福爾摩斯探案集·工程師大拇指案 第25期:被砍掉的大拇指(11)

00:00

00:00

MP3下載 文本下載

https://online2.tingclass.net/lesson/shi0529/10000/10341/gcsdmza25.mp3

https://image.tingclass.net/statics/js/2012

And then suddenly in the silence I heard a sound which sent my heart into my mouth.

這時(shí)，在寂靜之中，我突然聽(tīng)到了一種聲音，這聲音一下子使我急得心都要跳出來(lái)了。

It was the clank of the levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder.

那是杠桿的鏗鏘聲和水管漏水的颼颼聲。

He had set the engine at work.

他開(kāi)動(dòng)了機(jī)器。

The lamp still stood upon the floor where I had placed it when examining the trough.

燈還在地板上，是我檢查鐵槽時(shí)放在那里的。

By its light I saw that the black ceiling was coming down upon me, slowly, jerkily,

借著燈光我看到黑黝黝的房頂正緩慢地、搖搖晃晃地向我壓下來(lái)。

but, as none knew better than myself, with a force which must within a minute grind me to a shapeless pulp.

沒(méi)有人比我更清楚了，它的壓力足夠在一分鐘內(nèi)把我碾成爛肉醬。

I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and dragged with my nails at the lock.

我尖聲呼喊，用身體撞門(mén)，用指摳門(mén)鎖。

I implored the colonel to let me out, but the remorseless clanking of the levers drowned my cries.

我苦苦哀求上校放我出去，但是無(wú)情的杠桿鏗鏘聲淹沒(méi)了我的呼喊。

The ceiling was only a foot or two above my head, and with my hand upraised I could feel its hard, rough surface.

房頂離我的頭只有一兩英尺了，我舉起手就能摸著那堅(jiān)硬粗糙的表面。

Then it flashed through my mind that the pain of my death would depend very much upon the position in which I met it.

這時(shí)候我心里突然掠過(guò)一個(gè)念頭，想到一個(gè)人死亡時(shí)的痛苦很大程度上是取決于臨死時(shí)的姿勢(shì)。

If I lay on my face the weight would come upon my spine, and I shuddered to think of that dreadful snap.

如果我是趴著的，重量就會(huì)落在脊椎骨上。一想到那壓斷骨頭時(shí)可怕的劈啪聲，我不禁渾身打起顫來(lái)。

Easier the other way, perhaps; and yet, had I the nerve to lie and look up at that deadly black shadow wavering down upon me?

也許另一個(gè)姿勢(shì)會(huì)好一些；然而是否我有膽量仰面躺在那里眼巴巴地望著那一團(tuán)要命的黑影搖搖晃晃地向我壓下來(lái)呢？

Already I was unable to stand erect, when my eye caught something which brought a gush of hope back to my heart.

我已經(jīng)站不直了，突然我的眼光落在一件東西上，心里迸發(fā)出了希望的火花。