英语听力：星际动物园 03 Monsters

　　3 Monsters

　　There was a door at the other end of the tunnel¹．I went through and…

　　I was dreaming！I saw big things that grew out of the ground．They were much taller than me with long brown arms covered with green leaves．

　　I was very frightened as I remembered something in the Book of Remembering：'In those days there were trees…'

　　Trees！

　　I never thought a living thing could be so big．I covered my eyes with my hands．I was afraid to look…but I was afraid not to look．

　　After a time I took my hands away from my eyes．The trees were still there．They weren't moving．

　　I suddenly understood that the trees couldn't move．They were plants，like potatoes or rice．I was safe standing² under them．

　　But I didn't feel safe．

　　The computer inside my spacesuit was checking the air for me．After a few seconds the red lights on my suit turned to green．The air here was safe for humans．So I took off my spacesuit．

　　Now I could touch and smell things．There was a soft wind．It was cool．I smelt³…strange new smells．I smelt living things．Was I smelling the trees…or something else？

　　I heard a sound of crying．Then I thought I heard something moving in the trees—just behind one big tree．

　　Was something hiding behind the tree？I was frightened but I wanted to see，so I walked slowly towards the tree．

　　There was light in this place but there were shadows in the trees．I looked round the tree…

　　I was frightened almost out of my mind．I fell down and my body started shaking．

　　A grey thing came out from behind the tree and came towards me． It was big but it wasn't tall because it walked on four feet．It had no hands．

　　But the thing had teeth．Yes，it had a mouth full of teeth，yellow， shiny⁴ teeth． It had yellow eyes and grey hair all over its body．I could smell it…

　　Its mouth came towards my face．I closed my eyes and waited to die．

　　There was hot air on my face．I wanted to scream and scream but I was too frightened．I couldn't scream．

　　My mind exploded．I went crazy．I suddenly hit the grey thing and it fell back against the tree．I hit it again，as hard as I could．

　　I wanted to destroy the grey thing and I was screaming．Suddenly it was gone．

　　Then I saw another monster．This one was very small with grey fur all over its body． It was holding on to the tree but I pulled it off．I could destroy this one！

　　I pulled its short legs hard．The small monster bit me．Its teeth went right into my finger．The pain was terrible．

　　But my mind was exploding．I wanted to destroy it and I didn't care about the pain．I just wanted to kill it．

　　Then the big grey monster ran back through the trees，jumped at me and knocked me down．As I fell，I dropped the little monster and it escaped．

　　My head banged⁵ on a rock and everything went black．

　　3 怪物

　　隧道的尽头有一个门。我进去了……

　　我在做梦吧！我看见地上长出的很大的东西。它们比我高许多，长着长长的棕色臂膀，上面有绿色的叶子盖着。

　　我怕极了，我想起《往事追忆》中说的：“那时候有树……”

　　树！

　　我从没想过生物会长得这么大。我用手捂住眼睛。我不敢看……可不看我也害怕。

　　过了一会儿，我把手从眼前拿开。树还在那儿，它们一动不动。

　　我马上明白了，树不会动。它们是植物，象土豆和水稻一样。我站在树下是安全的。

　　可我感到并不安全。

　　我太空服里的电脑正在替我检查空气状况。几秒钟后，我太空服里的红灯变成了绿灯。这儿的空气对人类是安全的。于是我脱下了太空服。

　　这样我就可以触摸和闻东西了。微风袭来，有些凉意。我闻到了什么气味，一种怪怪的、从没闻到过的气味。是生物的气味。我闻到的是树么，还是其他什么东西？

　　我听到一阵叫声。然后我想我听见树后有东西在动——就在一棵大树后面。

　　有东西藏在树后面么？我很害怕，可我又想看看，于是我慢慢地朝树走了过去。

　　这地方有光亮，但树丛里却有些黑影。我绕过树一看……

　　我几乎吓晕过去。我倒在地上，身体颤抖起来。

　　一个灰色的东西从树后闪出来，朝我而来。它很大，但不高，因为它是四条腿走路的。它没有手。

　　那东西长着牙齿。对，长着满口黄色、闪亮的牙齿。它还长着黄色的眼睛，浑身上下都是灰色的毛。我能闻到它的气味。

　　它的嘴巴凑到我脸上。我闭上眼睛，等死。

　　我感觉到脸上有热乎乎的气息。我想放声大叫，可我被吓呆了。我叫不出声来。

　　我脑子吓懵了，变得狂乱。我猛击那个灰不溜秋的东西，它退后撞到树上。我又打了一下，使出了全身的力气。

　　我想打死那个灰色家伙，我尖叫着。突然，它不见了。

　　然后我又看到另外一只怪物。这东西很小，全身都是灰色的皮毛。它伏在树上。我把它拉了下来。这一个我能消灭！

　　我使劲儿拽着它的短腿。这小怪物咬了我一口。它的牙齿咬进了我的手指。疼死了。

　　但我疯狂了。我一心想除掉它，顾不上疼痛。我就是想弄死它。

　　接着，那只大怪物从树丛里跑出来，扑向我，把我打倒了。这一摔，我放走了那小怪物，让它逃开了。

　　我的头撞在了一块石头上，眼前的一切都变黑了。

1 tunnel   

n.隧道，地下道；vi.挖隧道；vt.掘隧道于

参考例句：

• They will have to block up the entrance to the tunnel.他们将不得不封闭通往隧道的入口。
• The train passed through a tunnel.火车通过了一条隧道。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 smelt   

v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼

参考例句：

• Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。
• Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

4 shiny   

adj.有光泽的，发光的，辉煌的

参考例句：

• What shiny shoes you're wearing!你穿的鞋子擦得真亮啊！
• All the cups are clean and shiny.所有的杯子都很干净明亮。

5 banged   

vt.猛击，猛撞（bang的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Two days after the accident she still looked pretty banged up. 事故过去两天后她看上去伤势仍然很重。
• I've banged into the doorpost and hurt my arm. 我撞着了门柱，把臂伤了。 来自《简明英汉词典》