美国小学英语教材5:第274课 约翰去了玩具谷(4)

It is no wonder John almost lost his senses clinging¹ there, for the sled shot down through the icy air with the rapidity of a railway train. In what seemed to John ages, though it was only a few minutes, the speed slackened; finally the sled stopped, and John raised his head to look about. They were in the midst² of a forest of fir trees whose branches dipped to the ground, burdened with snow. The sun was shining brightly, and Father Hofer was looking at John in a kindly³ manner.

难怪约翰在那里几乎失去了知觉，因为雪橇像火车一样在冰冷的空气中飞驰而下。在约翰看来，虽然只有几分钟的时间，但速度却慢了下来。最后，雪橇停了下来，约翰抬起头四处张望。他们在一片杉树的森林中，杉树的树枝被雪压得低垂到地上。阳光灿烂，霍弗神父和蔼地看着约翰。

“Well done, my son,” he said, while John, who was yet so dazed he could hardly stand, smiled broadly.

“做的好，儿子，”他说，这时约翰还在发呆，几乎站不起来，他咧开嘴笑了。

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They dragged the sled after them a little way and then flew down another steep gully, but not so long nor so steep as the first one. Again the sled came to a standstill, but this time only wide, white slopes lay about them. They were quite below the black fir forest, and now they slid easily enough down over the steep open meadows⁴ to the very bottom of the valley.

他们把雪橇拖着走了一小段路，然后又从另一条陡坡上滑了下来，不过没有第一条那么长，也没有第一条那么陡。雪橇又停了下来，但这一次，四周只是宽阔的白色斜坡。他们就在黑杉树林的下面，现在他们很容易地滑下陡峭开阔的草地，一直滑到谷底。

1 clinging   

adj.执着的；有黏性的；紧靠着的；紧贴着的v.附着于( cling的现在分词 )；抓紧或抱住；坚持；依恋，依附于

参考例句：

• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者
• I was very frightened and clinging on like mad. 我很害怕，拼命地向上爬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 midst   

n.中部，中间，当中

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• There is a thief in our midst.我们当中有小偷。

3 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。

4 meadows   

草地，牧场， （河边的）低洼地( meadow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The trail wends its way through leafy woodland and sunny meadows. 这条小径穿过葱郁的林区和洒满阳光的草地。
• They have railed the meadows off from the new railway cutting. 他们已用栏杆把草地和新铁道的路堑隔离开来。