(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
"The Law of Life," by Jack London - Part Two. Koskoosh placed another stick on the fire and let his thoughts travel deeper into the past. There was the time of the great famine. He had lost his mother in that famine. In the summer the usual plentiful catch of fish had failed, and the tribe looked forward to the winter and the coming of the caribou. Then the winter came, but with it there were no caribou. Never had the like been known, not even in the lives of the old men. The rabbits had not produced any young and the dogs were skin and bone. And through the long darkness the children wept and died. So did the women and the old men. Not one in ten lived to meet the sun when it returned in the spring. That was a famine!
But he had seen times of plenty, too, when the meat spoiled before it could be eaten. Even the dogs grew fat and were worth nothing from eating too much. In these times they let the animals and birds go unkilled and the tents were filled with newly born children. Then it was that the men remembered old quarrels and crossed to the south and to the west to kill ancient enemies. He remembered, when a boy, during a time of plenty, when he saw a moose pulled down by the wolves. Zing-ha lay with him in the snow and watched. Zing-ha was his friend who later became the best of hunters. One day he fell through an air hole on the frozen Yukon River. They found him a month later, frozen to the ice where he had attempted to climb out. Zing-ha and he had gone out that day to play at hunting, in the manner of their fathers. Near a creek they discovered the fresh track of a moose and with it the tracks of many wolves. "An old one," Zing-ha said. "It is an old one who cannot travel as fast as the others. The wolves have separated him from his brothers, and they will never leave him." And it was so. It was their way. By day and by night, never resting, biting at his heels, they would stay with him to the end. How Zing-ha and he had felt the desire to see blood! The finish would be a sight to remember!
Eagerly, they started up the trail. Even he, Koskoosh, who was not a good tracker, could have followed it blind, it was so wide. They were not far behind the hunt, reading its awful story at every step. Now they saw where the moose had stopped to face his attackers. On every side the snow had been stamped heavily. In the middle there were the deep footprints of the moose. All about, everywhere, were the lighter footmarks of the wolves. Some had moved to one side and rested while their brothers tried to seize the moose. The full-stretched impressions of their bodies in the snow were as perfect as though they'd been made the moment before. One wolf had been caught in a wild dash at the moose and had died under its heavy stamping. A few bones remained as witness. The two boys stopped again at a second stand. Here the great animal had fought with despair. As the snow indicated, he had been dragged down twice. And twice he shook off his enemies and gained his footing once more. He had finished his task long before, but nevertheless, life was dear to him. Zing-ha said it was a strange thing for a moose once down to struggle free again. But this one certainly had done so. The medicine man would see signs and wonders in this when they told him.
Then they came to the place where the moose had tried to climb the riverbank and go into the woods. But his enemies had attacked from behind, until he leaped high and then fell back upon them, crushing two deep into the snow. It was clear that the kill was near, because the two dead wolves had been left untouched by their brothers. The trail was red with blood now, and the distance between tracks of the great beast had become shorter and shorter. Then they heard the first sounds of the battle—the quick bark of the wolves which spoke of teeth tearing flesh. On hands and knees Zing-ha and Koskoosh made their way through the snow. Together they pushed aside the low branches of a young pine tree and looked forth. It was the end that they saw. The picture, like all of youth's memories, was still strong with him. His eyes now watched the end acted again as clearly as in that earlier time. Koskoosh was surprised at this, because in the days which followed, he had done many great deeds. He had been a leader of men and his name had become a curse in the mouths of his enemies. For a long time he recalled the days of his youth, until the fire grew cold and the frost bit deeper. He placed two sticks on the fire this time. Then he figured how much life was left by the amount of wood that remained in the pile. If Sit-cum-ha had remembered her grandfather, and gathered a larger armful, his hours would have been longer. It would have been easy. But she was always a selfish child. She had not honored her ancestors from the time the Beaver, son of the son of Zing-ha, first looked at her. Well, what did it matter? Had he not done the same in his own quick youth? For a while he listened to the silent forest. Perhaps the heart of his son might soften. Then he would return with the dogs to take his old father with the tribe to where the caribou ran thick and the fat hung heavy upon them.
He strained his ears. There was not a sound to be heard. Nothing. He alone took breath in the middle of the great stillness. It was very lonely. Wait! What was that? His body suddenly felt cold. A familiar cry broke the silent air, and it was close to him. Then his darkened eyes again saw the old moose—the bloody sides, the torn legs, the great branching horns, fighting to the last. He saw the flashing forms of gray, the bright eyes, the dripping tongues and the sharp teeth. And he saw the circle move closer until it became a dark point in the middle of the stamped snow. A cold nose pushed against his face and at its touch his soul leaped back to the present. His hand shot into the fire and dragged out a burning stick. Overcome for the moment by his fear of man, the beast drew back, raising a call to his brothers. Greedily they answered, until a ring of gray was stretched around him. The old man listened to the steady breathing of this circle. He waved his flaming stick wildly, but the beasts refused to scatter. Now one moved slowly forward, dragging his legs behind. Now a second, now a third. But now, not one moved back from his flaming stick. Why should he so desire life? He asked, and dropped the burning stick into the snow. It made a slight noise and then there was no more fire. The circle murmured uncertainly but held its place. Again he saw the last stand of the old moose, and Koskoosh dropped his head hopelessly on his knees. What did it matter? Was it not the law of life?
重点解析
1.look forward to 期待；期望
He was looking forward to working with the new Prime Minister.
他期待着与新首相共事。
2.once more 又一次；再次
Ann turned over in her bed once more.
安在床上又翻了一下身。
3.for a while 片刻；一会儿
They walked on in silence for a while.
他们继续默默无语地走了一会儿。
4.be close to 靠近；亲近
He wanted to be close to the people.
他很想接近这些人们。
参考译文
《生活的法则》，作者杰克·伦敦——第二部分。科斯库什把另一根木柴放在火上，让他的思绪回到过去。那是大饥荒时期，他在那次饥荒中失去了母亲。到了夏天，通常捕不到很多鱼，部落就盼着冬天，等驯鹿到来。随后，冬天来了，但是没有驯鹿。从来没有人知道会发生这种事，即使是老人也从未经历过。兔子没有产下幼崽，狗瘦得皮包骨头。在漫长的黑暗中，孩子们在哭泣中死去。女人和老人也不例外。春天到来时，不到十分之一的人还能活着看到太阳。那是一场饥荒！
但他也见过食物丰盈的时期，肉还没来得及吃就变质了。连狗都长胖了，吃得太多什么也干不了了。在这些日子里，他们放走了牲畜和家禽，帐篷里满是新生儿。后来，人们想起了旧时的争吵，去往南部和西部杀死远古的敌人。他记得自己是男孩的时候，那是正值食物丰盛的时期，他看到一只麋鹿被狼群拖到在地。姿哈和他一起躺在雪地里看着，姿哈是他的朋友，后来成了最好的猎人。一天，他从结冰的育空河的一个冰孔里掉了下去。一个月后，他们发现他冻在了冰里，试图从那爬出来。那天，姿哈和他像父亲们一样出去打猎。在一条小溪边，他们发现了一只麋鹿的新足迹，还有许多狼的足迹。“一只老麋鹿，”姿哈说。“它不能像其他麋鹿那样快速行动，狼把它和伙伴们分开了，它们会一直追着它。”确实就是这样，它们就是用这种方法。日夜不息，紧追不放，它们会一直追到最后。他和姿哈多么渴望见到血啊！最终看到的景象令他们难忘！
擅长追踪野兽的人，闭着眼都可以跟着走，可寻之迹太多了。他们紧随其后，一步一步地读着那可怕的故事。现在，他们看到了麋鹿停下来面对袭击者的地方，四周的积雪都被踩实了。中间有麋鹿深深的脚印，而狼的足迹遍布各处。一些已经到一边去休息，而它们的兄弟们试图抓住麋鹿。它们在雪地里全身伸展的样子就像刚弄出来一样完美。一只狼在一次猛冲中被那只麋鹿踢到了，它在麋鹿重重的踩踏中死去，有几具遗骸留作了证据。两个男孩在第二个地方又停了下来。在这里，这只大型动物在孤注一掷地奋战。从雪地上的痕迹可以看出，它被拖倒两次，两次都甩掉了敌人，再次站稳。它早就完成了使命，但无论如何，生命对它来说极为宝贵。姿哈说，一只麋鹿被拖倒后又挣扎着挣脱出来，这是一件很奇怪的事。但这一只确实是这么做的。他们把这件事告诉巫医时，他会从中看到各种迹象和令人惊叹之事。
然后他们来到了麋鹿试图爬上河岸，逃入树林的地方。但是，它的敌人从后面攻击它。它跳得很高，又掉了下来，落在它们身上，把它们深深压进雪里。很明显杀戮时刻已经慢慢到来，因为狼群没有去触碰那两只死狼。现在，这条小路血迹斑斑，与麋鹿的足迹越来越接近。然后，他们听到了争斗的第一声急促的狼嚎，牙齿撕咬麋鹿的肉。姿哈和科斯库什在雪地里爬行。他们一起推开一棵小松树低矮的树枝，向前望去。他们看到了故事的结局。和所有年轻人的记忆一样，这张照片对他来说记忆犹新。他看到的景象同样也和早些时候一样清晰。科斯库什对此感到震惊，因为在随后的日子里，他做了许多伟大的事情。他曾成为一名领袖，他的名字成了敌人口中的诅咒。有很长一段时间，他回忆起自己的年轻岁月，柴火已经变冷，霜冻更厉害了。他这次在火上放了两根木棍。随后，他根据那堆木棍的数量寻思还能活多久。如果西特克姆还记得她的祖父，并收集更大一堆木棍，他活的时间可能会更长。那样会很容易，但她一直是个自私的孩子。从姿哈的孙子比弗第一次看她的那刻起，她就没尊敬过自己的祖先。那有什么关系呢？他年轻时不是也这样吗？他聆听了一会儿寂静的森林。也许儿子的态度会缓和，然后他会带着狗回来，让老父亲和部落一起去到驯鹿数量很多，长得又肥硕的地方。
他伸着耳朵，但一点声音也没听到，什么声音都没有。他独自一人在寂静之中呼吸，他感到很孤独。等待！那是什么？他的身体突然感到一阵寒意。一声熟悉的叫声打破了寂静的空气，它离他很近。接着，他那双阴暗的眼睛又看到那只老麋鹿血淋淋的身体，撕裂的双腿，分叉的巨型角，一直战斗到最后。他看到了那闪亮的灰色眼睛，滴着口水的舌头和锋利的牙齿。他眼看着圆圈靠得越来越近了，最后变成了积雪中间的一个黑点。一只冰冷的鼻子碰到了他的脸，这一碰，他一下子就醒了过来。他伸手从火堆里抓起一根燃烧的木棍。克服了一瞬间对人类的恐惧，这匹狼向后退去，仰天对着它的同胞嚎叫起来。它们饥饿地回应着，形成了一个灰色的圆圈把老人围了起来。老印第安人听着这圈饿狼平稳的呼吸声，他冲着它们挥舞着燃烧的木棍，但是它们并没有离开。这时，其中的一匹狼慢慢地靠近了，把他的双腿向后拖。第二只、第三只，但现在，没有狼再躲开他燃烧的棍子。他为什么要如此渴望生活？他问自己，然后把燃烧的棍子扔进雪里。这发出了轻微的响声，然后就没有火了。这圈狼发出沉闷的声音，有些犹豫不决，但还是稳住了队形。老印第安人又一次看到了那只麋鹿在临死前拼命挣扎的一幕，他把头埋进膝盖里。这有什么关系吗？这不就是生命的法则吗？
