绿野仙踪 第2期:旋风来了(2)

 The sun had baked the plowed¹ land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. 太阳烤炙着这篇耕作过的田地，把它变成一片灰色的布满许多裂缝的荒野。

Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. 甚至原野上的草也不是绿色的。因为太阳灼烧着它们的顶部长叶，使得它们不论从何处看，都是灰色的。

Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered² the paint and rains washed it away,  有一次，屋子油漆过了，太阳却把油漆晒起了泡，雨把它褪尽了，

and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else. 如今这屋子和别的东西一样变得暗淡灰蒙蒙。

When Aunt Em came there to live, she was a young, pretty wife. 当初爱姆婶婶刚来这里的时候，她还是个年青貌美新嫁娘。

The sun and wind had changed her, too. 太阳和风也把她的样儿改变了。

They had taken the sparkle from her eyes and left them a sober gray;  它们从她的眼睛里，拿走了光辉，留下了一种沉重的灰色；

they had taken the red from her cheeks and lips, and they were gray also. 它们从她的面颊上和嘴唇上，拿走了红润，也只剩下灰色。

She was thin and gaunt, and never smiled now. 如今她消瘦而且憔悴，不再微笑。

When Dorothy, who was an orphan³, first came to her, Aunt Em had been so startled by the child's laughter  多萝茜是一个孤儿，第一次来到爱姆婶婶身边时，婶婶被这女孩子的笑声吓了一跳。

that she would scream and press her hand upon her heart whenever Dorothy merry voice reached her ears;  无论什么时候，每当多萝茜的快活的声音传到婶婶的耳朵里，她总要尖叫起来，并且把手压在心头；

and she still looked the little girl with wonder that she could find anything to laugh at. 她带着惊奇，看着这个小女孩子——因为她在不论什么东西上都能够找寻出笑料来。

Uncle Henry never laughed. 亨利叔叔从来不笑。

He worked hard from morning till night and did not know what joy was. 他从早到晚在地里努力干活儿，不知道什么是快乐。

He was gray also, from his long beard to his rough boots, and he looked stern and solemn, and rarely spoke⁴. 从他的长须直到他粗糙的鞋子，也全是灰色的，他看起来庄重严肃，很少说话。

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings. 让多萝茜好笑的是托托，在多萝茜和四周一切事物一样都逐渐褪变成灰色时，托托带来了不同的色彩；

1 plowed   

v.耕( plow的过去式和过去分词 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• They plowed nearly 100,000 acres of virgin moorland. 他们犁了将近10万英亩未开垦的高沼地。 来自辞典例句
• He plowed the land and then sowed the seeds. 他先翻土，然后播种。 来自辞典例句

2 blistered   

adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂

参考例句：

• He had a blistered heel. 他的脚后跟起了泡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their hands blistered, but no one complained. 他们手起了泡，可是没有一个人有怨言。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。