纳尼亚传奇@狮子、女巫和魔衣橱-16-埃德蒙溜走了

核心词汇： 1. precious /ˈpreʃəs/ (口语) 极大的；十足的 2. lookout /ˈlʊkaʊt/ (n.) 监视 3. prophecy /ˈprɑːfəsi/ (n.) 预言；预言书 4. pause /pɔːz/ (n.) 暂停；间歇 核心短语： 1. all through 一直；始终 2. in despair 绝望地，失望地 3. divide into 把……分成 4. set eyes on 看到；望见 5. all the same 仍然 正文 "That's why she's badall through, Mr. Beaver," said Mrs. Beaver. "True enough, Mrs. Beaver," replied he, "there may be two views about humans (meaning no offence to the present company (同伴)). But there's no two views about things that look like humans and aren't." "I've known good Dwarfs (小矮人)," said Mrs. Beaver. "So've I, now you come to speak of it," said her husband, "butprecious(十足的) few, and they were the ones least like men. But in general, take my advice, when you meet anything that's going to be human and isn't yet, or used to be human once and isn't now, or ought to be human and isn't, you keep your eyes on it and feel for your hatchet. And that's why the Witch is always on thelookout(监视) for any humans in Narnia. She's been watching for you this many a year, and if she knew there were four of you she'd be more dangerous still."{1} "What's that to do with it?" asked Peter. "Because of anotherprophecy(预言)," said Mr. Beaver. "Down at Cair Paravel - that's the castle on the sea coast down at the mouth of this river which ought to be the capital of the whole country if all was as it should be - down at Cair Paravel there are four thrones (王座) and it's a saying in Narnia time out of mind that when two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve sit in those four thrones, then it will be the end not only of the White Witch's reign but of her life, and that is why we had to be so cautious as we came along, for if she knew about you four, your lives wouldn't be worth a shake of my whiskers!"{2} All the children had been attending so hard to what Mr. Beaver was telling them that they had noticed nothing else for a long time. Then during the moment of silence that followed his last remark, Lucy suddenly said: "I say-where's Edmund?" There was a dreadfulpause(暂停), and then everyone began asking "Who saw him last? How long has he been missing? Is he outside? and then all rushed to the door and looked out. The snow was falling thickly and steadily (稳定地), the green ice of the pool had vanished (消失) under a thick white blanket, and from where the little house stood in the centre of the dam you could hardly see either bank. Out they went, plunging (插入) well over their ankles (脚踝) into the soft new snow, and went round the house in every direction. "Edmund! Edmund!" they called till they were hoarse(嘶哑的). But the silently falling snow seemed to muffle (抑制)their voices and there was not even an echo (回声) in answer. "How perfectly dreadful!" said Susan as they at last came backin despair. "Oh, how I wish we'd never come." "What on earth are we to do, Mr. Beaver?" said Peter. "Do?" said Mr. Beaver, who was already putting on his snow-boots, "do? We must be off at once. We haven't a moment to spare!" "We'd betterdivide intofour search parties," said Peter, "and all go in different directions. Whoever finds him must come back here at once and-" "Search parties, Son of Adam?" said Mr. Beaver; "what for?" "Why, to look for Edmund, of course!" "There's no point in looking for him," said Mr. Beaver. "What do you mean?" said Susan. "He can't be far away yet. And we've got to find him. What do you mean when you say there's no use looking for him?" "The reason there's no use looking," said Mr. Beaver, "is that we know already where he's gone!" Everyone stared in amazement. "Don't you understand?" said Mr. Beaver. "He's gone to her, to the White Witch. He has betrayed us all." "Oh, surely-oh, really!" said Susan, "he can't have done that." "Can't he?" said Mr. Beaver, looking very hard at the three children, and everything they wanted to say died on their lips, for each felt suddenly quite certain inside that this was exactly what Edmund had done.{3} "But will he know the way?" said Peter. "Has he been in this country before?" asked Mr. Beaver. "Has he ever been here alone?" "Yes," said Lucy, almost in a whisper. "I'm afraid he has." "And did he tell you what he'd done or who he'd met?" "Well, no, he didn't," said Lucy. "Then mark my words," said Mr. Beaver, "he has already met the White Witch and joined her side, and been told where she lives. I didn't like to mention it before (he being your brother and all) but the moment Iset eyes onthat brother of yours I said to myself `Treacherous (背叛的)'. He had the look of one who has been with the Witch and eaten her food. You can always tell them if you've lived long in Narnia; something about their eyes." "All the same(无论如何)," said Peter in a rather choking (哽咽) sort of voice, "we'll still have to go and look for him. He is our brother after all, even if he is rather a little beast. And he's only a kid." "Go to the Witch's House?" said Mrs. Beaver. "Don't you see that the only chance of saving either him or yourselves is to keep away from her?" "How do you mean?" said Lucy. "Why, all she wants is to get all four of you (she's thinking all the time of those four thrones at Cair Paravel). Once you were all four inside her House her job would be done - and there'd be four new statues in her collection before you'd had time to speak. But she'll keep him alive as long as he's the only one she's got, because she'll want to use him as a decoy (诱饵); as bait (诱饵) to catch the rest of you with." "Oh, can no one help us?" wailed Lucy. "Only Aslan," said Mr. Beaver, "we must go on and meet him. That's our only chance now."