英国语文第四册 第8期:捕兽者小罗伯特(2)

How does it fare with the poor prisoners?

这些可怜的囚禁者该怎么办呢？

They were frightened like the rest by that sudden and awful noise.

他们像其他人一样被这个突如其来的可怕声音吓到了。

Little Robert left his door and ran to the men, who well knew what it meant.

小罗伯特离开房门跑向一位知道其中事情原委的矿工。

Waiting till everything was quiet, they went forward to examine the passage-way Robert had left.

等待着直到万物沉寂，他们向前继续检查着罗伯特曾离开的通道。

It was blocked up.

它已经被堵住了。

They tried another; that also was blocked up.

他们尝试着另一条路，也被堵住了。

Oh, fearful¹ thought—they were buried alive!

天哪，可多么可怕的想法啊—他们被活埋了！

The men went back to the boy.

矿工们又返回到男孩身边，

"I want to go home; please, do let me go home," said little Robert.

“我想回家，让我回家吧”小罗伯特说道。

"Yes, yes, as soon as we find a way out, my little man," said Truman, in a kind yet husky voice.

“好的，好的，我们找到出去的路就回家，小家伙，”特鲁曼用一种友善又沙哑的声音回答道。

The air grew close and suffocating², and they took their oil-cans and food-bags to one of the galleries where it was better。

空气变得密闭、让人窒息，他们带着油罐和食物包去了一个相对好些的陈列室。

Truman and Logan, two of the buried hewers, were religious men.

被埋矿工中的两位特鲁曼和罗根，信仰宗教。

"Well, James, what shall we do next?" asked Truman.

“詹姆斯，我们接下来该怎么做？” 特鲁曼问道。

"There is but onething we can do," said Logan.

“有一件事可以做”罗根回答道。

"God says, 'Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee.'"

“上帝说，‘困境中召唤我，我会来解救你’。”

They all knelt³ down.

他们都跪了下来。

Poor little Robert cried bitterly.

可怜的小罗伯特痛苦的哭着。

But as the pitmen prayed, —first the one and then the other, —their hearts grew lighter⁴, and even the little trapper dried his tears.

但是当矿工们一个接一个地祈祷时，他们的心灵变得更加明亮，即使是这个受困的小男孩也擦干了眼泪。

They then got their pick-axes;

然后，他们找到了锄头，

but what a hopeless task it seemed, to cut through that terrible mass of earth and stones to daylight!

但是那看起来是多么毫无希望的任务啊，要凿开可怕的泥土和石头得一直凿到天亮！

Their hearts beat with hope and joy when they first heard the sound of their friends working on the other side.

当第一次听到他们的朋友正在另一边挖掘的声音时，他们的心伴着希望和喜悦而悸动。

1 fearful   

adj.惧怕的，担心的；可怕的，吓人的

参考例句：

• What a fearful waste of time!简直太浪费时间了！
• They are fearful of another business depression.他们担心会再次发生商业萧条。

2 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

3 knelt   

v.跪( kneel的过去式和过去分词 )；(kneel的过去式与过去分词)

参考例句：

• They knelt down and prayed. 他们跪下来祷告。
• She knelt in supplication. 她跪地祷求。

4 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。