大學英語綜合教程第三冊 7
[00:00.00] It was just an error,a stupid error,the kind anyone could make.
[00:06.53]Only now Earth is never going to have another visitor from space.Not ever.
[00:14.00]THE WATERY PLACE By Issac Asimov
[00:19.51]We're never going to have visitors from space.No ectraterrestrials will ever land on Earth--at least,any more.
[00:30.07]2 I'm not just being a pessimist.As a matter of fact,extraterrestrials have landed.I know that.
[00:39.00]Space ships are crisscrossing space among a million worlds,probably,but they will never come here.
[00:46.71]I know that,too.All on account of a ridiculous error.
[00:52.90]3 I'll explain.
[00:55.77]4 It was actually Bart Cameron's error and you'll have to understand about Bart Cameron.
[01:03.74]He's the sheriff at Twin Gulch,Idaho,and I'm his deputy.Bart Cameron is an impatient man and he gets most impatient
[01:16.04]when he has to work up his income tax.You see,besides being sheriff,he also owns and runs the general store,
[01:26.20]he's got some shares in a sheep ranch,he's got a kind of pension for being a disabled veteran(bad knee)
[01:35.03]and a few other things like that.Naturally,it makes his tax figures complicated.
[01:43.29]5 It wouldn't be so bad if he'd let a taxman work on the forms with him,
[01:49.14]but he insists on doing it himself and it makes him a bitter man.By April 14,he isn't approachable.
[01:59.56]6 So it's too bad the flying saucer landed on April 14,1956.
[02:08.10]7 I saw it land.My chair was backed up against the wall in the sheriff's office,
[02:15.24]and I was looking at the stars through the windows and wondering if I ought to knock off
[02:21.11]and hit the sack or keep on listening to Cameron curse real steady
[02:28.17]as he went over his columns of figures for the hundred twenty-seventh time.
[02:34.91]8 It looked like a shooting star at first,but then the track of light broadened into two things
[02:43.16]that looked like rocket exhausts and the thing came down without a sound.
[02:50.08]9 Two men got out.
[02:53.19]10 I couldn't say anything or do anything.I couldn't choke or point,I couldn't even bug my eyes.Ijust sat there.
[03:03.98]11 Cameron?He never looked up.
[03:08.16]12 There was a knock on the door.It opened and the two men from the flying saucer stepped in.
[03:14.66]I would have thought they were city fellows if I hadn't seen the flying saucer land.They wore gray suits,
[03:22.61]with white shirts and dark red-brown ties.They had on black shoes and black hats.They had dark complexions,
[03:33.47]black wavy hair and brown eyes.They had very serious looks on their faces and were about five foot ten apiece.
[03:43.71]They looked very much alike.
[03:47.50]13 God,I was scared.
[03:50.40]14 But Cameron just looked up when the door opened and frowned.He said,"What can I do for you,folks?"
[03:59.54]and he tapped his hand on the forms so it was obvious he hadn't much time.
[04:06.02]15 One of the two stepped forward.He said,"We have had your people under observation a long time.
[04:16.34]"He pronounced each word carefully and all by itself.
[04:22.11]16 Cameron said,"My people?All I got's a wife.What's she been doing?"
[04:29.61]17 The fellow in the suit said,"We have chosen this locality for our first contact because it is isolated and peaceful.
[04:41.05]We know that you are the leader here."
[04:45.70]18 "I'm the sheriff,if that's what you mean,so spit it out.What's your trouble?"
[04:51.89]19 "We have been careful to adopt your mode of dress and even to assume your appearance.
[05:01.35]We have also learned your language."
[05:06.13]20 You could see the light break in on Cameron.He said,"You guys foreigners?"Cameron didn't go much for foreigners,
[05:17.99]never having met many outside the army,but generally he tried to be fair.
[05:24.47]21 The man from the saucer said,"Foreigners?Indeed we are.We come from the watery place your people call Venus."
[05:37.63]22 Cameron never blinked an eye.He said,"All right.This is the U.S.A.We all got equal rights regardless of race,
[05:50.41]color,or nationality.I'm at your service.What can I do for you?"
[05:57.54]23 "We would like to have you make immediate arrangements for the important men of your U.S.A.,as you call it,
[06:08.67]to be brought here for discussions leading to your people joining our great organization."
[06:18.41]24 Slowly,Cameron got red."Our people join your organization.We're already part of the U.N.and God knows what else.
[06:32.88]And I suppose I'm to get the President here,eh?Right now?In Twin Gulch?Send a hurry-up message?"
[06:41.53]He looked at me,as though he wanted to see a smile on my face,
[06:47.64]but I couldn't as much as fall down if someone had pushed the chair out from under me.
[06:54.41]25 The saucer man said,"Speed is desirable."
[07:01.09]26 "You want Congress,too?The Supreme Court?"
[07:06.21]27 "If they will help,sheriff."
[07:10.24]28 And Cameron really went to pieces.He banged his income tax form and yelled,"Well,you're not helping me,
[07:22.51]and I have no time for wise guys who come around,especially foreigners.
[07:28.99]If you don't get the hell out of here straight away,I'll lock you up for disturbing the peace and I'll never let you out."
[07:37.90]29 "You wish us to leave?"said the man from Venus.
[07:43.83]30 "Right now!Get the hell out of here and back to wherever you're from and don't ever come back.
[07:52.48]I don't want to see you and no one else around here does."
[07:57.78]31 The two men looked at each other.
[08:01.41]32 Then the one who had done all the talking said,"I cansee in your mind that you really wish,
[08:11.05]with great intensity,to be left alone.It is not our way to force ourselves or our organization on people
[08:23.20]who do not wish us or it.We will respect your privacy and leave.We will not return.
[08:33.65]We will put a warning around your world and none will enter."
[08:40.54]33 Cameron said,"Mister,I'm tired of this garbage,so I'll count to three--"
[08:50.57]34 They turned and left,and I just knew that everything they said was so.I was listening to them,
[09:01.23]you see,which Cameron wasn't,because he was busy thinking of his income tax,
[09:08.73]and it was as though I could hear their minds,know what I mean?
[09:13.90]I knew that there would be a kind of fence around earth,keeping others out.
[09:21.32]35 And when they left,I got my voice back--too late.I screamed,"Cameron,for God's sake,
[09:31.43]they're from space.Why'd you send them away?"
[09:37.07]36 "From space!"He stared at me.
[09:41.69]37 I yelled,"Look!"I don't know how I did it,he being twenty-five pounds heavier than I,
[09:50.60]but I heaved him to the window by his shirt collar.
[09:55.46]38 He was too surprised to resist and when he recovered his wits enough to make like he was going to knock me down,
[10:04.03]he caught sight of what was going on outside the window and the breath went out of him.
[10:12.00]39 They were getting into the flying saucer,those two men,and the saucer sat there,large,round,
[10:20.36]shiny and kind of powerful,you know.Then it took off.
[10:26.73]It went up easy as a feather and a red-orange glow showed up on one side
[10:34.02]and got brighter as the ship got smaller till it was a shooting star again,slowly fading out.
[10:43.06]40 And I said,"Sheriff,why'd you send them away?They had to see the President.Now they'll never come back."
[10:54.11]41 Cameron said,"I thought they were foreigners.They said they had to learn our language.And they talked funny."
[11:04.29]42 "Oh,fine.Foreigners."
[11:08.40]43 "They said they were foreigners and they looked Italian.I thought they were Italian."
[11:15.68]44 "How could they be Italian?They said they were from the planet Venus.I heard them.They said so."
[11:24.59]45 "The planet Venus."His eyes got real round.
[11:30.89]46 "They said it.They called it the watery place or something.You know Venus has a lot of water on it."
[11:39.98]47 But you see,it was just an error,a stupid error,the kind anyone could make.
[11:48.62]Only now Earth is never going to have another Venusian visit us.That dope,Cameron,and his income tax!
[12:00.38]48 Because he whispered,"Venus!When they talked about the watery place.I thought they meant Venice!"
[12:11.90]watery extraterrestrial pessimist crisscross
[12:19.28]含水多的 外星人 悲觀論者 交叉往返于
[12:26.66]on account of sheriff deputy work up
[12:33.25]因為 縣治安官 副手 準備
[12:39.85]tax ranch pension disable
[12:46.59]稅 大農場 退職金 使殘廢
[12:53.33]veteran complicated taxman approachable
[12:59.17]退伍舉人的 復雜的 稅務員 可接近的
[13:05.01]saucer knock off hit the sack curse
[13:10.45]飛碟 中斷 去睡覺 詛咒
[13:15.90]go over column rocket bug
[13:21.59]仔細檢查 列 火箭 張大
[13:27.29]complexion apiece alike observation
[13:34.45]面色 每人 相同的 觀察
[13:41.60]locality isolate adopt mode
[13:49.56]地點 使隔離 采用 方式
[13:57.51]appearance go for blink regardless of
[14:02.50]外貌 對…有好感 眨眼 不顧
[14:07.49]nationality at sb's service arrangement organization
[14:15.11]國際 愿意為某人效勞 安排 組織
[14:22.72]supreme come around hell leave...alone
[14:27.36]最高的 拜訪某人 見鬼 不打擾
[14:31.99]garbage heave wit make like
[14:35.57]廢話 舉起 智力 假裝
[14:39.15]knock down catch sight of shiny fade out
[14:44.53]撞倒 一眼看見 有光澤的 逐漸消失
[14:51.04]金星 笨蛋
