美国小学英语教材6:第7课 摄像机猎象记(5)

 　　Elephants are his strong point. We call Boculy little half-brother of the elephants. 这一点在大象身上表现得尤为明显。我们称鲍可利为“大象的兄弟”。

　　If he told me I'd find elephants in front of the New York Public Library, 就算他说纽约市的公立图书馆前有大象，

　　I'd believe him, for Boculy knows. He could find tembo, the elephant, 我也深信不疑，因为他太清楚大象的一举一动了。

　　when every other hunter, white or native, would say that no beast could be found. 当其他的猎手，不论是白人还是当地人，都说找不到这种巨兽的时候，

　　He could see things that are invisible to the rest of us. 他仍然能发现“腾扑”，即大象，他总能看到其他人看不到的东西。

　　A bit of mud dropped from a passing hoof¹ was full of meaning to him. 即使是从路过的野兽的蹄子上掉下来的一块泥土上，他也能发现很多东西。

　　He could tell what animal had dropped it. 他能够辨别出这是从什么动物身上掉下来的。

　　The bending of grass told him the kind of game that had passed, what direction it had taken, 通过草的弯曲程度，他能够知道什么样的野兽刚刚从此经过以及要去往何处。

　　and even, at times, how long ago it had left its mark. 他有时甚至可以判断出某些痕迹是多久之前留下来的。

　　Many of the plainer signs can be learned by anyone who spends much time in the wilds. 长期生活在原野上的人对许多动物留下的痕迹非常熟悉。

　　But the slight differences in the ways trodden grass falls to the ground, the different kinds of mud, 但是动物踩踏野草的轻微差异，泥土的些微差异

　　and other seemingly unimportant traces left by passing jungle folk were full of meaning to Boculy, 以及其他一些看起来不是很显著的痕迹都能为鲍可利提供充足的信息，

　　when to us they were almost invisible. 但对我们而言，这些痕迹完全是不可见的。

　　It fascinated me to keep up with him in the field whenever I could, for his knowledge was so amazing and interesting. 他这方面的知识实在是让我觉得太有趣甚至不可思议，因此我也非常努力地想要达到他的水平。

　　And the way the old boy had of telling me things made it even more so. 这个老伙计向我传授这些知识时，他的说话方式更是让我着迷。

　　He would point out to me the different footprints, the sharp cut of the buffalo's hoof, 他能够给我指出各种不同的动物的脚印：水牛蹄的边缘十分锋利，

　　which kills the grass it touches; the huge, soft print of tembo, the elephant, 被它所踩过的野草像被刀削过一般；大象脚印巨大而柔软，

　　which simply bruises² the blades; the four-leafed clover print of the hyena³; the water-lily mark of the leopard⁴. 会在叶子上留下淤痕；土狼脚印犹如长了四片叶子的苜蓿草；豹子的脚印则像睡莲一般。

1 hoof   

n.(马，牛等的)蹄

参考例句：

• Suddenly he heard the quick,short click of a horse's hoof behind him.突然间，他听见背后响起一阵急骤的马蹄的得得声。
• I was kicked by a hoof.我被一只蹄子踢到了。

2 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 hyena   

n.土狼，鬣狗

参考例句：

• African hyena noted for its distinctive howl.非洲鬣狗，以其特别的嚎叫而闻名。
• The hyena's public image is not aided by its ridiculous appearance.鬣狗滑稽的外表无助于改善它在公众心中的形象。

4 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。