19.Grace Darling格蕾丝·达琳-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《西方老故事50篇Fifty Famous Stories Retold》

Fifty Famous Stories Retold 19.Grace Darling It was a dark September morning.There was a storm at sea.A ship had been driven on a low rock off the shores of the Farne Islands.It had been broken in two by the waves,and half of it had been washed away.The other half lay yet on the rock,and those of the crew who were still alive were clinging to it. But the waves were dashing over it,and in a little while it too would be carried to the bottom. Could any one save the poor,half-drowned men who were there? On one of the islands was a light-house;and there,all through that stormy night,Grace Darling had listened to the storm. Grace was the daughter of the light-house keeper,and she had lived by the sea as long as she could remember. In the darkness of the night,above the noise of the winds and waves,she heard screams and wild cries.When daylight came,she could see the wreck2,a mile away,with the angry waters all around it.She could see the men clinging to the masts③. “We must try to save them!”she cried.“Let us go out in the boat at once!"" “It is of no use,.Grace,”said her father..“We cannot reach them.” ·102· 西方老故事50篇 19.格蕾丝·达琳 九月的一个清晨，天空阴沉着，海上刮起了风暴， 一艘船行驶至法恩群岛的海岸附近触礁了。船身被海浪 撕成了两半，一半被海水冲走了，另一半搁浅在礁石上 ①crew [kru:]n.全体船员 面。船上的幸存者死死地抓住剩下的半截船身，可是海 浪依然不停地冲击着，也许要不了多长时间，这半截船 身也要沉入海底。 有没有人去救那些快要被淹死的可怜人啊？ 法恩群岛的一个岛上有一座灯塔。在整夜的狂风骤 雨中，格蕾丝·达琳一直倾听着暴风雨的怒明吼声。 格蕾丝是看守灯塔的人的女儿，自打记事起，就一 直生活在海边。 在那个漆黑的夜里，格蕾丝听到了比狂风和海浪还 ②wreck[ekn.残骸 要刺耳的尖叫和嘶喊声。天亮时分，她看到一英里远的 地方有一只失事的船只，正被怒吼的海浪包围着。她还 ③mast[nast]n.桅杆 看到船上有人紧紧地抱着船的桅杆。 “我们一定要想办法救他们。”格蕾丝叫了起来，“我 们马上划船过去！” “格蕾丝，没用的，”她父亲说，“我们根本靠近不 了他们。” ·103· Fifty Famous Stories Retold He was an old man,and he knew the force of the mighty waves. "We cannot stay here and see them die,"said Grace."We must at least try to save them.” Her father could not say,"No." In a few minutes they were ready.They set off in the heavy lighthouse boat. Grace pulled one oar2,and her father the other,and they made straight toward the wreck.But it was hard rowing against such a sea,and it seemed as though they would never reach the place. At last they were close to the rock,and now they were in greater danger than before.The fierce waves broke against the boat,and it would have been dashed in pieces,had it not been for the strength and skill of the brave girl. But after many trials,Grace's father climbed upon the wreck,while Grace herself held the boat.Then one by one the worn-out crew were helped on board. It was all that the girl could do to keep the frail boat from being drifted away,or broken upon the sharp edges of the rock. Then her father clambered back into his place.Strong hands grasped the oars,and by and by all were safe in the lighthouse.There Grace proved to be no less tender as a nurse than she had been brave as a sailor.She cared most kindly for the ship-wrecked men until the storm had died away and they were strong enough to go to their own homes. All this happened a long time ago,but the name of Grace Darling will never be forgotten.She lies buried now in a little churchyard by the sea,not far from her old home.Every year many people go there to see her grave;and there a monument has been placed in honor of the brave girl.It is not a large monument, but it is one that speaks of the noble deed which made Grace Darling famous.It is a figure carved in stone of a woman lying at rest,with a boat's oar held fast in her right hand. ·104· 西方老故事50篇 ①mighty[maiti]a.强大的 格蕾丝的父亲是一个老人，他知道海浪的威力有 多大。 “可是我们不能待在这里眼睁静看他们去死。”格 蕾丝说，“不管怎么样，我们也应该试一试。” 父亲当然无法拒绝格蕾丝的请求。 ②oar[bx]n.桨 几分钟之内，格蕾丝和父亲便做好了准备。他们 乘着笨重的灯塔小船出发了，两人一人划着一支浆， 朝着失事的船只径直划了过去。可是在那样的海浪中 逆流而行实在太困难了，他们感到似乎永远也划不到 那个地方。 最后两人终于靠近了那块礁石。可是他们现在却 处于更大的危险之中，凶猛的海浪拍打着小船，如果 不是格蕾丝的力气和技术，小船恐怕早就被海浪拍成 了碎片。 经过一次次的努力之后，格蕾丝的父亲终于爬上了 ③clamber[klaembo]v.(吃 那片残骸。格蕾丝则拼尽全力努力支撑着小船，使它不 力地)爬上 被海浪冲走撞到尖锐的礁石上面，那些筋疲力尽的船员 们一个个被救了上来。 最后格蕾丝的父亲爬回小船，用强有力的大手握住 船桨使劲划着。不一会儿，所有人都平安地抵达了灯 塔。这时格蕾丝又从一个勇敢的水手变成一个温柔的护 士，细心照顾那些遭受了海难的人们，一直等到暴风雨 过去，水手们的体力恢复到可以回家为止。 所有这一切都发生在很多年以前。从那以后，人们 永远记住了格蕾丝·达琳的名字。如今，格蕾丝被安葬 在海边小教堂的墓地里，那里离她的家乡不远。墓地里 ④carve [kav]g雕刻 面还立了一块纪念碑，用来纪念这个勇敢无畏的女孩， 每年都有许多人前来凭吊。尽管墓碑不大，却讲述着格 蕾丝为人称道的高尚行为，上面刻着一个躺在那里休息 的女人，右手紧紧握着一支船桨。 ·105·