美国小学英语教材6:第234课 明星学徒(7)

The minutes went by, and the hours with them, it seemed. No wrench¹! Every nook and corner of the giant's insides Tim searched.

时间一分分流逝，小时也在流逝，没有扳手，蒂姆在机器内搜寻了每一个角落。

Nothing was there but what he knew belonged there. And yet, somewhere that wrench was lying, ready to wreck² the giant machine.

什么都没有，除了他知道这里应该有的东西，扳手一定在什么地方，准备摧毁巨型机器。

Faintly through the pipe Tim heard the factory whistle. One blast. Five minutes to seven! He would look five minutes more, then he would quit.

微弱地穿过管道，蒂姆听到了工厂的哨声，一声响，六点五十五分，他还要再看五分钟，之后撤离。

No one could say that he had not done his duty. Once more he went over the ground; once more nothing rewarded his search.

没人知道他没有尽责，他待在这里的时间越长，他就更不会因为寻找扳手而受到奖励。

Again, and fainter still, came the whistle. Two blasts! Seven o'clock. Quickly Tim scrambled³ back up the rough insides of the great Blower.

他再一次从管道里听到了微弱的哨子声，两声，七点钟了，蒂姆迅速爬回来

He needed no light now, for he knew his way by heart. He boosted himself into the outlet⁴ opening, and in that second a cold chill ran through him.

他现在不需要灯光了，他已经记清楚路了，他爬升进了排出口，那一刻他感受到了冷风。

Daylight at the other end of the pipe was disappearing. They were closing the valve, and he was caught inside the machine! Tim slumped⁵ unconscious in the opening.

管道另一端的光亮消失了，他们关上了阀门，他被堵在了机器中，蒂姆无意识地蹲坐在了排出口。

TIM AND THE WRENCH ARE FOUND

发现了蒂姆和扳手

A little group of engineers stood on the shop floor beside the great Blower. Two men were swinging the big wheel which closed the outlet valve.

数位工程师站在吹风机旁边的生产区，两个男子挥舞着关闭排出口的巨轮。

Others were testing and examining the various parts. The foreign agent walked up and down; he didn't seem to want to be kept waiting.

其他人测试并检查各个部件，外国代理人走来走去，他似乎不想等待。

The foreman stood on the scaffolding, one hand on the throttle⁶ wheel. All right, the chief engineer sang out, waving his hand.

工头站在脚手架上，一只手放在节流阀轮上，主工程师叫嚷到好了，挥舞着手臂。

Let her have it! The foreman's arm tightened⁷ on the wheel, then stopped. He turned to the other men on the scaffolding.

让机器转动吧！工头的胳臂拉紧轮子，之后停止，他转向脚手架上的另一男子。

Where's Crogan? he shouted. Nobody said anything. Someone on the floor bellowed⁸ Crooogan! through cupped hands.

他叫嚷到克罗根在哪？没人说话，地面上有人将手变成杯子的形状叫喊他。

Men at near-by machines looked around, but the boy did not answer to his name. The chief engineer stepped forward.

周围机器的工人也四下观看，但男孩没有回音，主工程师向前走。

Who's Crogan, anyway? he demanded. Can't you start without him? The foreman stared down at him through sweaty glasses.

他严厉地问道，克罗根在哪？没有他没法开始吗？工头透过湿漉漉的眼镜向下怒视着他。

1 wrench   

v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受

参考例句：

• He gave a wrench to his ankle when he jumped down.他跳下去的时候扭伤了足踝。
• It was a wrench to leave the old home.离开这个老家非常痛苦。

2 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

3 scrambled   

v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Each scrambled for the football at the football ground. 足球场上你争我夺。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He scrambled awkwardly to his feet. 他笨拙地爬起身来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

5 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

6 throttle   

n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压

参考例句：

• These government restrictions are going to throttle our trade.这些政府的限制将要扼杀我们的贸易。
• High tariffs throttle trade between countries.高的关税抑制了国与国之间的贸易。

7 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

8 bellowed   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• They bellowed at her to stop. 他们吼叫着让她停下。
• He bellowed with pain when the tooth was pulled out. 当牙齿被拔掉时，他痛得大叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》