美国小学英语教材5:第23课 邮件必须送达(5)

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　　yelled the mayor of St.Joseph, and he brought the broad palm of his hand down smartly upon the bay pony¹'s flank. 圣约瑟夫市长叫了起来，他把他那宽大的手掌利索地伸到海湾矮种马的腰上。

　　As if he had been shot from a gun, the animal sprang away and galloped² toward the big ferryboat that waited at the bank of the Missouri River to carry man and pony across. 这只动物就像被枪击中一样，飞快地奔跑，奔向那艘在密苏里河岸边等待着载着人类和小马过河的大渡船。

　　William's service to the pony express 威廉为"快马邮递"公司服务

　　For a moment William Saunders stared after them, his blood tingling³ with the thrill of the occasion. 威廉·桑德斯盯着他们看了一会儿，他的血液因这一场面而沸腾。

　　Then, with two-score other youngsters at his heels, he raced for the top of a big bluff⁴ at the edge of the river 然后，四十个年轻人跟在他后面，他跑到河边缘的一个大悬崖顶部，

　　in order to keep the horse and rider in sight as long as possible after they had reached the sandy stretch on the other side of the river. 以便在马儿和骑手到达河对岸的沙质地带后，尽可能看到他们。

　　From the top of that bluff in the days that followed the boy kept frequent watch with his spyglass. 在接下来的日子里，这个男孩经常从悬崖顶上用望远镜观察。

　　And it was he who sighted the rider bringing the first pouch⁵ of mail from the West; 就是他看见骑手从西方带来第一个邮袋；

　　he ran through the streets shouting the news aloud so that when the ferry touched the near bank, the Pony Express rider found himself surrounded by a throng⁶ of excited settlers. 他跑过街道，大声呼喊着这个消息，所以当渡船到达岸边时，"快马邮递"的骑手发现自己被一群激动的人们包围了。

　　To the boy, "The mail must go through" had become a slogan which guided his daily life. 对这个男孩来说，"邮件必须送达"已经成为一个指导他日常生活的口号。

　　His part, though small, was as important to him as if upon his shoulders alone rested the responsibility for seeing that the mail did go through. 他的角色虽然很小，但对他来说同样重要，就好像他的肩膀上独自承担着看邮件通过的责任。

　　His job was to see that the Express ponies⁷ were kept in condition for their difficult work, and he watched and tended them with a care and faith fulness that became a sort of joke in the settlement. 他的工作是确保这些快速小马的状况能够应付艰难工作，但威廉以一种关心和信任的态度观察和照顾他们，这在当地成了一个笑话。

　　"The mail must go through!" William would exclaim stoutly⁸. "邮件一定送达！"威廉坚定地大声说出。

　　"How is it going to do that, tell me, if I don't see that the ponies are always fit?" "你说，若我没有确保小马都是健康的，怎么会安全送达呢？"

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