美国小学英语教材6:第148课 殖民地时代年轻的爱国者(5)

 JOSEPH WARNS GENERAL WASHINGTON 约瑟夫警告华盛顿将军

I'll have to borrow Zack Brown's old plow¹ horse and ride as fast as I can to the camp to tell them about the plans of the British. 我要借捷克·布朗的老役马一用，尽可能快地骑向营地，将英国人的计划告诉他们。

But I don't know what to do about you, he added with a worried air. Oh, I'll be all right, answered Priscilla bravely, 但我不知道你要怎么办，他充满担忧地补充道，哦我会没事的，普丽西拉充满勇气地说着，

though she felt very small and lonely when she thought of her brother riding away into the darkness and of the men, 尽管她自己感觉很弱小，很孤独，当她想起他的哥哥要在深夜中骑行，

whose voices she could hear through the open oven door. Then a plan came to her, and she looked at the oven again. 她想起了从开着的烤炉门中听到了男人的声音，她想到了一个计划，她再一次看了看烤炉，

Why can't I stay in the Dutch oven, she asked, while you are gone? 她补充道，我为什么不在你走后待在荷兰烤炉里呢？

No one will think of looking for a girl in there. That's the best place to hide I can think of, 没人会想到在那里找寻一个女孩，这是我能够想到的最佳藏身地点，

answered Joseph slowly, but I don't like to leave you. You know I wouldn't if I wasn't sure you would be safe. 约瑟夫慢慢地说，但我不想离开你，我不会离开你，除非我知道你是安全的。

Of course not, whispered Priscilla, as he hurried away. Then she put a bundle of leaves in the oven for a pillow and climbed in after it, 普丽西拉私语道，你当然不会这么做，约瑟夫慌忙离开了，她将一捆叶子放在烤炉里当枕头，之后自己爬了进去，

and, like the wise girl she was, she soon went sound asleep. Exactly what happened that night the British soldiers never found out. 这个小女孩真是聪明，她不久就睡着了，英国士兵永远不会知道那晚发生的事情。

The sentries² on Wilson's Hill kept watch all night. Washington's camp fires burned as brightly as usual, 威尔森山上的哨兵盯了一夜，华盛顿的营火和平常一样明亮，

and a few lights were to be seen in the tents and sentry³ boxes; everything seemed to be quiet in the camp of the Americans. 营帐和哨所可以看到几处灯光，美国营地似乎一切都很安静。

But when the British made the attack at daybreak, not a gun answered them in the camp, 但当英国人黎明发动进攻时，营地中没开一枪，

and not an American soldier could be found! The place was as empty as a toy village. 没有发现一名美国士兵，这个地方就像玩具村庄一样空荡荡。

When the soldiers went cautiously⁴ from tent to tent, they found the fires heaped high with ashes, 当士兵小心翼翼地检查了一个又一个帐篷后，他们发现营火下面堆积了许多烟灰，

and the candles were ringed around with melted wax as if they had burned all night long. 蜡烛周围是融化的蜡，好似这些蜡烛燃烧了一整夜。

Who had tended the fires and kept the candles burning, they could not discover, for there was no one in the camp to ask. 是谁制造的营火，是谁让蜡烛一直燃烧，他们无法找到答案，因为营地里没有人回答这个问题。

 

1 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

2 sentries   

哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We posted sentries at the gates of the camp. 我们在军营的大门口布置哨兵。
• We were guarded by sentries against surprise attack. 我们由哨兵守卫，以免遭受突袭。

3 sentry   

n.哨兵，警卫

参考例句：

• They often stood sentry on snowy nights.他们常常在雪夜放哨。
• The sentry challenged anyone approaching the tent.哨兵查问任一接近帐篷的人。

4 cautiously   

adv.小心地，谨慎地；小心翼翼；翼翼

参考例句：

• She walked cautiously up the drive towards the door. 她小心翼翼地沿着车道向门口走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》