吹小号的天鹅 第25期:到蒙大拿去(4)

 　　In a few minutes, the cob glided¹ down out of the sky and skidded² to a stop on the pond.

　　几分钟后，雄天鹅从空中滑翔下来，泊到了池塘里。

　　They all cheered. "Ko-hoh, ko-hoh, beep beep, beep beep!" All but Louis.

　　他们都欢呼起来。“吭— 嗬，吭—嗬，哔哔，哔哔！”只除了路易斯。

　　He had to express his approval simply by beating his wings and splashing water in his father's face.

　　他只好用拍起翅膀把水溅到父亲脸上的方式来表示他的称赞。

　　"All right," said the cob. "You've seen how it's done. Follow me, and we'll give it a try.

　　“好了，”雄天鹅说，“你们已经看到这一切是怎么做的了。跟我来，我们一起试一次。

　　Extend yourselves to the utmost, do everything in the proper order, never forget for a minute

　　你们要尽可能地伸展开，每个动作都按正确的规则去做，每分钟都要牢记你们是天鹅，

　　that you are swans and therefore excellent fliers, and I'm sure all will be well."

　　是理所当然的杰出飞行家，我肯定一切都会顺利的。”

　　They all swam downwind to the end of the pond. They pumped their necks up and down.

　　他们都逆风游到池塘的尽头去了。他们上下摆动着他们的脖子。

　　Louis pumped his harder than any of the others.

　　路易斯摆动得比别的天鹅们更有力。

　　吹小号的天鹅

　　They tested the wind by turning their heads this way and that.

　　他们把脑袋转来转去地测试着风向。

　　Suddenly the cob signaled for the start.

　　雄天鹅猛然间发出了起飞的信号。

　　There was a tremendous commotion--wings beating, feet racing³, water churned to a froth.

　　真是好大一阵骚动呀——那么多双翅膀都在拍打，那么多双脚都在划动，搅得池塘的水都泛起了泡沫。

　　And presently, wonder of wonders, there were seven swans in the air

　　不久，奇迹中的奇迹出现了，空中飞起了七只天鹅

　　--two pure white ones and five dirty gray ones.

　　--两只纯白的，五只暗灰色的。

　　The takeoff was accomplished⁴, and they started gaining altitude.

　　起飞完成了，他们开始继续升高。

　　Louis was the first of the young cygnets to become airborne, ahead of all his brothers and sisters.

　　路易斯是第一只升到空中的小天鹅，他飞到了他的哥哥姐姐们的前面。

　　The minute his feet lifted clear of the water, he knew he could fly.

　　在他的脚离开水面的刹那，他知道他可以飞翔了。

　　It was a tremendous relief--as well as a splendid sensation.

　　这让他大大松了口气——也让他有了一种绝妙的感觉。

　　"Boy!" he said to himself. "I never knew flying could be such fun. This is great. This is sensational⁵. This is superb. I feel exalted⁶, and I'm not dizzy.

　　“好家伙！”他心里说，“我从不知道飞翔会这么有趣。真妙。真刺激。真好。我感到志得意满了，我并不觉得头晕。

　　I'll be able to get to Montana with the rest of the family. I may be defective⁷, but at least I can fly."

　　我能和其他的家庭成员一起到蒙大拿去了。虽然我可能有缺陷，但我至少还能飞。”

1 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 skidded   

v.（通常指车辆） 侧滑( skid的过去式和过去分词 )；打滑；滑行；（住在）贫民区

参考例句：

• The car skidded and hit a lamp post. 那辆汽车打滑撞上了路灯杆。
• The car skidded and overturned. 汽车打滑翻倒了。

3 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

4 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

5 sensational   

adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的

参考例句：

• Papers of this kind are full of sensational news reports.这类报纸满是耸人听闻的新闻报道。
• Their performance was sensational.他们的演出妙极了。

6 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

7 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。