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The rough road across the plain
soon became so bad that we tried to get Bruce to
drive back to the
village we had come
from. Even though the road was littered with
boulders and pitted with holes,
Bruce
was not in the least perturbed. Glancing at his
map, he informed us that the next village was
a mere twenty miles away. It was not
that Bruce always underestimated difficulties. He
simply had
no sense of danger at all.
No matter what the conditions were, he believed
that a car should be
driven as fast as
it could possibly go. As we bumped over the dusty
track, we swerved to avoid
large
boulders. The wheels scooped up stones which
hammered ominously under the car. We felt
sure that sooner or later a stone would
rip a hole in our petrol tank or damage the
engine. Because
of this, we kept
looking back, wondering if we were leaving a trail
of oil and petrol behind us.
What
a
relief
it
was
when
the
boulders
suddenly
disappeared,
giving
way
to
a
stretch
of
plain
where the only obstacles were clumps of
bushes. But there was worse to come. Just ahead of
us
there was a huge fissure. In
response to renewed pleadings, Bruce stopped.
Though we all got out
to examine the
fissure, he remained in the car. We informed him
that the fissure extended for fifty
yards and was two feet wide and four
feet deep. Even this had no effect. Bruce went
into a low
gear and drove at a
terrifying speed, keeping the front wheels astride
the crack as he followed its
zig-zag
course. Before we had time to worry about what
might happen, we were back on the plain
again. Bruce consulted the map once
more and told us that the village was now only
fifteen miles
away. Our next obstacle
was a shallow pool of water about half a mile
across. Bruce charged at it,
but in the
middle, the car came to a grinding halt. A yellow
light on the dash-board flashed angrily
and Bruce cheerfully announced that
there was no oil in the engine!
The rough road across the
plain soon became so bad that we tried to get
Bruce to drive back to the village
we
had come from.
rough
[r
?
f]
adj.
粗糙的；粗
略的；粗野的；艰苦的；未经加工的
vt.
使粗糙；粗暴对待；
草拟
get sb. to do
让某人做某事
Bruce
[brus]
n.
布鲁斯
(
男名
)
穿
越平原的道路高低不平，开车走了不远，路面愈加崎岖。我们想劝说布鲁斯把车开回我们出发的那个村
庄去。
so
?
that
?引导结果状语从句，
so bad<
/p>
说明原因是“路太崎岖”
，
that
引出结果“劝他返回”
。
Even though the road was littered with
boulders and pitted with holes, Bruce was not in
the least perturbed.
litter<
/p>
['l
?
t
?<
/p>
]
vt.
乱丢；给?垫褥草；把?弄得乱
七八糟
boulder
['bold
?
]
n.
卵石
，大圆石；巨砾
pit
[pit]<
/p>
vt.
使竞争；窖藏；使凹下；去?之核；使留疤痕
in the least
一点；丝毫
perturb
[p
?
't
?
b]
vt.
扰乱；使?混乱；使?心绪不宁
尽管路面布满石头，坑坑洼洼，但布鲁斯却一点儿不慌乱。
even though
引导让步状语从句，往往先提出一个不
利条件，而后经常会出现转机。
Glancing at
his map, he informed us that the next village was
a mere twenty miles away.
in
form
[
?
n'f
< br>?
rm]
vt.
通知；告诉；报告
vi.
告发；告密
他瞥了一眼地图，告诉我
们前面再走不到
20
英里就是一个村庄。
现在分词短语
glancing at his map<
/p>
作时间状语。
That
引导宾语从句，交
代
infrom
的内容。
It was not that Bruce always
underestimated difficulties.
estimate
['
?
st
?
,met]
vi.
估计，估价
n.
估计，估价；判断，看法
vt.
估计，估量；判断，评价
under
estimate
[
?
nd
?
'
?
st
?
met]
vt.
低估；看
轻
这并不是说布鲁斯总是低估困难。
t
hat
引导表语从句。
underestimated dif
ficulty
的意思是“低估困难”
。
He simply had no sense of danger at
all.
而是他压根儿没有一点儿危险感。
simply
和
at
all
起强调作用。
have no sense
of
?的意思是“没有?的感觉”
。
No matter what the conditions were, he
believed that a car should be driven as fast as it
could possibly go.
possibly<
/p>
['p
ɑs?bli]
adv.
可能地；也许；大概
他认为不管路面情况如何，车必须以最高速度前进。
that
引导宾语从句，交代
believed
的内容。
as fast as
it could possibly go
的意思是
以最快的速度向前
。
As we bumped over the dusty track, we
swerved to avoid large boulders.
bump
[b
?
mp]
vi.
碰撞，撞击；颠簸而行
vt.
碰，撞；颠簸
adv.
突然地，猛烈地
dusty
['d
?
sti]
ad
j.
落满灰尘的
track
[tr?
k]
n.
轨道；足迹，踪迹；小道
vt.
追踪；通过；循路而行；用纤拉
vi.
追踪；走；留下足迹
swerve<
/p>
[sw
?
v]
v
i.
转弯；突然转向；背离
avoi
d
[
?
'v
?
?
d]
vt.
避免；避开，躲避；消除
bould
er
['bold
?
]
n.
卵石，大圆石；巨砾
我
们在尘士飞扬的道路上颠簸，车子东拐西弯，以躲开那些大圆石。
as
在此引导时间状语从句，可以解释为“一边?一边?”
。
to avoid large
boulders
为动词不定式短语，作目的状语。
The wheels scooped up stones which
hammered ominously under the car.
scoop
[skup]
vt.
< br>掘；舀取；抢先获得；搜集
scooped
up
卷起
hammer
['h?
m
?
]
vi.
锤击；敲打；重复
ominousl
y
['
ɑm?n?sli]
adv.<
/p>
恶兆地；不吉利地
车轮搅起的石块锤击车身，发出不祥的锤击声。
We felt sure that sooner or later a
stone would rip a hole in our petrol tank or
damage the engine.
rip
[r
?
p]
vt.
撕；锯
n.
裂口，裂缝
petrol
['p
?
tr
?
l]
n.
(
英
)
汽油
tank
[t??k]
n.
坦克；水槽；池塘
vi.
乘坦克行进
petrol tank
汽车油箱
engine
['
?
nd
??
n]
n.
引擎，发动机；机车，火车头；工具
我们想念迟早会飞起一个石块把油箱砸开一个窟窿，或者把发动机砸坏。
that
引导宾语从句，交代
felt
sure
的内容。
rip
的本意是“撕开”
，在此引申为“砸开”
。
Because of this, we kept
looking back, wondering if we were leaving a trail
of oil and petrol behind us.
trail
[trel]
n.
小径；痕迹；尾部；踪迹
oil
[
??
l
]n.
机油；石油；油画颜料
vt.
加油；涂油；使融化
vi.
融化；加燃油
petrol
['p
?
tr
?
l]
n.
(
英
)
汽油
因此，我们不时地掉过头，怀疑车后是否留下了机油和汽油的痕迹。
1:wondering if
?是现在分词结构，作伴
随状语，其中的
if
引导宾语从句，说明
wondering
的内容。
2:keep looking
back
的意思是“不断地向后看”
。
What a relief it was when the boulders
suddenly disappeared, giving way to a stretch of
plain where the only
obstacles were
clumps of bushes.
relief
[r
?
'lif]
n.
救济；减轻，解除；安慰；浮雕
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