吹小号的天鹅 第106期:比林斯(9)

 "How did it go?" she asked.

“事情办得如何？”她问。

"Very well," he said. "An extraordinary adventure.

“很好，”他说，“这是一次非常特别的冒险。

I was shot at, just as you predicted.

我在那儿被枪打了，就像你预言的那样。

The storekeeper pointed¹ a gun at me and fired.

那个店主用一把枪对着我就开了火。

I felt an agonizing² pain in my left shoulder

我感到我的左肩那里有一阵钻心的疼痛

which I've always considered the more beautiful of my two shoulders.

我总觉得左肩是我两肩中更美的一边。

Blood gushed³ from my wound in torrents⁴, and I sank gracefully⁵ to the sidewalk,

血从我的伤口里滔滔不绝地喷涌出来，可我还是姿态优美地落到了人行道上，

where I handed over the money and thus regained⁶ my honor and my decency⁷.

在那里把这钱递了过去，从而恢复了我的名誉和尊严。

吹小号的天鹅

I was at death's door. A great multitude of people gathered.

我已经到了死亡的大门口了。人们围过来老大一批。

Blood was everywhere. I became faint and passed out with dignity in front of all.

血流得到处都是。我昏迷了，高贵地在所有人的面前晕了过去。

The police arrived--dozens of them.

警察们赶来了--他们来了好几打呢。

Game wardens⁸ flocked to the scene in great numbers,

狩猎法执行官们成群结队地涌到了现场，

and there was a tremendous argument about the money."

多得根本就没法儿数，后来那些钱还引起了好一通大吵呢。”

"How did you know all this if you were unconscious?" asked his wife.

“你都失去知觉了，怎么还能知道后来的事情呢？”他的妻子问。

"My dear," said the cob,

“我亲爱的，”这只雄天鹅说，

"I wish you wouldn't interrupt me when I am telling the story of my trip.

“在我讲述我的旅行故事时，我希望你最好别打断我。

Seeing my grave condition, someone in the crowd summoned an ambulance,

看到我伤势严重，人群中有人叫来了一辆救护车，

and I was taken to the hospital, where I was put to bed.

我被送到医院，放到了病床上。

I looked very beautiful lying there, my black bill contrasting with the snowy white sheets.

我躺在那里，让雪白的床单衬托着我油黑的嘴，那样子简直美极了。

Doctors and nurses attended me and comforted me in my hour of suffering and pain.

在我承受着巨痛的煎熬时，医生和护士们全都来照顾我，安慰我。

You can judge how serious my wound was when I tell you that one of the doctors examined it and said it was superficial."

在我对你讲了这件事后，你就能断定我的伤到底有多严重了：一个医生检查了我的伤口后，竟然说这伤是‘表面上的’。”

"It doesn't look bad to me," said his wife. "I think you just got nicked.

“我觉得你看起来还不算太坏呀，”他的妻子说，“我认为你只是受了点轻伤。

If it had been bad, you couldn't have flown back so soon.

如果真的那么严重的话，你不可能这么快就飞回来。

Anyway, superficial or not, I'm glad to see you home safe.

不管怎么说，表面上的也好，不是表面上的也罢，见你能平安到家我就高兴了。

I always miss you when you're gone. I don't know why, but I do."

你不在时我总会惦记你。我不知道这是为什么，可我就是想你。”

And with that, she placed her head across his neck and gave him a slight nudge.

说着，她把她的头偎到他的脖子上，温柔地蹭了一下。

Then they had breakfast and went for a swim in an open place in the frozen lake.

然后他们吃了早饭，在一处没结冰的湖面游起泳来。

The cob pulled his Band-Aid off and threw it away.

雄天鹅扯下他的“邦迪”，把它扔到了一边。

1 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。

2 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

3 gushed   

v.喷，涌( gush的过去式和过去分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• Oil gushed from the well. 石油从井口喷了出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Clear water gushed into the irrigational channel. 清澈的水涌进了灌溉渠道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 torrents   

n.倾注；奔流( torrent的名词复数 )；急流；爆发；连续不断

参考例句：

• The torrents scoured out a channel down the hill side. 急流沿着山腰冲刷出一条水沟。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Sudden rainstorms would bring the mountain torrents rushing down. 突然的暴雨会使山洪暴发。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

6 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

7 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

8 wardens   

n.看守人( warden的名词复数 )；管理员；监察员；监察官

参考例句：

• Air raid wardens in tin hats self-importantly stalked the streets. 空袭民防队员戴着钢盔神气活现地走在街上昂首阔步。 来自辞典例句
• The game wardens tranquillized the rhinoceros with a drugged dart. 猎物保护区管理员用麻醉射器让犀牛静了下来。 来自辞典例句