-
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
The Pasture
Night settled, thick with the acrid1
odors of gunpowder2 and blood.
No moon meant firing at
muzzle3 flashes, an inexact method
by which to combat one's foe4,
but the enemy had no advantage either.
With artillery5 fire blanketing
the field of battle, Jack6 had
no opportunity to go to Mike's aid.
He poked7 his head over
the rim8 of the trench9 to
see if he could spot Mike's corpse11.
He knew he was dead.
He had heard his scream
of pain when he was hit.
His agonized12 moans had grown
weaker and less frequent and finally
ceased about ten minutes ago.
The regiment13 had been under
heavy bombardment for two days,
without respite14. He had been
too late to stop Mike
as he propelled himself out
of the foxhole15 and staggered
as he hit the muddy terrain16.
In hindsight, he should have
seen it coming. Mike had
started to break yesterday.
He was becoming bizarre, talking
about his patriotic17 duty to
expel the enemy from these shores.
Paradoxically, just before he
hopped18 over the edge of the trench
he scorned the day he had
heeded19 the call to enlist20.
It pained him to realize that
his one friend in this ungodly war
had betrayed him by dying.
Soldiers don't often make friends with
one another, knowing they might die.
He and Mike were different.
They had known each other
since they were children.
Mike was the best man when
Jack and Lily walked down
the aisle21 just a week before
they left the dock and crossed
the channel to engage the enemy.
Clouds tumbled and overlapped22 one another
as the wind began to freshen.
It was getting colder now.
The prospect23 of another night
of rain, or perhaps even snow,
made Jack quiver with dread24.
Blood tinged25 water was beginning
to crust over with ice.
He could feel his toes and
fingers stiffen26 as the temperature dropped.
Maybe Mike was better off than he.
At least the cold wouldn't
bother him any more.
Suddenly, comets of light began
to streak27 across the night sky.
They were using flares28!
The increased tempo29 of cannon30 fire
coming from the left flank,
shattering the earth around them,
could only mean the enemy
had sensed their weakness, and
was coming in for the kill.
They were heading straight
for the underbelly!Jack's rifle misfired.
The whole corps10 had been issued
new guns a few days before
this campaign had started.
It wasn't long before they discovered
that the alloy31 used in the barrels
couldn't endure prolonged firing,
causing the shell casings
to adhere in the bore. How could
he repel32 the enemy without a weapon?
Jack felt a stab of pain
in his right thigh33.
The ground around him ruptured34.
Jerking from side to side,
he tried to dodge35 falling rocks
and the clods of dirt
raining down upon him.
He slumped36 into a prone37 posture38
as he felt himself shoved
from behind by an unknown force
that felt as if it might
have been a racing39 locomotive.
The last thing he heard,
before his world was overturned,
was a chorus of screams.
“Am I dead? Where am I?
Where is everybody?” Cognitively40,
Jack realized he was still functioning
physiologically41 so that meant
he was still alive, but
for how long? He couldn't move.
Maybe the impact had fractured
his spine42 and he was paralyzed.
He tried,analytically,to assess
the damage incurred43 by moving
his limbs, one by one,
in a clockwise direction,
starting with his right arm.
Everything appeared able to be
mobilized but for some reason
he couldn't get up off the ground.
Everything went black again.
Jack led his horse by the reins44
as they stepped onto the overpass45
bridging the gap between the plateaus.
In the distance, he could see
a twelve point buck46 grazing
in the pasture, silhouetted47 against
the waning48 sunset. Out of nowhere,
a bull came charging across
the meadow toward him. He tried
to run but his feet
were pegged49 to the bridge.
Drifting in and out of consciousness,
Jack tried to make sense of
what had happened to him.
He seemed to be in a cavity
under the ground. The earth
was compacted on his legs
but he thought he might be
able to rotate his body enough
to make himself a little more comfortable.
Was that a shaft50 of light
he could see through the groove51
between the fingers of his left
hand covering his eyes?
He groped to clear a tiny
bit more space for himself.
The shutters52 of his consciousness
closed again.The galaxy53 was
being probed by lunar modules54 shuttling
between Earth and the other planets.
As a member of a federation55 of geologists56,
Jack and his team had to
follow the seam of ore
to its source, a pasture
on a distant asteroid57.
Once again, Jack regained58 lucidity59.
“Wow,” he thought, “that was
like a bad paperback60 novel
about astronomy!” He sniffed61 the air.
It was foul62 with the smell
of death but qualitatively63
able to sustain life.
Why was it so quiet?
Was he deaf? Was the battle over?
Was everyone dead? The weight
on his legs was becoming oppressive.
1 acrid | |
adj.辛辣的,尖刻的,刻薄的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 gunpowder | |
n.火药 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 muzzle | |
n.鼻口部;口套;枪(炮)口;vt.使缄默 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 foe | |
n.敌人,仇敌 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 artillery | |
n.(军)火炮,大炮;炮兵(部队) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 poked | |
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 );戳出;拨弄;与(某人)性交 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 rim | |
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 trench | |
n./v.(挖)沟,(挖)战壕 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 corps | |
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 corpse | |
n.尸体,死尸 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 agonized | |
v.使(极度)痛苦,折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 );苦斗;苦苦思索;感到极度痛苦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 regiment | |
n.团,多数,管理;v.组织,编成团,统制 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 respite | |
n.休息,中止,暂缓 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 foxhole | |
n.(军)散兵坑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 terrain | |
n.地面,地形,地图 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 patriotic | |
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 hopped | |
跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 ); 单足蹦跳; 齐足(或双足)跳行; 摘葎草花 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 heeded | |
v.听某人的劝告,听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 );变平,使(某物)变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 enlist | |
vt.谋取(支持等),赢得;征募;vi.入伍 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 aisle | |
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 overlapped | |
_adj.重叠的v.部分重叠( overlap的过去式和过去分词 );(物体)部份重叠;交叠;(时间上)部份重叠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 tinged | |
v.(使)发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 stiffen | |
v.(使)硬,(使)变挺,(使)变僵硬 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 streak | |
n.条理,斑纹,倾向,少许,痕迹;v.加条纹,变成条纹,奔驰,快速移动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 flares | |
n.喇叭裤v.(使)闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 );(使)(船舷)外倾;(使)鼻孔张大;(使)(衣裙、酒杯等)呈喇叭形展开 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 tempo | |
n.(音乐的)速度;节奏,行进速度 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 alloy | |
n.合金,(金属的)成色 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 repel | |
v.击退,抵制,拒绝,排斥 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 thigh | |
n.大腿;股骨 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 ruptured | |
v.(使)破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 );(使体内组织等)断裂;使(友好关系)破裂;使绝交 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 dodge | |
v.闪开,躲开,避开;n.妙计,诡计 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 slumped | |
大幅度下降,暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 ); 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 prone | |
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 posture | |
n.姿势,姿态,心态,态度;v.作出某种姿势 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 racing | |
n.竞赛,赛马;adj.竞赛用的,赛马用的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 cognitively | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 physiologically | |
ad.生理上,在生理学上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 spine | |
n.脊柱,脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 incurred | |
[医]招致的,遭受的; incur的过去式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 reins | |
感情,激情; 缰( rein的名词复数 ); 控制手段; 掌管; (成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的)保护带 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 overpass | |
n.天桥,立交桥 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 buck | |
n.雄鹿,雄兔;v.马离地跳跃 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 silhouetted | |
显出轮廓的,显示影像的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 waning | |
adj.(月亮)渐亏的,逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 );(月)亏;变小;变暗淡 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 pegged | |
v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的过去式和过去分词 );使固定在某水平 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 shaft | |
n.(工具的)柄,杆状物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 groove | |
n.沟,槽;凹线,(刻出的)线条,习惯 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 shutters | |
百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 ); (照相机的)快门 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 galaxy | |
n.星系;银河系;一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 modules | |
n.模块( module的名词复数 );单元;(宇宙飞船上各个独立的)舱;组件 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 federation | |
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 geologists | |
地质学家,地质学者( geologist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 asteroid | |
n.小行星;海盘车(动物) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 regained | |
复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 lucidity | |
n.明朗,清晰,透明 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 paperback | |
n.平装本,简装本 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 sniffed | |
v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 qualitatively | |
质量上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|