The Hunting Trip
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
José scurried up a makeshift ladder, which was nothing more than strips of scrap wood nailed to the trunk of the ancient oak.
José爬上一个临时梯子 只不过是被钉入古橡树干上的废木条
He pulled himself onto the flimsy sheet of plywood that served as the floor of the tree stand.
他把自己拉到胶合板上 作为树摊的地板
He gently set his rifle down and took a seat in one of the two aluminum folding chairs while his father slowly followed him.
他轻轻地放下了步枪并坐在两把铝折叠椅上,而父亲却慢慢地跟着他.
José noticed that his father was slightly out of breath when he reached the top, stopping to pull a Thermos of steaming coffee from his deep jacket pocket and grimacing as he swallowed.
José注意到他的父亲在到达顶端时略微喘不过气来,停止从他深厚的夹克口袋中取出一瓶蒸咖啡来取出热液,并吞下后变得阴沉.
José felt his own chest constricting and realized he had been holding his breath for some time.
何塞感到自己的胸口收缩,意识到自己已经屏住呼吸了一段时间.
He recalled his father’s advice about nerves: “Deep breaths work better than you think.”
他回顾了他父亲关于神经问题的建议: " 深呼吸比你想得更好。 “
He drew a big lungful of air.
他画出一大股肺部的空气。
His father heard him exhaling.
他的父亲听到他呼气。
“You nervous?”
“你紧张吗? “
he asked.
他问。
“No.
“否。
well, a little,” José admitted.
有点,"何塞承认.
“Just remember that we’re the only ones out here for miles.
“只要记住,我们是唯一在外数英里的人。
I’d be the only one to see you if you did anything embarrassing, and I’ve seen you do plenty of embarrassing things,” his father chuckled.
如果你做了出乎意料的事, 我将是唯一能看到你的人,
“I know,” José said.
“我知道,”何塞说。
He took another deep breath, tasting the freshness of the woods around them, watching the vapor cloud materialize in front of his face.
他又深呼吸了,尝到周围树林的新鲜味,看着蒸发云在他面前出现.
But he still clutched the barrel of his rifle so tightly that his fingers grew numb.
但他仍然紧紧地握住枪管,手指变得麻木.
He regretted being so anxious, unable to truly enjoy the beauty of the forest around them.
他后悔如此焦虑,无法真正享受周围森林的美.
The open meadow below the tree stand was dim and frosty on this early November morning.
11月初,树亭下开阔的草地被阴暗地冻。
“Now that we’re set in our place, we’ll need to wait quietly for about half an hour before the animals forget we’re here.
需要静静地等半小时,
Until then, we probably won’t see a thing,” José’s father explained.
我们可能不会看到任何东西,
Remaining still for half an hour dragged on forever, and as his father had promised, they saw nothing.
仍然活了半个小时,一直拖着,正如他父亲所承诺的那样,他们没有看到任何东西。
But just as the minute hand of José’s watch seemed about to give up and freeze altogether, he heard a rustle—a squirrel.
他听到一只松鼠。
Soon he heard other creatures; crows and ravens flapped overhead, cawing and croaking, leaving José wondering whether the birds’ breath also left little clouds in the air.
很快,他听到其他生物的声音;乌鸦和乌鸦在高地上飘来飘去、弯曲和叫叫,让何塞怀疑鸟类的呼吸是否也给空气留下了小云.
Three or four rabbits browsed among the leaf litter underneath the tree stand.
三到四只兔子在树下树台的叶子上浏览
Suddenly José and his father heard the sharp footfalls of their approaching quarry—the white-tailed deer.
José和他的父亲突然听到他们接近采石场的尖锐脚下——白尾鹿。
All the hunting advice José’s father had ever given him began to rush through José’s head: “Don’t ever shoot unless you’re absolutely sure you see antlers—we don’t want to kill a doe, and we certainly don’t want to kill another hunter.”
所有狩猎建议 Jos-é’s的父亲曾经给他 开始匆忙地穿过Jos-é’s的头: 除非绝对确定你看到鹿角, 否则千万不要开枪, 我们不想杀一只鹿, “
“If you can’t see more than half the deer’s body at one time, you’re too far away and there are too many trees and bushes between you and it.”
“如果你一次看不到超过半只鹿的身体, “
“Aim just ahead of where you want to hit, because deer move when you least expect them.”
“就在你想打的地方前面,因为鹿在最不期待的时候会移动。 “
As if fulfilling a checklist in José’s brain, a buck stepped smoothly into view.
仿佛在José’s大脑里完成了一个检查表, 一块钱顺利地进入了视野。
It definitely had antlers, it was in plain view, and José aimed his rifle just ahead of its chest.
它肯定有鹿角, 它在平坦的视野, 何塞瞄准他的步枪 就在它的胸前。
The buck was big and sleek, with soft brown eyes and a white rump under its flicking tail.
雄鹿又大又柔软 有柔软的棕色眼睛 有一头白发的长尾巴
José marked it in his crosshairs, feeling the trigger underneath his finger.
José用他的交叉发型标出它,感觉他的指下有扳机.
“José,” his father said, not even whispering as he pointed his chin toward the buck, “go ahead.”
他父亲说,“José,”他用下巴指着公鹿时,甚至没有低声说话,“继续。 “
“No,” José said out loud, lowering his rifle.
" 不, " 何塞大声地说,放下了步枪。
The deer surely heard him, for it swiveled its ears around until all of its senses focused on the tree stand, alert and confused, before it jogged away.
鹿的确听见他的声音,因为它摇动了耳朵,直到它所有的感官都集中在树站上,警惕和困惑,然后它就慢跑了.
“Are you angry with me?”
“你在生我的气吗? “
José asked his father.
何塞问他的父亲。
“No, José, I’m not,” he replied.
" 不,何塞,我没有, " 他回答说。
“In fact, I did the very same thing the first time I went out hunting with my father.”
“事实上,我第一次与父亲出门打猎时也做了同样的事情。 “
José felt relieved.
约瑟感到放心。
“Really?”
“真的吗? “
he said.
他说。
“I have a lot of time to think when I’m out here alone in the tree stand, and I’ve decided something about hunting.
我决定打猎。
When we buy meat at the supermarket, we never see the animal it comes from,” his father explained.
在超市买肉时,
“But when we hunt, we see the animal, and we shoot the animal, and we take it home and eat its meat.
“但是,当我们狩猎时,我们看见了动物,我们射击了动物,我们把它带回家吃它的肉。
It’s more than just eating— it’s an interaction between one person and one animal,” his father continued.
他的父亲继续说道,
“ And sometimes the animal looks at you, and you know you shouldn’t shoot it.
“...... 有时动物会看着你,你知道你不应该拍它。
Sometimes I feel proud to get a buck, like I’ve won a race or I’m a cougar that caught its prey.
有时我感到很骄傲能拿到一块钱,
But sometimes I feel like you just felt, and I’m glad you have that sense, too.
我很高兴你也有这种感觉。
If you shoot even when your heart tells you not to, that means you’re killing without caring, without paying attention to the interaction between you and the animal.
如果你开枪,即使你的心脏告诉你不要, 这意味着你正在杀人 不关心, 不注意你和动物之间的互动。
Some people never shoot, and some people don’t think hunting is right at all, and that’s okay, too.”
有些人从不开枪, 有些人认为打猎不对, “
José inhaled deeply and relaxed for the first time all morning.
何塞一上午第一次深呼吸和放松.
His father took out the Thermos again, popped the cup off the top, filled it, and handed it to José.
他的父亲又取出"瑟摩斯",把杯子从顶上弹出,填满后交给了何塞.
“You want me to drink coffee?”
“你要我喝咖啡吗? “
José asked.
约斯问.
“It’s hot cocoa,” his father answered.
他父亲回答说,
“I brought it for you.”
“我给你带来了。 “