美国小学英语教材6:第191课非洲的放牧女孩琳珐(4)（打印版）

Only a few more long golden sunsets, and windy dawns when the sun came up golden through a haze of desert dust.

她也只能再享受几天漫长的金色日落，当金色的太阳透过沙尘的薄雾时，风开始刮了起来。

Then back to the life of the village, shut in by hot high walls of matting.

之后她就要回到乡村生活了，她将被困在炽热的高墙之内编草席。

To Rimfa, long hours at the spindle or working on the little farm back of the village were hateful.

对于琳珐而言，长达几个小时的纺织生活，或在乡村务农让她十分讨厌。

Worst of all, she would see her favorite Moy only for the few brief moments when he was brought in at night.

最严重的是，她最喜欢的“老头”晚上被带回时，它就只能看上几眼。

Between her and the huge beast there was a close friendship, and with no one else was he so gentle, so well behaved.

她和这头牛有着紧密的友谊，他对其他人从来没有如此和蔼，有如此好的行为。

RIMFA MANAGES THE RUNAWAY HERD

琳珐处理逃跑牛群

It was late in the afternoon several days later, and Rimfa lay under the big tree, the monkey asleep at her feet, facing the south.

几天后的下午晚些时候，琳珐躺在大树下，猴子在她脚边熟睡，且冲着南方。

She turned slowly, rolling over on her elbow, and glanced back at the sky, then sprang to her feet.

她慢慢地转过来，用胳臂肘滚动，她回头看了一眼天空，

A dark thick cloud was rising rapidly in the east. Long tongues of lightning flickered from it into the band of solid gray beneath,

一片黑压压的云彩从东面迅速上升，云彩中突然出现了长长的闪电，坠入到下面的灰色带状物中，

a gray band that meant rain. She watched it for only a moment. It was quite surely not going to swing north as the others had done,

灰色带意味着落雨，她只观察了一会，它一定不会像其它的一样向北转移，

and it held the first of the season's tornadoes, that swift, terrible storm full of destructive wind and lightning.

这将是季节的第一场龙卷风，这场快速，毁灭性的风暴附带着电闪雷鸣。

Even as she watched it, the cloud spread, and the flashes increased. Already the cattle were commencing to stir uneasily.

甚至就在她观察之时，云彩就在扩散，雷电增多了，牛群已经开始躁动不安了。

Moy came slowly and clumsily to his feet. Come, Biri, we must run for shelter, Rimfa cried,

“老头”缓慢笨拙地起身，琳珐叫嚷到，来吧比利，我们需要找寻避雨处，

and jerking the monkey to her shoulder, she fled down the short slope to where the herd,

她将猴子猛地拉到了肩膀，她跑到了牛群待在的短坡处，

now thoroughly aroused, was scrambling up. Moy awaited her impatiently. She pushed through the others,

它们已经完全躁动起来，忙着往上爬，“老头”不耐烦地等待她，她穿过其它牛，

hitting them lightly with a short stick, pushing their rough dust-stained sides, and swung to Moy's back.

用短棍轻轻敲打它们，推着它们粗糙，沾满泥的两边，摇摆着骑上了“老头”的后背。

Forward! Go! Swiftly! she commanded him, though he was already breaking into an easy run.

向前，走，快点，她命令着他，尽管他已经小跑起来。

Low rumbles of thunder came from the ever-growing cloud behind her. The darkening plain was hushed.

她后面的乌云正在增多，并出现了低沉的打雷声，黑压压的平原沉静了。

There was no sound of cricket or bird, and the white flock of cowbirds that usually chattered so cheerily,

没有了鸟或蛐蛐的鸣叫声，一群白色的牛鸟通常都会欢快地鸣叫，

flew low and silently, though still following the herd. If they hurried,

安静地低飞，并一直跟随着牛群，如果它们加急,

they might yet reach the village before the windstorm broke, certainly before the rain came.

它们或许能在暴风雨爆发之前回到村子，当然是赶在大雨之前。