英国语文第四册 第9期:捕兽者小罗伯特(3)

It was then that they made the clink, clink with their pickaxes,

然后他们用锄头发出能被救援人员听到的叮当叮当的声音，

which was heard by their deliverers, and so much encouraged them in their work.

鼓舞着他们继续挖掘。

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday passed, and no rescue.

周三、周四、周五都过去了，没有营救成功。

What dark and dreadful¹ days!

这真是黑暗又可怕的日子啊！

Worse than all, the sounds beyond did not appear to draw nearer.

更糟糕的是，周围的声音听起来并没有越来越近。

At last Saturday came.

最后到了周六。

Five days had passed; and the men outside knew that there was not an instant to lose.

五天已经过去了，矿井外的人知道所剩的时间已经不多。

They were too anxious even to speak.

他们担心得说不出话来。

It was only work, work, work, for dear life.

只能为了救人不停地埋头工作。

For hours they had heard no signals. Were their poor comrades dead?

他们已经几个小时没有听到任何信号了。这些可怜的伙伴难道已经死了吗？

Suddenly the wall was pierced;

突然墙被凿穿了，

a hole was made through it;

上面打通了一个洞，

feeble² voices were heard.

可以听到微弱的声音。

"Truman, are you there?"

“特鲁曼，你在那儿吗？”

"Yes, all here.""All living?"

“是的，我在这儿。”“大家都还好吗？”

"Yes, thank God, all living."

“是的，感谢上帝，我们都还在。”

"All living! all living!" shouted the men; and the shout went up to the mouth of the pit.

“全都在，全都在！”大家高呼起来，声音都传到了矿井口。

When Robert's father heard that his son was alive,

罗伯特的父亲得知儿子还活着。

the good news was too much for him, and he fell down senseless.

这对他来说简直是个天大的好消息，他虔诚地跪了下来。

One hour more and the rescuers reached their comrades.

又过了一个小时，救援者救出了他们的伙伴。

Who can describe the meeting; or the joy and gratitude³ of wives, mothers, and friends, as one and another were brought up to the light?

当大家一个接一个的重见光明时，妻子、母亲、朋友间的喜悦与感激之情，谁又能描述出来呢？

Here comes Mr. Lester with Robert in his arms!

莱斯特先生抱起罗伯特，

What a huzza rent the air as they came in sight. "Safe! safe! God be praised!"

人们看到他们时，爆发出巨大的欢呼声：“得救了！得救了！赞美上帝！”

1 dreadful   

adj.糟透了的，极端的，可怕的，令人畏惧的

参考例句：

• I cannot imagine what to do in this dreadful situation.我不能想像在这么糟的情况下该怎么办。
• I must apologize for the dreadful mistake I made.我为我所犯的严重错误深表歉意。

2 feeble   

adj.虚弱的，衰弱的，无力的，无效的，无益的

参考例句：

• She made a feeble effort to get to school on time.她努力想按时赶到学校，但未成功。
• An old or sick person is often feeble.老人或病人往往很虚弱。

3 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。