读者文摘:奇迹生还的男孩(5)

The skewer¹ had missed his facial nerve, which controls facial expression and the sense of taste.

尖杆没有刺到他的面部神经，该神经控制着人的面部表情和味觉。

Most important, it had missed both the crucial arteries²: the carotid and vertebral.

更重要的是，它没有刺到两个重要的动脉：颈动脉和椎动脉。

In fact, it appeared to have actually nudged them out of the way without puncturing³ them.

实际上，尖杆似乎是把动脉挤开了，而没有刺到它们。

I don't know how a kid can be so lucky, thought Dr. Ebersole. "Jeremy," he said, "put your hands on that thing, get a feel for how easily it'll move."

埃伯索尔医生说，我不知道这个孩子怎么会这么幸运。他说，“杰里米，把你的手放在那个杆子上，感受一下它容不容易松动。”

He was speaking to chief resident Jeremy Peterson, MD, a burly 32-year-old who stood near the boy's head.

站在他边上和他说话的是总住院医师杰里米·皮特森，现年32岁的率直的医学博士。

It would be up to him to remove the skewer. Truth be told, Dr. Peterson was nervous,

他将是把尖杆去掉的那个人。说实话，皮特森医生很紧张。

but he placed a steady left hand at the base of the skewer to anchor it; his right hand grasped just above his left.

但是他稳稳地将左手放在尖杆底端将其固定，右手则在左手稍上方握住尖杆。

He nudged it back and forth⁴ ever so slightly while Dr. Ebersole watched on the monitor in case the movement harmed a vessel⁵.

他非常轻微地前后推着它，而埃伯索尔医生则盯着监测器，以防尖杆损伤血管。

It barely moved. "It feels pretty solid," Dr.Peterson said. "OK, let's go," said Dr. Ebersole.

皮特森医生说，“它几乎没有动，刺的很结实。好吧，我们走。”

He'd be the eyes, watching the monitor constantly, while Dr. Peterson would have the feel of the thing as he worked on getting it out.

他充当着眼睛，经常看着监测器，而皮特森医生则要找到感觉，把尖杆去掉。他必须得很慢，有力，而且得平滑地把它拔出来。

He'd have to do it slowly, strongly, yet smoothly⁶, mostly from his right arm, while being careful that his left "base" hand didn't exert too much pressure—because it was literally⁷ on Xavier's eye.

这个过程主要是使用右手的力量，同时得小心，底端的左手不能施加太大的力-因为左手就在泽维尔的眼睛上。

The skewer was surprisingly hard to budge⁸. It took all the strength in Dr. Peterson's right arm to move it an inch—then it stopped.

令人意外的是，拔动尖杆非常难。皮特森医生用尽了右臂所有的力量才拔动了一点-然后就卡住了。

"It feels stuck on something." "OK, hands off," ordered Dr. Ebersole.

“感觉是卡在什么东西上了”。“把手放开”，埃伯索尔要求道。

Dr. Peterson carefully let go of the skewer and took a half step back, while Dr.Ebersole enhanced the view. The clearer picture showed that it was hung up on a neck ligament, not a danger.

皮特森医生谨慎地放开尖杆，并往后退了半步，埃伯索尔加强了检测视图。更清晰的图片显示它挂在颈部韧带上，没有危险。

But the skewer was now so close to the vertebral artery⁹ that it was bending it.

但是尖杆离椎动脉太近了，使它产生了弯曲。

"Jeremy, angle it a little toward you." This would move it away from that artery. Dr. Peterson did as asked. "OK, go again." It worked.

“杰里米，把角度朝你那调整一点。”这会使它离开椎动脉。皮特森医生照做了。“好的，来吧。”奏效了。

Dr. Ebersole watched the tip of the skewer safely pass the vertebral artery. "It's sliding pretty easy now," said Dr. Peterson.

埃伯索尔看着杆子的尖端安全地通过了椎动脉处。皮特森医生说，“现在移动它非常轻松”。

Yet he continued to pull it very slowly, especially as it passed the jugular¹⁰—would it pull open the seal that had formed? No; the jugular had healed itself.

但是他还要继续慢慢地拔，尤其是尖杆经过颈静脉的时候-它会将已形成的创面扯开吗？不会，颈静脉已经自己痊愈了。

Then, finally, the last hurdle¹¹: the carotid artery. The metal passed it smoothly, too—and suddenly, the skewer was out.

然后，最后一个障碍：颈动脉。尖杆也很平滑地经过了它-突然，尖杆就出来了。

It was 3 p.m. when Dr. Ebersole came into the waiting room and told Xavier's parents, "It's out.

下午3点，埃伯索尔医生走进候诊室，对泽维尔的父母说：“拔出来了。

He's OK." There was a cheer from the crowd of family and friends. "Can I hug you?" asked Gabrielle, and she did.

“他没事。”亲朋好友马上就欢呼起来。加布里埃尔问，“我能拥抱你吗？”她就拥抱了医生。

The only physical evidence of Xavier's unplanned adventure is a tiny bump beside his nose and some numbness¹² on the left side of his face.

这次意外的冒险在泽维尔脸上留下的唯一痕迹就是鼻子边上的一个小肿块，还有使他的左半边脸有些麻木。

And yet, things are different nowadays. Xavier often grabs the leash¹³ to take Max for walks—he's no longer scared to walk the dog alone.

然而，现在情况不同了。泽维尔经常抓住皮带带麦克斯散步，他不再害怕独自遛狗了。

And when he gets a scrape or has a mishap¹⁴, instead of going straight to ten on the pain scale the way he used to,

当泽维尔被刮伤或是倒霉的时候，他不再会像以前那样直奔疼痛评分表上的10分，

he'll look at his mom calmly and say, "This hurts pretty bad." "Is it skewer bad?" Gabrielle will ask, and Xavier will laugh.

他会看着他的母亲，平静地说，“这个很疼。”“像尖杆刺到那样糟糕吗？”加布里埃尔会这样问道，然后泽维尔就笑了起来。

1 skewer   

n.（烤肉用的）串肉杆；v.用杆串好

参考例句：

• I used a skewer to make an extra hole in my belt.我用扦子在腰带上又打了一个眼儿。
• He skewered his victim through the neck.他用扦子刺穿了受害人的脖子。

2 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 puncturing   

v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的现在分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气

参考例句：

• Complement enzymes attack antigens by puncturing the cell membrane. 补体酶通过刺穿细胞膜来攻击抗原。 来自互联网
• Purpose:Re-modifying the method of DSA puncturing arteria cerebri through arteria carotis communis. 目的 ：对经颈总动脉穿刺行脑动脉DSA的方法进行再次改良。 来自互联网

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

6 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

7 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

8 budge   

v.移动一点儿；改变立场

参考例句：

• We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来，但它连动都没动一下。
• She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。

9 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

10 jugular   

n.颈静脉

参考例句：

• He always goes for the jugular.他总是直奔要害而去。
• Bilateral internal jugular vein stenting is also a rare procedure.两侧内颈静脉支架置放术也是少见的技术。

11 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

12 numbness   

n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆

参考例句：

• She was fighting off the numbness of frostbite. 她在竭力摆脱冻僵的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Sometimes they stay dead, causing' only numbness. 有时，它们没有任何反应，只会造成麻木。 来自时文部分

13 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

14 mishap   

n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸

参考例句：

• I'm afraid your son had a slight mishap in the playground.不好了，你儿子在操场上出了点小意外。
• We reached home without mishap.我们平安地回到了家。