美国小学英语教材5:第23课 邮件必须送达(5)

 　　"I bid you Godspeed in this your first journey, and now I say 'Go'!" "祝你第一次行程好运，现在我说‘出发吧'！"

　　yelled the mayor of St.Joseph, and he brought the broad palm of his hand down smartly upon the bay pony¹'s flank. 圣约瑟夫市长叫了起来，他把他那宽大的手掌利索地伸到海湾矮种马的腰上。

　　As if he had been shot from a gun, the animal sprang away and galloped² toward the big ferryboat that waited at the bank of the Missouri River to carry man and pony across. 这只动物就像被枪击中一样，飞快地奔跑，奔向那艘在密苏里河岸边等待着载着人类和小马过河的大渡船。

　　William's service to the pony express 威廉为"快马邮递"公司服务

　　For a moment William Saunders stared after them, his blood tingling³ with the thrill of the occasion. 威廉·桑德斯盯着他们看了一会儿，他的血液因这一场面而沸腾。

　　Then, with two-score other youngsters at his heels, he raced for the top of a big bluff⁴ at the edge of the river 然后，四十个年轻人跟在他后面，他跑到河边缘的一个大悬崖顶部，

　　in order to keep the horse and rider in sight as long as possible after they had reached the sandy stretch on the other side of the river. 以便在马儿和骑手到达河对岸的沙质地带后，尽可能看到他们。

　　From the top of that bluff in the days that followed the boy kept frequent watch with his spyglass. 在接下来的日子里，这个男孩经常从悬崖顶上用望远镜观察。

　　And it was he who sighted the rider bringing the first pouch⁵ of mail from the West; 就是他看见骑手从西方带来第一个邮袋；

　　he ran through the streets shouting the news aloud so that when the ferry touched the near bank, the Pony Express rider found himself surrounded by a throng⁶ of excited settlers. 他跑过街道，大声呼喊着这个消息，所以当渡船到达岸边时，"快马邮递"的骑手发现自己被一群激动的人们包围了。

　　To the boy, "The mail must go through" had become a slogan which guided his daily life. 对这个男孩来说，"邮件必须送达"已经成为一个指导他日常生活的口号。

　　His part, though small, was as important to him as if upon his shoulders alone rested the responsibility for seeing that the mail did go through. 他的角色虽然很小，但对他来说同样重要，就好像他的肩膀上独自承担着看邮件通过的责任。

　　His job was to see that the Express ponies⁷ were kept in condition for their difficult work, and he watched and tended them with a care and faith fulness that became a sort of joke in the settlement. 他的工作是确保这些快速小马的状况能够应付艰难工作，但威廉以一种关心和信任的态度观察和照顾他们，这在当地成了一个笑话。

　　"The mail must go through!" William would exclaim stoutly⁸. "邮件一定送达！"威廉坚定地大声说出。

　　"How is it going to do that, tell me, if I don't see that the ponies are always fit?" "你说，若我没有确保小马都是健康的，怎么会安全送达呢？"

1 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

2 galloped   

（使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事

参考例句：

• Jo galloped across the field towards him. 乔骑马穿过田野向他奔去。
• The children galloped home as soon as the class was over. 孩子们一下课便飞奔回家了。

3 tingling   

v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

5 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

6 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

7 ponies   

矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑

参考例句：

• They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。
• She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。

8 stoutly   

adv.牢固地，粗壮的

参考例句：

• He stoutly denied his guilt.他断然否认自己有罪。
• Burgess was taxed with this and stoutly denied it.伯杰斯为此受到了责难，但是他自己坚决否认有这回事。