空中，然后在20英尺以下的路面上坠落。

Then a bit of luck: As the car raced toward the edge, its undercarriage got stuck on the cement lip of the embankment ledge⁴, stopping it cold.

然后再来一点运气：当汽车冲向边缘时，它的底盘卡在了路堤边缘的水泥边缘上，车停了下来。

The occupants, however, were far from safe. The car had come to rest on top of a retaining wall, literally⁵ teetering on the edge of disaster.

然而，里面的人却很不安全。这辆车停在了一堵挡土墙上，几乎是在灾难的边缘摇摇欲坠。

One sudden move by anyone inside could send it over. Jacob Rodriguez watched the scene unfold from the truck-accessories company where he works.

里面任何人的突然举动都能把车弄翻。雅各布·罗德里格斯在他工作的卡车配件公司目睹了这一幕。

A veteran, he whispered a Navy mantra: "Ship, shipmates, self," then he and four other men ran to the car.

作为一名老兵，他低声念着海军的咒语：“船，船友，自己。”然后他和其他四个人跑向汽车。

They leaped onto the trunk to balance the weight as the terrified kids in the back seat watched.

他们跳上后备箱来平衡重量，而坐在后座上的孩子们则惊恐地看着他们。

Meanwhile, Julio Vasquez and his nephew, Marco Vasquez, were driving to their jobs at nearby Premier⁶ Auto-motive.

同时，胡里奥·瓦斯克和他的侄子马尔科·瓦斯克正开车前往附近的Premier Auto-motive上班。

Julio jumped out of the car to help while Marco went to the shop, grabbed a heavy-duty strap⁷, and returned to the dangling⁸ car.

胡里奥赶快下车去帮忙，马尔科则去商店买了一根结实的皮带，然后回到那辆摇摇晃晃的车那里。

He tethered the Mazda to an F-350 truck that had been driven over by one of the other rescuers.

他把马自达绑在一辆F-350卡车上，这辆卡车是被其他救援人员开过来的。

With the car secured, the group carefully opened the back doors and helped the children out.

把车系好后，大家小心地打开车后门，把小孩们救了出来。

But their departure shifted the car's weight, causing it to tilt⁹ forward.

但是他们的离开改变了车的重量，使这辆车向前倾斜。

The men, still on the trunk, implored¹⁰ Santellano to jump into the back seat to rebalance the weight.

他们几个人还在卡车上，他们让桑特拉诺跳到汽车后座上来平衡重量。

She did and then inched out the back door. Finally, the men carefully got off the trunk.

她照做了，然后从后门走了出去。最后，他们小心地下了车。

Everyone was safe. "Another foot," Rodriguez told USA Today, "and this would be a different story."

每个人都安全了。罗德里格斯告诉《今日美国》，“再差一英尺，这就会是一个不一样的故事。”

1 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

2 skidding   

n.曳出，集材v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的现在分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• All the wheels of the truck were tied up with iron chains to avoid skidding on the ice road. 大卡车的所有轮子上都捆上了铁链，以防止在结冰的路面上打滑。 来自《用法词典》
• I saw the motorcycle skidding and its rider spilling in dust. 我看到摩托车打滑，骑车人跌落在地。 来自互联网

3 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

4 ledge   

n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁

参考例句：

• They paid out the line to lower him to the ledge.他们放出绳子使他降到那块岩石的突出部分。
• Suddenly he struck his toe on a rocky ledge and fell.突然他的脚趾绊在一块突出的岩石上，摔倒了。

5 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

6 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

7 strap   

n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎

参考例句：

• She held onto a strap to steady herself.她抓住拉手吊带以便站稳。
• The nurse will strap up your wound.护士会绑扎你的伤口。

8 dangling   

悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• The tooth hung dangling by the bedpost, now. 结果，那颗牙就晃来晃去吊在床柱上了。
• The children sat on the high wall,their legs dangling. 孩子们坐在一堵高墙上，摇晃着他们的双腿。

9 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

10 implored   

恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。
• She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。