美国小学英语教材5:第28课 邮件必须送达(10)

 　　The Mail Goes Through 邮件送达

　　A few scattered¹ flakes² of snow began to fall as his pony³ galloped⁵ easily along the trail by which they had come that day. 当他的小马沿着那天他们经过的小路轻快地奔驰时，几片散落的雪花开始飘落下来。

　　William did not want to push the animal. 威廉不想推那马儿。

　　He could get no fresh horse closer than twenty miles or more; 他不能使一匹新马走超过二十英里的距离；

　　he must save his pony as much as possible at first. 首先，他必须尽可能多地保护他的小马。

　　Within the boy's breast there was a fierce pride and joy. 男孩的胸中充斥着一种强烈的自豪和喜悦。

　　He was riding a Pony Express relay, and the mail was going through. 他骑着“快马邮递”的马儿，邮件就这样送过去了。

　　The wind was rising now, and the snow was falling faster and faster. 现在起风了，雪下得越来越大。

　　Suddenly out of the storm and darkness loomed⁶ up the corral of the remount station which earlier in the day had been surprised by the Indians. 换马站外面突然被暴风雨和黑暗笼罩，而早些时候印第安人也让他们大吃一惊。

　　It was deserted⁷. 这里已经被废弃了。

　　William turned his pony into the trail again. 威廉又骑着小马上了路。

　　As if the little animal had gone weary at being denied the rest and food which his day's hard work had earned him, he began to slow down. 这只小动物似乎已经厌倦了被剥夺一天辛苦工作后本应得到的休息和食物，马儿开始放慢速度。

　　From a gallop⁴ his gait dropped to a trot⁸, then to a fast shuffle⁹, and by and by into a' walk, until finally he was merely plodding¹⁰ along. 马儿的脚步从疾驰变成了小跑，接着又变成了快步走，一会儿又变成了慢吞吞地走着，直到最后只是吃力地走着。

　　The cold had begun to chill the boy. 男孩开始觉得冷了。

　　He felt sleepiness stealing over him. 他感到昏昏欲睡。

　　He stopped the pony, got stiffly down from the saddle, and started the blood to circulate freely again by thrashing his body with his arms. 他让小马停下，僵硬地从马鞍上下来，用手臂抽打着他的身体，让血液重新自由循环。

　　Then, leading the pony, he began to walk. 然后，他牵着小马开始走路。

　　Warmed again, he remounted and kept his heels beating a tattoo¹¹ against the pony's ribs¹². 他又暖和起来，重新骑上马，继续用脚跟敲打着小马的肋骨。

　　When he grew numb¹³ again, he dismounted and once more walked. 当他觉得麻木时，他下了马，又走起来。

　　All at once before his eyes appeared other tracks in the fresh snow. 突然，他看到新下的雪中出现了其他的印记。

　　He bent¹⁴ over to examine them, puzzled that the wind had not filled them up almost as soon as made. 他弯下腰去仔细察看，很奇怪风还没有把他们吹散。

　　Then the truth burst upon him. 然后他突然明白了真相。

　　They were his own tracks and those of his pony. 它们是他自己的足迹，也是他小马的足迹。

　　Leading the way, he had been walking in a short circle! 他走在前面，走了一小圈！

1 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。

2 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

3 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

4 gallop   

v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展

参考例句：

• They are coming at a gallop towards us.他们正朝着我们飞跑过来。
• The horse slowed to a walk after its long gallop.那匹马跑了一大阵后慢下来缓步而行。

5 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

6 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

8 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

9 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

10 plodding   

a.proceeding in a slow or dull way

参考例句：

• They're still plodding along with their investigation. 他们仍然在不厌其烦地进行调查。
• He is plodding on with negotiations. 他正缓慢艰难地进行着谈判。

11 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

12 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

13 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

14 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。