15 Miracle Needed正合心意的奇迹-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《101条花斑狗The Hundred and One Dalmatians》

15 Miracle1 Needed 'Last lap before supper,'said Pongo,as they started off again across the moonlit fields. It was the most cheering 3 thing he could have said for the ninety- seven puppies were how extremely hungry,He had guessed this because he was hungry himself.And so was Missis.But she was feeling too peaceful to mind. They went on for nearly two miles,then Pongo saw a long row of cottage5 roofs ahead across the fields. 'This should be it,'he said. 'What is that glow in the sky beyond the roof-tops?'asked Missis. Pongo was puzzled.He had seen such a glow in the sky over towns which had many lights,but never over a village.And this was a very bright glow.'Perhaps it's a larger place than we expected it to be,'he said,and did not feel it would be safe to go any nearer until some dog came to meet them.He called a halt and barked news of their arrival. He was answered at once,by a bark that said:'Wait where you are. ·266· 15 正合心意的奇迹 ①miracle /'mirakl/L,奇迹 2la即eplh.一段行程 “这是晚饭前的最后一段路。”庞果说，这时 3 cheering /'tfiorin/a.令人 他们正再次上路，穿越月光照耀下的田野。 振奋的 extremely /iks'tri:ml/ad. 这是他能够说出的最令人高兴的事，因为九 极端地，非常地 十七条小狗现在都饿极了。他料到了这一点，因 为他自己也饿了。密西斯也一样。但是她的心里 十分平静，没有在意。 5cottage"kDtd/i.〔英团] 他们走了将近两英里，这时庞果看到前面田 乡下房子，农舍 野那边有一长排农舍的屋顶。 “应该就是这里。”他说。 “屋顶那边天空中的红光是什么？”密西斯问。 庞果感到迷惑不解。他见到过万家灯火的市 镇上空有这种红光，但是小村上空是绝没有的。 而且这种红色非常亮。“也许这地方比我们预料 的要大。”他说，并且感到在哪一条狗前来迎接他 hah3:t/n.暂停前进，止 步 们之前再走近是不安全的。他命令停止前进，并 且吠叫着发出他们到达的消息 他立刻得到了回答，传来的叫声说：“你们 ·267· The HundredandOne Dalmatians I am coming.'And though he did not tell Missis,Pongo felt there was something odd about this bark that answered his.For one thing,there were no cheerful words of welcome. Soon a graceful red Setter came dashing towards them.They guessed,even before she spoke,that something was very wrong. 'The bakery's on fire!'she gasped. 'The blaze,due to a faulty chimney,had begun only a few minutes,before-the fire engine had not yet arrived.No one had been hurt,but the bakehouse was full of flames and smoke-all the food spread out for the Dalmatians was burned. "There's nothing for you to eat and nowhere for you to sleep,' moaned the poor Setter-she was hysterical 'And the village street's full of people.'She looked pitifully at Missis.'All your poor hungry puppies!' The strange thing was that Missis felt quite calm.She tried to comfort the Setter,saying they would go to some barn. 'But no arrangements are made,'wailed the Setter.'And there's no spare5 food anywhere.All the village dogs brought what they could to the bakery.' Just then came a shrill whistle. 'My pet is calling me,'said the Setter.'He's the doctor here. There's no dog at the bakery,so I was chosen to arrange everything- because I took first prize in a Dog Show.And now I've failed you.' 'You have not failed,'said Missis.'No one could say the fire was act of dog.Go back to your pet and don't worry.We shall simply go on to the next village.' Really?'said the Setter,gasping again-but with relief. Missis kissed her on the nose.'Off with you,my dear,and don't give the matter another thought.And thank you for all you did.' ·268· 101条花斑狗 在原地等候。我来了。”不过庞果没告诉密西斯， 因为他感到回答他的叫声有点古怪。首先是毫无 令人高兴的欢迎话。 ①Seuer/"seta/u.寒特种猎狗 不久一条优雅的红色塞特狗朝他们奔来。甚至 在她讲明以前，他们已经猜到发生了很糟的事情。 “面包房着火了！”她气喘吁吁地说。 由于烟囱故障，火焰在几分钟前才冒出 2 faulty /f:ltu/a.有毛病的 来—救火车还没到。没人受伤，但面包房里全 3 the fire engine消防车 是火焰和烟一为花斑狗准备的、一份份分好的 食物全烧了。 “没东西给你们吃，也没地方给你们睡了。” ④hysterical /his'terikal/a.歇 可怜的塞特狗悲叹着说一她急得要发狂。“村 斯底里的 里街道上全是村民。”她怜悯地看了密西斯一眼。 “可怜你们这些饥饿的小狗！” 奇怪的是密西斯却觉得十分镇定。她想安慰 塞特狗，就说他们可以到某一个谷仓去。 “但是没有安排好，”塞特狗哭道，“哪儿也 没有多余的食物。村里所有狗都把他们能得到的 ⑤spare/spea/a多余的 食物带到面包房去了。” 正在那时传来一声刺耳的哨子声。 6whistle(h wisl/n.口晴 “我的宠物在叫我，”塞特狗说，“他是这儿 的一个医生。面包房里没有狗，所以我被选来安 排一切一因为我在狗展览会上得过一等奖。可 现在我却使你们失望了。” “你没有使我们失望，”密西斯说，“没人会 说火是狗引起的。回到你的宠物那儿去吧，别担 心。我们完全可以去下一个村子。” “真的吗？”塞特狗又气喘吁吁地说一不过 她觉得松了口气。 密西斯亲了亲她的鼻子。“你去吧，亲爱的， ·269· The HundredandOne Dalmatians The whistle came again and the Setter ran off,wildly waving her feathered tail. "Feather-brained as well as feather-tailed,'said Pongo. 'Just very young,'said Missis,gently.'I doubt if she's had a family yet.Well,on to the next village.' 'Thank you for being so brave,dear Missis,'said Pongo.'But where's the next village?' 'In the country,there are villages in every direction,'said Missis, brightly. Desperately worried though he was,Pongo smiled lovingly at her. Then he said:'We will go to the road now.' 'But what about traffic,Pongo?' 'We shall not be very long on the road,'said Pongo. Then he told her what he had decided.Even if the next village should only be a few miles away,many of the pups were too tired and too hungry to get there-some of them were already asleep2 on the frozen ground.And every minute it got colder. 'And even if we could get to the next village,where should we sleep,Missis,what should we eat,with no plans made ahead?We must give in④，my dear.Come,wake the pups！Quick march, everyone!' The waking pups whimpered 5 and shivered,and Missis saw that even the strongest pups mere now wretchedly cold.So she helped Pongo to make them all march briskly.Then she whispered: 'But how do we give in,Pongo?' Pongo said:'We must go into the village and find the police station.' Missis stared at him in horror.'No,Pongo,no!The police will take the puppies from us!' ·270· 101条花斑狗 别再想这件事了。感谢你所做的一切。” 哨子声又响了，塞特狗跑开去了，一面拼命 ①feather-brained 挥动着毛茸茸的尾巴。 'fed-breind/a.轻率的， “和她的毛茸茸的尾巴一样，脑子也是毛躁 愚笨的 的。”庞果说。 “只是因为还很年轻，”密西斯温和地说 “我看她还未成家。好吧，到下一个村子去吧。”， “感谢你那么勇敢，亲爱的密西斯，”庞果说， “但是下一个村子在哪儿呢？” “在乡下，每一方都有村子。”密西斯乐观地 说。 尽管庞果非常担忧，但他冲着她亲昵地笑了 笑。接着他说：“现在我们要到大路上去。” “可是有汽车怎么办，庞果？” “我们不会在马路上走很久的。”庞果说。 ②asleep /a'sli:p/a.[用作表 于是他对她描述了自己的计划。即使到下一 语]睡着的 3 frozen /frauzn/a.冰东的， 个村子只有几英里路，许多小狗也是太累太饿， 极冷的 走不到那儿的一他们中间有些小狗已在结冰的 地上睡着了。天气每时每刻都在变得更冷。 “即使我们能到达下一个村子，事先没计划 ④give in屈服，退让 好，我们在哪儿睡觉，密西斯，我们吃什么呢？ 我们不得不屈服，亲爱的。来吧，叫醒小狗！快 5whimper /hwrmpa/(狗 走，孩子们！” 等}悲曝 醒来的小狗悲嗥着，冷得发抖，密西斯看到 连最强壮的小狗现在也冷极了。因此她帮助庞果 使他们都打起精神前进。随后她轻声说： “但是我们怎样屈服呢，庞果？” 庞果说：“我们必须走进村子，找到派出所。” in horror恐惧地 密西斯恐惧地呆看着他。“不，庞果，不！ ·271· The HundredandOne Dalmatians 'But they will feed them,Missis.And perhaps we shall be kept together until Mr Dearly has been told about us.They will have read the papers.They will know we are the Missing Dalmatians.' 'But we are not Dalmatians any more,Pongo,'cried Missis.'We are black.They will think we are ordinary stray dogs.And we are illegal- ninety-nine dogs without collars.We shall be put in prison.' 'No,Missis!'But Pongo was shaken.He had forgotten they were now black dogs.Suppose the police did not recognize them?Suppose the Dearlys were never told about them?What happened to stray dogs that no one claimed? 'Please,Pongo,I beg of you!'cried Missis.'Let us go on with our journey!I know it will be all right.' They had now reached the road and were on the edge of the village.Pongo was faced with a terrible choice.But it still seemed to him wiser to trust the police than to lead the hungry,exhausted puppies into the bitter2 winter night. 'Missis,dear Missis,we must go to the police station,'he said, and turned towards the village.They could now see the burning bakery and at that moment a huge flame leapt up through the roof.By its light Pongo saw the whole village street,with the villagers making a human chain to hand along buckets of water.And he also saw something else-something which made him stop dead,shouting 'Halt!'at the top of his bark. In front of the burning bakery was a great striped blck-and-white car. And with it was Cruella de Vil-standing right up on the roof of the car, where she had climbed so as to get a good view of the fire.Her white face and absolutely simple white mink cloak no longer looked white. From head to foot she was bathed in the red-gold flicker5 of the flames.And as they leapt higher and higher she clapped her hands in delight. ·272· 101条花斑句 警察会把小狗们从我们身边带走的！” “但他们会给他们吃东西，密西斯。也许我们 能在一起，直到甜来先生得知我们的情况。他们 会看报的。他们会知道我们就是丢失的花斑狗。” “可我们不再是花斑狗了，庞果，”密西斯叫 道，“我们是黑狗。他们会认为我们是普通的迷 路狗。而且我们都不合法一九十九条狗都没带 项圈。我们将被关进监狱。” “不，密西斯！”但是庞果动摇了。他忘记了 他们现在已是黑狗。假如警察认不出他们呢？假 如根本不把他们的情况告诉甜来夫妇呢？没人认 领的迷路狗会怎么样呢？ ①edge /ed3/m边缘，边界 “对不起，庞果，我求你了！”密西斯叫道， “让我们继续走下去吧！我知道一切都会好的。” 此刻他们到了村边的马路上。庞果面临着艰 ②bitter/bita/a.严寒的 难的选择。但他依然觉得，信任警察要比带领 筋疲力尽而饥饿的小狗在寒冷的冬夜赶路明智 一些。 “密西斯，亲爱的密西斯，我们必须去派出 3 hand along传递 所。”他说着转身向村子走去。他们现在能看见着 火的面包房了，这时一大团火焰蹿出屋顶。庞果 在这片火光中看见整个村子的街道，村民们组成 人链传递着盛满水的水桶。他还看见了什么东 西一这东西使他立即站住，尽力大叫“停！” 在着火的面包房前面是一辆黑白条纹的大汽 ④red-gold/red-gauld/a.赤金 车。和它在一起的是克鲁略·戴维尔—她站在汽 般的 5 licker /'flika/n.明灭不定， 车顶上，她爬上去是为了好好地观看火景。她那 闪烁 苍白的脸和纯白貂皮的斗篷不再是白色的了。她 全身上下都沐浴在赤金般闪烁的火光之中。火焰 ·273· The HundredandOne Dalmatians The next instant there was a wild clamour of bells as the fire engine arrived at last.The noise,the flames,and,above all,the sight of Cruella were too much for many of the puppies.Squealing in terror, they turned and fled,with Pongo,Missis,and Lucky desperately trying to call them to order. Fortunately,the clamour from the fire engine prevented anyone in the village hearing the barking and yapping.And after a little while,the terrified pups obeyed Pongo's orders and stopped their headlong2 flight. They were very shamefaced as Pongo told them that,though he quite understood how they had felt,they must never,never behave in such a panic-stricken way and must always,always obey orders instantly. Then he praised the pups who had stuck to the Cadpig's cart,praised Patch for staying close to the Cadpig,rescued Roly Poly from a ditch, and counted the pups carefully.He did all this as hurriedly as possible for he knew now that they must press on with their journey.There was no way they could get to the police station without passing Cruella de Vil. Their plight 5 was now worse than ever.They not only had to face the dangers of hunger and cold;there was the added danger of Cruella. They knew from the direction her car was facing that their enemy must have already been to Hell Hall,learned that they had escaped,and now be on her way back to London.At any moment,she might leave the fire and overtake them. If only they could have left the road and travelled by the fields again!But there were now woods?on either side of the road,woods so thick that the army could not have kept together. 'But we can hide in there,if we see the car's headlights,'said Pongo,and explained this to the puppies.Then the army was on the march again. ·274· 101条花斑句 越蹿越高，她高兴地直拍手。 紧接着是一阵急剧的铃声.救火车终于来了。 ①in terror恐怖地，恐惧地 嘈杂声、火焰，以及特别是见到了克鲁略，使许 多小狗都受不了。他们惊骇地尖叫着，转身就逃， 庞果、密西斯和“幸运”则极力想叫他们保持秩 序。 幸亏救火车的喧闹声使村民们都没有听见吠 2 headlong/'hedlon/a.轻率 声和叫声。稍过了一会儿，受惊的小狗们听从庞 果的命令，不再轻率地逃跑了。当庞果对他们说， 3 shamefaced /feim'feist/a. 可耻的：丢人的 尽管他完全理解他们的感受，他们也千万、千万 panic-stricken 不该这样惊慌失措，必须永远、永远直接听从命 /penik-'strikan/d.恐慌的， 令，这时他们都感到非常惭愧。接着他表扬坚守 受惊恐的：狼狈的 在“小赖猪”小车边的小狗，表扬“斑点”一直 待在“小赖猪”身旁，从水沟里救出了“胖娃 娃”，还仔细清点小狗。他尽可能快地做完了这一 切，因为他明白，现在他们必须赶紧上路。不经 过克鲁略·戴维尔身边，他们是没法走到派出所 的。 ⑤plight /plait/n.(困难)处境 现在他们的处境比以前更糟了。他们不仅面 对饥饿、寒冷的危险，而且加上克鲁略的威胁。 他们从她汽车的方向上知道，他们的敌人肯定已 去过汉尔宅邸，得知他们逃走的事，此刻正在回 ⑥overtake /'ouv:'teik/v.追上t 伦敦去。她随时可能离开火灾现场追上他们。 赶上：超过 只要他们能离开马路，再从田野上走去就好 了！但是此刻马路两边都有树林，树林密得使队 ⑦woods/wUdz/n.树林 伍无法走在一起。 “如果我们看见汽车的前灯，我们可以在那儿 躲起来。”庞果说着，并向小狗们做了说明。接着 队伍又前进了。 “至少小狗现在感到暖和了，”密西斯说， ·275·