美国语文第五册 第123期:勒克瑙救援(3)

 　　To describe the effect of these words upon the soldiers would be impossible. 实在无法叙述这些雷人话语对周围士兵的影响，

　　For a moment they ceased firing, and every soul listened with intense anxiety. 士兵们顷刻间停止了射击，每一个人都在焦虑万分地聆听。

　　Gradually, however, there arose a murmur¹ of bitter disappointment,  然而，痛苦失望中，一片片窃窃私语渐次响起，

　　and the wailing² of the women, who had flocked to the spot, burst out anew as the colonel shook his head. 夹杂女人们的恸哭哀号；她们刚才兴奋地聚拢过来，此刻却再度大放悲声。站在一边的上校军官摇了摇头，

　　Our dull Lowland ears heard only the battle of the musketry. 耳朵不甚敏感的我们，听见的不过是持续的枪炮声。

　　A few moments more of this deathlike suspense³, of this agonizing⁴ hope, and Jessie, who had again sunk on the ground, sprang to her feet, 折磨人的死样寂静不过片刻，杰西复又颓然倒地，四肢摊开，

　　and cried in a voice so clear and piercing that it was heard along the whole line, Will ye no believe it noo? 锐利的尖叫刺破天空，在整条街道回响，你们难道没人相信?

　　The slogan has ceased, indeed, but the Campbells are comin'! D'ye hear? d' ye hear? 真的，广播停了，坎贝尔人打过来了，听见吗？你们真的听见了吗？

　　At that moment all seemed indeed to hear the voice of God in the distance, 刹那间，所有人仿佛真的听到了远处上帝的声音。

　　when the pibroch of the Highlanders brought us tidings of deliverance; for now there was no longer any doubt of the fact. 苏格兰高地人的风笛给我们带来了拯救的信息，此刻，这点已毋庸置疑。

　　That shrill⁵, penetrating⁶, ceaseless sound, which rose above all other sounds, 那个战栗尖利的声音不断响着，淹没了其他所有的声音。

　　could come neither from the advance of the enemy nor from the work of the sappers. 那个声音并非来自敌人的进攻，也不是来自我方人员的工事壕沟。

　　No, it was indeed the blast of the Scottish bagpipes⁷, now shrill and harsh, as threatening vengeance⁸ on the foe⁹, 没错，那愈发颤栗刺耳的苏格兰风笛在风中炸响，似乎宣泄着对敌人复仇的呐喊，

　　then in softer tones, seeming to promise succor¹⁰ to their friends in need. 随后略微柔和的曲调弥漫开来，宛如表达拯救患难朋友的迫切渴望。

1 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

2 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

3 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。

4 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

5 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

6 penetrating   

adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的

参考例句：

• He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
• He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。

7 bagpipes   

n.风笛；风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Yes, and I'm also learning to play the bagpipes. 是的，我也想学习吹风笛。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Mr. Vinegar took the bagpipes and the piper led the cow away. 于是醋溜先生拿过了风笛，风笛手牵走了奶牛。 来自互联网

8 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

9 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

10 succor   

n.援助，帮助；v.给予帮助

参考例句：

• In two short hours we may look for succor from Webb.在短短的两小时内，韦布将军的救兵就可望到达。
• He was so much in need of succor,so totally alone.他当时孑然一身，形影相吊，特别需要援助。