評(píng)論
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But no one ever looks out of air-ships, and in any case they could not have picked me up.
不過一直沒有人從飛艇里朝外望，而且在任何情況里，它們也不會(huì)把我?guī)先サ摹?/p>
There I was, stranded.
我在那里，孤立無援。
The sun shone a little way down the shaft, and revealed the topmost rung of the ladder,
太陽稍稍偏低了，照在那上下行的通道上，露出了梯子的最高層梯階，
but it was hopeless trying to reach it.
可是想要到那里去是沒有希望的。
I should either have been tossed up again by the escape, or else have fallen in, and died.
我應(yīng)該采取逃之夭夭的辦法再碰碰運(yùn)氣，不然就退讓一死了事。
I could only lie on the grass, sipping and sipping, and from time to time glancing around me.
我只能躺在那草上，一口又一口吸著氣，時(shí)時(shí)環(huán)顧著我的周圍。
"I knew that I was in Wessex, for I had taken care to go to a lecture on the subject before starting.
“我當(dāng)時(shí)知道我是在威賽克斯，因?yàn)樵趧?dòng)身以前，我曾留意聽過一次講這個(gè)專題的演說。
Wessex lies above the room in which we are talking now.
威賽克斯就在我們現(xiàn)在談話的這個(gè)房間上方。
It was once an important state.
有一個(gè)時(shí)期它是一個(gè)重要的國(guó)家。
Its kings held all the southern coast form the Andredswald to Cornwall,
它的那歷屆國(guó)王擁有從安德斯威沃爾德直到克爾恩沃爾那的全部南海岸，
while the Wansdyke protected them on the north, running over the high ground.
當(dāng)時(shí)萬斯戴克在它們的北部防守著，跑遍了那片高地。
The lecturer was only concerned with the rise of Wessex,
那位演講人只談到威賽克斯的興起，
so I do not know how long it remained an international power, nor would the knowledge have assisted me.
所以我不知道它保持國(guó)際強(qiáng)國(guó)究竟有多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間，而且這些知識(shí)對(duì)我也毫無幫助。
To tell the truth I could do nothing but laugh, during this part.
說老實(shí)話，在這段時(shí)間里，我除了大笑以外，什么事也干不了。
There was I, with a pneumatic stopper by my side and a respirator bobbing over my head, imprisoned,
我就在那里，有個(gè)空氣制動(dòng)器在身邊，一個(gè)呼吸保護(hù)器在我的頭上方上下顛動(dòng)著，
all three of us, in a grass-grown hollow that was edged with fern."
我們?nèi)齻€(gè)被囚禁在荒草叢生、四周盡是蕨類植物的一塊洼地里。”
Then he grew grave again. "Lucky for me that it was a hollow.
隨后他又變得嚴(yán)肅起來。“對(duì)我來說，幸好那是一塊洼地。
For the air began to fall back into it and to fill it as water fills a bowl.
因?yàn)榭諝忾_始落回到洼地里，就像水倒進(jìn)碗里一樣灌入。
I could crawl about. Presently I stood. I breathed a mixture,
我能夠到處爬行，一下子我站住了。只要我企圖爬上那洼地的斜坡，我就吸進(jìn)一種混合氣體，
in which the air that hurts predominated whenever I tried to climb the sides.
其中，傷害人的空氣占主要部分。
This was not so bad. I had not lost my tabloids and remained ridiculously cheerful,
這倒也不那么糟。我并沒遺失我的食品丸，而且我始終是莫名其妙地興致勃勃。
and as for the Machine, I forgot about it altogether.
至于有關(guān)大機(jī)器的事，我已經(jīng)忘記得一干二凈了。
My one aim now was to get to the top, where the ferns were, and to view whatever objects lay beyond.
這時(shí)，我的唯一目的就是爬上洼地的頂上去，那里就是蕨類植物所在的地方，我要瞭望一下在遠(yuǎn)處都有些什么東西。
"I rushed the slope. The new air was still too bitter for me and I came rolling back, after a momentary vision of something grey.
“我沖上了斜坡。那新空氣對(duì)我來說還是太難過了，看了一下灰茫茫的什么東西以后，我便滾著回來了。
The sun grew very feeble, and I remembered that he was in Scorpio – I had been to a lecture on that too.
太陽逐漸變得軟弱無力，于是我想起了它是在斯克比奧——我也聽到過一次有關(guān)這個(gè)地方的演說。
If the sun is in Scorpio, and you are in Wessex, it means that you must be as quick as you can, or it will get too dark.
如果太陽是在斯克比奧，而你是在威賽克斯，這就是說，你得盡可能趕快，不然天就要太黑了。
(This is the first bit of useful information I have ever got from a lecture, and I expect it will be the last.)
（這是我第一次從演講中得到的一點(diǎn)有用的常識(shí)，但愿這也是最后一次。）
It made me try frantically to breathe the new air, and to advance as far as I dared out of my pond.
這就使得我如醉如狂地想要吸那新空氣，而且我要前進(jìn)得遠(yuǎn)到我敢于從那個(gè)洼地里出來。
The hollow filled so slowly. At times I thought that the fountain played with less vigour.
這片洼地充氣很慢。有時(shí)我認(rèn)為那空氣噴泉的作用力比較小。
My respirator seemed to dance nearer the earth; the roar was decreasing."
我的呼吸保護(hù)器似乎在更接近地面的地方跳著，那轟轟聲逐漸變得弱了起來。”
