美国语文第四册 第118期:失踪的孩子(1)

 　　A few years since, a child was lost in the woods. 几年前，一个孩子在森林里失踪了。

　　He was out with his brothers and sisters gathering¹ berries, and was accidentally separated from them, and lost. 他和兄弟姐妹一起去采草莓，不小心和他们走散了。

　　The children, after looking in vain for some time in search of the little wanderer, returned, just in the dusk of the evening,  孩子们找了一阵子没有找到，在黄昏的时候赶回家，

　　to inform their parents that their brother was lost and could not be found. 告诉父母他们的兄弟失踪的消息。

　　The woods, at that time, were full of bears. 当时的森林里有很多熊。

　　The darkness of a cloudy night was rapidly coming on, and the alarmed father, gathering a few of his neighbors, hastened in search of the lost child. 那个夜晚天空乌云滚滚，夜幕已经开始降临，得到警报的父亲，赶忙召集了几个邻居，匆匆忙忙地去寻找失踪的孩子。

　　The mother remained at home, almost distracted with suspense². 妈妈心慌意乱地在家里等消息。

　　As the clouds gathered, and the darkness increased, the father and the neighbors, with highly excited fears, 乌云开始聚集，天色更黑了，父亲和邻居们非常担心，

　　traversed the woods in all directions, and raised loud shouts to attract the attention of the child. But their search was in vain. 他们在森林四处寻找着，大声叫着孩子的名字希望孩子能听到。

　　They could find no trace of the wanderer; and, as they stood under the boughs³ of the lofty trees, and listened, that if possible they might hear his feeble voice, 但是没有什么结果，一点蛛丝马迹也没有。他们站在大树下仔细倾听，希望能听到孩子微弱的声音，

　　no sound was borne to their ears but the melancholy⁴ moaning of the wind as it swept through the thick branches of the forest. 可是除了风扫过浓密的树枝发出的令人沮丧的呼啸声之外什么也听不到。

　　The gathering clouds threatened an approaching storm, and the deep darkness of the night had already enveloped⁵ them. 乌云越聚越多，似乎暴风雨就要降临，漆黑的夜已经包围了他们。

　　It is difficult to conceive what were the feelings of that father. 很难看出失踪孩子的父亲的心情。

　　And who could imagine how deep the distress⁶ which filled the bosom⁷ of that mother, as she heard the wind, and beheld⁸ the darkness in which her child was wandering! 谁又能想象，母亲的心里是多么悲伤啊！听着呼啸的风声，看着屋外的一片漆黑，想到失踪的孩子。

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

3 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

4 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

5 enveloped   

v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was enveloped in a huge white towel. 她裹在一条白色大毛巾里。
• Smoke from the burning house enveloped the whole street. 燃烧着的房子冒出的浓烟笼罩了整条街。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

8 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字