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LESSON 5 The prairie on fire
第五课 起火的大草原
The Prairies——Between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains there is a vast extent of grassy plains called Prairies.
北美大草原——在密西西比河与落基山脉之间，有一个巨大的长满绿草的平原，称为“北美大草原”。
The soil is fertile and the vegetation luxuriant; and before their occupation by the white man the tall grass waved in the wind over the wide expense.
这儿土壤肥沃，植被茂盛；这儿曾居住着白人，高高的绿草在风中自由摆动，就像滚动的翡翠的海洋。
If we tarry here much longer, it will be in the fashion that the bees lie round the straw after the hive has been smoked for its honey.
在这呆的时间越长，蜜蜂就会因为蜂箱被烟熏而倒在稻草中了。
You may hear the fire begin to roar already; and I know by experience that when the flame once gets fairly into the prairie grass, he is no sloth that can outrun it."
你可能听到之前火咆哮的声音了，而且根据经验我知道一旦火焰进入草原的草丛，就太难逃出去了。”
"Think you," returned the old man pointing scornfully at the mazes of the dry and matted grass which environed them, "that mortal feet can outstrip the speed of fire on such a path?"
“你想想”老人蔑视地指着干燥的包围着他们的草说“人类的脚怎么可能跑得过燃烧的火焰呢？”
"What say you, friend doctor?" cried the bewildered Paul, turning to the naturalist with that sort of helplessness with which the strong are often apt to seek aid of the weak,
“你说什么呢，博大精深的朋友？”保罗喊道，他转向毫无希望的博物学者，当人们的力量受到更强的人的阻碍时，
when human power is baffled by the hand of a mightier Being;—"what say you? Have you no advice to give away in a case of life and death?"
总希望从弱者那儿得到帮助。——“你说什么？你并没有给出面临生死的建议！”
The naturalist stood, tablets in hand, looking at the awful spectacle with as much composure as though the conflagration had been lighted in order to solve the difficulties of some scientific problem.
博物学者站起来，手里拿着牌匾，冷静地看着可怕的景观。
Aroused by the question of his companion, he turned to his equally calm though differently occupied associate, the trapper,
被他同伴的问题激起，他转向和他一样镇定但立场不同的捕兽者。
demanding with the most provoking insensibility to the urgent nature of their situation—"Venerable hunter, you have often witnessed similar prismatic experiments—"
以最令人恼火的麻木不仁，对他们处境的紧急性质提出要求——“珍贵的猎人，你经常见识过类似棱镜的实验——”。
He was rudely interrupted by Paul, who struck the tablets from his hand with a violence that betrayed the utter intellectual confusion which had overset his equanimity.
他被保罗粗鲁地打断了，保罗从他手里粗鲁地打碎了牌匾，此举使得他不再冷静。
