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LESSON 5 The prairie on fire
第五課 起火的大草原
The Prairies——Between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains there is a vast extent of grassy plains called Prairies.
北美大草原——在密西西比河與落基山脈之間，有一個(gè)巨大的長滿綠草的平原，稱為“北美大草原”。
The soil is fertile and the vegetation luxuriant; and before their occupation by the white man the tall grass waved in the wind over the wide expense.
這兒土壤肥沃，植被茂盛；這兒曾居住著白人，高高的綠草在風(fēng)中自由擺動(dòng)，就像滾動(dòng)的翡翠的海洋。
If we tarry here much longer, it will be in the fashion that the bees lie round the straw after the hive has been smoked for its honey.
在這呆的時(shí)間越長，蜜蜂就會(huì)因?yàn)榉湎浔粺熝乖诘静葜辛恕?/p>
You may hear the fire begin to roar already; and I know by experience that when the flame once gets fairly into the prairie grass, he is no sloth that can outrun it."
你可能聽到之前火咆哮的聲音了，而且根據(jù)經(jīng)驗(yàn)我知道一旦火焰進(jìn)入草原的草叢，就太難逃出去了。”
"Think you," returned the old man pointing scornfully at the mazes of the dry and matted grass which environed them, "that mortal feet can outstrip the speed of fire on such a path?"
“你想想”老人蔑視地指著干燥的包圍著他們的草說“人類的腳怎么可能跑得過燃燒的火焰呢？”
"What say you, friend doctor?" cried the bewildered Paul, turning to the naturalist with that sort of helplessness with which the strong are often apt to seek aid of the weak,
“你說什么呢，博大精深的朋友？”保羅喊道，他轉(zhuǎn)向毫無希望的博物學(xué)者，當(dāng)人們的力量受到更強(qiáng)的人的阻礙時(shí)，
when human power is baffled by the hand of a mightier Being;—"what say you? Have you no advice to give away in a case of life and death?"
總希望從弱者那兒得到幫助。——“你說什么？你并沒有給出面臨生死的建議！”
The naturalist stood, tablets in hand, looking at the awful spectacle with as much composure as though the conflagration had been lighted in order to solve the difficulties of some scientific problem.
博物學(xué)者站起來，手里拿著牌匾，冷靜地看著可怕的景觀。
Aroused by the question of his companion, he turned to his equally calm though differently occupied associate, the trapper,
被他同伴的問題激起，他轉(zhuǎn)向和他一樣鎮(zhèn)定但立場不同的捕獸者。
demanding with the most provoking insensibility to the urgent nature of their situation—"Venerable hunter, you have often witnessed similar prismatic experiments—"
以最令人惱火的麻木不仁，對(duì)他們處境的緊急性質(zhì)提出要求——“珍貴的獵人，你經(jīng)常見識(shí)過類似棱鏡的實(shí)驗(yàn)——”。
He was rudely interrupted by Paul, who struck the tablets from his hand with a violence that betrayed the utter intellectual confusion which had overset his equanimity.
他被保羅粗魯?shù)卮驍嗔耍Ａ_從他手里粗魯?shù)卮蛩榱伺曝遥伺e使得他不再冷靜。
