读者文摘:我不知道自己还能活多久(3)

"When the corn quit running out of the truck," he says,

他说：“玉米不再从卡车里出来时，

"my clothes were still grabbing on the auger¹ and jerking my leg as I was trying to pull it out."

我的衣服仍然紧紧地缠住螺旋钻，并在我试图将其拉出时猛拉我的腿。”

He could plainly see his tibia over the hopper's red casing, at least six inches of bone exposed beneath his knee.

他可以清楚地看到装料斗红色外壳上的胫骨，膝盖下方露出了至少15厘米的骨头。

He could see his own severed² foot bobbing like a rag doll up the hopper toward the silo's opening, tethers of denim³ still connected.

他可以看到自己被切断的脚，像碎布制的玩偶一样在朝向筒仓开口的装料斗上摆动，牛仔裤的系绳仍然连在上面。

But the machine wouldn't release what was left of his leg.

但是，机器并未放开他剩余的腿。

He couldn't reach the controls to shut down the auger. He needed to call for help.

他够不到控制器，没法关上螺旋钻，他需要求救。

He knew his cell phone was on him—surely his cell was on him.

他知道手机在他身上，当然他的手机带在身上。

He patted his pockets, his chest, his thighs⁵. He came up empty.

他拍了拍口袋、胸口、大腿，都没有。

(Half of the phone would later be found in the silo, an-other victim of the auger.)

（后来在筒仓里发现了一半电话，另一个成了螺旋钻的牺牲品）

He could scream for help, but the auger would drown out his cries, and anyway, there was no one around to hear them.

他可以尖叫求救，但是螺旋钻会淹没他的叫声，不管怎样，周围没有人能听得到。

How long he could stay conscious he didn't know.

他不知道自己能保持清醒多久，

"I was holding that one bone in my leg that was all bare and stuff—there wasn't no meat or nothing on it—

库尔特说：“我握住腿上一根光秃秃的骨头，骨头上没有肉，什么也没有了，

but the auger was jerking on that and I was getting wore out," Kurt says.

但螺旋钻还在猛拉，我已经筋疲力尽。

"I just didn't know how long I'd survive."

我只是不知道自己还能活多久。”

That was when he remembered the cheap black-handled pocketknife in his jeans,

就在这时，他想起了牛仔裤里那把便宜的黑柄小刀，

one of the countless⁶ pro-motional items he and every other farmer receive from seed-corn dealers⁷ and equipment manufacturers.

这是他和其他农民从玉米种子经销商和设备制造商那里收到的数不清的促销产品之一。

He unfolded the small blade, just three or four inches long.

他展开了只有三四英寸（七至十厘米）长的小刀片。

There were no second thoughts, not with the ravenous⁸ auger still drawing him in

他没有再多想，因为贪婪的螺旋钻还在把他拉进去，

and the hole in the grate big enough to pull at least a few inches more of him inside.

防护栅上的洞大得足以把他再拉进去至少几英寸。

A knee. A thigh⁴. With his left hand, he gripped the bone below his knee.

膝盖、大腿，他用左手抓住膝盖下面的骨头。

With his right, he began to saw away at muscle, tendons, tissue—the blood painting his fingers red.

借着右手，他开始看到肌肉、肌腱、组织，血把他的手指染成了红色。

He could feel the ping, the snap, the sudden release of his nerves with every cut.

他能感觉到啪的声响，那是每次割动之后，神经的突然放开。

1 auger   

n.螺丝钻，钻孔机

参考例句：

• We make a hole in the ice with an auger.我们用螺旋钻在冰上钻洞。
• Already the Snowblast's huge auger blades were engorging snow.扬雪车上庞大的钻头叶片在开始大量吞进积雪。

2 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 denim   

n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤

参考例句：

• She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤，一件白粗布工作服上衣。
• Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。

4 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

5 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

7 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

8 ravenous   

adj.极饿的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• The ravenous children ate everything on the table.饿极了的孩子把桌上所有东西吃掉了。
• Most infants have a ravenous appetite.大多数婴儿胃口极好。