血字的研究 54犹他之花(4)

Scarcely had she got fairly into it, however, before the beasts closed in behind her, and she found herself completely embedded² in the moving stream of fierce-eyed, long-horned bullocks.

但是，当她刚刚进入牛群，后面的牛就都挤拢了来，她立刻发觉自己已陷入了一群牛海之中，到处都是突睛长角的庞然大物在蜂拥钻动。

Accustomed as she was to deal with cattle, she was not alarmed at her situation, but took advantage of every opportunity to urge her horse on, in the hopes of pushing her way through the cavalcade³.

她平日也是和牛群相处惯了的，因此，虽然处在这种境地中，也并没有感到惊慌，仍是抓紧空隙催马前进，打算从中穿过。

Unfortunately the horns of one of the creatures, either by accident or design, came in violent contact with the flank of the mustang, and excited it to madness.

可是不巧，一头牛有意无意地用角猛触了一下马的侧腹，马受惊立刻狂怒起来。

In an instant it reared up upon its hind¹ legs with a snort of rage, and pranced⁴ and tossed in a way that would have unseated any but a skilful⁵ rider.

它立刻将前蹄腾跃而起，狂嘶不已；它颠簸摇摆得十分厉害，若不是头等起手，任何人都难免被摔下马来。

The situation was full of peril⁶. Every plunge⁷ of the excited horse brought it against the horns again, and goaded⁸ it to fresh madness.

当时情况十分危险。惊马每跳动一次，就免不了又一次受到牛角的抵触，这就越发使它暴跳不已。

It was all that the girl could do to keep herself in the saddle, yet a slip would mean a terrible death under the hoofs⁹ of the unwieldy and terrified animals.

这时，露茜只有紧贴马鞍，毫无其他办法。稍一失手，就要落在乱蹄之下，被踩得粉碎。

Unaccustomed to sudden emergencies, her head began to swim, and her grip upon the bridle¹⁰ to relax.

由于她没有经历过意外，这时，便感到头昏眼花起来，手中紧紧拉着的缰绳，眼看就要放松。

Choked by the rising cloud of dust and by the steam from the struggling creatures, she might have abandoned her efforts in despair, but for a kindly¹¹ voice at her elbow which assured her of assistance.

同时尘土飞扬，再加上拥挤的兽群里蒸发出来的气味使人透不过起来。在这紧要关头，如果不是身旁出现了一种亲切的声音，使她确信有人前来相助，露茜眼看就要绝望，不能再坚持下去了。

At the same moment a sinewy¹² brown hand caught the frightened horse by the curb¹³, and forcing a way through the drove, soon brought her to the outskirts¹⁴.

这时，一只强有力的棕色大手，一把捉住了惊马的嚼环，并且在牛群中挤出了一条出路，不大功夫，就把她带到了兽群之外。

"You're not hurt, I hope, miss," said her preserver, respectfully.

这位救星彬彬有礼地问道："小姐，但愿你没有受伤。"

She looked up at his dark, fierce face, and laughed saucily¹⁵.

她抬起头来，瞧了一下他那张黧黑而粗犷的脸，毫不在乎地笑了起来。

"I'm awful frightened," she said, naively¹⁶; "whoever would have thought that Poncho¹⁷ would have been so scared by a lot of cows?"

她天真地说："真把我吓坏了。谁会想到旁乔这马儿竟会被一群牛吓成这个样子！"

"Thank God, you kept your seat," the other said, earnestly.

他诚恳地说："谢天谢地，幸亏你抱紧了马鞍子。"

1 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

2 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

3 cavalcade   

n.车队等的行列

参考例句：

• A cavalcade processed through town.马车队列队从城里经过。
• The cavalcade drew together in silence.马队在静默中靠拢在一起。

4 pranced   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their horses pranced and whinnied. 他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。 来自辞典例句
• The little girl pranced about the room in her new clothes. 小女孩穿着新衣在屋里雀跃。 来自辞典例句

5 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

6 peril   

n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物

参考例句：

• The refugees were in peril of death from hunger.难民有饿死的危险。
• The embankment is in great peril.河堤岌岌可危。

7 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

8 goaded   

v.刺激( goad的过去式和过去分词 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人

参考例句：

• Goaded beyond endurance, she turned on him and hit out. 她被气得忍无可忍，于是转身向他猛击。
• The boxers were goaded on by the shrieking crowd. 拳击运动员听见观众的喊叫就来劲儿了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

10 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

11 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

12 sinewy   

adj.多腱的，强壮有力的

参考例句：

• When muscles are exercised often and properly,they keep the arms firm and sinewy.如果能经常正确地锻炼肌肉的话，双臂就会一直结实而强健。
• His hard hands and sinewy sunburned limbs told of labor and endurance.他粗糙的双手，被太阳哂得发黑的健壮四肢,均表明他十分辛勤，非常耐劳。

13 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

14 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

15 saucily   

adv.傲慢地，莽撞地

参考例句：

• The servants likewise used me saucily, and had much ado to keep their hands off me. 有几个仆人对我很无礼，要他们的手不碰我是很难的。 来自辞典例句

16 naively   

adv. 天真地

参考例句：

• They naively assume things can only get better. 他们天真地以为情况只会变好。
• In short, Knox's proposal was ill conceived and naively made. 总而言之，诺克斯的建议考虑不周，显示幼稚。

17 poncho   

n.斗篷，雨衣

参考例句：

• He yawned and curled his body down farther beneath the poncho.他打了个呵欠，把身子再蜷拢点儿，往雨披里缩了缩。
• The poncho is made of nylon.这雨披是用尼龙制造的。