吹小号的天鹅 第97期:一次关于钱的谈话(6)

 Early the next morning, long before the Zoo people came to work, Sam left Philadelphia by plane.

第二天一早，萨姆就坐飞机离开了费城，那时离工作人员来动物园上班的时间还早着呢。

Louis and Serena went along with him to the airport. They wanted to wave good-bye.

路易斯和塞蕾娜跟他一起去了机场。他们想在此向他挥翅告别。

They also planned to leave Philadelphia, right then and there, and fly back to Montana.

他们打算一同离开费城，立刻就走，从那里直接飞回蒙大拿去。

When the airport officials saw two big white birds out on the airstrip, they raised a terrible fuss.

当机场工作人员看到两只白色大鸟来到机场跑道外时，产生了一阵可怕的骚乱。

The men in the control tower sent warning messages to the pilots of incoming planes.

控制塔上的那个男人向正在驾机驶入机场的飞行员发出了警告信息。

Members of the ground crew came piling out of buildings and rushed toward Louis and Serena to chase them away.

成群的地勤人员从大楼里走出，冲向路易斯和塞蕾娜，想要把他们赶走。

Sam was sitting by a window inside his plane, ready for takeoff, and he saw the whole thing.

萨姆正在机窗旁坐着，等飞机起飞，这一切他全看见了。

Louis grabbed his trumpet¹. "Off we go," he played, "into the wild blue yonder!"

路易斯抓起他的小号。“我们起飞了，”他吹道，“一直飞进辽远的蓝天！”

The notes carried across the airport and startled everyone.

音乐声越过了机场，使所有人都大吃一惊。

"Ko-hoh! Ko-hoh!" called Louis.

“吭—嗬！吭—嗬！”路易斯叫。

He put his trumpet away and started racing² down the airstrip, with Serena racing after him.

他放下他的小号，开始沿着跑道奔跑，塞蕾娜也跟在后面跑。

Just then, Sam's plane started into the wind for the takeoff. The two swans flew alongside.

此时，萨姆的飞机滑入风中开始起飞了。两只天鹅比翼齐飞着。

They were in the air before the plane was, and flying fast.

他们比飞机抢先一步升上了天，飞行的速度也要快得多。

Sam waved from the window. Louis's lifesaving medal gleamed in the morning sun.

萨姆从机窗旁挥着手。路易斯的救生奖章在朝阳下闪着耀眼的光。

The plane rose and started to climb. Louis and Serena climbed fast, too.

飞机升高了，开始向上攀升。路易斯和塞蕾娜也在迅速地攀升。

"Good-bye, Philadelphia!" thought Louis. "Good-bye, Bird Lake! Good-bye, nightclub!"

“再见，费城！”路易斯想。“再见，鸟湖！再见，夜总会！”

The plane, with its greater speed, gained on the swans. They began to drop behind.

飞机以极快的速度，超过了这两只天鹅。他们开始落后了。

For a little while they headed west, following the plane.

他们跟在飞机后往西飞了一小会儿。

Then Louis motioned to Serena that he was going to change course.

然后路易斯提醒塞蕾娜，他要改变方向了。

He banked to the left and swung toward the south.

他斜身向左，然后又转身朝南飞去。

"We'll go home by the southern route and take our time about it," he said to himself.

“我们要往南边飞，不紧不慢地飞回家，”他自语。

And that's what they did. They flew south across Maryland and Virginia.

他们就是这么飞的。他们往南飞过马里兰州和弗吉尼亚州。

They flew south across the Carolinas.

他们往南飞过南北卡罗来纳州。

They spent a night in Yemassee and saw huge oak trees with moss³ hanging from their branches.

他们在雅马西城过了一夜，看到了树枝上挂着苔藓的巨大的橡树。

They visited the great swamps of Georgia and saw the alligator⁴ and listened to the mockingbird.

他们访问了乔治亚州的大沼泽，看到了美洲鳄，听到了反舌鸟的叫声。

They flew across Florida and spent a few days in a bayou where doves moaned in the cedars⁵ and little lizards⁶ crawled in the sun.

他们飞过了佛罗里达州，在长沼里住了几天，那里有在雪松间低吟的鸽子，还有在阳光下爬动的小蜥蜴。

They turned west into Louisiana. Then they turned north toward their home in Upper Red Rock Lake.

他们又转身向西，飞进路易斯安那州。然后他们再转身向北，朝他们上红石湖的老家飞去。

What a triumphant⁷ return it would be! When he left Montana, Louis had been penniless. Now he was rich.

这是怎样的凯旋啊！离开加拿大时，路易斯身无分文。现在他富有了。

When he left, he had been unknown. Now he was famous.

离开时，他默默无闻。现在他有名了。

When he left, he had been alone in the world. Now he had his bride by his side--the swan that he loved.

离开时，他形单影只地活在这个世上。现在他的身边有了他的新娘——他最爱的天鹅。

His medal was around his neck, his precious trumpet dangled⁸ in the breeze, his hard-earned money was in the bag.

他的奖章挂在他的脖子上，他那珍贵的小号在微风中摇晃着，他辛辛苦苦挣来的钱都在那个钱袋里。

He had accomplished⁹ what he had set out to do. All in a few short months!

他已经做完了他离开时要去做的事。这一切都发生在短短的几个月里！

Freedom felt so wonderful! Love felt so good!

自由的感觉真奇妙！爱情的感觉真美好！

1 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

2 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

3 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

4 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

5 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

6 lizards   

n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nothing lives in Pompeii except crickets and beetles and lizards. 在庞培城里除了蟋蟀、甲壳虫和蜥蜴外，没有别的生物。 来自辞典例句
• Can lizards reproduce their tails? 蜥蜴的尾巴断了以后能再生吗？ 来自辞典例句

7 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

8 dangled   

悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口

参考例句：

• Gold charms dangled from her bracelet. 她的手镯上挂着许多金饰物。
• It's the biggest financial incentive ever dangled before British footballers. 这是历来对英国足球运动员的最大经济诱惑。

9 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。