美国小学英语教材4:第57课 爱丽丝漫游丛林(7)

 CAMPING AT NIGHT 晚间露营

The moment the porters¹ got in, they dropped their loads 搬运工们一进来就放下他们运载的货物，

and rushed off to see about getting a sleeping-place in the huts of the village. 然后冲出去四处查看，在村子的棚屋中找到一个睡觉的地方。

Sometimes the porters would bring back some of the village men 有时搬运工们会带回来一些村里的男人，

to help set up the tents for the white people and to carry the different bags and boxes to the right places. 帮着白人搭建帐篷，把不同的包裹和箱子摆在合适的地方。

As soon as the cook had his tent up and his fire going, he began getting dinner. 厨师一搭起帐篷，生起火就开始准备晚餐了。

Sometimes the dinner was at two o'clock, sometimes at four or at six. 晚餐有时在两点钟，有时在四点钟或六点钟。

When dinner was to be late, the travelers would eat the crackers² and chocolate they carried in their pockets, 晚餐太晚时，旅行者们会吃口袋里的咸饼干和巧克力，

and open a bottle of lime³ juice, which is the finest-tasting thing in the world on a hot day in Africa. 并打开一瓶酸橙汁，在非洲炎热的日子里，酸橙汁是世界上最美味的东西。

Often the rain would come pouring down just as the meal was ready. 通常，当饭菜准备好时，雨就会倾盆而下。

If it didn't rain too hard, the cook-boys used to dash from the cooking-tent to the dining-tent with the food. 如果雨下得不太大，那些帮厨男孩们端着食物从烹饪帐篷里冲到进餐帐篷里。

The rain did not often last long, and the sun always came out again. 雨通常持续不了很长时间，雨后太阳又会出来。

The native women from the villages used to bring in food for the porters, and lay it out in rows. 村落的土著妇女们通常给搬运工们带来食物，并把它们一排排放好。

The food was usually bananas or meal tied in banana leaves. 这些食物通常是香蕉或者裹在香蕉叶子里的饭菜。

Then the porters would line up, and each man would take what was opposite him and go off and cook it. 这时搬运工们就排好队，每个人将他正前方对着的食物拿去烹调。

Sometimes the white people bought oxen for the porters from a chief who had cattle; 白人们有时会从养牛的首领那里给搬运工们买一头公牛；

and sometimes they fed the porters antelope⁴ meat. 有时他们给搬运工们买羚羊肉吃。

Before dinner was over Alice was always nodding into her plate, and off she would go with Priscilla to their tent. 晚餐还没吃完，爱丽丝总是困得点头，头快要垂进盘子里了，然后她就和普丽西拉一起离开，回到她们的帐篷里。

When the little girl was snuggled down cosily⁵ in her blankets, 当小女孩舒服地躺在她的毯子里时，

Priscilla would tie the tent flaps⁶ shut so that no insect could slip inside, 普里西拉会拉上帐篷的门帘，这样就不会有虫子溜进帐篷里了，

and then go out and join the others in the camp chairs. 然后她再出去，加入到坐在露营餐椅上的其他人中。

Alice would fall asleep hearing the murmur⁷ of the white people in front of her tent, 听着帐篷前大人们的窃窃私语

and farther⁸ away, like a humming of bees, the chatter⁹ of the porters about their little fires. 以及远处搬运工们围着他们的小火堆，像蜜蜂一样喋喋不休地唠叨着，爱丽丝睡着了。

The porters never seemed to sleep. 搬运工们似乎从不睡觉。

They would have laughed and talked all night if the white people had let them. 如果白人允许的话，他们能整晚说笑。

That was the fun they got out of the trip. 那是他们从旅行中得到的乐趣。

They used to shout with laughter over the doings of the white people they were traveling with, 黑人们经常会因为白人的行为、

over the strange cloths they wore, and the strange way they ate. 怪异的衣着以及奇怪的吃饭方式而大声笑起来。

Alice used to hear the word "Wazungu" (Stranger), followed by laughter and song, 爱丽丝过去常听到“Wazungu”（怪人）一词，接着就是笑声和歌声，

until Uncle Akeleys shout, "Pana kilele" (No noise) put an end to the fun-making and made everybody settle down for the night. 直到埃克雷叔叔的一声大喊“Pana kilele”（安静）才会使搞笑的时刻结束，大家都安顿下来过夜。

1 porters   

n.门童( porter的名词复数 )；搬运工人；（医院里护送病人的）护工；（尤指卧铺车厢的）列车服务员

参考例句：

• The porters scratched up the desk. 搬运工人们把桌子刮坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The footman and two porters began to load luggage onto the carriage. 仆人和两个脚夫开始把行李抬上马车。 来自辞典例句

2 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 lime   

n.石灰，酸橙，酸橙树，粘鸟胶，钙；vt.施石灰，涂上粘性物质，沾上粘鸟胶

参考例句：

• Lime exists in many soils.许多土壤中都含有石灰。
• A broad avenue of lime trees led up to a grand entrance with huge oak doors.一条栽有酸橙树的宽阔林阴道通向巨大的橡木门的雄伟入口。

4 antelope   

n.羚羊；羚羊皮

参考例句：

• Choosing the antelope shows that China wants a Green Olympics.选择藏羚羊表示中国需要绿色奥运。
• The tiger was dragging the antelope across the field.老虎拖着羚羊穿过原野。

5 cosily   

adv.舒适地，惬意地

参考例句：

• Its snow-white houses nestle cosily in a sea of fresh green vegetation. 雪白的房屋舒适地筑在一片翠绿的草木中。 来自辞典例句

6 flaps   

（兽医）马唇肿胀

参考例句：

• The flag flaps in the wind. 旗在风中飘动。
• He was supposed to furl the side flaps in the morning. 他的任务就是每天早上把两侧的遮帘卷起。

7 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

8 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

9 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。