绿野仙踪 第42期:惊险的旅程(3)

 " I haven't the faintest idea," said the Tin Woodman, and the Lion shook his shaggy mane and looked thoughtful. 铁皮人说：“我毫无办法。” 狮子抖动着蓬松的鬣毛，似乎在沉思。

But the Scarecrow said, " We cannot fly, that is certain. Neither can we climb down into this great ditch. 稻草人说：“我们既不能够飞过去，也不能够爬到这个壕沟里去。

Therefore, if we cannot jump over it, we must stop where we are." 因此除了跳过去，再没有其它办法了。”

" I think I could jump over it," said the Cowardly Lion, after measuring the distance carefully in his mind. 胆小的狮子，在它仔细地估计好了壕沟的宽度后说：“我想我可以跳过去的。”

" Then we are all right," answered the Scarecrow, "for you can carry us all over on your back, one at a time." “那么问题就解决了，”稻草人回答说：“因为你可以把我们全部背过去，每一次背一个。”

" Well, I'll try it," said the Lion. "Who will go first?" “好，我来试试看，”狮子说。“谁第一个过去？”

" I will," declared the Scarecrow, "for, if you found that you could not jump over the gulf¹, Dorothy would be killed, or the Tin Woodman badly dented² on the rocks below. “我来吧，”稻草人坚决地说：“因为，假如你不能跳过这个深沟，多萝茜将被摔死的，或者铁皮人跌在沟里的石块上会被撞坏的，

But if I am on your back it will not matter so much, for the fall would not hurt me at all." 但是如果是我，就不在乎这些了，因为摔了下去对我也不会造成伤害。”

" I am terribly afraid of falling, myself," said the Cowardly Lion, "but I suppose there is nothing to do but try it. “就是我自己也担心会掉下去，”胆小的狮子说，“但是，我想来想去，除了尝试一下以外，没有别的办法，

So get on my back and we will make the attempt." 所以你骑上我的背吧，我们试着跳一次。”

The Scarecrow sat upon the Lion's back, and the big beast walked to the edge of the gulf and crouched³ down. 稻草人跨上狮子的背，这只大兽走到深沟的边上，蹲了下来。

" Why don't you run and jump?" asked the Scarecrow. 稻草人问：“你为什么不跑着跳过去？”

" Because that isn't the way we Lions do these things," he replied. “蹲着起跳才是我们狮子跳的方式，”它回答说。

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 dented   

v.使产生凹痕( dent的过去式和过去分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• The back of the car was badly dented in the collision. 汽车尾部被撞后严重凹陷。
• I'm afraid I've dented the car. 恐怕我把车子撞瘪了一些。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。