for Wild Things
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Alejandro was returning from a long day riding the estancia with the gauchos when he spotted a luxury SUV parked in front of the main house.
亚历杭德罗从很长的一天里 带着小马车回来 他发现一辆豪华的SUV停在正殿前
The heavy wooden door swung open, and his mother, Melissa, appeared alongside a tall, fair-skinned man Alejandro didn’t recognize.
他的母亲Melissa与一位高个子、身材平平平的男人Alejandro一起出现,
“Please consider the offer, Señora Ortega.
“请考虑这一提议,奥特加女士。
I’ll return in two weeks to discuss our future plans,” the man said with a broad smile.
我将在两周后回来讨论我们的未来计划,
“Together we can save this beautiful place.”
“一起拯救这个美丽的地方。 “
New cars and British accents were unusual on the rugged Patagonian steppe, so Alejandro was curious.
新车和英国口音在崎岖的帕塔戈尼亚草原上是不寻常的,所以亚历杭德罗很好奇.
“Who was that?”
“那是谁? “
he asked his mother as the SUV sped away in a cloud of dust along the old road.
他问他的母亲,当SUV 在一团尘埃中飞走 沿着老路。
“Someone with an idea,” his mother replied as she turned to go inside.
他的母亲回答说,“有一个想法的人”,当时她转身进去。
“Please go find Martín— we all need to have a talk.”
“请去找马丁——我们都需要谈谈。 “
She had never spoken to him in that tone before, and Alejandro couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding as he searched for the old gaucho.
亚历杭德罗在寻找旧食堂时,
“What is it?”
“这是什么? “
Martín asked when Alejandro found him.
马丁问亚历杭德罗何时发现他.
The boy could only shrug and start walking to the house, where they found his mother at the dining table.
男孩只能缩出血来并开始走去房子,他们在餐桌上发现了他的母亲.
Martín leaned against a post and sharpened the long blade of his facón.
Martín靠在柱子上并磨去他法孔的长刀.
“I have received an offer to sell the estancia to Mr.
“我收到一个提议,要将Estancia卖给A.先生。
Somerset on behalf of Eco-Tours International,” Melissa began.
Melissa开始。
Alejandro was surprised, not only by the offer but also that his mother was including him in the conversation.
亚历杭德罗惊讶地说,不仅这个提议,而且他的母亲把他包括在谈话中.
Since his father’s death two years ago, she had relied solely on Martín.
自从他父亲两年前去世以来,她一直只依靠马丁。
Alejandro fought back a small smile.
亚历杭德罗还击了一小笑.
“I’ve always hoped to maintain our land in the true gaucho tradition and keep it in the family, as it has been for generations, but we have to face the reality that we’re still losing money.
“我一直希望将我们的土地保留在真正的gaucho传统中,
I just don’t know how much longer we can keep the place going.”
我不知道我们还能维持多久。 “
Alejandro’s heart dropped as he thought of his father, who had always said the estancia— the land, people, and animals—was a family.
亚历杭德罗的心随他父亲的心跳而下降,他的父亲总是说,土地、人民和动物是一家人。
He couldn’t bear to think of losing another family member.
他无法忍受失去另一个家庭成员。
“What about the new rotation patterns and the smaller flocks?”
“新的自转模式和较小的羊群怎么办? “
Martín asked.
马丁问道.
Alejandro’s mother gave the gaucho a comforting smile.
亚历杭德罗的母亲给了gaucho一个安慰的微笑.
“They’ve helped—but it’s not enough, and it may be too little, too late.
" 他们帮了忙,但这还不够,而且可能太少,太迟了。
The land is overgrazed.”
地被过度放牧. “
With a sigh, she explained, “Eco-Tours International wants to buy the land, build a resort, and create a—how did he put it?
她叹息地说,“生态图尔国际想买地,建造度假地,并创造一个——他怎么说的?
—‘a destination for travelers to experience the legendary gaucho way of life and the stunning beauty of Patagonia.’
旅行者的目的地 体验传说中的Gaucho生活方式 和美丽的巴塔哥尼亚。 " ; "
“Not travelers—tourists!”
" 不是旅行者-旅游者! "
Martín almost spat the words.
马丁几乎吐出的话。
“You thought the same of me when Gerson brought me down from Santiago, but I was in awe of you gauchos, with your traditional berets, bombacha pantaloons, and leather boots,” Melissa said.
“Gerson把我从圣地亚哥带下来的时候,你也是这么想的,但我对你们这群贱民感到恐惧,你们的传统贝雷帽、平底裤和皮靴。
Martín grunted and focused on his facón, his expression the closest to blushing that Alejandro had ever seen.
Martín怒吼并专注于他的外表 他的表情最接近脸红 亚历杭德罗曾经见过。
“They just want to experience a bit of this culture, and I can’t say I blame them.”
我无法怪他们。 “
For a moment, Melissa had a faraway look in her eye, but it disappeared as she snapped back to the reality of their situation.
片刻,梅丽莎的眼神很遥远,但随着她回到他们的处境现实中而消失.
“Other estancias have already gone under from mismanagement, desertification, or people just giving up,” she continued.
她接着说,“其他流离失所者已经从管理不善、荒漠化或刚刚放弃的人们中脱身了”。
“This is a hard life.”
“这是艰难的生活。 “
She rubbed her forehead and sighed.
她擦了额头并叹了口气。
“Somerset said Alejandro and I could stay on for five years if we wanted, with me assisting with the management.”
“萨默塞特说,如果我们愿意,我和亚历杭德罗可以继续工作五年,由我协助管理。 “
“What would we do after that?”
“此后我们该怎么办? “
Alejandro asked, trying to keep his anxiety in check.
亚历杭德罗问,试图控制他的焦虑.
“What would happen to Martín and the other gauchos?
“Martín和其他gauchos会怎么样?
Some of them have been here more than thirty years!”
他们中有些人在这里已经超过30年了!”
“I’m not sure,” his mother said almost in a whisper.
“我不知道,”他母亲几乎悄悄地说:
“But Dad said—” Alejandro stopped himself, as the words caused his mother to wince as though someone had struck her.
" 但爸爸说: " 亚历杭德罗自己停下来了,因为那些话使他母亲好像有人打了她。
He didn’t need to say the estancia was family—she knew, and this was just as agonizing for her.
他不必说Estancia是一家人,
“Do we have to decide right now?”
“我们必须现在就作出决定吗? “
Martín asked.
马丁问道.
“Two weeks,” Melissa replied.
Melissa回答说,“两个星期”。
“Then we have two weeks to find a solution,” Alejandro said, trying to sound upbeat.
亚历杭德罗说,“然后我们有两周时间来寻找解决办法,”他试图听起来很兴奋。
Even the thought of selling the ranch felt like a stab in the gut from a facón.
连卖出牧场的念头 都觉得自己是被法克恩刺伤了
“ All right, then.”
“...... 好吧,那就这样吧。 “
Martín’s expression was unreadable as he sheathed his blade.
Martín的表情无法理解,
“Don’t be late tomorrow, Alejandro.”
“明天不要迟到,
When the grizzled man was gone, Melissa stood and went into the kitchen, somehow looking older to Alejandro.
当灰熊人走后,梅丽莎站起并走入厨房,不知何故向亚历杭德罗长相.
“We’ll figure this out, Mamá,” he said.
Mamá说:“我们会解决的,
The next few days were filled with the hardest work Alejandro had ever done.
接下来的几天充满了亚历杭德罗所做过的最艰苦的工作.
He saddled horses, herded sheep, fixed fencing, and hauled feed.
他把马鞍、羊群、固定的栅栏和饲料都拿来了。
He befriended an old sheepdog named Lucinda that followed him around like a long-lost sister.
他和一只叫Lucinda的老牧羊犬结为好友,像一个长期失去的妹妹一样跟着他走来走去.
In the hot afternoons, he would listen to the gauchos sing and tell stories while passing around mate prepared over a small fire.
在炎热的下午,他会听 gauchos唱歌和讲故事 同时路过 朋友准备了小火。
In the evenings, he would sit with his mother, who would ask, “What did you learn today?”
晚上,他和母亲坐在一起,母亲会问:“你今天学到了什么? “
Alejandro excitedly told her everything, but when he was done, the fatigue would creep back into his body, and a well of sorrow would begin to fill his heart.
亚历杭德罗激动地告诉她一切,但是当他完成后,疲劳会爬回他的身体中去,而一口悲伤之井会开始充满他的心.
When his mother asked the question, he wanted to say he had learned how to save them all from this horrible uncertainty and loss.
当他的母亲问到这个问题时,他想说,他已经学会如何将他们全部从这种可怕的不确定性和损失中解救出来.
Patagonia PACIFIC OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN Patagonia is a rural region located at the southern tip of South America.
巴塔哥尼亚州 太平洋、大洋洲 巴塔哥尼亚是位于南美洲南端的一个农村地区.
The region is shared by Argentina and Chile, with the Andes Mountains as its dividing line.
该区域由阿根廷和智利共有,安第斯山脉为分界线.
The Argentine side features flat, wild grasslands and deserts, while the Chilean side has ice-covered mountains and rainforest.
阿根廷一侧以平地,野生草地和沙漠为特色,而智利一侧则有被冰覆盖的山脉和雨林.
On the fourth day, Alejandro and Martín came across a guanaco with its leg stuck in one of the fences.
第四天,亚历杭德罗和马丁碰到了一只被腿卡住的瓜纳克.
The animal was terrified and exhausted, weakly thrashing its long neck and thin legs.
动物被吓得精疲力竭 颈部和腿都骨折了
Martín took the lead, creeping slowly, making soothing sounds, his callused palms spread close to his body.
马丁领跑,缓慢地爬行,发出舒缓的声音,他被调用过的手掌在身体相近处展开.
Alejandro did his best to imitate the old gaucho’s demeanor from a few steps behind.
亚历杭德罗尽了最大努力,
Martín kneeled beside the animal, which was breathing heavily and watching him with large brown eyes.
Martín跪在动物的旁边,动物呼吸很重,用棕色的大眼睛看着他.
As Martín reached out with a small pair of wire cutters and snipped a few times, he talked to the animal calmly, like a doctor explaining a procedure to a child.
当马丁用一对小电线切割器伸出手,并吸了几次后,他和动物冷静地交谈,就像医生向孩子解释一个手术一样.
The guanaco, sensing the tension release in its leg, climbed up and limped away as fast as it could.
瓜纳克体会到腿部的张力释放, 爬上并尽可能快地瘸了走。
“These are wild animals,” Martín said as he repaired the hole.
Martín在修复洞口时说:“这些是野生动物”。
“They don’t understand fences.
他们不懂栅栏。
In the old days, we didn’t have any fences on the estancia.
过去,我们没有在埃斯坦西亚建立任何围栏。
We followed the flock all over the mountain.
我们跟着山上所有的羊群
It was harder to protect the sheep, but at least there was always enough grass.”
保护羊更难,但至少一直有足够的草. “
Alejandro was silent.
亚历杭德罗沉默了
Something churned in his mind, but he couldn’t figure out what it was exactly.
他的脑海里有些事,
That afternoon, as they drank mate, Alejandro listened as a gaucho told them about seeing a large puma stalking one of the flocks.
那天下午,当他们喝酒时,亚历杭德罗听了一只大美洲狮 告诉他们看到一只大美洲狮跟随一只羊群
“I’d never seen one so close to the main buildings,” he said.
他说,“我从未见过如此靠近主要建筑物的人。”
“I frightened it away with a few shots.”
“我用几发子弹吓跑它。 “
“So you missed,” another gaucho said, and they all laughed.
“你错过了,”又一个高雄说,他们都笑了。
“She’s hungry,” Martín said quietly.
" 她饿了, " 马丁悄悄地说:
“The changes to the steppe affect us all.”
“草原的变化影响到我们所有人。 “
When Alejandro’s mother asked him what he had learned that day, he told her about the guanaco and the puma, but he didn’t feel the usual excitement.
亚历杭德罗的母亲问他当天学到了什么, 他告诉她瓜拿克和美洲狮的事,
Something felt strange, as if his brain were trying to tie together two wires that weren’t quite long enough.
他的大脑试图将两条线绑在一起,
The feeling dissipated over the next few days as Alejandro’s mind and body became engrossed in caring for the estancia.
亚历杭德罗的心智和身体变得充满爱心。
Each night the well of sorrow in his heart filled more and more.
每天晚上,他心中的悲伤之井充满了越来越多的.
They did not have much time left.
他们的时间不多了。
Five days before Mr.
5天前,他刚离开
Somerset was due to return, Martín sent Alejandro on his own to seek out a sheep that had wandered off while the flock was moved to a new pasture.
萨默塞特本来要返回的,马丁让亚历杭德罗独自去寻找一只在羊群被移入新牧场时已经出走的羊.
Alejandro set off on horseback with Lucinda in the direction Martín had indicated.
亚历杭德罗和露辛达骑马往马丁所指明的方向出发.
After searching along the fence lines, he caught a glimpse of something that looked like a sheep scrabbling through an opening in a rocky outcropping some distance away.
在沿着栅栏线进行搜索后,他看到了一些东西,这些东西看起来像一只羊在遥远的岩石上从一个开口处爬出。
“How did she get on the other side of that fence?”
“她是如何进入围栏的另一边的? “
he asked Lucinda, who barked and panted happily.
他问露辛达,谁叫谁叫谁叫,谁叫谁叫谁高兴。
He left his horse at the fence to graze and walked the rest of the way, Lucinda bounding back and forth and becoming more excited.
他在栅栏上留下了马去放牧并走完剩下的路去,卢辛达前后相接并变得更兴奋.
When they reached the rocky outcropping, Lucinda refused to go through the opening.
当他们到达了多岩石的外围收成后,卢辛达拒绝通过开口.
“Fine,” Alejandro said, “you wait here.”
“好的,”亚历杭德罗说,“你在这里等。 “
The passage was narrow, but he could easily squeeze through by turning to the side.
通道是狭长的,但他可以轻而易举地靠边挤过.
He quickly realized what had attracted the sheep: a small area of deep green grass dotted with wildflowers.
他很快地意识到了吸引了绵羊的东西:用野花点缀了一小片深绿色的草地.
The sheep was reluctant to leave her feast, but Alejandro managed to coax her through the passage, where Lucinda barked, ready to care for her charge.
羊们不愿离开她的宴会,但亚历杭德罗设法将她从路克辛达吠叫的通道中凝固下来,准备关心她的指控.
Before he followed, he stopped to pick one of the flowers—a yellow-tongued porcelain orchid.
在他追随之前,他停下来取出一朵花——一朵黄色的瓷花兰.
He remembered his father bringing them to his mother after working on the estancia.
他回忆起他父亲在做Estancia后带给母亲的.
Back then, the orchids had been much more common, but these were the first Alejandro had seen since his father died.
当时,兰花已经更常见了,但这些是亚历杭德罗自他父亲去世后第一次见到.
He was about to leave when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye.
他正要离开,当他注意到他眼睛的一角移动。
A puma stood on a ledge overlooking the patch of grass, its figure lithe and regal, and stared at Alejandro with yellow eyes.
一只美洲狮站在一旁 俯瞰着草地 它的花朵和Regal
It paced back and forth, never taking its eyes off the boy.
它前后步入,从不离开男孩的眼睛.
Alejandro returned the hunter’s gaze, clutching the flower in his hand like a weapon, slowly backing toward the opening.
Alejandro回放猎人的眼睛,
Then, as if resigning itself to something, the cat lay down with a low grunt, its eyes lazily half closing.
然后,仿佛辞去某事, 猫躺下低声, 它的眼睛懒散地半闭.
He almost felt sorry for the beast.
他几乎为野兽感到难过.
It had been stalking the sheep and was ready for a meal, but he had ruined it.
它一直跟踪着羊,准备吃一顿, 但他毁了它。
He squeezed his way through the tunnel as quickly as he could, not waiting to find out if the puma was willing to attack a human.
他尽可能快地挤出从地道走入的路来,不等待发现美洲狮是否愿意攻击人.
Lucinda had herded the sheep to the fence where the horse grazed.
露辛达把羊赶到篱笆上,马被刮去。
Alejandro felt comforted by the sight as he made his way toward the animals, but his heart still thundered in his chest.
亚历杭德罗在向动物走去时,对视线感到安慰,但他的心仍然在胸口打出雷来.
Placing the flower in his pouch and taking a deep breath, he lifted the bleating sheep and then himself over the fence.
将花放入口袋并深呼吸后,他把出血的羊抬起并自己翻过栅栏.
On the other side, looking back at the rocks that hid the puma and the orchids, he finally felt safe again.
在另一边,回想了隐藏了美洲狮和兰花的岩石,他终于再次感到安全.
Alejandro climbed into the saddle and nudged his horse forward, but he couldn’t push the blooming pasture and the puma from his mind.
亚历杭德罗爬入马鞍上,
They were wild, strong, and healthy.
他们是野生的,强壮的,健康的。
The estancia was no longer a place for wild things, but instead a land controlled, supervised, and managed.
斯坦西亚不再是一个野生事物的地方,而是一个控制、监督和管理的土地。
The fence had protected him just as it protected the sheep, but the fence was also the problem.
栅栏保护他就像保护羊一样,但栅栏也是问题所在.
It was keeping the sheep from the rich pastures beyond.
它把羊挡在外边的丰盛牧场
Alejandro imagined an estancia with no fences.
亚历杭德罗想象出一个没有栅栏的estancia.
Some of the sheep might fall victim to predators like the puma, but the flock as a whole would survive and grow stronger.
有些羊可能会被美洲狮等掠食者所害,但整个羊群会活下来并变得更强大.
Watching Lucinda herd the sheep toward the flock far in the distance, he realized that he could tell his mother that he had truly learned something today.
看着露辛达远道而来地把羊群赶向了羊群,他意识到自己可以告诉母亲他今天真的学到了什么.
Alejandro urged his horse into a gallop.
亚历杭德罗催促他的马骑入了跑道.
He had to talk to Martín and the other gauchos.
他只好和马丁和其他的食人族交谈.
It was time to return to the old ways.
今已回向旧道.
They could fix this.
他们可以解决这个问题。
There was still time.
还有时间呢