高级英语-Face-to-face-with-Hurricane-Camille中英笔记

1 Face To Face With Hurricane Camille 迎战卡米尔号飓风迎战卡米尔号飓风 约瑟夫约瑟夫 布兰克布兰克 1 John Koshak Jr knew Hurricane Camille would be bad Radio and television warnings had sounded throughout that Sunday Last August 17 as Camille lashed northwestward across the Gulf of Mexico It was certain to pummel Gulfport Miss where the Koshaks lived Along the coasts of Louisiana Mississippi and Alabama nearly 150 000 people fled inland to safer ground But like thousands of others in the coastal communities John was reluctant to abandon his home unless the family his wife Janis and their seven children aged 3 to 11 was clearly endangered 小约翰 柯夏克已料到 卡米尔号飓风来势定然凶猛 就在去年 8 月 17 日那个 星期天 当卡米尔号飓风越过墨西哥湾向西北进袭之时 收音机和电视里整天 不断地播放着飓风警报 柯夏克一家居住的地方一 密西西比州的高尔夫港 肯定会遭到这场飓风的猛烈袭击 路易斯安那 密西西比和亚拉巴马三州沿 海一带的居民已有将近 15 万人逃往内陆安全地带 但约翰就像沿海村落中其他 成千上万的人一样 不愿舍弃家园 要他下决心弃家外逃 除非等到他的一家 人一 妻子詹妮丝以及他们那七个年龄从三岁到十一岁的孩子一一眼看着就要 灾祸临头 lash v move quickly or violently猛烈冲击 拍打 pummel n beat or hit with repeated blows esp with the fist 尤指用拳头 连 续地打 2 Trying to reason out the best course of action he talked with his father and mother who had moved into the ten room house with the Koshaks a month earlier from California He also consulted Charles Hill a longtime friend who had driven from Las Vegas for a visit 为了找出应付这场风灾的最佳对策 他与父母商量过 两位老人是早在一个月 前就从加利福尼亚迁到这里来 住进柯夏克一家所住的那幢十个房间的屋子里 他还就此征求过从拉斯韦加斯开车来访的老朋友查理 希尔的意见 course n a way of behaving mode 0f conduct行为 品行 做法 reason out to find out an explanation or solution to a problem by thinking of all the possibilities寻找解决途径 例 Let s reason this out instead of quarrelling 让我们不要争吵 商量出事情的解 决方案 3 John 37 whose business was right there in his home he designed and developed educational toys and supplies and all of Magna Products correspondence engineering drawings and art work were there on the first floor was familiar with the power of a hurricane Four years earlier Hurricane Betsy had demolished his former home a few miles west of Gulfport Koshak had moved his family to a motel for the night But that house had stood only a few feet above sea level We re elevated 23 feet he told his father and we re a good 250 yards from the sea The place has been here since 1915 and no hurricane has ever bothered it We ll probably be as safe here as anyplace else 2 约翰的全部产业就在自己家里 他开办的玛格纳制造公司是设计 研制各种教育 玩具和教育用品的 公司的一切往来函件 设计图纸和工艺模具全都放在一楼 37 岁的他对飓风的威力是深有体会的 四年前 他原先拥有的位于高尔夫港以 西几英里外的那个家就曾毁于贝翠号飓风 那场风灾前夕柯夏克已将全家搬到一 家汽车旅馆过夜 不过 当时那幢房子所处的地势偏低 高出海平面仅几英尺 我们现在住的这幢房子高了 23 英尺 他对父亲说 而且距离海边足有 250 码远 这幢房子是 1915 年建造的 至今还从未受到过飓风的袭击 我们呆在这 儿恐怕是再安全不过了 a good at least full至少 最少 例 They waited a good eight hours 他们等了至少 8 个小时 demolish v pull down tear down or smash to pieces a building etc destroy ruin拉倒 打碎 拆毁 破坏 毁灭 motel n a hotel intended primarily for those traveling by car usually with direct access from each room to an area for cars汽车游客旅馆 4 The elder Koshak a gruff warmhearted expert machinist of 67 agreed We can batten down and ride it out he said If we see signs of danger we can get out before dark 老柯夏克 67 岁 是个语粗心慈的熟练机械师 他对儿子的意见表示赞同 我们是可以严加防卫 度过难关的 他说 一但发现危险信号 我们还可 以赶在天黑之前撤出去 gruff adj rough or surly in manner or speech harsh and throaty hoarse 粗暴的 粗鲁的 粗哑的 嘶哑的 batten n fasten with battens用压条钉住 或固定 5 The men methodically prepared for the hurricane Since water mains might be damaged they filled bathtubs and pails A power failure was likely so they checked out batteries for the portable radio and flashlights and fuel for the lantern John s father moved a small generator into the downstairs hallway wired several light bulbs to it and prepared a connection to the refrigerator 为了对付这场飓风 几个男子汉有条不紊地做起准备工作来 自米水管道可能 遭到破坏 他们把浴盆和提俑都盛满水 飓风也可能造成断电 所以他们检查 手提式收音机和手电筒里的电池以及提灯里的燃料油 约翰的父亲将一台小发 电机搬到楼下门厅里 接上几个灯泡 并做好把发电机与电冰箱接通的准备 methodically adv orderly systematically有秩序地 有条理地 main n a principal pipe or line in a distributing system for water gas electricity etc 自来水 煤气 电等的 总管 bathtub n a tub now usually a bathroom fixture in which to take a bath 浴盆 浴缸 generator n a machine for changing mechanical energy into electrical energy dynamo发电机 发动机 6 Rain fell steadily that afternoon gray clouds scudded in from the Gulf on the rising wind The family had an early supper A neighbor whose husband was in Vietnam asked if she and her two children could sit out the storm with the Koshaks Another neighbor came by on his way inland would the Koshaks mind taking care of his dog 3 那天下午 雨一直下个不停 乌云随着越来越猛的暴风从海湾上空席卷而来 全家早早地用晚餐 邻居中一个丈夫去了越南的妇女跑过来 问她和她的两个 孩子是否能搬进柯夏克家躲避风灾 另一个准备向内陆带转移的邻居也跑来问 柯夏克家能否替他照看一下他的狗 sit out stay until the end of坐到结束 例 We forced ourselves to sit the play out 我们强迫自己坐到演出结束 scud v run or move swiftly glide or skim along easily疾行 飞驰 掠过 7 It grew dark before 7 o clock Wind and rain now whipped the house John sent his oldest son and daughter upstairs to bring down mattresses and pillows for the young children He wanted to keep the group together on one floor Stay away from the windows he warned concerned about glass flying from storm shattered pane As the wind mounted to a roar the house began leaking the rain seemingly driven right through the walls With mops towels pots and buckets the Koshaks began a struggle against the rapidly spreading water At 8 30 power failed and Koshak turned on the generator 不到七点钟 天就黑了 狂风暴雨拍打着屋子 约翰让大儿子和大女儿上楼去 取来被褥和枕头给几个小一点的孩子 他想把全家人都集中在同一层楼上 不 要靠近窗户 他警告说 担心在飓风巾震破的玻璃碎片会飞来伤人 风凶猛地 咆哮起来 屋子开始漏雨了 那雨水好像能穿墙透壁 往屋里直灌 一家人都 操起拖把 毛巾 盆罐和水桶 展开了一场排水战 到八点半钟 电没有了 柯夏克老爹便启动了小发电机 pane n a single division of a window etc consisting of a sheet of glass in a frame such a sheet of glass窗格 窗格玻璃 mattress n a casing of strong cloth or other fabric filled with cotton hair foam rubber etc 床垫 褥子 8 The roar of the hurricane now was overwhelming The house shook and the ceiling in the living room was falling pieces by pieces The French doors in an upstairs room blew in with an explosive sound and the group heard gun like reports as other upstairs windows disintegrated Water rose above their ankles 飓风的咆哮声压倒了一切 房子摇晃着 起居室的天花板一块块掉下来 楼上 一个房问的法兰西式两用门砰地一声被风吹开了 楼下的人还听到楼上其他玻 璃窗破碎时发出的劈劈啪啪的响声 积水已经漫到脚踝上了 disintegrate v separate into parts or fragments break up disunite分裂 分解 裂成碎块 9 Then the front door started to break away from its frame John and Charlie put their shoulders against it but a blast of water hit the house flinging open the door and shoving them down the hall The generator was doused and the lights went out Charlie licked his lips and shouted to John I think we re in real trouble That water tasted salty The sea had reached the house and the water was rising by the minute 随后 前门开始从门框上脱落 约翰和查理用肩膀抵住 但一股水浪冲击 过来 撞开了大门 把两人都掀倒在地板上 发电机泡在水里 电灯熄灭了 4 查理舔了舔嘴唇 对着约翰大喊道 这回可真是大难临头了 这水是咸的 海水已经漫到屋子跟前 积水仍不断上涨 by the minute every minute minute by minute一分钟一分钟地 例 I m feeling better by the minute 我每分钟都感觉好多了 blast n a strong rush of air or wind 一股 气流 一阵 风 douse n plunge or thrust suddenly into liquid drench pour liquid over 把 浸入液体里 使浸透 泼液体在 上 10 Everybody out the back door to the car John yelled We ll pass the children along between us Count them Nine 都从后门到汽车上去 约翰提高嗓门大叫道 我们把孩子 2 们一个个递过 去 数一数 一共九个 11 The children went from adult to adult like buckets in a fire brigade But the cars wouldn t start the electrical systems had been killed by water The wind was too strong and the water too deep to flee on foot Back to the house John yelled Count the children Count Nine 孩子们从大人手上像救火队的水桶一样被递了过去 可是汽车不能发动了 它的 点火系统被水泡坏了 水深风急 又不可能靠两只脚逃命 回屋里去 约翰 高声喊道 数一数孩子们 一共九个 brigade n a group of people organized to function unit in some work 组织起来执行某种任务的 队 12 As they scrambled back John ordered Everybody on the stairs Frightened breathless and wet the group settled on the stairs which were protected by two interior walls The children put the cat spooky and a box with her four kittens on the landing She peered nervously at her litter The neighbor s dog curled up and went to sleep 等他们爬着回到屋里后 约翰又命令道 都到楼梯上去 于是大家都跑到 靠两堵内墙保护的楼梯上歇着 个个吓得要命 气喘吁吁 浑身湿透 孩子们 把取名为斯普琪的一只猫和一个装着四只小猫仔的盒子放在楼梯平台上 斯普 琪心神不定地打量着自己的幼仔 邻人的那条狗已蜷起身子睡着了 scramble v climb crawl or clamber hurriedly爬行 攀 登 litter n the young borne at one time by a dog cat or other animal which normally bears several young at a delivery 狗 猫等多产动物 一胎生下的小动物 13 The wind sounded like the roar of a train passing a few yards away The house shuddered and shifted on its foundations Water inched its way up the steps as first floor outside walls collapsed No one spoke Everyone knew there was no escape they would live or die in the house 狂风就像在身边呼啸而过的列车一样发出震耳的响声 房屋在地基上晃动移位 一楼的外墙坍塌了 海水渐渐地漫上了楼梯 大家沉默无语 谁都明白现在已是 无路可逃 死活都只好留在崖子里了 5 shudder n shake or tremble suddenly and violently as in horror or extreme disgust震颤 战栗 14 Charlie Hill had more or less taken responsibility for the neighbor and her two children The mother on the verge of panic She clutched his arm and kept repeating I can t swim I can t swim 查理 希尔对邻家的妇女和她那两个孩子多少尽了一点责任 那妇女简直吓昏 了头 她紧紧地抓住他的胳膊连声叫道 我不会游泳 我可不会游泳啊 15 You won t have to he told her with outward calm It s bound to end soon 不会游泳也不要紧 他强作镇定地安慰她道 一会儿便什么都过去了 16 Grandmother Koshak reached an arm around husband s shoulder and put her mouth close to his ear Pop she said I love you He turned his head and answered I love you and his voice lacked its usual gruffness 柯夏克老奶奶伸出胳臂挽住丈夫的肩膀 把嘴凑到他的耳边说 老爷子 我爱 你 柯老爹扭过头来也回了一句 我爱你 一一 说话声已不像平日那样粗 声粗气的厂 17 John watched the water lap at the steps and felt a crushing guilt He had underestimated the ferocity of Camille He had assumed that what had never happened could not happen He held his head between his hands and silently prayed Get us through this mess will You 约翰望着海水漫过一级一级的台阶 心里感到一阵强烈的内疚 都怪他低估了 卡米尔号飓风的危险性 一直认为未曾发生过的事情决不会发生 他两手抱着 头 默默地祈祷着 啊 上帝 保佑我们度过这 难关吧 ferocity n wild force or cruelty ferociousness 凶猛 凶恶 残忍 暴行 18 A moment later the hurricane in one mighty swipe lifted the entire roof off the house and skimmed it 40 feet through the air The bottom steps of the staircase broke apart One wall began crumbling on the marooned group 不一会儿 阵强风掠过 将整个屋顶卷入空中 抛向 4 英尺以外 楼梯底 层的几级台阶断裂开来 有一堵墙眼看着就要倒向这群陷入进退维谷境地的男 女老少 swipe n a hard sweeping blow 口 猛击 重击 maroon av leave abandoned isolated or helpless使处于孤立无援的处境 19 Dr Robert H Simpson director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami Fla graded Hurricane Camille as the greatest recorded storm ever to hit a populated area in the Western Hemisphere In its concentrated breadth of some 70 miles it shot out winds of nearly 200 mph and raised tides as high as 30 feet Along the Gulf Coast it devastated everything in its swath 19 467 homes and 709 small businesses were demolished or severely damaged It seized a 600 000 gallon Gulfport oil tank and dumped it 3 5 miles away It tore three large cargo ships from their moorings and 6 beached them Telephone poles and 20 inch thick pines cracked like guns as the winds snapped them 设在弗罗里达州迈阿密的国家飓风中心主任罗伯特 H 辛普森博士将卡米尔 号飓风列为 有过记载的袭击西半球有人居住地区的最猛烈的一场飓风 在飓 风中心纵横约 70 英里的范围内 其风速接近每小时 200 英里 掀起的浪头高达 30 英尺 海湾沿岸风过之处 所有东西都被一扫而光 19 467 户人家和 709 家 小商号不是完全被毁 便是遭到严重破坏 高尔夫港一个 60 万加仑的油罐被狂 风刮起 摔到 3 5 英里以外 三艘大型货轮被刮离泊位 推上岸滩 电线杆和 20 英寸粗的松树一遇狂风袭击便像连珠炮似的根根断裂 devastate nv destroy lay waste make desolate毁坏 摧毁 使荒芜 swath n the space or width covered with one cut of a scythe or other mowing device刈幅 挥动镰刀所及的面积 20 To the west of the Gulfport the town of Pass Christian was virtually wiped out Several vacationers at the luxurious Richelieu Apartments there held a hurricane party to watch the storm from their spectacular vantage point Richelieu Apartments were smashed apart as if by a gigantic fist and 26 people perished 位于高尔夫港以西的帕斯克里斯琴镇几乎被夷为平地 住在该镇那座豪华的黎 赛留公寓度假的几位旅客组织了一次聚会 从他们所居的有利地位观赏飓风的 壮观景象 结果像是有一个其大无比的拳头把公寓打得粉碎 26 人因此丧生 21 Seconds after the roof blew off the Koshak house John yelled Up the stairs into our bedroom Count the kids The children huddled in the slashing rain within the circle of adults Grandmother Koshak implored Children let s sing The children were too frightened to respond She carried on alone for a few bars then her voice trailed away 柯夏克家的屋顶一被掀走 约翰就高喊道 快上楼一一到卧室里去 数数孩 子 在倾盆大雨中 大人们围成一圈 让孩子们紧紧地挤在中间 柯夏克老奶 奶哀声切切地说道 孩子们 咱们大家来唱支歌吧 孩子们都吓呆了 根本 没一点反应 老奶奶独个儿唱了几句 然后她的声音就完全消失了 huddle v crowd push or nestle close together as cows do in a storm 如 风暴中的牛群 挤成一团 拥挤 互相紧贴 slashing a severe merciless violent严厉的 猛烈的 implore v ask or beg earnestly beseech恳求 哀求 乞 bar v a vertical line across a staff dividing it into measures a measure小 节线 五线谱上的纵线把五线谱分成小节 小节 trail v grow gradually weaker dimmer less direct etc 渐弱 渐小 渐暗 22 Debris flew as the living room fireplace and its chimney collapsed With two walls in their bedroom sanctuary beginning to disintegrate John order Into the television room This was the room farthest from the direction of the storm 客厅的壁炉和烟囱崩塌了下来 弄得瓦砾横飞 眼看他们栖身的那间卧室 电有两面墙壁行将崩塌 约翰立即命令大伙 进电视室去 这是离开风头最 远的一个房间 7 debri 复 debris n a rough broken bit and piece of a stone wood glass etc as after destruction rubble碎片 瓦砾 sanctuary n a place of refuge or protection asylum 避难所 庇护所 23 For an instant John put his arm around his wife Janis understood Shivering from the wind and rain and fear clutching two children to her she thought Dear Lord give me the strength to endure what I have to She felt anger against the hurricane We won t let it win 约翰用手将妻子搂了一下 詹妮丝心里明白了他的意思 由于风雨和恐惧 她 不住地发抖 她一面拉过两个孩子紧贴在自己身边 一面默祷着 亲爱的上帝 啊 赐给我力量 让我经受住必须经受的一切吧 她心里怨恨这场飓风 我们 一定不会让它得胜 24 Pop Koshak raged silently frustrated at not being able to do anything to fight Camille Without reason he dragged a cedar chest and a double mattress from a bedroom into the TV room At that moment the wind tore out one wall and extinguished the lantern A second wall moved wavered Charlie Hill tried to support it but it toppled on him injuring his back The house shuddering and rocking had moved 25 feet from its foundation The world seemed to be breaking apart 柯夏克老爹心中窝着一团火 深为自己在飓风面前无能为力而感到懊丧 也说 不清为什么 他跑到一问卧室里去将一只杉木箱和一个双人床垫拖进了电视室 就在这里 一面墙壁被风刮倒了 提灯也被吹灭 另外又有一面墙壁在移动 在摇晃 查理 希尔试图以身子撑住它 但结果墙还是朝他这边塌了下来 把他 的背部也给砸伤了 房子在颤动摇晃 已从地基上挪开了 25 英尺 整个世界似 乎都要分崩离析了 cedar n any of a genus of widespreading coniferous trees of the pine family having clusters of needlelike leaves cones and durable wood with a characteristic fragrance雪松 属 extinguish v put out a fire etc quench smother熄灭 火等 灭 火 扑灭 waver v swing or sway to and fro flutter摇摆 摇晃 摇曳 topple v fall top forward lean forward as if on the point of falling向前倒 摇摇欲坠 25 Let s get that mattress up John shouted to his father Make it a lean to against the wind Get the kids under it We can prop it up with our heads and shoulders 我们来把床垫竖起来 约翰对父亲大声叫道 把它斜靠着挡挡风 让孩 子们躲到垫子下面去 我们可以用头和肩膀把垫子 26 The larger children sprawled on the floor with smaller ones in a layer on top of them and the adults bent over all nine The floor tilted The box containing the litter of the kittens slid off a shelf and vanished in the wind Spooky flew off the top of a sliding bookcase and also disappeared The dog cowered with eyes closed A third wall gave way Water lapped across the slanting floor John grabbed a door which was still hinged to one closet wall If the floor goes he yelled at his father let s get the kids on this 8 大一点的孩子趴在地板上 小一点的一层层地压在大的身上 大人们都弯下身 子罩住他们 地板倾斜了 装着那一窝四只小猫的盒子从架上滑下来 一下子 就在风中消失了 斯普琪被从一个嵌板书柜顶上刮走而不见踪影了 那只狗紧 闭着双眼 缩成一团 又一面墙壁倒塌了 水拍打着倾斜的地板 约翰抓住一 扇还连在壁柜墙上的门 对他父亲大声叫道 假若地板塌了 咱们就把孩子 放到这块门板上面 lean to n a roof with a single slope its upper edge abutting a wall or building a shed with a one slope roof单坡 屋顶 单坡屋顶的棚 prop v hold up support or hold in place with or as with a prop支撑 维持 支持 tilt v aslope incline slant tip倾斜 倾侧 翘起 cower v crouch or huddle up as from fear or cold 因害怕或寒冷而 蜷缩 退 缩 slant v incline or turn from a direct line or course esp one that is perpendicular or level slope 使 倾斜 使 变歪 hinge v equip with or attach by a hinge靠铰链转动 或附着 27 In that moment the wind slightly diminished and the water stopped rising Then the water began receding The main thrust of Camille had passed The Koshaks and their friends had survived 就在这一刹那间 风势稍缓了一些 水也不再上涨了 随后水开始退落 卡米 尔号飓风的中心过去了 柯夏克一家和他们的朋友都幸存下来了 diminish v reduce in size degree importance etc lessen使变小 减少 缩减 thrust n a sudden forceful push or shove猛推 28 With the dawn Gulfport people started coming back to their homes They saw human bodies more than 130 men women and children died along the Mississippi coast the parts of the beach and highway were strewn with dead dogs cats cattle Strips of clothing festooned the standing trees and blown down power lines coiled like black spaghetti over the roads 天刚破晓 高尔夫港的居民便开始陆续返回家园 他们看到了遇难者的尸体一 一密西西比沿海一带就有 130 多名男女和儿童丧生一海滩和公路上有些地方布 满了死狗死猫和死牲畜 尚未被风刮倒的树上结彩似地挂满被撕成布条的衣服 吹断的电线像黑色的实心面一样盘成一圈一圈地散在路面上 strew v spread about here and there by or as by sprinkling scatter be scattered or dispersed over a surface 撒 布 散播 被撒满 表面 festoon v adorn or hang with flowers leave paper etc 饰以 或悬挂 花彩 结彩于 coil v wind around and around成卷状 盘绕o卷 spaghetti n paste in the form f long thin strings cooked by boiling or steaming and served with a sauce细条实心面 29 None of the returnees moved quickly or spoke loudly they stood shocked trying 9 to absorb the shattering scenes before their eyes What do we do they asked Where do we go 那些从外面返回家乡的人们个个都是慢慢地走动着 也没有谁高声大叫 他们 怔住了 呆立当地 不知该怎么才能接受眼前这幅使人惊骇的惨景 他们问道 我们该怎么办 我们该上哪儿去呢 30 By this time organizations within the area and in effect the entire population of the United States had come to the aid of the devastated coast Before dawn the Mississippi National Guard civil defense units were moving in to handle traffic guard property set up communications centers help clear the debris and take the homeless by truck and bus to refugee center By 10 a m the Salvation Army s canteen trucks and Red Cross volunteers and stuffers were going wherever possible to distribute hot drinks food clothing and bedding 这时 该地区的一些团体 实际上还有全美国的人民 都向沿海受灾地区伸 出了援助之手 天还没亮 密西西比州国民警卫队和一些民防队便开进灾区 管理交通 保护财物 建立通讯联络中心 帮助清理废墟并将无家可归的人送 往难民收容中心 上午十时许 救世军的流动快餐车和红十字会志愿队及工作 人员已开往所有能够到达的地方去分发热饮料 食品 衣服和卧具了 salvation n a saving 0r being saved from danger evil difficulty destruction etc rescue救助o拯救 援救 canteen n a place where cooked food is dispensed to people in distress as in a disaster area 在灾区给灾民分配熟食的 赈灾处 31 From hundreds of towns and cities across the country came several million dollars in donations household and medical supplies streamed in by plane t