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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
TOM dodged1 hither and thither2 through lanes until he was well out of the track of returning scholars, and then fell into a moody3 jog. He crossed a small "branch" two or three times, because of a prevailing4 juvenile5 superstition6 that to cross water baffled pursuit. Half an hour later he was disappearing behind the Douglas mansion7 on the summit of Cardiff Hill, and the school-house was hardly distinguishable away off in the valley behind him. He entered a dense8 wood, picked his pathless way to the centre of it, and sat down on a mossy spot under a spreading oak. There was not even a zephyr9 stirring; the dead noonday heat had even stilled the songs of the birds; nature lay in a trance that was broken by no sound but the occasional far-off hammering of a woodpecker, and this seemed to render the pervading10 silence and sense of loneliness the more profound. The boy's soul was steeped in melancholy11; his feelings were in happy accord with his surroundings. He sat long with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, meditating12. It seemed to him that life was but a trouble, at best, and he more than half envied Jimmy Hodges, so lately released; it must be very peaceful, he thought, to lie and slumber13 and dream forever and ever, with the wind whispering through the trees and caressing15 the grass and the flowers over the grave, and nothing to bother and grieve about, ever any more. If he only had a clean Sunday-school record he could be willing to go, and be done with it all. Now as to this girl. What had he done? Nothing. He had meant the best in the world, and been treated like a dog -- like a very dog. She would be sorry some day -- maybe when it was too late. Ah, if he could only die TEMPORARILY!
But the elastic16 heart of youth cannot be compressed into one constrained17 shape long at a time. Tom presently began to drift insensibly back into the concerns of this life again. What if he turned his back, now, and disappeared mysteriously? What if he went away -- ever so far away, into unknown countries beyond the seas -- and never came back any more! How would she feel then! The idea of being a clown recurred18 to him now, only to fill him with disgust. For frivolity19 and jokes and spotted20 tights were an offense21, when they intruded22 themselves upon a spirit that was exalted23 into the vague august realm of the romantic. No, he would be a soldier, and return after long years, all war-worn and illustrious. No -- better still, he would join the Indians, and hunt buffaloes24 and go on the warpath in the mountain ranges and the trackless great plains of the Far West, and away in the future come back a great chief, bristling25 with feathers, hideous26 with paint, and prance27 into Sunday-school, some drowsy28 summer morning, with a blood-curdling war-whoop, and sear the eyeballs of all his companions with unappeasable envy. But no, there was something gaudier29 even than this. He would be a pirate! That was it! now his future lay plain before him, and glowing with unimaginable splendor30. How his name would fill the world, and make people shudder31! How gloriously he would go plowing32 the dancing seas, in his long, low, black-hulled racer, the Spirit of the storm, with his grisly flag flying at the fore14! And at the zenith of his fame, how he would suddenly appear at the old village and stalk into church, brown and weather-beaten, in his black velvet33 doublet and trunks, his great jack-boots, his crimson34 sash, his belt bristling with horse-pistols, his crime-rusted cutlass at his side, his slouch hat with waving plumes35, his black flag unfurled, with the skull36 and crossbones on it, and hear with swelling37 ecstasy38 the whisperings, "It's Tom Sawyer the Pirate! -- the Black Avenger39 of the Spanish Main!"
Yes, it was settled; his career was determined40. He would run away from home and enter upon it. He would start the very next morning. Therefore he must now begin to get ready. He would collect his resources together. He went to a rotten log near at hand and began to dig under one end of it with his Barlow knife. He soon struck wood that sounded hollow. He put his hand there and uttered this incantation impressively:
"What hasn't come here, come! What's here, stay here!"
Then he scraped away the dirt, and exposed a pine shingle41. He took it up and disclosed a shapely little treasure-house whose bottom and sides were of shingles42. In it lay a marble. Tom's astonishment43 was boundless44! He scratched his head with a perplexed45 air, and said:
"Well, that beats anything!"
Then he tossed the marble away pettishly46, and stood cogitating47. The truth was, that a superstition of his had failed, here, which he and all his comrades had always looked upon as infallible. If you buried a marble with certain necessary incantations, and left it alone a fortnight, and then opened the place with the incantation he had just used, you would find that all the marbles you had ever lost had gathered themselves together there, meantime, no matter how widely they had been separated. But now, this thing had actually and unquestionably failed. Tom's whole structure of faith was shaken to its foundations. He had many a time heard of this thing succeeding but never of its failing before. It did not occur to him that he had tried it several times before, himself, but could never find the hiding-places afterward48. He puzzled over the matter some time, and finally decided49 that some witch had interfered50 and broken the charm. He thought he would satisfy himself on that point; so he searched around till he found a small sandy spot with a little funnel-shaped depression in it. He laid himself down and put his mouth close to this depression and called --
"Doodle-bug51, doodle-bug, tell me what I want to know! Doodle-bug, doodle-bug, tell me what I want to know!"
The sand began to work, and presently a small black bug appeared for a second and then darted52 under again in a fright.
"He dasn't tell! So it was a witch that done it. I just knowed it."
He well knew the futility53 of trying to contend against witches, so he gave up discouraged. But it occurred to him that he might as well have the marble he had just thrown away, and therefore he went and made a patient search for it. But he could not find it. Now he went back to his treasure-house and carefully placed himself just as he had been standing54 when he tossed the marble away; then he took another marble from his pocket and tossed it in the same way, saying:
"Brother, go find your brother!"
He watched where it stopped, and went there and looked. But it must have fallen short or gone too far; so he tried twice more. The last repetition was successful. The two marbles lay within a foot of each other.
Just here the blast of a toy tin trumpet55 came faintly down the green aisles56 of the forest. Tom flung off his jacket and trousers, turned a suspender into a belt, raked away some brush behind the rotten log, disclosing a rude bow and arrow, a lath sword and a tin trumpet, and in a moment had seized these things and bounded away, barelegged, with fluttering shirt. He presently halted under a great elm, blew an answering blast, and then began to tiptoe and look warily57 out, this way and that. He said cautiously – to an imaginary company:
"Hold, my merry men! Keep hid till I blow."
Now appeared Joe Harper, as airily clad and elaborately armed as Tom. Tom called:
"Hold! Who comes here into Sherwood Forest without my pass?"
"Guy of Guisborne wants no man's pass. Who art thou that -- that --"
"Dares to hold such language," said Tom, prompting -- for they talked "by the book," from memory.
"Who art thou that dares to hold such language?"
"I, indeed! I am Robin58 Hood59, as thy caitiff carcase soon shall know."
"Then art thou indeed that famous outlaw60? Right gladly will I dispute with thee the passes of the merry wood. Have at thee!"
They took their lath swords, dumped their other traps on the ground, struck a fencing attitude, foot to foot, and began a grave, careful combat, "two up and two down." Presently Tom said:
"Now, if you've got the hang, go it lively!"
So they "went it lively," panting and perspiring61 with the work. By and by Tom shouted:
"Fall! fall! Why don't you fall?"
"I sha'n't! Why don't you fall yourself? You're getting the worst of it."
"Why, that ain't anything. I can't fall; that ain't the way it is in the book. The book says, 'Then with one back-handed stroke he slew62 poor Guy of Guisborne.' You're to turn around and let me hit you in the back."
There was no getting around the authorities, so Joe turned, received the whack63 and fell.
"Now," said Joe, getting up, "you got to let me kill you. That's fair."
"Why, I can't do that, it ain't in the book."
"Well, it's blamed mean -- that's all."
"Well, say, Joe, you can be Friar Tuck or Much the miller's son, and lam me with a quarter-staff; or I'll be the Sheriff of Nottingham and you be Robin Hood a little while and kill me."
This was satisfactory, and so these adventures were carried out. Then Tom became Robin Hood again, and was allowed by the treacherous64 nun65 to bleed his strength away through his neglected wound. And at last Joe, representing a whole tribe of weeping outlaws66, dragged him sadly forth67, gave his bow into his feeble hands, and Tom said, "Where this arrow falls, there bury poor Robin Hood under the greenwood tree." Then he shot the arrow and fell back and would have died, but he lit on a nettle68 and sprang up too gaily69 for a corpse70.
The boys dressed themselves, hid their accoutrements, and went off grieving that there were no outlaws any more, and wondering what modern civilization could claim to have done to compensate71 for their loss. They said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than President of the United States forever.
1 dodged | |
v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 );回避 | |
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2 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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3 moody | |
adj.心情不稳的,易怒的,喜怒无常的 | |
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4 prevailing | |
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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5 juvenile | |
n.青少年,少年读物;adj.青少年的,幼稚的 | |
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6 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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7 mansion | |
n.大厦,大楼;宅第 | |
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8 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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9 zephyr | |
n.和风,微风 | |
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10 pervading | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的现在分词 ) | |
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11 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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12 meditating | |
a.沉思的,冥想的 | |
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13 slumber | |
n.睡眠,沉睡状态 | |
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14 fore | |
adv.在前面;adj.先前的;在前部的;n.前部 | |
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15 caressing | |
爱抚的,表现爱情的,亲切的 | |
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16 elastic | |
n.橡皮圈,松紧带;adj.有弹性的;灵活的 | |
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17 constrained | |
adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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18 recurred | |
再发生,复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 ); 治愈 | |
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19 frivolity | |
n.轻松的乐事,兴高采烈;轻浮的举止 | |
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20 spotted | |
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的 | |
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21 offense | |
n.犯规,违法行为;冒犯,得罪 | |
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22 intruded | |
n.侵入的,推进的v.侵入,侵扰,打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 );把…强加于 | |
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23 exalted | |
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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24 buffaloes | |
n.水牛(分非洲水牛和亚洲水牛两种)( buffalo的名词复数 );(南非或北美的)野牛;威胁;恐吓 | |
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25 bristling | |
a.竖立的 | |
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26 hideous | |
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的 | |
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27 prance | |
v.(马)腾跃,(人)神气活现地走 | |
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28 drowsy | |
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的 | |
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29 gaudier | |
adj.花哨的,俗气的( gaudy的比较级 ) | |
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30 splendor | |
n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌 | |
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31 shudder | |
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 | |
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32 plowing | |
v.耕( plow的现在分词 );犁耕;费力穿过 | |
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33 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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34 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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35 plumes | |
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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36 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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37 swelling | |
n.肿胀 | |
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38 ecstasy | |
n.狂喜,心醉神怡,入迷 | |
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39 avenger | |
n. 复仇者 | |
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40 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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41 shingle | |
n.木瓦板;小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌);v.用木瓦板盖(屋顶);把(女子头发)剪短 | |
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42 shingles | |
n.带状疱疹;(布满海边的)小圆石( shingle的名词复数 );屋顶板;木瓦(板);墙面板 | |
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43 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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44 boundless | |
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的 | |
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45 perplexed | |
adj.不知所措的 | |
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46 pettishly | |
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47 cogitating | |
v.认真思考,深思熟虑( cogitate的现在分词 ) | |
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48 afterward | |
adv.后来;以后 | |
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49 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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50 interfered | |
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉 | |
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51 bug | |
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器 | |
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52 darted | |
v.投掷,投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 );向前冲,飞奔 | |
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53 futility | |
n.无用 | |
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54 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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55 trumpet | |
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘 | |
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56 aisles | |
n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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57 warily | |
adv.留心地 | |
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58 robin | |
n.知更鸟,红襟鸟 | |
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59 hood | |
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖 | |
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60 outlaw | |
n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法 | |
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61 perspiring | |
v.出汗,流汗( perspire的现在分词 ) | |
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62 slew | |
v.(使)旋转;n.大量,许多 | |
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63 whack | |
v.敲击,重打,瓜分;n.重击,重打,尝试,一份 | |
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64 treacherous | |
adj.不可靠的,有暗藏的危险的;adj.背叛的,背信弃义的 | |
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65 nun | |
n.修女,尼姑 | |
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66 outlaws | |
歹徒,亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 ); 逃犯 | |
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67 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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68 nettle | |
n.荨麻;v.烦忧,激恼 | |
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69 gaily | |
adv.欢乐地,高兴地 | |
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70 corpse | |
n.尸体,死尸 | |
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71 compensate | |
vt.补偿,赔偿;酬报 vi.弥补;补偿;抵消 | |
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