地下墓穴（12）

 

Their footsteps sounded loud and crisp upon the rough stone paving of the disappointing road which is all that is left of the most famous highway of the world. A peasant or two going home from the wine-shop, and a few carts of country produce coming up to Rome, were the only things which they met. They swung along, with the huge tombs looming¹ up through the darkness upon each side of them, until they had come as far as the Catacombs of St. Calistus, and saw against a rising moon the great circular bastion of Cecilia Metella in front of them. Then Burger stopped with his hand to his side.

“Your legs are longer than mine, and you are more accustomed to walking,” said he, laughing. “I think that the place where we turn off is somewhere here. Yes, this is it, round the corner of the trattoria. Now, it is a very narrow path, so perhaps I had better go in front and you can follow.”

He had lit his lantern, and by its light they were enabled to follow a narrow and devious² track which wound across the marshes³ of the Campagna. The great Aqueduct of old Rome lay like a monstrous⁴ caterpillar⁵ across the moonlit landscape, and their road led them under one of its huge arches, and past the circle of crumbling⁶ bricks which marks the old arena⁷. At last Burger stopped at a solitary⁸ wooden cow-house, and he drew a key from his pocket.

“Surely your catacomb is not inside a house!” cried Kennedy.

在这条世界最著名的街道，他们的脚步踏在粗糙的石板地上，发出清脆的响声，一两个农夫在酒馆喝完酒回家，几辆大车装满农作物向罗马驶去，这些就是他们所看见的全部了，两人大步往前走着，黑暗中，两旁隐约可见一些巨大的坟墓，他们一直走到圣卡里斯图斯墓地，在月光的映衬下，圆形的西西莉亚梅泰拉城堡出现在他们面前。伯格停下脚步。

“你的腿比我的长，而且你习惯步行，"他笑着说。“我觉得到这儿应该拐弯了。对，就是这儿，在饮食店旁边。这条小路很窄，最好我在前面走，你在后面跟着。”

他把油灯点燃，借着灯光可以看见沼泽地里一条狭窄、曲折的小路，古罗马时代的沟渠像一条怪异的大毛虫在月光下每。沿着小路走，他们经过一座巨大的拱门，又经过一个圆形的废墟，本来是古代的竟技场。最后，在一个孤零零的木头牛棚前，伯格停下了，从衣袋出一把钥匙。

“入口就在这儿。有牛棚做掩护，别人很难发现。”

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 devious   

adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的

参考例句：

• Susan is a devious person and we can't depend on her.苏姗是个狡猾的人，我们不能依赖她。
• He is a man who achieves success by devious means.他这个人通过不正当手段获取成功。

3 marshes   

n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。
• We had to cross the marshes. 我们不得不穿过那片沼泽地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

5 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

6 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

7 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

8 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。