VOA慢速英语2011--Short Story: ‘An Occurrence at Owl Cre

AMERICAN STORIES - Short Story: ‘An Occurrence¹ at Owl² Creek³ Bridge’ by Ambrose Bierce

FAITH LAPIDUS: Now, the V.O.A. Special English program, AMERICAN STORIES.
(MUSIC)
Our story today is called, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. " It was written by Ambrose Bierce.
The occurrence, or event, in our story takes place during the Civil War of the eighteen sixties between the American states of the north and the states of the south. A group of soldiers is hanging a southern farm owner for trying to stop northern military⁴ movements across the Owl Creek Bridge.
In the last moments of his life, the southern prisoner⁵ dreams he has escaped. And everything that happens in the story is really the images in the prisoner's mind just before he dies.
Here is Shep O’Neal with our story.
SHEP O’NEAL: A man stood on a railroad⁶ bridge in Alabama looking down into the swift⁷ waters of the Owl Creek River below. The man's hands were tied behind his back. There was a rope around his neck. The rope was tied to part of the bridge above him. Three soldiers of the northern army stood near the prisoner, waiting for their captain's orders to hang him.
Everybody was ready. The prisoner stood quietly. His eyes were not covered. He looked down and saw the water under the bridge. Now, he closed his eyes.
He wanted his last thoughts to be of his wife and children. But, as he tried to think of them, he heard sounds -- again and again. The sounds were soft. But they got louder and louder and started to hurt his ears. The pain was strong. He wanted to shout. But the sounds he heard were just those of the river running swiftly⁸ under the bridge.
The prisoner quickly opened his eyes and looked at the water. "If I could only free my hands," he thought. "Then I could get the rope off my neck and jump into the river. I could swim under the water and escape the fire of their guns. I could reach the other side of the river and get home through the forest. My house is outside of their military area, and my wife and children are safe there. I would be, too…"
While these thoughts raced through the prisoner's mind, the captain gave the soldiers the order to hang him. A soldier quickly obeyed. He made the rope firm around the prisoner's neck. Then he dropped him through a hole in the bridge.
As the prisoner fell, everything seemed black and empty. But then he felt a sharp pain in his neck and could not breathe. There were terrible pains running from his neck down through his body, his arms and his legs. He could not think. He could only feel, a feeling of living in a world of pain.
Then, suddenly, he heard a noise…something falling into the water. There was a big sound in his ears. Everything around him was cold and dark. Now he could think. He believed the rope had broken and that he was in the river.
But the rope was still around his neck, and his hands were tied. He thought: "How funny. How funny to die of hanging at the bottom of a river!" Then he felt his body moving up to the top of the water.
The prisoner did not know what he was doing. But his hands reached the rope on his neck and tore it off.
Now he felt the most violent⁹ pain he had ever known¹⁰. He wanted to put the rope back on his neck. He tried but could not. His hands beat the water and pushed him up to the top. His head came out of the water. The light of the sun hurt his eyes. His mouth opened, and he swallowed air. It was too much for his lungs. He blew out the air with a scream.
Now the prisoner could think more clearly. All his senses had returned. They were even sharper than before. He heard sounds he never heard before -- that no man's ears ever heard -- the flying wings of small insects, the movement of a fish. His eyes saw more than just the trees along the river. They saw every leaf on the trees. And they saw the thin lines in the leaves.
And he saw the bridge, with the wall at one end. He saw the soldiers and the captain on the bridge. They shouted, and they pointed¹¹ at him. They looked like giant monsters. As he looked, he heard gunfire. Something hit the water near his head. Now there was a second shot¹². He saw one soldier shooting¹³ at him.
He knew he had to get to the forest and escape. He heard an officer call to the other soldiers to shoot.
The prisoner went down into the river, deep, as far as he could. The water made a great noise in his ears, but he heard the shots¹⁴.
As he came up to the top again, he saw the bullets¹⁶ hit the water. Some of them touched his face and hands.
One even fell into the top of his shirt. He felt the heat of the bullet¹⁵ on his back.
When his head came out of the water for air, he saw that he was farther¹⁷ away from the soldiers. And he began swimming strongly.
As he swam, the soldiers fired their rifles¹⁸. Then they fired their cannon¹⁹ at him. But nothing hit him. Then, suddenly, he could not swim. He was caught in a whirlpool which kept turning him around and around. This was the end, he thought. Then, just as suddenly as it had caught him, the whirlpool lifted him and threw him out of the river. He was on land!
He kissed the ground. He looked around him. There was a pink light in the air. The wind seemed to make music as it blew through the trees. He wanted to stay there. But the cannon fired again, and he heard the bullets above his head. He got up and ran into the forest. At last, he found a road toward²⁰ his house. It was a wide, straight road. Yet it looked like a road that never had any travelers on it. No farms. No houses on its sides, only tall black trees.
In the tall black trees, the prisoner heard strange voices. Some of them spoke²¹ in words that he could not understand.
His neck began to hurt. When he touched it, it felt very large. His eyes hurt so much that he could not close them. His feet moved, but he could not feel the road.
As he walked, he was in a kind of sleep. Now, half-awake, half asleep, he found himself at the door of his house. His lovely wife ran to him. Ah, at last.
He put his arms about his beautiful wife. And just then, he felt a terrible pain in the back of his neck. All around him there was a great white light and the sound of a cannon. And then…then…darkness and silence.
The prisoner was dead. His neck was broken. His body hung at the end of a rope. It kept swinging from side to side. Swinging gently under a hole in Owl Creek Bridge.
(MUSIC)
FAITH LAPIDUS: You have just heard the American story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." It was written by Ambrose Bierce. Your storyteller was Shep O’Neal.
Listen again next week at this same time for another American story told in Special English on the Voice of America. This is Faith Lapidus.

1 occurrence   

n.发生，出现，事件，发生的事件

参考例句：

• Two things account for its occurrence.发生这件事的原因有两个。
• For a military commander，winning or losing a battle is a common occurrence.胜败乃兵家常事。

2 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

3 creek   

n.小溪，小河，小湾

参考例句：

• He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
• People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。

4 military   

n.军队；adj.军事的，军人的，好战的

参考例句：

• The area has been declared a closed military zone.这个地区已宣布为军事禁区。
• The king was just the tool of the military government.国王只是军政府的一个傀儡。

5 prisoner   

n.俘虏，囚犯，被监禁的人

参考例句：

• The soldier reported that a prisoner was at large.士兵报告说一名囚犯在逃。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

7 swift   

n.雨燕，大滚筒；adj.迅速的，快的，敏捷的，立刻的；adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He is swift to hear,but slow to speak.他听力敏锐，但不善言辞。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery.他康复得相当快。

8 swiftly   

adv.快地，迅速地

参考例句：

• He came in swiftly and placed the child in my arms.他匆忙走进来把孩子放到我怀里。
• The police must be able to react swiftly in an emergency.警方在面对紧急情况时必须能迅速作出反应。

9 violent   

adj.暴力的，猛烈的，激烈的，极端的，凶暴的，歪曲的

参考例句：

• The madman was violent and had to be locked up.这个精神病患者很凶暴，不得不把他锁起来。
• They caught him and gave him a violent beating.他们抓住了他，把他狠狠打了一顿。

10 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 shot   

n.炮弹，射击，射手；v.射击，发出，发芽；vbl.射击，发出，发芽

参考例句：

• He shot a wild duck.他射中一只野鸭。
• All the children shot out their hands for the money.所有的孩子突然伸出手来要钱。

13 shooting   

n.射击，发射；猎场，狩猎场

参考例句：

• The soldiers began shooting away at the enemy positions.战士们开始朝敌人的阵地不断地射击。
• I was in the act of shooting him when I suddenly recognized him.我正要向他开枪时，突然认出了他。

14 shots   

射手( shot的名词复数 )； 开枪； 发射； 注射

参考例句：

• The man fired several shots from his pistol. 那个男人用手枪开了几枪。
• When the shots rang out, everyone hit the deck. 就在枪声传来的时候，大伙都躺倒在地。

15 bullet   

n.枪弹，子弹

参考例句：

• The bullet wound in his shoulder was opened up for treatment.切开他肩上的枪伤进行治疗。
• The bullet missed me by a hair's s breadth.那颗子弹差一点就打中了我。

16 bullets   

n.弹药；军火

参考例句：

• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。
• The bullets and cannon-balls were flying in all directions. 子弹和炮弹到处乱飞。

17 farther   

adj.更远的，进一步的；adv.更远的，此外；far的比较级

参考例句：

• I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
• The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。

18 rifles   

步枪( rifle的名词复数 )； 来福枪

参考例句：

• They have a few rifles. 他们有几支步枪。
• Rifles and cannons volleyed on all sides. 枪炮向各方面齐发。

19 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

20 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

21 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。