美国小学英语教材5:第32课 先锋空中侦察兵林德伯格(2)

 　　This young man had planned to fly from New York to Paris! 这个年轻人本计划从纽约飞到巴黎！

　　Such a flight had never been made before. 之前从未有过这样的飞行。

　　It was a very dangerous undertaking¹. 这是一次非常危险的任务。

　　One might not have been surprised if there had been fear upon the man’s face, but there was no fear. 若这个人脸上充满恐惧，那么人们也就不会这么惊讶，但他的脸上毫无畏惧之情。

　　This man was ready to go. 他已经准备出发了。

　　Into the cockpit of the airplane the youth climbed hastily². 年轻人急忙爬进飞机的驾驶舱。

　　He started the motor³. 他启动了马达。

　　“How does it sound?” he asked a man who stood near. “听起来怎么样？”他问了站在附近的一个人。

　　The man was the field engineer for the Wright Company, which had built the motor. 这个人是莱特公司的现场工程师，莱特公司制造了马达。

　　“She sounds mighty⁴ good to me,” the man replied. “她听起来很不错，”那人回复道。

　　The tall youth listened a moment longer. 那个高个儿青年又听了一会儿。

　　“Don’t you think I might as well go?” he asked. “你不觉得我该走了吗？”他问。

　　“Yes, I guess you had better,” was the answer. “是啊，我觉得你最好出发，”回答道。

　　The roar⁵ from the motor filled the air. 马达的轰鸣声弥漫在空中。

　　The tall young man waved his hand to the people who had gathered about the field, and started on the long journey. 那个高大的年轻人向聚集在田野周围的人们挥手，开始了长途旅行。

　　It seemed hard for the plane to rise from the ground because it was so heavily loaded. 飞机似乎很难从地面上升起来，因为它承载的东西太多了。

　　People held their breath⁶ for fear the great undertaking might end even before it was well under way. 人们屏住呼吸，担心这项伟大的事业甚至在它还没有开始的时候就可能结束。

　　Once off the ground, the airplane barely⁷ passed over some trees near by. 飞机一离开地面，就几乎没有经过附近的几棵树。

　　It flew dangerously near some electric wires. 它在一些电线附近危险地飞行。

　　Up—up—higher and still higher it went! 向上，向上，再向上！

　　Yes, it was really off at last. 是的，它最后真的离开了。

　　Charles Lindbergh was on his way to Paris! 查尔斯·林德伯格正在去巴黎的路上!

1 undertaking   

n.保证，许诺，事业

参考例句：

• He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。
• He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

2 hastily   

ad.过于匆忙地，急急忙忙地

参考例句：

• I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily. 我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
• Nothing must be done hastily but killing of fleas. 除非要捉跳蚤，做事不可匆忙。

3 motor   

adj.机动的，有引擎的，汽车的；n.发动机，马达，汽车；v.（用引擎）驱动

参考例句：

• A washing machine is run by a small electric motor.洗衣机由一台小电动机驱动。
• The motor usually operates well.这台发动机通常运转良好。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 roar   

n.吼，咆哮，轰鸣，喧闹；vi.吼叫，大声说出，喧闹；vt.呼喊，使轰鸣

参考例句：

• He began to roar when I took the chocolate away. 当我把巧克力拿走时，他大哭起来。
• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight.机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。

6 breath   

n.呼吸，气息，微风，迹象，精神，一种说话的声音

参考例句：

• I'm just going out for a breath of fresh air.我正要出去呼吸新鲜空气。
• While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath.那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。

7 barely   

adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不

参考例句：

• The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
• He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。