英语PK台 第960期:熊口历险记《痛苦的帐篷》

1. Four men once came to a wet place in the forest to fish. They set up their tent upon a ridge¹ of rocks from where they could hear the trees and the lake below. On fragrant² hemlock³ boughs⁴ they slept the sleep of unsuccessful fishermen, for upon the lake the sun made them lazy and the rain made them wet. Finally, they ate the last bit of bacon and smoked and burned the last fearful and wonderful hoecake. 

一次，四个男子来到森林里的一处湿地钓鱼。他们把帐篷搭在了隆起的岩石上，在这里他们可以听到从下面的树木和湖泊处传来的声音。在散发着芳香的铁杉树的大枝上，他们的睡姿像是四个没钓到鱼的渔夫，因为挂在湖面上的烈日照得他们懒洋洋的，然后突如其来的雨水又让他们浑身变得湿淋淋的。终于，他们吃掉了最后一点儿培根，吸着烟，在火上把最后一张玉米饼烤得一塌糊涂。

2. Immediately a little man volunteered to stay and hold the camp while the remaining three should go to the nearest farmhouse⁵ for supplies. They gazed at him dismally⁶. "There's only one of you--the devil makes a twin," they said in malediction⁷, and disappeared down the hill. 

此时，他们中的一名小个人男子自愿留下守着营地，让其余三人到距离最近的农舍寻找补给品。听到这个建议后，三人情绪低落地凝视着他。“这里就只剩下你一个人了——不过，魔鬼会和你做伴，”他们用诅咒的口吻说道，然后消失在下山的路上。

3. When it came night and the hemlocks⁸ began to close their flowers, they had not returned. The little man sat close to his companion, the campfire, and encouraged it with logs. He puffed¹⁰ fiercely at a pipe, and watched a thousand shadows from the campfire which seemed to want to assault him. Suddenly, he heard the approach of something unknown: crackling of twigs¹¹ and rustling¹² of dead leaves. 

到了晚上，铁杉树上的花朵开始闭合时，那三个人还没回来。小个子男子坐在陪伴他的篝火旁，用原木“鼓舞”它继续燃烧。他狠狠地吸了一口烟斗，看着似乎正从篝火中向他张牙舞爪的上千个影子。突然，他听到有不明物体正在靠近——小树枝噼啪作响，地上的枯叶发出沙沙的声音。

4. The little man arose slowly to his feet, his pipe dropped from his mouth, his knees touched each other, for they were shaking with fear. "Hah!" he cried out. A growl¹³ replied and a bear paced into the light of the fire. The little man supported himself with a tree and regarded his visitor. 

小个子男子慢慢站起身来，嘴里叼着的烟斗掉落下来。他两腿的膝盖相互碰触着，因为它们正因恐惧而发抖。“啊！”他喊了出来。回应他的是一声咆哮。与此同时，火光中出现了一头熊的身影。小个子男子用一棵树撑住了自己的身体，同时注视着这位不速之客。

5. The bear was clearly a fighter and a bit older, for the black of his coat had become yellowish-brown with age. There was confidence in his movements and arrogance¹⁴ in his small, twinkling eye. He rolled back his lips and showed his white teeth. The fire emphasized the red of his mouth. The little man had never before been confronted by something that terrible, and he could not deal with it. "Hah!" he roared. The bear interpreted this as the challenge of a gladiator. He approached warily¹⁵. 

这头熊显然是个好斗分子，而且年龄不小了，因为它黑色的皮毛已随着年龄的增长变成了黄褐色。它的动作中充满了自信，闪烁的小眼睛中散发着傲慢的气息。它翻开了双唇，露出了洁白的牙齿。在火光的照射下，它的嘴里显得更红。小个子男子之前从未面对过如此可怕的场景，他已束手无措。“啊！”他咆哮道。熊将此解读为角斗士间的挑战，于是开始警惕地向小个男子靠近。

6. As he came near, the boots of fear were suddenly upon the little man's feet. He cried out and then ran around the campfire. "Ho!" said the bear to himself, "this thing won't fight--it runs. Well, suppose I catch it." So he started to run around the campfire also. The little man shrieked¹⁶ and ran furiously. Twice around they went. 

随着熊的靠近，小个子男子的双脚像是突然穿上了一双恐惧的靴子。他大喊了一声，然后开始绕着篝火跑了起来。“嚯！”熊自言自语说，“这东西不会打架，只会跑。好吧，那就看看我能不能抓住它。”于是，熊也绕着篝火跑了起来。小个子男子一边尖叫，一边疯狂地奔跑。他们俩就这样绕着篝火跑了两圈。

7. The hand of heaven sometimes falls heavily upon the righteous. The bear gained distance. In desperation the little man flew into the tent. The bear stopped and sniffed¹⁷ at the entrance. He scented¹⁹ the scent¹⁸ of many men. Finally, he walked in. 

上天有时候会向正义的人伸出援手。熊并没有追上小个子男子。小个子男子在绝望之际，飞身钻进了帐篷里。熊停下了脚步，用鼻子闻着帐篷的入口。它闻到了帐篷里有许多人的气味。终于，它走了进去。

8. The little man crouched²⁰ in a distant corner. The bear advanced, creeping, his blood burning, his hair straight up, his jaws²¹ dripping. The little man yelled and moved around clumsily in the tent. The bear made a jump to grab his game. The little man, now without the tent, felt a tremendous paw grabbing his coat. He squirmed and wriggled²² out of his coat like a schoolboy in the hands of his bully²³. 

此时，小个子男子正蹲伏在帐篷里一个距离入口较远的角落里。熊一步一步地向帐篷里爬行着，全身血液沸腾，毛发竖起，口水从下颌滴落。小个子男子大叫起来，然后笨拙地在帐篷里四处乱跑。熊跳起来抓住了它的这个猎物。小个子男子现在没有了帐篷的掩护，感觉到一只巨大的熊掌抓住了他的外套。他像一个被学校霸凌者用手抓起来的学生一样，蠕动着身体，从外套中逃脱了出来。

9. The bear jerked the coat into the tent and took two bites, a punch and a hug before he discovered his man was not in it. Then he grew not very angry, for a bear is not a pirate. He lay down on his back, took the coat on his four paws and began to play with it. The most appalling²⁴ yells came from where the little man was crying in a treetop. He moaned a little speech meant as a prayer and clung to the bending branches. He gazed with tears in his eyes at where the campfire was giving dying flickers²⁵ and crackles. Finally, there was a roar from the tent which eclipsed all roars; a snarl²⁶ which it seemed would shake the silence of the mountain and cause it to shrug²⁷ its shoulders. The little man saw the white tent quiver and fall with a crash. The bear's merry play had disturbed the centre pole and brought a chaos²⁸ of canvas upon his head. 

熊猛地把外套拉进了帐篷，咬了两口，然后猛压下去，紧接着又是一个熊抱，然后才发现它的猎物并不在这件外套里。但随后，它并没有变得很生气，因为它是熊，并不是海盗。它背朝地躺了下来，用它的四个熊掌抓起外套，玩耍起来。此时，从一棵树的树梢传来了一声最令人胆寒的叫喊声，这声音来自于正躲在那里的小个子男子。他紧紧抓住弯曲的树枝，像个祈祷者一样用呻吟的声音念叨着什么。他眼里含着泪水，凝视着篝火挣扎地闪烁着最后的光芒，发出最后的噼啪声。最后，帐篷里发出一个能够吞噬所有其他咆哮的咆哮声，一种似乎会撼动山的寂静，并让山无奈地耸耸肩的咆哮声。小个子男子看到白色的帐篷抖动着砸落在地上。熊的欢乐玩耍弄乱了帐篷中央的柱子，帆布乱作一团，罩在了熊的头上。

10. Now the little man became the witness of a mighty²⁹ scene. The tent began to flounder. It took flopping³⁰ strides in the direction of the lake. Marvellous sounds came from within the tent--rips and tears, and great groans³¹. The little man started giggling³² hysterically³³. 

此时此刻，小个子男子成了这一威猛场景的见证者——帐篷开始挣扎，然后迈着大步，跌跌撞撞地去了湖泊的方向。帐篷里传出来不可思议的声音——猛烈的撕扯声以及巨大的呻吟声。小个子男子开始歇斯底里地咯咯笑。

11. So it came to pass that three men, clambering up the hill with bundles and baskets, saw their tent approaching. It seemed to them like a white phantom³⁴ that moaned. The three men dropped their bundles and ran to one side, their eyes gleaming with fear. The canvas ghost swept past them. They leaned against trees and listened, their blood froze. Below them the tent struck a great pine tree. The three watched it a moment and then ran to the top of the hill. As they left, the bear cut loose from the tent with mighty efforts. He gave an agonized³⁵ look at the white thing, and then started wildly back into the forest. 

与此同时，那三个人正带着包袱和篮子从山下走来。他们看到帐篷正向他们靠近。在他们看来，这东西就像一个呻吟着的白色幽灵。三个人丢下了包袱，跑到了一边，每个人的眼睛里都充满了恐惧。这个帆布幽灵从他们身边一扫而过。他们靠在树上，用耳朵听着，血液都快凝固了。在他们下面，帐篷撞到了一棵大松树。三个人观察了一会儿，然后跑到了山顶。他们离开后，熊花了巨大的力气才从帐篷里脱身。它极度痛苦地看着那个白色的东西，然后狂野地跑回到森林里。

12. The three fear-stricken men ran to the campfire. The little man was sitting by it calmly and was smoking. They immediately overwhelmed him with questions. He only contemplated³⁶ for a moment, took a long, pompous³⁷ puff⁹ from his pipe and said: "There's only one of me--and the devil made a twin."

这三个被吓坏的男子跑到篝火旁。小个子男子正平静地坐在那里，吸着烟。他们立刻向他狂轰乱炸了很多问题。他只是沉思了一会儿，然后有些浮夸地长长地吸了一口烟斗，开口说道：“这里就只剩下我一个人——不过，魔鬼会和我做伴。”

1 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

2 fragrant   

adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的

参考例句：

• The Fragrant Hills are exceptionally beautiful in late autumn.深秋的香山格外美丽。
• The air was fragrant with lavender.空气中弥漫薰衣草香。

3 hemlock   

n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉

参考例句：

• He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。
• Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。

4 boughs   

大树枝( bough的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
• A breeze sighed in the higher boughs. 微风在高高的树枝上叹息着。

5 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

6 dismally   

adv.阴暗地，沉闷地

参考例句：

• Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
• He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

7 malediction   

n.诅咒

参考例句：

• He was answered with a torrent of malediction.他得到的回答是滔滔不绝的诅咒。
• Shakespeare's remains were guarded by a malediction.莎士比亚的遗骸被诅咒给守护著。

8 hemlocks   

由毒芹提取的毒药( hemlock的名词复数 )

参考例句：

9 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

10 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

12 rustling   

n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的

参考例句：

• the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
• the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声

13 growl   

v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣

参考例句：

• The dog was biting,growling and wagging its tail.那条狗在一边撕咬一边低声吼叫，尾巴也跟着摇摆。
• The car growls along rutted streets.汽车在车辙纵横的街上一路轰鸣。

14 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

15 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

16 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

17 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：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

19 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

21 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

22 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

24 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

25 flickers   

电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fire flickers low. 炉火颤动欲灭。
• A strange idea flickers in my mind. 一种奇怪的思想又在我脑中燃烧了。

26 snarl   

v.吼叫，怒骂，纠缠，混乱；n.混乱，缠结，咆哮

参考例句：

• At the seaside we could hear the snarl of the waves.在海边我们可以听见波涛的咆哮。
• The traffic was all in a snarl near the accident.事故发生处附近交通一片混乱。

27 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

28 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

29 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

30 flopping   

n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• The fish are still flopping about. 鱼还在扑腾。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• What do you mean by flopping yourself down and praying agin me?' 咚一声跪下地来咒我，你这是什么意思” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

31 groans   

n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• There were loud groans when he started to sing. 他刚开始歌唱时有人发出了很大的嘘声。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was a weird old house, full of creaks and groans. 这是所神秘而可怕的旧宅，到处嘎吱嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

33 hysterically   

ad. 歇斯底里地

参考例句：

• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。
• She sobbed hysterically, and her thin body was shaken. 她歇斯底里地抽泣着，她瘦弱的身体哭得直颤抖。

34 phantom   

n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的

参考例句：

• I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她，好像她是一个幽灵。
• He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。

35 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：

• All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失，深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句

36 contemplated   

adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform. 医生仔细地考虑他所要做的棘手的手术。
• The government has contemplated reforming the entire tax system. 政府打算改革整个税收体制。

37 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。