【荆棘鸟】第四章 07

 　　"瞧，"她说，"我屋里有一台缝纫机，我从来没用过。我会找两三个打杂的把它给抬来的，要是我确实要用的话，就到这儿来用。"她的眼光转到了在地板上撒欢乱跑的小哈尔身上。"我喜欢听孩子们的声音，克利里太太。"

 

　　邮件每六个星期一次由马拉的大车从基兰博送来，这是和外部世界的唯一接触：德罗海达有一辆福特卡车，一辆底盘上带水箱的、结构特殊的福特卡车，一辆T型福特小汽车和一辆罗斯·罗伊斯高级轿车，但是，除了玛丽·卡森去基里而外，似乎谁也没动过它们。40英里像是远在天边。

 

　　布鲁伊·威廉斯承包这个地区的邮路，每六个星期到他负责的这个地区来一趟。他那辆配着十英尺车轮的平顶马车是由威风凛凛的12匹马拉着的，装载着边远牧场所订购的所有物品。除了皇家邮政局的邮件以外，他也运送食品杂货、44加仑一桶的汽油、62加仑方筒装的煤油、干草、成袋的玉米、白布袋装的糖和面粉、木箱装的茶叶、成袋的土豆、农业机械、从悉尼的安东尼·霍调的店里邮购的玩具和衣服，还有其他一切得从基里柱外界运来的东西。他以每天20英里的快速前进着。无论在哪儿驻足都受到欢迎。人们向他打听新闻和远处的天气，递给他用写着潦草字迹的纸仔细包好的钱，让他在基里买东西；把好不容易才写成的信件交给他，塞进有"皇家政府乡村邮政"标记的帆布袋里。

 

"Look," she said, "there's a sewing machine in my quarters which I never use. I'll have a couple of the rouseabouts carry it down. If I do need to use it, I'll come down here." Her eyes strayed to baby Hal, rolling on the floor gleefully. "I like to hear the sound of children, Mrs. Cleary."

 

  Once every six weeks the mail came by horse-drawn¹ dray from Gillanbone; this was the only contact with the outside world. Drogheda possessed² a Ford³ truck, another specially⁴ constructed Ford truck with a water tank on its tray, a model-T Ford car and a Rolls-Royce limousine⁵, but no one ever seemed to use them to go into Gilly save Mary Carson infrequently. Forty miles was as far as the moon.

 

  Bluey Williams had the mail contract for the district and took six weeks to cover his territory. His flattopped dray with its ten-foot wheels was drawn by a magnificent team of twelve draft horses, and was loaded with all the things the outlying stations ordered. As well as the Royal Mail, he carried groceries, gasoline in forty-four-gallon drums, kerosene⁶ in square five-gallon cans, hay, bags of corn, calico bags of sugar and flour, wooden chests of tea, bags of potatoes, farm machinery⁷, mail-order toys and clothes from Anthony Hordern's in Sydney, plus anything else that had to be brought in from Gilly or Outside. Moving at the clipping rate of twenty miles a day, he was welcomed wherever he stopped, plied⁸ for news and weather far away, handed the scribbled⁹ scraps¹⁰ of paper carefully wrapped around money for goods he would purchase in Gilly, handed the laboriously¹¹ written letters which went into the canvas sack marked "Royal GVR Mail."

 

  West of Gilly there were only two stations on the route, Drogheda closer in, Bugela farther out; beyond Bugela lay the territory that got mail only once every six months. Bluey's dray swung in a great zigzagging¹² arc through all the stations southwest, west and northwest, then returned to Gilly before setting out eastward¹³, a smaller journey because Booroo town took over sixty miles east. Sometimes he brought people sitting beside him on his unsheltered leather seat, visitors or hopefuls looking for work; sometimes he took people away, visitors or discontented stockmen or maids or roustabouts, very occasionally a governess. The squatters owned cars to transport themselves, but those who worked for the squatters depended upon Bluey for transport as well as goods and letters.

 

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

3 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

4 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

5 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。

6 kerosene   

n.(kerosine)煤油，火油

参考例句：

• It is like putting out a fire with kerosene.这就像用煤油灭火。
• Instead of electricity,there were kerosene lanterns.没有电，有煤油灯。

7 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

8 plied   

v.使用（工具）( ply的过去式和过去分词 )；经常供应（食物、饮料）；固定往来；经营生意

参考例句：

• They plied me with questions about my visit to England. 他们不断地询问我的英国之行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They plied us with tea and cakes. 他们一个劲儿地让我们喝茶、吃糕饼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 scribbled   

v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下

参考例句：

• She scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. 她把他的电话号码匆匆写在一张小纸片上。
• He scribbled a note to his sister before leaving. 临行前，他给妹妹草草写了一封短信。

10 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。

11 laboriously   

adv.艰苦地；费力地；辛勤地；（文体等）佶屈聱牙地

参考例句：

• She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句

12 zigzagging   

v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的现在分词 )；盘陀

参考例句：

• She walked along, zigzagging with her head back. 她回头看着，弯弯扭扭地向前走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We followed the path zigzagging up the steep slope. 我们沿着小径曲曲折折地爬上陡坡。 来自互联网

13 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。