美国小学英语教材6:第230课 明星学徒(3)

But Tim was far away in India, listening to the roar of furnaces and watching the half-naked Hindus with their clumsy hands on his beloved Blower.

但蒂姆离印度很遥远，听着熔炉发出的呼啸声，看着半裸的印度教徒用笨拙的手抚摸他心爱的吹风机。

As he caressed¹ the huge fan blades and felt the smooth steel of the foot-thick shaft² which turned them, he dreamed of the work they would do and thrilled with pride.

当他抚摸着巨大的扇叶，感受着转动扇叶旋转的几英尺后的铁杆子，他梦想着他们做的工作，并骄傲地激动起来。

He, Tim Crogan, had helped to build this thing!

蒂姆曾帮助建造这个机器！

SHUT INSIDE THE BLOWER

关闭吹风机

Lingering thus within the huge machine, he forgot the passage of time, failed to notice the dead silence which had closed around him.

在巨大的机器中徘徊，他忘记了时间，没有注意到他周围的寂静。

Suddenly he became aware that he was alone, shut away from the world of men.

他突然感受到他是自己，和外面的人们隔离开。

He turned back to the manhole opening. It was nowhere to be seen. The extension lamp, which he had abandoned in his ramblings in favor of the pocket flash-light, was gone!

他回过头继续打开人孔，什么也看不见，他丢弃在杂务中的长颈灯没有了，这盏灯可以作为便携式闪光灯。

Instantly Tim, wide awake and trembling, was running cold fingers over the inside of the huge machine. Yes, there it was, the manhole,

蒂姆突然清醒过来，浑身颤抖，用冰凉的手指在巨大的机器中摸索，在这里，人孔在这里。

with the cover closed and bolted tight in place! The boss's words seemed to echo through the dark space within the machine: Close her up when you're done!

人孔表面是被覆盖的，而且被紧紧地上了锁，老板的话语似乎在机器内部的黑暗中回响，完事后把它关上！

Gee³, I was going to, moaned the boy. Some other fellow must have done it and have taken the lamp away. They thought I had gone home!

小男孩抱怨道，哎呀，我要..其他人肯定关上了，而且把灯拿走了，他们认为我已经回家了！

Tim's first impulse was to shout. Then he remembered that no human sound could possibly be heard through that inch of steel.

蒂姆的第一个反应就是大嚷，他记得人生是无法透过这么厚的钢铁的。

In his distress⁴ his mind was perfectly⁵ clear. Let's see, what had the imprisoned⁶ men on the submarine S-4 done when the divers⁷ were outside trying to help them?

他感到悲伤，但他的头脑非常清醒，来让我们看看S-4潜艇的监狱犯是如何做的，当外面的潜水人员试图帮助他们？

They had banged on the metal walls of their prison, of course, with something heavy. . . . That wrench⁸, where was it?

他们撞击监狱铁墙，当然，用很沉重的..扳手，扳手在哪里？

Right here by the bolt that he had tightened⁹, surely, just as he had left it to go exploring.

肯定在拧螺丝附近，就像它放下扳手去探寻一样。

With fingers that trembled so hard that precious minutes were wasted, Tim fumbled¹⁰ with his flash-light and began to search for the wrench.

他的手指剧烈颤抖，宝贵的时间在流逝，蒂姆摸索着他的闪光灯，并开始搜寻扳手。

It wasn't there! It had slipped down somewhere, there was no telling what had become of it. And then Tim remembered that it was long past quitting time.

不在那里！一定滑到什么地方了，无法预知结果会如何，蒂姆记得早已过了离开的时间。

The shop would be deserted¹¹ except for the night watchman in his far-away little office. Even if he had the wrench, no amount of banging would ever raise him!

商店肯定没人了，除了守夜者会住在遥远的小办公室中，即使他有扳手，他也不会听见敲击声！

1 caressed   

爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。
• He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。

2 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

3 gee   

n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转

参考例句：

• Their success last week will gee the team up.上星期的胜利将激励这支队伍继续前进。
• Gee,We're going to make a lot of money.哇！我们会赚好多钱啦！

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

7 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

8 wrench   

v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受

参考例句：

• He gave a wrench to his ankle when he jumped down.他跳下去的时候扭伤了足踝。
• It was a wrench to leave the old home.离开这个老家非常痛苦。

9 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

10 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

11 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。