读者文摘:我不知道自己还能活多久(3)（在线收听）

"When the corn quit running out of the truck," he says,

他说：“玉米不再从卡车里出来时，

"my clothes were still grabbing on the auger and jerking my leg as I was trying to pull it out."

我的衣服仍然紧紧地缠住螺旋钻，并在我试图将其拉出时猛拉我的腿。”

He could plainly see his tibia over the hopper's red casing, at least six inches of bone exposed beneath his knee.

他可以清楚地看到装料斗红色外壳上的胫骨，膝盖下方露出了至少15厘米的骨头。

He could see his own severed foot bobbing like a rag doll up the hopper toward the silo's opening, tethers of denim still connected.

他可以看到自己被切断的脚，像碎布制的玩偶一样在朝向筒仓开口的装料斗上摆动，牛仔裤的系绳仍然连在上面。

But the machine wouldn't release what was left of his leg.

但是，机器并未放开他剩余的腿。

He couldn't reach the controls to shut down the auger. He needed to call for help.

他够不到控制器，没法关上螺旋钻，他需要求救。

He knew his cell phone was on him—surely his cell was on him.

他知道手机在他身上，当然他的手机带在身上。

He patted his pockets, his chest, his thighs. He came up empty.

他拍了拍口袋、胸口、大腿，都没有。

(Half of the phone would later be found in the silo, an-other victim of the auger.)

（后来在筒仓里发现了一半电话，另一个成了螺旋钻的牺牲品）

He could scream for help, but the auger would drown out his cries, and anyway, there was no one around to hear them.

他可以尖叫求救，但是螺旋钻会淹没他的叫声，不管怎样，周围没有人能听得到。

How long he could stay conscious he didn't know.

他不知道自己能保持清醒多久，

"I was holding that one bone in my leg that was all bare and stuff—there wasn't no meat or nothing on it—

库尔特说：“我握住腿上一根光秃秃的骨头，骨头上没有肉，什么也没有了，

but the auger was jerking on that and I was getting wore out," Kurt says.

但螺旋钻还在猛拉，我已经筋疲力尽。

"I just didn't know how long I'd survive."

我只是不知道自己还能活多久。”

That was when he remembered the cheap black-handled pocketknife in his jeans,

就在这时，他想起了牛仔裤里那把便宜的黑柄小刀，

one of the countless pro-motional items he and every other farmer receive from seed-corn dealers and equipment manufacturers.

这是他和其他农民从玉米种子经销商和设备制造商那里收到的数不清的促销产品之一。

He unfolded the small blade, just three or four inches long.

他展开了只有三四英寸（七至十厘米）长的小刀片。

There were no second thoughts, not with the ravenous auger still drawing him in

他没有再多想，因为贪婪的螺旋钻还在把他拉进去，

and the hole in the grate big enough to pull at least a few inches more of him inside.

防护栅上的洞大得足以把他再拉进去至少几英寸。

A knee. A thigh. With his left hand, he gripped the bone below his knee.

膝盖、大腿，他用左手抓住膝盖下面的骨头。

With his right, he began to saw away at muscle, tendons, tissue—the blood painting his fingers red.

借着右手，他开始看到肌肉、肌腱、组织，血把他的手指染成了红色。

He could feel the ping, the snap, the sudden release of his nerves with every cut.

他能感觉到啪的声响，那是每次割动之后，神经的突然放开。