美国语文第四册 第170期:火警(1)

 　　The day was sultry, and towards noon a strong wind sprang up that roared in the pine tops like the dashing of distant billows,  天气湿热，快到中午的时候，一阵大风在松树梢上呼啸而过，就像远方大海的滚滚波涛，

　　but without in the least degree abating¹ the heat. 可是天气一点也不见凉快。

　　The children were lying listlessly upon the floor, and the girl and I were finishing sunbonnets,  孩子们无精打采地躺在地板上，女孩和我在给遮阳帽收尾，

　　when Mary suddenly exclaimed, "Bless us, mistress, what a smoke!" 突然玛莉喊叫起来：“上帝保佑，太太，怎么这么大的烟啊！”

　　I ran immediately to the door, but was not able to distinguish ten yards before me. 我立刻跑向门边，眼前十码远的地方什么也看不见了。

　　The swamp immediately below us was on fire, and the heavy wind was driving a dense² black cloud of smoke directly towards us. 我们下面的沼泽地一片火海，大风正把大片的浓烟吹向我们。

　　"What can this mean?" I cried. "Who can have set fire to the fallow?" “这意味着什么？”我喊道。“谁把休耕地点着了？”

　　As I ceased speaking, John Thomas stood pale and trembling before me. "John, what is the meaning of this fire?" 这时，约翰.托马斯脸色苍白颤抖地站到我面前。“约翰，这火意味着什么？”

　　Oh, ma'am, I hope you will forgive me; it was I set fire to it, and I would give all I have in the world if I had not done it. 噢，太太，我希望你原谅我；是我放的火，真希望我没有这么做，为此让我放弃世界上的一切都愿意。

　　What is the danger? 到底有什么危险？

　　"Oh, I'm afraid that we shall all be burnt up," said John, beginning to whimper. "What shall we do?" “哦，恐怕我们都会被烧死，”约翰说，开始啜泣，“我们该怎么办？”

　　Why, we must get out of it as fast as we can, and leave the house to its fate. 还能怎么办，我们必须尽快离开，房子只能听天由命了。

　　"We can't get out," said the man, in a low, hollow tone, which seemed the concentration of fear; “我们出不去了，”男孩说，声音低沉、空洞，似乎充满了恐惧；

　　I would have got out of it if I could; but just step to the back door, ma'am, and see. 如果能出去，我早就出去了；可是太太，你看看后门。

　　Behind, before, on every side, we were surrounded by a wall of fire, burning furiously within a hundred yards of us, and cutting off all possibility of retreat; 后面，前面，每个方向，火墙把我们包围了，距离我们一百码的地方大火猛烈地燃烧着，切断了我们的退路。

　　for, could we have found an opening through the burning heaps, we could not have seen our way through the dense canopy³ of smoke; 即使我们从熊熊火焰中找到缝隙，浓烟中我们也无法辨别方向，

　　and, buried as we were in the heart of the forest, no one could discover our situation till we were beyond the reach of help. 而且由于我们在森林的中心，谁也无法及时发现我们的状况。

　　I closed the door, and went back to the parlor⁴. 我关上门，回到客厅。

　　Fear was knocking loudly at my heart, for our utter helplessness destroyed all hope of our being able to effect our escape. 恐惧撞击着我的心，我们身处绝地，逃生无望。

　　The girl sat upon the floor by the children, who, unconscious of the peril⁵ that hung over them, had both fallen asleep. 女孩站在孩子们旁边，孩子们对于面临的巨大危险一无所知，都已沉沉入睡。

　　She was silently weeping; while the boy who had caused the mischief⁶ was crying aloud. 女孩悄悄地哭泣着，而造成这场危害的男孩子也不停地哭。

1 abating   

减少( abate的现在分词 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• The storm showed no signs of abating. 暴风雨没有减弱的迹象。
• The recent public anxiety about this issue may now be abating. 近来公众对这个问题的焦虑心情现在也许正在缓和下来。

2 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

3 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

4 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

5 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

6 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。