美国语文第五册 第228期:捕捉野马(4)

 　　The flanking parties were quietly extending themselves out of sight, on each side of the valley,  同时，侧翼人马也在悄无声息地散开，消失在远方，他们将在山谷四边设好埋伏圈。

　　and the residue¹ were stretching themselves like the links of a chain across it,  最后剩下的人，将补充填实整条包围圈可能出现的缺口。

　　when the wild horses gave signs that they scented² an enemy; snuffing the air, snorting, and looking about.  就在这时，野马群发出信号，它们发现了危险临近，马群不停地嗅嗅四周，打出喷嚏，然后环顾左右，

　　At length they pranced³ off slowly toward the river, and disappeared behind a green bank.  最后三三两两地缓慢地朝那条河走去，消失在那条河绿色堤岸后。

　　Here, had the regulations of the chase been observed,  哎呀，假如严格遵守围猎规则，

　　they would have been quietly checked and turned back by the advance of a hunter from among the trees. 野马群很可能被树林里冒出的猎手拦阻，然后安静地后撤，

　　Unluckily, however, we had our wildfire, Jack-o'-lantern little Frenchman to deal with.  然而，不幸的是，鬼使神差中，那位身材矮小的法国佬让整个打围过程变得诡异无常。

　　Instead of keeping quietly up the right side of the valley, to get above the horses,  他们一行设伏在山谷右面，未能保持按兵不动，从而掌控野马群走向；

　　the moment he saw them move toward the river he broke out of the covert⁴ of woods and dashed furiously across the plain in pursuit of them.  那家伙一看见马群朝河流那边移动，竟然从树林里冲出来，发狂地穿过草原追撵马群，从而使整个计划彻底乱套。

　　This put an end to all system. The half-breeds, and half a score of rangers⁵, joined in the chase.  这时，一些混血儿骑手，加上其他十多位游牧骑手，亦争先恐后地参与疯狂追赶。

　　A way they all went over the green bank.  那些骑手们飞驰越过绿色堤岸，

　　In a moment or two the wild horses reappeared, and came thundering down the valley,  不一会儿，野马群再度进入视线，山谷下一片喊声震天。

　　with Frenchman, half-breeds, and rangers galloping⁶ and bellowing⁷ behind them.  那位矮小的法国人，那些混血儿打围者，还有那些游牧骑手们策马飞奔，吼叫声、呐喊声在马群身后响成一片。

　　It was in vain that the line drawn⁸ across the valley attempted to check and turn back the fugitives⁹;  此刻，那道穿越山谷准备围堵拦截野马群的防线完全失去作用。

　　they were too hotly pressed by their pursuers: in their panic they dashed through the line, and clattered¹⁰ down the plain.  马群遭遇追赶者的猛烈追逐，它们在恐慌中狂奔，冲破了那道防线，草原上嘈杂喊叫震地连天。

1 residue   

n.残余，剩余，残渣

参考例句：

• Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。
• Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

2 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 pranced   

v.（马）腾跃( prance的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their horses pranced and whinnied. 他们的马奔腾着、嘶鸣着。 来自辞典例句
• The little girl pranced about the room in her new clothes. 小女孩穿着新衣在屋里雀跃。 来自辞典例句

4 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

5 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

6 galloping   

adj. 飞驰的, 急性的 动词gallop的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The horse started galloping the moment I gave it a good dig. 我猛戳了马一下，它就奔驰起来了。
• Japan is galloping ahead in the race to develop new technology. 日本在发展新技术的竞争中进展迅速，日新月异。

7 bellowing   

v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫

参考例句：

• We could hear he was bellowing commands to his troops. 我们听见他正向他的兵士大声发布命令。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He disguised these feelings under an enormous bellowing and hurraying. 他用大声吼叫和喝采掩饰着这些感情。 来自辞典例句

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 fugitives   

n.亡命者，逃命者( fugitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分

10 clattered   

发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
• His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。