美国小学英语教材6:第191课 非洲的放牧女孩琳珐(5)

Moy swung into a long lope that covered the ground rapidly, and the rest of the herd¹, with a swift stumble of hoofs² followed close behind.

“老头”快速地大步慢跑，后面的牛群紧跟其后，牛蹄子快速地蹒跚而行。

They were halfway³ to the village, entering a hollow so that the houses were hidden from them

它们离村庄还有一半路程，走进了一个山谷，房屋隐藏其间，

and crowding along between two walls of grass that brushed against the girl's bare feet.

他们在浓密的草丛间穿行，小草轻轻地拂过女孩光着的脚丫。

She crouched⁴ closer to the hump of Moy, when suddenly Biri gave a shrill⁵ scream of terror.

她在靠近“老头”凸起附近的地方蹲下，比利突然发出了恐惧的尖叫声。

Moy, who at his best hated the pet, now made nervous by the approaching storm, threw up his head in fright.

最厌恶这只宠物的“老头”因为恐惧而扬起了头，它被即将到来的飓风吓到了。

Almost as soon as the monkey he, too, had caught the scent⁶, the stale, sharp odor of lion.

而差不多同一时间，猴子也闻到了气味，狮子身上污浊，刺鼻的气味。

Like a flash Moy turned and crashed, head down, into the bush, the herd pounding after.

刹那间，“老头”转过身子倒下，头向下倒在草丛中，牛群轰隆隆地跟随。

A lion had undoubtedly⁷ passed through the grass that morning, but there was none in sight now;

那个早晨，一头狮子肯定路过了这片草丛，但现在看不到了；

in fact, all sight was being rapidly blotted⁸ out. The sun was completely hidden. A chill wind, stronger every second,

事实上，所有的景观都被瞬间抹掉了，太阳被完全遮盖住，风愈发冰冷起来，

whipped at Rimfa's bare shoulders. For a moment the herd was partly sheltered by the tall grass, but this was not the way home.

风吹打在琳珐裸露的肩膀上，那一刻牛群一半被高耸的树叶遮挡，但这不是回家的路。

Moy! Moy! she shrieked⁹, above the voice of the storm, pounding desperately¹⁰ on his hump. Biri clung, with jabbering¹¹ fear, to her skirts.

“老头”“老头”她尖叫道，她的声音高过了风暴的声音，奋力敲打它的突起，恐惧的比利死抓住她的裙子。

Following Moy blindly, the herd was rushing away from the smell that had frightened it.

盲目地跟随着“老头”，牛群被这个味道吓得四处逃窜。

Below the level of the plain and between the grazing ground and the village, there was a watercourse,

在平原的水平面以下，在放牧草地和乡村之间有一条河道，

dry at this season of the year. Into this, the herd, led by Moy, bolted. Rimfa continued to shout above the roar of the oncoming storm,

这个季节是干枯的，由“老头”带领的牛群慌乱地进入河道，琳珐继续以高过飓风的声音叫嚷着，

but the thunder, together with the monkey's screeches¹², and the terrific wind, was too much for her.

但雷电声，以及猴子的尖叫声，还有风的声音，这些对于她来说难以承受。

Since a slip would have sent her beneath the feet of the stampeding herd, she clung tight to Moy and waited.

一个滑落都足可以让她跌落在乱窜的牛群脚下，她紧抓住“老头”并等待着。

The high grass had given way to low stubble, and then to the sandy bed of the stream. There was a brief lull¹³ in the wind,

草的高度已不敌低矮的麦茬，更不敌溪水的砂质层，猛烈的风有了片刻停顿，

which foretold¹⁴ that the rain would soon be upon them. Rimfa was frightened, and her teeth chattered¹⁵ with cold.

这预示着大雨将倾泻而下，琳珐很害怕，她的牙齿因为寒冷在打颤。

She clutched the monkey with one hand to keep him quiet for a moment and then held him tightly beneath one arm.

她一手抓住猴子，让它安静下来，并将它紧紧地放在胳臂下。

With the other she still clung to Moy's neck.

另一只手仅仅拽住“老头”的脖子。

1 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

2 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

3 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

4 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

5 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

6 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

7 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

8 blotted   

涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干

参考例句：

• She blotted water off the table with a towel. 她用毛巾擦干桌上的水。
• The blizzard blotted out the sky and the land. 暴风雪铺天盖地而来。

9 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

10 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

11 jabbering   

v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴

参考例句：

• What is he jabbering about now? 他在叽里咕噜地说什么呢？
• He was jabbering away in Russian. 他叽里咕噜地说着俄语。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 screeches   

n.尖锐的声音( screech的名词复数 )v.发出尖叫声( screech的第三人称单数 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• The boy's screeches brought his mother. 男孩的尖叫声招来了他母亲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The woman's screeches brought the police. 这个妇女的尖叫声招来了警察。 来自辞典例句

13 lull   

v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇

参考例句：

• The drug put Simpson in a lull for thirty minutes.药物使辛普森安静了30分钟。
• Ground fighting flared up again after a two-week lull.经过两个星期的平静之后，地面战又突然爆发了。

14 foretold   

v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She foretold that the man would die soon. 她预言那人快要死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Must lose one joy, by his life's star foretold. 这样注定：他，为了信守一个盟誓／就非得拿牺牲一个喜悦作代价。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学

15 chattered   

（人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤

参考例句：

• They chattered away happily for a while. 他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿。
• We chattered like two teenagers. 我们聊着天，像两个十多岁的孩子。