3级-《野性的呼唤》-第2课

前情提要

巴克是米勒先生家狗狗的首领，它在米勒先生家生活了很久了。1897年，园丁曼纽尔把巴克带到了火车站，卖给了一个人……

故事原文

The Call of the Wild 2

野性的呼唤 2

'That makes(1) a hundred and fifty. It's a good price for a dog like him. Here, help me to get him into this.'

“也就是说150美元。对于这样一条狗可真是个好价钱。这边来，帮我把他弄到这里去。”

They took off Buck's rope and pushed him into a wooden box. He spent the night in the box in the back room of the bar. His neck still ached with pain from the rope, and he could not understand what it all meant. What did they want with him, these strange men? And where was Mr Miller?

他们解开巴克的绳索，把他推进一只木箱里。他在酒吧后屋的那个木箱中过了一夜。他的脖子仍然因为绳子勒过而疼痛不已，而且所有的一切都令他如坠雾里云中。这些陌生人，他们想让他做什么呢？米勒先生又在哪里呢？

The next day Buck was carried in the box to the railway station and put on a train to the north. For two days and nights the train travelled north, and for two days and nights Buck neither ate nor(2) drank. Men on the train laughed at him and pushed sticks at him through the holes in the box. For two days and nights Buck got angrier and hungrier and thirstier. His eyes grew red and he bit anything that moved.

第二天巴克被关在木箱里运到火车站，送上了北去的列车。火车向北开了两天两夜。这两天两夜，巴克滴水未进。火车上的人们嘲笑他，把木棍从箱子上的洞口伸进去捅他。这两天两夜，巴克越来越怒火中烧，也越来越饥渴难忍。他红着眼睛，撕咬所有移动的东西。

In Seattle four men took Buck to a small, high-walled back garden, where a fat man in an old red coat was waiting. Buck was now very angry indeed and he jumped and bit at the sides of his box. The fat man smiled and went to get an axe and a club.

在西雅图，四个人把巴克抬进一座小小的但却有高高院墙的庄园里。一个身着旧红外套的肥胖男人正等在那里。这当口儿巴克已经愤怒到了极点。他跳着，咬着木箱的边缘。那胖子微微一笑，拿来一把斧子和一根木棍。

'Are you going to take him out now?' asked one of the men.

“你打算现在就把他放出来吗？”其中一人问道。

'Of course,' answered the fat man, and he began to break the box with his axe.

“当然。”胖子说。他开始用斧子劈开木箱。

Immediately the four other men climbed up onto the wall to watch from a safe place.

立刻，另外4个人都爬上院墙，从安全的地方观望着。

As the fat man hit the box with his axe, Buck jumped at the sides, growling and biting, pulling with his teeth at the pieces of broken wood. After a few minutes there was a hole big enough for Buck to get out.

当那个胖子用斧头劈木箱时，巴克在里面四处跳着、咆哮着、撕咬着，用牙齿扯着碎木片。一会儿，就有了一个大洞，巴克可以钻出来了。

'Now, come here, red eyes,' said the fat man, dropping his axe and taking the club in his right hand.

“现在，过来，你这急红了眼的。”那胖子说着扔下斧头，右手抄起木棍。

Buck jumped at the man, sixty kilos of anger, his mouth wide open ready to bite(3) the man's neck. Just before his teeth touched the skin, the man hit him with the club. Buck fell to the ground. It was the first time anyone had hit him with a club and he did not understand. He stood up, and jumped again. Again the club hit him and he crashed to the ground. Ten times he jumped at the man, and ten times the club hit him. Slowly he got to his feet, now only just able to stand. There was blood on his nose and mouth and ears. Then the fat man walked up and hit him again, very hard, on the nose. The pain was terrible. Again, Buck jumped at the man and again he was hit to the ground. A last time he jumped, and this time, when the man knocked him down(4), Buck did not move.

巴克60公斤的愤怒之躯扑向那人，他大张着嘴准备一口咬住那人的脖子。就在他的牙齿快要碰到皮肤的时候，那人用棍子给了他一下，巴克摔倒在地。这还是头一次有人用棍子打他，他不知所措。他站起来，再次猛扑过去，木棍再次击中了他使他瘫倒在地。他扑了10次，木棍打了他10次。他慢慢地站起来，现在他仅能勉强站住。鲜血从他的口鼻和耳朵中涌出来。然后那人走上前又打他，狠狠地击中了他的鼻子。剧痛袭来，巴克再一次扑向那人，但他又被打倒在地。最后一次他扑上去，而这一次，当那人把他打倒时，巴克再也没有动弹一下。

（原文中出现高光标示内容请见核心语言点）

核心语言点 

1. make 合计为，总计

例句：

- I'm hungry.

我饿了。

- That makes two of us.

我也饿了。

There are nine people coming, plus me, which makes ten.

有 9 个人过来，加上我，一共 10 个人。

2. neither... nor... 既不……也不……

例句：

They speak neither French nor German, but a strange mixture of the two.

他们说的既不是法语也不是德语， 而是两者的古怪混合。

I neither know nor care what happened to him.

我不知道， 也不关心他出了什么事。

3. bite 咬

例句：

Just go and ask her - she won't bite.

你去问问她——别怕， 她又不咬人。

It's not going to bite me.

多大点事。

4. knock down 击倒，打倒，推倒

例句：

We're going to knock down a wall to create a bigger room.

我们准备把墙推倒， 让空间更大点。

The storm knocked down several big trees.

暴风雨吹倒了很多大树。