美国小学英语教材5:第30课 邮件必须送达(12)

 　　“Saddle a pony¹ for me,” he said. “给我备一匹小马。”他说。

　　“I’ll carry the mail on.” “我去把信拿上去。”

　　“You’d never make it,” he was told. “你不可能成功的，”他被告知。

　　“Snow’s drifting now. “雪正在漂移。

　　If a man was fresh, he might get through, seeing the wind’s at his back going east. 如果一个人精力充沛，他可能会闯过难关，因为他背后的风正在向东吹。

　　But you’re a kid. 但你还是个孩子。

　　You’re played out now. 没用的。

　　You haven’t got a chance.” 你没有机会。”

　　“Get that pony ready,” commanded William fiercely. “准备好那匹小马，”威廉义正言辞道。

　　“I’m going to make it. “我会做到的。

　　The mail’s got to go through.” 邮件一定送达。”

　　Of that long, wearisome ride William never afterwards had any very clear recollection. 关于那漫长而令人厌烦的旅程，威廉后来再也没有清晰的记忆。

　　He knew only that he rode, trusting to the animal under him to keep to the trail, that he dozed² in the saddle, waking up to change horses at the two remount stations and falling asleep again as soon as he was in the saddle. 他只知道他骑着马，相信他下面的动物会跟着他走，他在马鞍上打瞌睡，醒来后在换马站换马，一上马鞍就又睡着了。

　　Then he felt his pony stopping, forced open his eyelids³, and found they were at the ferry. 然后他觉得他的小马停了下来，使劲睁开眼睛，发现他们在渡口。

　　He slept again as it bore him across the river, and was pounded into wakefulness on the other side. 马儿载着他过河时，他又睡着了，在河对岸，他醒了过来。

　　He realized that it was broad daylight, and had been for hours. 他意识到已经是大白天了，已经好几个小时了。

　　Slowly up the path to the settlement William rode. 威廉骑着马慢慢地沿着通往定居地的道路走。

　　He fell off his horse in front of the office of Russell, Majors and Waddell, pushed open the door, staggered inside, tossed his saddlebags at the feet of Mr.Majors, and said thickly: 走到拉塞尔、梅杰斯和瓦德尔的办公室前，威廉从马上摔了下来，推开门，踉踉跄跄地走了进去，他把驮包扔到梅杰斯先生的脚边，粗声粗气地说:

　　“The mail has come through, sir!” “邮件送达了，先生！”

　　Many hours later he awoke to find that it was another day. 许多个小时后，他醒来发现已经是新的一天了。

　　Beside his bunk⁴ stood his employer. 他的老板站在床边。

　　“William,” he said, “the train from the East is due in two hours. “威廉，”他说，“从东方来的火车两小时后到达。

　　Do you think you can be ready to carry the mail on the first relay west?” 你认为你能做好准备在第一次向西传递时把邮件送到吗?

　　The boy struggled upright, full of amazement⁵ and joy. 男孩笔直地挣扎着，充满了惊奇和快乐。

　　“What do you mean, sir?” he managed to ask. “什么意思，先生?”他尝试着问道。

　　“This,” said Mr. Majors; “if you still want to ride for the Pony Express, there’s a job waiting for you.” “是这样，”梅杰斯先生说；“如果你还想成为“快马邮递”的骑手，这刚好有一份工作。”

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 dozed   

v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He boozed till daylight and dozed into the afternoon. 他喝了个通霄，昏沉沉地一直睡到下午。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I dozed off during the soporific music. 我听到这催人入睡的音乐，便不知不觉打起盹儿来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

5 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。