美国语文第四册 第180期:白兰地酒河浅滩(2)

 　　What was that? A strange, rustling¹, hissing² sound, as of cattle trampling³ through dry reeds, 那是什么？一种奇怪的嘶嘶的声音传来，就像牛群踩过芦苇丛的声音，

　　a sound which quivered and shook, even in the breath of the hurrying wind! 即使是在风里，这声音也令人震颤！

　　Roger snorted, stood still, and trembled in every limb; and a sensation of awe⁴ and terror struck a chill through Gilbert's heart. 罗杰打了个响鼻，一动不动，四肢发抖；一丝敬畏使吉尔伯特心寒。

　　The sound drew swiftly nearer, and became a wild, seething⁵ roar, filling the whole breadth of the valley. 声音迅速靠近，变成了翻腾的咆哮声，响彻山谷。

　　"The dam! the dam!" cried Gilbert, "the dam has given way!" “大坝！大坝！”吉尔伯特叫了起来，“大坝决口了！”

　　He turned Roger's head, gave him the rein⁶, struck, spurred, cheered, and shouted. 他转向罗杰的头，抓住缰绳用力拍打、喊叫、给马加油。

　　The brave beast struggled through the impeding⁷ flood, but the advance wave of the coming inundation⁸ already touched his side. 勇敢的罗杰在洪水中奋力挣扎，可是洪水已经涨到了马的身体。

　　He staggered; a line of churning foam⁹ bore down upon them,  马踉跄了一下；洪水夹杂着漩涡和泡沫袭来，

　　the terrible roar was all around and over them, and horse and rider were whirled away. 四周都是洪水的咆哮声，马和骑手被卷走了。

　　What happened during the first few seconds, Gilbert could never distinctly recall. 吉尔伯特无法清楚记得最初几秒发生了什么。

　　Now they were whelmed in the water, now riding its careering tide,  他们一会被洪水淹没，一会又被冲到奔腾的浪尖，

　　torn through the tops of brushwood, jostled by floating logs and timbers of the dam, 有时水底的灌木撕扯着身体，有时被水中漂浮的木材撞得东倒西歪，

　　but always, as it seemed, remorselessly held in the heart of the tumult¹⁰ and the ruin. 就这样困在了无情的洪水和杂物中间。

1 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

2 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

3 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

4 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

5 seething   

沸腾的，火热的

参考例句：

• The stadium was a seething cauldron of emotion. 体育场内群情沸腾。
• The meeting hall was seething at once. 会场上顿时沸腾起来了。

6 rein   

n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治

参考例句：

• The horse answered to the slightest pull on the rein.只要缰绳轻轻一拉,马就作出反应。
• He never drew rein for a moment till he reached the river.他一刻不停地一直跑到河边。

7 impeding   

a.(尤指坏事)即将发生的，临近的

参考例句：

• Fallen rock is impeding the progress of rescue workers. 坠落的石头阻滞了救援人员的救援进程。
• Is there sufficient room for the kiosk and kiosk traffic without impeding other user traffic? 该环境下是否有足够的空间来摆放信息亭？信息亭是否会妨碍交通或者行走？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 inundation   

n.the act or fact of overflowing

参考例句：

• Otherwise, inundation would ensue to our dismay. 若不疏导，只能眼巴巴看着它泛滥。
• Therefore this psychology preceded the inundation of Caudillo politics after independence. 在独立后，这一心态助长了考迪罗主义的泛滥。

9 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

10 tumult   

n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹

参考例句：

• The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。
• His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。