双语有声阅读：爱的约会(1)

Six minutes to six, said the clock over the information booth in Grand Central Station. The tall young Army lieutenant¹ who had just come from the direction of the tracks lifted his sunburned face, and his eyes narrowed to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat that shocked him because he could not control it. In six minutes, he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 13 months, the woman he had never seen, yet whose written words had been with him and sustained him unfailingly.

 

在纽约地铁中心总站，咨询处上方的时钟指向了5点54分。年轻高大的陆军中尉抬起黝黑的脸庞，眯着眼睛看上面的时间，一颗心激动得怦怦直跳，6分钟后，他就要见到那个女人了—在过去的13个月里一直占据着他心灵某个特殊位置的女人。虽然他们素未谋面，但她的信却一直是他的精神支柱。

Lieutenant Blandford remembered one night in particular, the worst of the fighting, when his plane had been caught in the midst of a pack of Zeros. He had seen the grinning face of one of the enemy pilots. In one of his letters, he had confessed to her that he often felt fear, and only a few days before this battle, he had received her answer: "Of course you fear...all brave men do. Didn't King David know fear? That's why he wrote the 23rd Psalm². Next time you doubt yourself, I want you to hear my voice reciting to you: 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for Thou 1 art 2 with me.'" And he had remembered; he had heard her imagined voice, and it had renewed his strength .

布兰福德中尉记得那天，战斗艰苦的时刻，他的飞机被敌机重重包围。他曾在一封信里对她坦言，他常会感到畏惧。就在战斗打响的前几天，他收到了她的回信：“你当然会畏惧……勇士们都会那样，下次你在不自信时，我希望你能听到我为你朗诵的声音：‘啊，是的，尽管我要走过死亡之谷，但我将勇往直前，因为你与我同在。’”他记得，正是那封信使他重新振作。

 

Now he was going to hear her real voice. Four minutes to six. His face grew sharp.

 

此时，他就要听到她真实的声音了，还有4分钟就6点了。

A girl passed close to him, and Lieutenant Blandford started. She was wearing a red flower in her suit lapel, but it was a crimson³ sweet pea, not the little red rose they had agreed upon. Besides, this girl was too young, about 18, whereas Hollis Meynell had frankly⁴ told him she was 30. "Well, what of it?" he had answered. "I'm 32." He was 29.

一个女孩走近他，布兰福德中尉一惊。她戴着一朵花，但不是他们约好的那种红玫瑰。这个女孩只有18岁左右，而霍丽丝梅内尔告诉过他，她已30岁。“有什么关系呢？”他还回信说，“我32岁”，其实他只有29岁。

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 psalm   

n.赞美诗，圣诗

参考例句：

• The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
• The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。

3 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。