美国语文第四册 第171期:火警(2)

 　　A strange calm succeeded my first alarm. 惊恐之后，我感到一种奇怪的平静。

　　I sat down upon the step of the door, and watched the awful scene in silence. 坐在门前的台阶上，我无声地观察着这可怕的情景。

　　The fire was raging in the cedar¹ swamp immediately below the ridge² on which the house stood, and it presented a spectacle truly appalling³. 我们的房子坐落在山脊上，山脊下方的雪松沼泽里大火在迅速蔓延，情形确实令人震惊。

　　From out of the dense⁴ folds of a canopy⁵ of black smoke—the blackest I ever saw—leaped up red forks of lurid⁶ flame as high as the tree tops,  天空被浓烟遮挡住——浓密的黑烟中火红的火舌跃起到树梢那么高，

　　igniting the branches of a group of tall pines that had been left for saw logs. 点燃了被留作锯材用的原木的枝干。

　　A deep gloom blotted⁷ out the heavens from our sight. 昏暗的天遮住了我们的视线

　　The air was filled with fiery⁸ particles, which floated even to the doorstep, 空气中充满了炽热的颗粒，有些颗粒甚至漂到了门前的台阶上，

　　while the crackling and roaring of the flames might have been heard at a great distance. 而火焰的噼噼啪啪声和呼啸声从很远的地方也一定能听到。

　　To reach the shore of the lake, we must pass through the burning swamp, and not a bird could pass over it with unscorched wings. 要到达湖边，必须经过燃烧着的沼泽地，即使鸟儿飞过去也会烧焦翅膀。

　　The fierce wind drove the flames at the sides and back of the house up the clearing;  狂风吹动着火焰正越过门前空地，就要达到房子侧墙和后墙了；

　　and our passage to the road or to the forest, on the right and left, was entirely⁹ obstructed¹⁰ by a sea of flames. 通向左侧的山路或右侧森林的路完全被火焰阻挡了。

　　Our only ark of safety was the house, so long as it remained untouched by the fire. 如果火焰没烧到房子，它就是我们唯一安全的方舟。

　　I turned to young Thomas, and asked him how long he thought that would he. 我转向小托马斯，问他需要多久会烧到房子。

　　When the fire clears this little ridge in front, ma'am. The Lord have mercy on us then, or we must all go. 当火烧光前面的小山脊，太太。到时候上帝保佑我们，我们都得走。

　　I threw myself down on the floor beside my children, and pressed them to my heart,  我扑倒在地板上的孩子们身边，把他们紧紧抱在胸前，

　　while inwardly I thanked God that they were asleep, unconscious of danger, 心里感谢上帝，他们还都熟睡着，不知道发生的危险，

　　and unable by their cries to distract our attention from adopting any plan which might offer to effect their escape. 不会因为哭叫干扰我们，而我们计划着如何使他们躲过这一场浩劫。

1 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

2 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

3 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

4 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

5 canopy   

n.天篷，遮篷

参考例句：

• The trees formed a leafy canopy above their heads.树木在他们头顶上空形成了一个枝叶茂盛的遮篷。
• They lay down under a canopy of stars.他们躺在繁星点点的天幕下。

6 lurid   

adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的

参考例句：

• The paper gave all the lurid details of the murder.这份报纸对这起凶杀案耸人听闻的细节描写得淋漓尽致。
• The lurid sunset puts a red light on their faces.血红一般的夕阳映红了他们的脸。

7 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。

8 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

10 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。