英语听力 暮光之城•暮色 第295期:第十七章 游戏(20)

 Shall we go down? Esme asked in her soft, melodic¹ voice, “我们要过去了吗？”艾思梅用她温柔的，优美的声线问道，

and I realized I was staring openmouthed after him.  我这才意识到自己一直贪婪地注视着他的背影。

I quickly reassembled my expression and nodded.  我立刻调整好自己的表情，点了点头。

Esme kept a few feet between us, and I wondered if she was still being careful not to frighten me.  艾思梅始终和我保持着几英尺的距离，我怀疑她还在小心翼翼地避免吓着我。

She matched her stride to mine without seeming impatient at the pace. 她配合着我的步调走着，没有丝毫的不耐烦。

You don't play with them? I asked shyly. “你不和他们一起打球吗？”我羞涩地问道。

No, I prefer to referee² — I like keeping them honest, she explained. “不，我更喜欢当裁判——我喜欢让他们诚实地比赛。”她解释道。

Do they like to cheat, then? “那么，他们喜欢作弊吗？”

Oh yes — you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't,  “哦是的——你真应该听听他们是怎样吵吵嚷嚷的！事实上，我希望你不必听到，

you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves. 否则你会认为他们是在狼群里长大的。”

You sound like my mom, I laughed, surprised. “你说话的语气真像我妈。”我惊讶地大笑起来。

She laughed, too. Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways.  她也大笑起来。“好吧，基本上，我确实视他们如己出。

I never could get over my mothering instincts, did Edward tell you I had lost a child? 我从没能从自己的母性本能中恢复过来——爱德华有没有告诉过你，我失去过一个孩子？”

No, I murmured, stunned³, scrambling⁴ to understand what lifetime she was remembering. “没有。”我大受惊吓，喃喃低语着。我脑子里很混乱，不知道她想起的是哪段人生。

Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing, she sighed.  “是的，我第一个，也是唯一一个还在。他生下来几天就夭折了，可怜的小东西，”她叹息着说道。

It broke my heart   that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know, she added matter-of-factly. “我的心都碎了——所以我才会从悬崖上跳下来，你知道。”她实话实说地补充道。

Edward just said you f-fell, I stammered⁵. “爱德华只是说你跳——跳下来了。”我结结巴巴地说道。

Always the gentleman. She smiled. Edward was the first of my new sons. “他总是那么绅士。”她笑了起来。“爱德华是我新生后的第一个儿子。

I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least.  我总是那样认为的，虽然他比我更为年长，至少在某种程度上来说是这样。”

She smiled at me warmly. That's why I'm so happy that he's found you, dear.  她温和地向我微笑着。“所以，当他找到你的时候，我才会那么的高兴，亲爱的。”

The endearment⁶ sounded very natural on her lips. He's been the odd man out for far too long; it's hurt me to see him alone. 她语气里的亲切感是那么的自然。“他独自一人过得太久了，看着他一直单身让我很难过。”

1 melodic   

adj.有旋律的，调子美妙的

参考例句：

• His voice had a rich melodic quality.他的音色浑厚而优美。
• He spoke with a soft husky voice in a melodic accent.他微微沙哑的声音带着一种悠扬的口音。

2 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

3 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

4 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stammered   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He stammered most when he was nervous. 他一紧张往往口吃。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Barsad leaned back in his chair, and stammered, \"What do you mean?\" 巴萨往椅背上一靠，结结巴巴地说，“你是什么意思？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

6 endearment   

n.表示亲爱的行为

参考例句：

• This endearment indicated the highest degree of delight in the old cooper.这个称呼是老箍桶匠快乐到了极点的表示。
• To every endearment and attention he continued listless.对于每一种亲爱的表示和每一种的照顾，他一直漫不在意。