英语翻译教程Lesson 13

Lesson 13(E-C) A valentine to One Who Cared --- Too Much(1) by Nancy J.Rigg It’s raining, again. As I lie awake in bed, listening to the sound of those razor-sharp (adj.锋利的, 犀利的)drops pounding on the pavement(人行道, 公路), my mind goes reeling( n.卷轴,一盘, 旋转, 蹒跚vt.卷...于轴上, 使旋转vi.蹒跚地走, 旋转, 眩晕, 骚乱, 退缩, 摇晃)down dark corridors(n.走廊)teeming with agonizing(adj.苦恼的, 痛苦难忍的) flashbacks(n.急转, 闪回, 倒叙), and a chill from within fills me with (使充满)dread. It’s raining, again. It does this every year in Southern California; at least that’s what they told me last year when I marveled （对…惊奇）at the relentless （无情的）determination （决心，果断）of the rain. There seem to be two seasons here. During the rainy season, sometimes the storms drench the area nonstop（adj.不断的） for days. Sometimes the storm come and go. Often property damage and disrupted lives result. It’s hard to predict the intensity of the patterns from year to year. Then there is the fire season. That takes care of the property that managed to survive the deluge, again disrupting lives. The days connecting these seasons are monotonous(adj.单调的，无变化的), with some sun, some smog and some more sun. This is nothing like back home in Colorado. We have rains there, too. Thunderstorms in spring and summer often come with intensity great enough to cause flash-flooding（山洪暴发）. Every child raised in the West knows about these dangers. At least that’s what I used to think. I’m not so sure anymore. In second grade they showed us a terrifying film about flash-flooding. A man parked his 57 Chevy on a little bridge overlooking(vt.俯瞰, 耸出, 远眺, 没注意到n.眺望, 俯瞰中的景色 )a picturesque(adj.独特的), arid(adj.干旱的, 贫瘠的(土地等), 无趣的, 沉闷的) gully(n.冲沟, 溪谷, 集水沟, 雨水口, 檐槽vt.在...上开沟(或槽), 水流冲成(沟渠) )and took out his camera. It was starting to rain, but he really wanted to get that picture. The image of a sudden wall of dark water carrying the man and his car away in an instant is still imprinted(v.留下烙印) on my mind. They used this kind of scare(v.惊吓, 受惊, 威吓n.惊恐, 恐慌, 恐惧)tactic(n.策略, 战略adj.按顺序的, 排列的) when I was growing up. I wonder what they use today. A year ago I would have sworn that children here are taught nothing about the dangerous powers of nature. My fiancé, Earl Higgins, and I had recently moved to Los Angeles from Colorado. It was a move we had made by choice, for career purposes. About a week and a half after we moved into an apartment in Atwater, a block from the Los Angeles River, the rains started in earnest. On Valentine’s Day, I remember thinking what dismal weather it was for being in love, but after studying Earl’s face I knew that the weather didn’t matter much. At least that’s what I thought. Because we were together, life was safe and secure(adj.安全的, 可靠的, 放心的, 无虑的v.保护. )We talked of our plans to wed and start a family, once we were settled in Los Angeles, and we listened to the rain. The sunny nook footbridge （人行桥）connects Atwater with Griffith Park, spanning the Los Angeles River and the Golden State Freeway. Like the freeway(高速公路), the river is fenced to keep people out. During several walks to the park, Earl and I had noticed many children who ignored the fences and found holes to allow them through in order to play in the dirt in the river bed and run up and down the sloping concreted banks. Most of the time parents probably have no worry about their kids playing in the concrete (adj.具体的, 有形的n.混凝土) channel, because most of the time the river is dry. Habits form, however, and, in a child’s mind, most of the time becomes all of the time, and nobody gives it much thought. Them the rains come.