美国语文第四册 第183期:白兰地酒河浅滩(5)

 　　Sometimes the animals plunged², losing their foothold;  有时马踩空，失去平衡；

　　nevertheless, they gallantly³ breasted the current, and inch by inch worked their way to a point about six feet below Gilbert. 尽管如此，他们仍勇敢地面对洪水，一寸寸地来到了距离吉尔伯特六英尺的地方。

　　It seemed impossible to approach nearer. 不可能更靠近了。

　　"Can you swim?" asked the man. “你还能游吗？”那个人说。

　　Gilbert shook his head. "Throw me the end of Roger's bridle⁴!" he then cried. 吉尔伯特摇了摇头。“扔给我罗杰的缰绳！”他大喊道。

　　The man unbuckled the bridle and threw it, keeping the end of the rein⁵ in his hand. 那个人解开马的缰绳，扔了过来。

　　Gilbert tried to grasp it, but his hands were too numb⁶. 吉尔伯特试图抓住另一端，可他的手麻木了。

　　He managed, however, to get one arm and his head through the opening, and relaxed his hold on the log. 最后他终于让一只胳膊和头穿过缰绳的圆孔，放开了一直抱着的树干。

　　A plunge¹, and the man had him by the collar. 向前一跨步，那个人抓住了他的衣领。

　　He felt himself lifted by a strong arm and laid across Roger's saddle. 他感到一只强有力的手把他提了起来，放到了罗杰的鞍子上。

　　With his failing strength and stiff limbs, it was no slight task to get into place; 由于他力气丧失，手脚麻木，坐稳可不容易；

　　and the return, though less laborious⁷ to the horses, was equally dangerous, because Gilbert was scarcely able to support himself without help. 回程不那么费力，也同样危险，因为如果没人帮忙，吉尔伯特无法坐稳。

　　"You're safe now," said the man, when they reached the bank, "but it's a downright mercy of God that you're alive!" “你现在安全了，”到河岸时那个人说，“全是上帝的怜悯，你还活着！”

　　The other horseman joined them, and they rode slowly across the flooded meadow. 另一个骑手走过来，他们缓慢骑过低洼地。

　　They had both thrown their cloaks around Gilbert, and carefully steadied him in the saddle, one on each side. 他们都把外衣给吉尔伯特披上，一边一个，小心地扶着他。

　　He was too much exhausted⁸ to ask how they had found him, or whither they were taking him,—too numb for curiosity, almost for gratitude⁹. 他太疲劳了，无法询问他们是如何找到他的，要到哪儿去——身体都冻麻木了，顾不上好奇和表达感激之情。

　　"Here's your savior!" said one of the men, patting Roger's shoulder. “这是你的救命恩人！”一个骑手拍着罗杰的肩说，

　　It was through him that we found you. Do you wish to know how? 我们是通过他找到你的。想知道怎么回事吗？

　　Well—about three o'clock it was, maybe a little earlier, maybe a little later, my wife woke me up. 好的——大约三点钟的时候，或许更早或更晚一点，我的妻子叫醒我，

　　Do you hear that? she said. 说，“听到了吗？”

1 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

2 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

3 gallantly   

adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地

参考例句：

• He gallantly offered to carry her cases to the car. 他殷勤地要帮她把箱子拎到车子里去。
• The new fighters behave gallantly under fire. 新战士在炮火下表现得很勇敢。

4 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

5 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。

6 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

7 laborious   

adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅

参考例句：

• They had the laborious task of cutting down the huge tree.他们接受了伐大树的艰苦工作。
• Ants and bees are laborious insects.蚂蚁与蜜蜂是勤劳的昆虫。

8 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

9 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。