A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Chapter 44(2)
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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

A Postscript1 by Clarence

I, CLARENCE, must write it for him. He proposed that we two go out and see if any help could be accorded(符合,一致) the wounded. I was strenuous2(紧张的,奋发的) against the project. I said that if there were many, we could do but little for them; and it would not be wise for us to trust ourselves among them, anyway. But he could seldom be turned from a purpose once formed; so we shut off the electric current from the fences, took an escort(陪同,护卫) along, climbed over the enclosing ramparts(壁垒) of dead knights4, and moved out upon the field. The first wounded mall who appealed for help was sitting with his back against a dead comrade. When The Boss bent5 over him and spoke6 to him, the man recognized him and stabbed him. That knight3 was Sir Meliagraunce, as I found out by tearing off his helmet. He will not ask for help any more.

We carried The Boss to the cave and gave his wound, which was not very serious, the best care we could. In this service we had the help of Merlin, though we did not know it. He was disguised as a woman, and appeared to be a simple old peasant goodwife. In this disguise, with brown-stained face and smooth shaven, he had appeared a few days after The Boss was hurt and offered to cook for us, saying her people had gone off to join certain new camps which the enemy were forming, and that she was starving. The Boss had been getting along very well, and had amused himself with finishing up his record.

We were glad to have this woman, for we were short handed. We were in a trap, you see -- a trap of our own making. If we stayed where we were, our dead would kill us; if we moved out of our defenses, we should no longer be invincible7(无敌的) . We had conquered; in turn we were conquered. The Boss recognized this; we all recognized it. If we could go to one of those new camps and patch up some kind of terms with the enemy -- yes, but The Boss could not go, and neither could I, for I was among the first that were made sick by the poisonous air bred by those dead thousands. Others were taken down, and still others. To-morrow --

TO-MORROW. It is here. And with it the end. About midnight I awoke, and saw that hag making curious passes in the air about The Boss's head and face, and wondered what it meant. Everybody but the dynamo-watch lay steeped in sleep; there was no sound. The woman ceased from her mysterious foolery, and started tip-toeing toward the door. I called out:

"Stop! What have you been doing?"

She halted, and said with an accent of malicious8 satisfaction:

"Ye were conquerors9; ye are conquered! These others are perishing -- you also. Ye shall all die in this place -- every one -- except HIM. He sleepeth now -- and shall sleep thirteen centuries. I am Merlin!"

Then such a delirium10(精神错乱) of silly laughter overtook him that he reeled about like a drunken man, and presently fetched up against one of our wires. His mouth is spread open yet; apparently11 he is still laughing. I suppose the face will retain that petrified12(惊呆的) laugh until the corpse13 turns to dust.

The Boss has never stirred -- sleeps like a stone. If he does not wake to-day we shall understand what kind of a sleep it is, and his body will then be borne to a place in one of the remote recesses14 of the cave where none will ever find it to desecrate15 it. As for the rest of us -- well, it is agreed that if any one of us ever escapes alive from this place, he will write the fact here, and loyally hide this Manuscript with The Boss, our dear good chief, whose property it is, be he alive or dead.

THE END OF THE MANUSCRIPT

FINAL P.S. BY M.T.

THE dawn was come when I laid the Manuscript aside. The rain had almost ceased, the world was gray and sad, the exhausted16 storm was sighing and sobbing17 itself to rest. I went to the stranger's room, and listened at his door, which was slightly ajar(微开的) . I could hear his voice, and so I knocked. There was no answer, but I still heard the voice. I peeped in. The man lay on his back in bed, talking brokenly(断断续续地) but with spirit, and punctuating18 with his arms, which he thrashed about, restlessly, as sick people do in delirium. I slipped in softly and bent over him. His mutterings and ejaculations went on. I spoke -- merely a word, to call his attention. His glassy eyes and his ashy face were alight in an instant with pleasure, gratitude19, gladness, welcome:

"Oh, Sandy, you are come at last -- how I have longed for you! Sit by me -- do not leave me -- never leave me again, Sandy, never again. Where is your hand? -- give it me, dear, let me hold it -- there -- now all is well, all is peace, and I am happy again -- WE are happy again, isn't it so, Sandy? You are so dim, so vague, you are but a mist, a cloud, but you are HERE, and that is blessedness sufficient; and I have your hand; don't take it away -- it is for only a little while, I shall not require it long...... Was that the child?...... Hello-Central!...... she doesn't answer. Asleep, perhaps? Bring her when she wakes, and let me touch her hands, her face, her hair, and tell her good-bye...... Sandy! Yes, you are there. I lost myself a moment, and I thought you were gone...... Have I been sick long? It must be so; it seems months to me. And such dreams! such strange and awful dreams, Sandy! Dreams that were as real as reality -- delirium, of course, but SO real! Why, I thought the king was dead, I thought you were in Gaul and couldn't get home, I thought there was a revolution; in the fantastic frenzy20 of these dreams, I thought that Clarence and I and a handful of my #p#分页标题#e#cadets(学员,士官生) fought and exterminated21 the whole chivalry22 of England! But even that was not the strangest. I seemed to be a creature out of a remote unborn age, centuries hence, and even THAT was as real as the rest! Yes, I seemed to have flown back out of that age into this of ours, and then forward to it again, and was set down, a stranger and forlorn in that strange England, with an abyss(深渊,无底洞) of thirteen centuries yawning(打呵欠) between me and you! between me and my home and my friends! between me and all that is dear to me, all that could make life worth the living! It was awful -- awfuler than you can ever imagine, Sandy. Ah, watch by me, Sandy -- stay by me every moment -- DON'T let me go out of my mind again; death is nothing, let it come, but not with those dreams, not with the torture of those hideous23 dreams -- I cannot endure THAT again...... Sandy?......"

He lay muttering incoherently(无条理地) some little time; then for a time he lay silent, and apparently sinking away toward death. Presently his fingers began to pick busily at the coverlet(被单,床罩) , and by that sign I knew that his end was at hand with the first suggestion of the death-rattle in his throat he started up slightly, and seemed to listen: then he said:

"A bugle24?...... It is the king! The drawbridge(吊桥) , there! Man the battlements! -- turn out the --"

He was getting up his last "effect"; but he never finished it.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 postscript gPhxp     
n.附言,又及;(正文后的)补充说明
参考例句:
  • There was the usual romantic postscript at the end of his letter.他的信末又是一贯的浪漫附言。
  • She mentioned in a postscript to her letter that the parcel had arrived.她在信末附笔中说包裹已寄到。
2 strenuous 8GvzN     
adj.奋发的,使劲的;紧张的;热烈的,狂热的
参考例句:
  • He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
  • You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。
3 knight W2Hxk     
n.骑士,武士;爵士
参考例句:
  • He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
  • A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。
4 knights 2061bac208c7bdd2665fbf4b7067e468     
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马
参考例句:
  • stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
  • He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。
5 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
6 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
7 invincible 9xMyc     
adj.不可征服的,难以制服的
参考例句:
  • This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
  • The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致,他们就是不可战胜的。
8 malicious e8UzX     
adj.有恶意的,心怀恶意的
参考例句:
  • You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
  • Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。
9 conquerors f5b4f288f8c1dac0231395ee7d455bd1     
征服者,占领者( conqueror的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Danes had selfconfidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. 这些丹麦人具有征服者的自信,而且他们的安全防卫也是漫不经心的。
  • The conquerors believed in crushing the defeated people into submission, knowing that they could not win their loyalty by the victory. 征服者们知道他们的胜利并不能赢得失败者的忠心,于是就认为只有通过武力才能将他们压服。
10 delirium 99jyh     
n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋
参考例句:
  • In her delirium, she had fallen to the floor several times. 她在神志不清的状态下几次摔倒在地上。
  • For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium.接下来的九个月,约伯处于持续精神错乱的状态。
11 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
12 petrified 2e51222789ae4ecee6134eb89ed9998d     
adj.惊呆的;目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆,使惊呆;变僵硬;使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
  • The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 corpse JYiz4     
n.尸体,死尸
参考例句:
  • What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
  • The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。
14 recesses 617c7fa11fa356bfdf4893777e4e8e62     
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 );(工作或业务活动的)中止或暂停期间;学校的课间休息;某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 );将(墙)做成凹形,在(墙)上做壁龛;休息,休会,休庭
参考例句:
  • I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 desecrate X9Sy3     
v.供俗用,亵渎,污辱
参考例句:
  • The enemy desecrate the church by using it as a stable.敌人亵渎这所教堂,把它当做马厩。
  • It's a crime to desecrate the country's flag.玷污国旗是犯罪。
16 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。
17 sobbing df75b14f92e64fc9e1d7eaf6dcfc083a     
<主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的
参考例句:
  • I heard a child sobbing loudly. 我听见有个孩子在呜呜地哭。
  • Her eyes were red with recent sobbing. 她的眼睛因刚哭过而发红。
18 punctuating b570cbab6b7d9f8edf13ca9e0b6e2923     
v.(在文字中)加标点符号,加标点( punctuate的现在分词 );不时打断某事物
参考例句:
  • Finally, it all came to a halt, with only Leehom's laboured breathing punctuating the silence. 最后,一切静止,只剩力宏吃力的呼吸,打破寂静。 来自互联网
  • Li, punctuating the air with her hands, her fingernails decorated with pink rose decals. 一边说着,一边用手在空中一挥,指甲上还画了粉红玫瑰图案。 来自互联网
19 gratitude p6wyS     
adj.感激,感谢
参考例句:
  • I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
  • She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。
20 frenzy jQbzs     
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动
参考例句:
  • He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
  • They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。
21 exterminated 26d6c11b25ea1007021683e86730eb44     
v.消灭,根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • It was exterminated root and branch. 它被彻底剪除了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The insects can be exterminated by spraying DDT. 可以用喷撒滴滴涕的方法大量杀死这种昆虫。 来自《用法词典》
22 chivalry wXAz6     
n.骑士气概,侠义;(男人)对女人彬彬有礼,献殷勤
参考例句:
  • The Middle Ages were also the great age of chivalry.中世纪也是骑士制度盛行的时代。
  • He looked up at them with great chivalry.他非常有礼貌地抬头瞧她们。
23 hideous 65KyC     
adj.丑陋的,可憎的,可怕的,恐怖的
参考例句:
  • The whole experience had been like some hideous nightmare.整个经历就像一场可怕的噩梦。
  • They're not like dogs,they're hideous brutes.它们不像狗,是丑陋的畜牲。
24 bugle RSFy3     
n.军号,号角,喇叭;v.吹号,吹号召集
参考例句:
  • When he heard the bugle call, he caught up his gun and dashed out.他一听到军号声就抓起枪冲了出去。
  • As the bugle sounded we ran to the sports ground and fell in.军号一响,我们就跑到运动场集合站队。
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