血字的研究 44沙漠中的旅客(2)

Looking down on this very scene, there stood upon the fourth of May, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, a solitary¹ traveller.

一八四七年五月四日，一个孤单的旅客从山上俯望着这幅凄惨的情景。

His appearance was such that he might have been the very genius or demon² of the region.

从他的外表看来，简直就是这个绝境里的鬼怪精灵。

An observer would have found it difficult to say whether he was nearer to forty or to sixty.

即便是具有观察力的人，也难猜出他究竟是四十岁还是年近六十。

His face was lean and haggard, and the brown parchment- like skin was drawn³ tightly over the projecting bones;

他的脸憔悴瘦削，干羊皮似的棕色皮肤紧紧地包着一把突出的骨头。

his long, brown hair and beard were all flecked and dashed with white;

长长的棕色须发已然斑白，

his eyes were sunken in his head, and burned with an unnatural⁴ lustre⁵; while the hand which grasped his rifle was hardly more fleshy than that of a skeleton.

深陷的双眼，射出呆滞的目光。握着来复枪的那只手，上面的肌肉比骨架也多不了许多。

As he stood, he leaned upon his weapon for support, and yet his tall figure and the massive framework of his bones suggested a wiry and vigorous constitution.

他站着的时候，要用枪支撑着身体。可是，他那高高的身材、魁伟的体格，可以看出他当初是一个十分健壮的人。

His gaunt face, however, and his clothes, which hung so baggily⁶ over his shrivelled limbs, proclaimed what it was that gave him that senile and decrepit⁷ appearance.

但是，他那削瘦的面庞和罩在骨瘦如柴的四肢上的大口袋似的衣服，使他看起来老朽不堪。

The man was dying–dying from hunger and from thirst. He had toiled⁸ painfully down the ravine, and on to this little elevation⁹, in the vain hope of seeing some signs of water.

这个人由于饥渴交加，已临死境了。他曾经忍受了痛苦，沿着山谷跋涉前进，现在又挣扎着来到这岂不大的高地，他抱着渺茫的希望，但愿能够发现点滴的水源。

Now the great salt plain stretched before his eyes, and the distant belt of savage¹⁰ mountains, without a sign anywhere of plant or tree, which might indicate the presence of moisture.

现在，在他面前展开的只是无边无际的硷地和那远在天边的连绵不断的荒山，看不到一棵树木的踪影，因为有树木生长的地方就可能会有水气。

In all that broad landscape there was no gleam of hope.

在这片广阔的土地上，一点希望也没有。

North, and east, and west he looked with wild, questioning eyes, and then he realized that his wanderings had come to an end, and that there, on that barren crag, he was about to die.

他张大疯狂而困惑的眼睛向北方、西方和东方了望了以后，他明白了，漂泊的日子已经到了尽头，自己就要葬身这片荒凉的岩崖之上了。

"Why not here, as well as in a feather bed, twenty years hence?" he muttered, as he seated himself in the shelter of a boulder¹².

"死在这里，和二十年后死在鹅绒锦被的床上又有什么区别呢？"他喃喃地说着，一面就在一块突出的大石的阴影里坐了下来。

Before sitting down, he had deposited upon the ground his useless rifle, and also a large bundle tied up in a gray shawl, which he had carried slung¹³ over his right shoulder.

他在坐下之前，先把他那无用的来复枪放在地上，然后又把背在右肩上的用一大块灰色披肩裹着的大包袱放了下来。

It appeared to be somewhat too heavy for his strength, for in lowering it, it came down on the ground with some little violence.

看来他已经精疲力竭，拿不动了。当他放下包袱的时候，着地很重。

Instantly there broke from the gray parcel a little moaning cry, and from it there protruded¹⁴ a small, scared face, with very bright brown eyes, and two little speckled dimpled fists.

因此从这灰色的包袱里发出了哭声，钻出来受惊的、长着明亮的棕色眼睛的脸，并且还伸出了两个胖胖的长着浅涡和雀斑的小拳头。

"You've hurt me!" said a childish voice, reproachfully.

"你把我摔痛啦。"这个孩子用埋怨的口气稚平地说。

"Have I, though?" the man answered penitently¹⁵; "I didn't go for to do it."

"是吗？"这个男人很抱歉地回答说，"我不是故意的。"

As he spoke¹⁶ he unwrapped the gray shawl and extricated¹⁷ a pretty little girl of about five years of age, whose dainty shoes and smart pink frock with its little linen¹⁸ apron¹⁹, all bespoke²⁰ a mother's care.

说着他就打开了灰色包袱，从里边抱出了一个美丽的小女孩。这个小女孩大约五岁左右，穿着一双精致的小鞋，漂亮的粉红色上衣，麻布围嘴。从这些打扮可以看出，妈妈对她是爱护得无微不至的。

The child was pale and wan¹¹, but her healthy arms and legs showed that she had suffered less than her companion.

这个孩子脸色虽也有些苍白，但是她那结实的胳膊和小腿都说明她所经受的苦难并没有她的同伴多。

1 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

2 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

5 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。

6 baggily   

craggy（多癴崖的，多峭壁的）的变形

参考例句：

7 decrepit   

adj.衰老的，破旧的

参考例句：

• The film had been shot in a decrepit old police station.该影片是在一所破旧不堪的警察局里拍摄的。
• A decrepit old man sat on a park bench.一个衰弱的老人坐在公园的长凳上。

8 toiled   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• They toiled up the hill in the blazing sun. 他们冒着炎炎烈日艰难地一步一步爬上山冈。
• He toiled all day long but earned very little. 他整天劳碌但挣得很少。

9 elevation   

n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高

参考例句：

• The house is at an elevation of 2,000 metres.那幢房子位于海拔两千米的高处。
• His elevation to the position of General Manager was announced yesterday.昨天宣布他晋升总经理职位。

10 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

11 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

12 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

13 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

14 protruded   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The child protruded his tongue. 那小孩伸出舌头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The creature's face seemed to be protruded, because of its bent carriage. 那人的脑袋似乎向前突出，那是因为身子佝偻的缘故。 来自英汉文学

15 penitently   

参考例句：

• He sat penitently in his chair by the window. 他懊悔地坐在靠窗的椅子上。 来自柯林斯例句

16 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

17 extricated   

v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The meeting seemed to be endless, but I extricated myself by saying I had to catch a plane. 会议好象没完没了，不过我说我得赶飞机，才得以脱身。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She extricated herself from her mingled impulse to deny and guestion. 她约束了自己想否认并追问的不可明状的冲动。 来自辞典例句

18 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

19 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

20 bespoke   

adj.（产品）订做的；专做订货的v.预定( bespeak的过去式 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求

参考例句：

• His style of dressing bespoke great self-confidence. 他的衣着风格显得十分自信。
• The haberdasher presented a cap, saying,"Here is the cap your worship bespoke." 帽匠拿出一顶帽子来说：“这就是老爷您定做的那顶。” 来自辞典例句