【双语有声阅读】孩子们的志愿(3)

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And whenever his boat was laid up he would come home and swell¹ around the town in his blackest and greasiest² clothes, so that nobody could help remembering that he was a steamboatman; and he used all sorts of steamboat technicalities in his talk, as if he were so used to them that he forgot common people could not understand them.

如果一旦那艘船停得久一些，他就会回家看看。在镇上的每个角落，都可以看到他穿着那套油腻，肮脏的外套到处招摇，恨不得告诉每个人他是一名轮船水手。他一开口，便全是术语，好像习以为常似的，却忘记了普通人根本听不懂。

Two or three of the boys had long been persons of consideration among us because they had been to St.Louis once and had a vague general knowledge of its wonders, but the day of their glory was over now.

我们那些伙伴中又两三个一直受到大家的羡慕，因为他们过去去过一次圣路易斯，对那儿的新鲜事略知一二，但是如今他们的光辉岁月已经结束了。

They lapsed³ into a humble⁴ silence, and learned to disappear when the ruthless 'cub'-engineer approached.

他们很有自知之明，从此不再声张；而且一旦那个冷酷无情的机械师小崽子来到身边，就赶紧溜走。

This fellow had money, too, and hair oil.

这个家伙还有很多钱，头上抹得亮亮的发油。

If ever a youth was cordially admired and hated by his comrades, this one was.

假如有个年轻人既能让他的伙伴羡慕不已，又能让伙伴对他恨之入骨，那么这个人就非他莫属。

No girl could withstand his charms. He 'cut out' every boy in the village.

任何一个女孩都抵抗不了他的魅力，他是镇上风头最胜的男孩。

When his boat blew up at last, it diffused⁵ a tranquil⁶ contentment among us such as we had not known for months.

后来，传来他那条船爆炸的消息。私下里，我们所有人都对他的灾难感到高兴，而且好几个月都没这么开心了。

But when he came home the next week, alive, renowned⁷, and appeared in church all battered⁸ up and bandaged, a shining hero, stared at and wondered over by everybody, it seemed to us that the partiality of Providence⁹ for an undeserving reptile¹⁰ had reached a point where it was open to criticism.

然而，出乎意料的是，一个星期以后，这个家伙居然又活生生地回来了，并且还因此成了名人。他满身伤痕，绑着厚厚的绑带来到教堂，他成了名声显赫的大英雄。所有人都注视着他，每个人都对他吃惊不已。在我们看来，老天是如此偏袒一个一文不值的卑鄙小人，这简直令人无法忍受。

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