英语听力 暮光之城•暮色 第269期:第十六章 卡莱尔(7)

 What happened to them? I wondered aloud, my fingertip hovering¹ a centimeter from the figures on the canvas. “他们发生了什么事？”我大声提问道，我的指尖在离油画上的人物只有一公分的地方徘徊着。

They're still there. He shrugged². As they have been for who knows how many millennia³.  “他们还在那里。”他耸耸肩。“他们在那里不知道待了几千年。

Carlisle stayed with them only for a short time, just a few decades.  卡莱尔只和他们待了很短的一段时间，只有几十年。

He greatly admired their civility, their refinement⁴, but they persisted in trying to cure his aversion to 'his natural food source,' as they called it.  他非常地钦佩他们的礼貌，他们的高尚，但他们固执地试图治愈他对‘他天生的食物来源’的厌恶，他们是这样称呼的。

They tried to persuade him, and he tried to persuade them, to no avail.  他们试图说服他，而他也试图说服他们，但双方都没有收到效果。

At that point, Carlisle decided⁵ to try the New World. He dreamed of finding others like himself. He was very lonely, you see. 在那时，卡莱尔决定去新世界试试。他梦想着能找到别的像他自己这样的人。他非常地孤独，你知道。

He didn't find anyone for a long time. But, as monsters became the stuff of fairy tales,  在很长一段时间里，他没有找到任何人。但是，随着怪物逐渐成为神话故事的内容，

he found he could interact with unsuspecting humans as if he were one of them. He began practicing medicine.  他发现自己可以毫无芥蒂地和没有戒心的人类相处，就好像他是他们之间的一员一样。他开始实践自己的医术。

But the companionship he craved⁶ evaded⁷ him; he couldn't risk familiarity. 但他所渴望的伙伴关系依然躲着他，他不敢冒任何风险，去尝试亲密的关系。”

When the influenza⁸ epidemic⁹ hit, he was working nights in a hospital in Chicago.  “当西班牙流感开始蔓延的时候，他在芝加哥的一家医院里上夜班。

He'd been turning over an idea in his mind for several years, and he had almost decided to act  他心里有一个想法，已经形成了许多年了，他也几乎已经决定要去付诸行动了

since he couldn't find a companion, he would create one. He wasn't absolutely sure how his own transformation¹⁰ had occurred, so he was hesitant.  既然他找不到志同道合的人，他可以自己创造一个。他不能完全肯定自己的转变是否能够顺利进行，所以他一直犹豫着。

And he was loath¹¹ to steal anyone's life the way his had been stolen.  而且他不情愿去偷走别人的人生，就像他自己被偷走了人生一样。

It was in that frame of mind that he found me. There was no hope for me; I was left in a ward¹² with the dying.  在他发现我的时候，他的想法成型了。我已经没救了，和一群奄奄一息的人待在一个病房里。

He had nursed my parents, and knew I was alone. He decided to try… 他看护过我的父母，知道我已经成了孤儿。他决定试一试……”

His voice, nearly a whisper now, trailed off. He stared unseeingly through the west windows.  他的声音，现在几近耳语，终于停住了。他视若无睹地向西边的窗外望去。

I wondered which images filled his mind now, Carlisle's memories or his own. I waited quietly. 我想知道充斥在他脑子里的是什么样的画面，是卡莱尔的回忆还是他自己的。我安静地等待着。

1 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

2 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 millennia   

n.一千年，千禧年

参考例句：

• For two millennia, exogamy was a major transgression for Jews. 两千年来，异族通婚一直是犹太人的一大禁忌。
• In the course of millennia, the dinosaurs died out. 在几千年的时间里，恐龙逐渐死绝了。

4 refinement   

n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼

参考例句：

• Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。
• Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。

7 evaded   

逃避( evade的过去式和过去分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• For two weeks they evaded the press. 他们有两周一直避而不见记者。
• The lion evaded the hunter. 那狮子躲开了猎人。

8 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

9 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

10 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

11 loath   

adj.不愿意的；勉强的

参考例句：

• The little girl was loath to leave her mother.那小女孩不愿离开她的母亲。
• They react on this one problem very slow and very loath.他们在这一问题上反应很慢，很不情愿。

12 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。