🔊 Tuesday afternoon came, and waned to the twilight. The village of St. Petersburg still mourned. The lost children had not been found. Public prayers had been offered up for them, and many and many a private prayer that had the petitioner's whole heart in it; but still no good news came from the cave. The majority of the searchers had given up the quest and gone back to their daily avocations, saying that it was plain the children could never be found. Mrs. Thatcher was very ill, and a great part of the time delirious. People said it was heartbreaking to hear her call her child, and raise her head and listen a whole minute at a time, then lay it wearily down again with a moan. Aunt Polly had drooped into a settled melancholy, and her gray hair had grown almost white. The village went to its rest on Tuesday night, sad and forlorn.

星期二午后悄然而至,又缓缓没入暮色。圣彼得斯堡村依旧哀声不绝。失踪的孩童仍无踪影。公众为他们祈祷,更有无数私祷倾注了祈祷者的全心；可山洞那头依旧音讯全无。大多数搜救者已放弃寻觅,回归日常营生,都说孩子们显然再也找不回来了。撒切尔太太病势沉重,大半时间胡言乱语。人们说,听她呼唤孩子,见她抬起头凝神倾听足有一分钟,继而又疲惫地垂下头呻吟,那情景真叫人心碎。波莉姨妈则萎靡不振,沉入恒久的忧郁,灰发几乎全白了。星期二夜晚,村庄便在悲伤与孤寂中沉入梦乡。

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avocations /ˌævəˈkeɪʃənz/

n. 业余爱好,副业➕

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delirious /dɪˈlɪriəs/

adj. 精神错乱的,谵妄的➕

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heartbreaking /ˈhɑːrtˌbreɪkɪŋ/

adj. 令人心碎的,悲惨的➕

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melancholy /ˈmelənkəli/

n. 忧郁,悲伤➕

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forlorn /fərˈlɔːrn/

adj. 孤独的,凄凉的,被遗弃的➕

🔊 Away in the middle of the night a wild peal burst from the village bells, and in a moment the streets were swarming with frantic half-clad people, who shouted, 'Turn out! turn out! they're found! they're found!' Tin pans and horns were added to the din, the population massed itself and moved toward the river, met the children coming in an open carriage drawn by shouting citizens, thronged around it, joined its homeward march, and swept magnificently up the main street roaring huzzah after huzzah!

夜半更深,村中钟声骤然狂鸣,转眼间街道上便涌满了衣衫不整、疯疯癫癫的人群,他们高喊:“快出来！快出来！找到啦！找到啦！”铁锅和号角也加入这喧闹,人群汇成一股,涌向河边,迎上那辆由欢呼的市民们拉着的敞篷马车,车里正是孩子们。大家簇拥着马车,加入归家的行列,浩浩荡荡冲上主街,欢呼声一浪高过一浪！

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frantic /ˈfræntɪk/

adj. 疯狂的,狂乱的➕

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din /dɪn/

n. 喧闹声,嘈杂声➕

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thronged /θrɔːŋd/

v. 拥挤,聚集➕

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magnificently /mæɡˈnɪfɪsəntli/

adv. 壮观地,华丽地➕

🔊 The village was illuminated; nobody went to bed again; it was the greatest night the little town had ever seen. During the first half-hour a procession of villagers filed through Judge Thatcher's house, seized the saved ones and kissed them, squeezed Mrs. Thatcher's hand, tried to speak but couldn't-and drifted out raining tears all over the place.

村庄灯火通明；没人再想上床；这是小镇有史以来最辉煌的一夜。头半个钟头里,村民们排着队鱼贯穿过撒切尔法官的家,抓住得救的孩子亲了又亲,紧握撒切尔太太的手,想说点什么却哽咽难言--最后恍恍惚惚地散去,一路泪雨纷飞。

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illuminated /ɪˈluːmɪneɪtɪd/

v. 照亮,照明➕

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procession /prəˈseʃn/

n. 队伍,行列➕

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filed /faɪld/

v. 列队行进,归档➕

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drifted /ˈdrɪftɪd/

v. 漂流,飘移➕

🔊 Aunt Polly's happiness was complete, and Mrs. Thatcher's nearly so. It would be complete, however, as soon as the messenger dispatched with the great news to the cave should get the word to her husband. Tom lay upon a sofa with an eager auditory about him and told the history of the wonderful adventure, putting in many striking additions to adorn it withal; and closed with a description of how he left Becky and went on an exploring expedition; how he followed two avenues as far as his kite-line would reach; how he followed a third to the fullest stretch of the kite-line, and was about to turn back when he glimpsed a far-off speck that looked like daylight; dropped the line and groped toward it, pushed his head and shoulders through a small hole, and saw the broad Mississippi rolling by! And if it had only happened to be night he would not have seen that speck of daylight and would not have explored that passage any more! He told how he went back for Becky and broke the good news and she told him not to fret her with such stuff, for she was tired, and knew she was going to die, and wanted to. He described how he labored with her and convinced her; and how she almost died for joy when she had groped to where she actually saw the blue speck of daylight; how he pushed his way out at the hole and then helped her out; how they sat there and cried for gladness; how some men came along in a skiff and Tom hailed them and told them their situation and their famished condition; how the men didn't believe the wild tale at first, 'because,' said they, 'you are five miles down the river below the valley the cave is in'-then took them aboard, rowed to a house, gave them supper, made them rest till two or three hours after dark and then brought them home.

波莉姨妈的喜悦达到了顶峰,撒切尔太太也差不多。不过,等那个带着天大喜讯被派往山洞的信使把消息传给她丈夫,她的喜悦也就圆满了。汤姆躺在沙发上,身边围着一群热切的听众,他添油加醋地讲述这次奇妙的冒险,塞进了不少惊心动魄的情节来装点门面；最后他描述如何离开贝姬去探险；如何沿着两条通道走到风筝线放尽；又如何顺着第三条通道把线放到头,正要回头时,瞥见远处一个像日光的小斑点；丢下线摸索过去,将脑袋和肩膀挤过一个小洞,竟看见宽阔的密西西比河正浩浩荡荡地奔流向前！要是当时碰巧是夜晚,他就不会看到那个日光斑,也绝不会再去探索那条通道了！他讲自己如何回去找贝姬,告诉她这个好消息,她却叫他别拿这种胡话烦她,因为她累了,知道自己快死了,而且一心求死。他描述自己如何费尽唇舌说服她；当她摸索到亲眼看见那蓝色日光斑的地方时,如何高兴得几乎晕过去；他如何从洞口挤出去,又怎样帮她出来；他们如何坐在那儿喜极而泣；几个男人划着小船经过,汤姆喊住他们,说明了自己的处境和饥肠辘辘的状况；那些男人起初如何不相信这个离奇的故事,“因为,”他们说,“你们是在山洞所在的山谷下游五英里处的河面上”--后来还是让他们上了船,划到一户人家,给他们吃了晚饭,让他们休息到天黑后两三个钟头,才送他们回家。

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auditory /ˈɔːdətɔːri/

n. 听众,听觉的➕

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striking /ˈstraɪkɪŋ/

adj. striking,显著的,引人注目的➕

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adorn /əˈdɔːrn/

v. 装饰,装扮➕

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withal /wɪðˈɔːl/

adv. 此外,而且➕

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expedition /ˌekspəˈdɪʃn/

n. 探险,远征➕

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glimpsed /ɡlɪmpst/

v. 瞥见,看一眼➕

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groped /ɡroʊpt/

v. 摸索,探索➕

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famished /ˈfæmɪʃt/

adj. 非常饥饿的➕

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skiff /skɪf/

n. 小船,小艇➕

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hailed /heɪld/

v. 招呼,呼喊➕

🔊 Before day-dawn, Judge Thatcher and the handful of searchers with him were tracked out, in the cave, by the twine clews they had strung behind them, and informed of the great news.

天还没亮,撒切尔法官和他带领的那一小队搜寻者,在洞穴里被人沿着他们一路铺设的线团线索找到,并得知了这个天大的喜讯。

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twine /twaɪn/

n. 细绳,麻线➕

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clews /kluːz/

n. 线索（古语或航海术语）➕

🔊 Three days and nights of toil and hunger in the cave were not to be shaken off at once, as Tom and Becky soon discovered. They were bedridden all of Wednesday and Thursday, and seemed to grow more and more tired and worn, all the time. Tom got about, a little, on Thursday, was down-town Friday, and nearly as whole as ever Saturday; but Becky did not leave her room until Sunday, and then she looked as if she had passed through a wasting illness.

汤姆和贝姬很快就发现,洞里三天三夜的劳累和饥饿不是一下子就能摆脱的。星期三和星期四,他们整天卧床不起,而且似乎越来越疲惫不堪。星期四汤姆能稍微走动一下,星期五去了镇上,到星期六几乎完全恢复了元气；但贝姬直到星期天才离开房间,那时她看起来就像大病了一场。

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toil /tɔɪl/

n. 辛苦,劳累➕

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bedridden /ˈbedrɪdn/

adj. 卧床不起的➕

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wasting /ˈweɪstɪŋ/

adj. 消耗性的,浪费的➕

🔊 Tom learned of Huck's sickness and went to see him on Friday, but could not be admitted to the bedroom; neither could he on Saturday or Sunday. He was admitted daily after that, but was warned to keep still about his adventure and introduce no exciting topic. The Widow Douglas stayed by to see that he obeyed. At home Tom learned of the Cardiff Hill event; also that the 'ragged man's' body had eventually been found in the river near the ferry-landing; he had been drowned while trying to escape, perhaps.

汤姆听说哈克病了,星期五就去看他,但是没能进卧室；星期六和星期天也没能进去。之后每天他都被允许探望,但被警告要保持安静,不许谈论他的冒险经历,也不许提起任何令人激动的话题。道格拉斯寡妇守在旁边,确保他乖乖听话。在家里,汤姆听说了卡第夫山事件；还听说那个“衣衫褴褛的人”的尸体最后在渡口码头附近的河里被发现了；他也许是在试图逃跑时淹死的。

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ragged /ˈræɡɪd/

adj. 破烂的,衣衫褴褛的➕

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eventually /ɪˈventʃuəli/

adv. 最终,最后➕

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ferry-landing /ˈferiˌlændɪŋ/

n. 渡口,轮渡码头➕