吹小号的天鹅 第51期:救援(2)

 　　One morning when Sam was playing tennis with Applegate Skinner, Sam heard a clanking noise.

　　一天早上，在和阿普尔盖特·斯金纳打网球时，萨姆听到了一种叮当声。

　　He looked behind him, and there, coming out of the woods, was a skunk¹.

　　他朝身后看去，发现了一只正从森林中走出的臭鼬。

　　The skunk's head was stuck in a tin can;

　　这只臭鼬的头卡到一个罐头盒子里去了；

　　he couldn't see where he was going.

　　所以他看不到自己身在何处了。

　　He kept bumping² into trees and rocks, and the can went clank, clank, clank.

　　他老是撞上树木和岩石，那罐头盒子也就跟着叮当，叮当，叮当地响个不停。

　　"That skunk is in trouble," said Sam, laying down his racquet.

　　“这只臭鼬有麻烦了，”萨姆说着，放下他的球拍。

　　"He's been to the dump, looking for food.

　　“他本来一直在垃圾堆里找东西吃的。

　　He poked³ his head into that empty can, and now he can't get it out."

　　可是却不小心把头钻到了空罐头盒里，现在他拔不出来了。”

　　The word spread quickly through camp that a skunk had arrived.

　　营地里来了一只臭鼬的消息很快就被传开了。

　　The boys came running to see the fun.

　　男孩子们都跑过来看热闹。

　　Mr. Brickle warned them not to get too close--the skunk might squirt them with perfume.

　　布里克先生警告他们别靠得太近--臭鼬也许会放臭气薰他们的。

　　So the boys danced around, keeping their distance and holding their noses.

　　于是男孩们只好在周围蹦着高儿，让自己和臭鼬保持着一定的距离，还捏住了他们的鼻子。

　　The big question was how to get the can off the skunk's head without getting squirted.

　　最难的是怎样才能既把那个罐头盒子从臭鼬头上拉下来又不会被臭气袭击。

　　"He's going to need help," said Sam. "That skunk will starve to death if we don't get that can off."

　　“他现在需要帮助，”萨姆说，“如果我们不能把罐头盒子拽下来，那只臭鼬就会活活饿死的。”

　　All the boys had suggestions.

　　所有的男孩子们都发表了各自的意见。

　　One boy said they should make a bow and arrow, tie a string to the arrow, and shoot the arrow at the can.

　　一个男孩说他们应该打造一副弓箭，然后在箭上系一根绳子，朝那罐头盒子射上一箭。

　　Then, when they hit the can, they could pull the string and the can would come off the skunk's head.

　　等他们射中后，他们就去拉那根绳子，罐头盒子就能离开臭鼬的头了。

　　Nobody thought much of that suggestion--it sounded like too much work.

　　大家都没把这个意见放在心上——它听起来太麻烦了。

　　Another boy suggested that two boys climb a tree,

　　另一个男孩建议让两个男孩爬到树上去，

　　and one boy could hang by his feet from the other boy's hands,

　　再让一个男孩用双手抓住另一个男孩的双脚把他倒挂下去，

　　and when the skunk walked under the tree, the boy who was hanging by his feet could reach down and pull the can off,

　　等到这只臭鼬走到那棵树下，挂在那里的男孩就可以伸手把罐头盒子拉下来，

　　and if the skunk squirted, the perfume wouldn't hit the boy because he would be hanging in the air.

　　这样一来，即使臭鼬放臭气，也薰不到那个男孩，因为他正在空中悬着呢。

　　Nobody thought much of that suggestion.

　　这个建议也没人太在意。

　　Mr. Brickle didn't like it at all.

　　布里克先生根本不赞同这个主意。

　　He said it was extremely impractical⁴ and furthermore he wouldn't permit it.

　　他说这个想法太不合实际，再说他也不允许这么干。

　　Another boy suggested that they get a block of wood, smear⁵ it with glue,

　　又一个男孩子建议说他们该找块木头来，把它抹上胶水，

　　and when the skunk knocked against it, the can would stick to the block of wood.

　　当这只臭鼬撞到那块木头上时，那个罐头盒子就会被木头粘下来。

　　Nobody thought much of that suggestion.

　　更没人赞许这个建议。

　　Mr. Brickle said he didn't have any glue anyway.

　　布里克先生根本不赞同这主意。他说他根本就没有什么胶水。

1 skunk   

n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
• The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。

2 bumping   

爆沸； 突沸； 放气； 崩沸

参考例句：

• The circulation of the magazine has been bumping along for some time at around 30, 000. 一段时间以来，杂志的销量一直在三万份上下摇摆。
• "Yes, "and shipped his oars without bumping the boat. "来啦，"说着从桨架上取下双桨，没有让船颠簸一下。

3 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

5 smear   

v.涂抹；诽谤，玷污；n.污点；诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• He has been spreading false stories in an attempt to smear us.他一直在散布谎言企图诽谤我们。
• There's a smear on your shirt.你衬衫上有个污点。