摘要：今天要跟大家分享的雅思閱讀素材題目是The Man to Send Rain Clouds（送雨云的人）正文有注解，文章作者萊斯利·馬蒙·西爾科，全文共21段，文章包含雅思詞匯、例句講解，一起來看！

【導讀】短篇小說《送雨云的人》發(fā)表于西爾科大學在校期間。小說故事情節(jié)很簡單：里昂和姐夫肯恩在河邊找到了爺爺?shù)氖w，準備按照印第安人的習俗埋葬他。這時，他妻子提出讓當?shù)氐陌兹四翈煴Ａ_給爺爺尸體和墓地灑圣水，這樣爺爺就會給缺水的他們送來雨云。經(jīng)過一番思想斗爭，里昂決定去請牧師。但保羅牧師開始不愿前去，因為里昂沒有按照基督徒的方式為死去的爺爺做臨終儀式。在勸說未果的情況下，牧師保羅最后還是跟里昂來到了墓地。灑完圣水后，牧師“緩步”離開了墓地，而里昂感到非常滿意，因為灑了圣水，他爺爺就“一定可以給他們送來大片大片的雷雨云”了。

They found him under a big cottonwood tree1. His Levis jacket and pants were faded light-blue so that he had been easy to find. The big cottonwood tree stood apart from a small grove of winterbare cottonwoods which grew in the wide, sandy, arroyo2. He had been dead for a day or more, and the sheep had wandered and scattered up and down the arroyo. Leon and his brother-in-law, Ken, gathered the sheep and left them in the pen at the sheep camp before they returned to the cottonwood tree. Leon waited under the tree while Ken drove the truck through the deep sand to the edge of the arroyo. He squinted up at the sun and unzipped his jacket. It sure was hot for this time of year. But high and northwest the blue mountains were still deep in snow. Ken came sliding down the low, crumbling bank about fifty yards down, and he was bringing the red blanket.

他們在一棵高大的棉白楊樹下找到了他。他身上的 “李維斯”牌夾克衫和牛仔褲已褪成淺藍，因此找到他并不難。大棉白楊的旁邊，是一小片冬天落葉的棉白楊樹林，長在那條寬闊多沙的河谷中。他已死去一兩天了，羊群亂跑，游散在河谷的上上下下。里昂和姐夫肯恩把羊群趕到一塊，關進牧羊營的羊圈，然后回到那棵大棉白楊樹。里昂在樹下等，肯恩開著卡車駛過厚厚的沙土，一直到河谷邊緣。他瞇眼看看太陽，拉開夾克的拉鏈。就這個時節(jié)而言，天氣可真夠暖和的了，而在西北邊的高處，藍色群山仍有厚厚的積雪。下邊大約五十碼處，肯恩沿著低矮坍塌的河岸慢悠悠開過來，他帶來了那張紅色毛毯。

[2] Before they wrapped the old man, Leon took a piece of string out of his pocket and tied a small gray feather in the old man's long white hair. Ken gave him the paint. Across the brown wrinkled forehead he drew a streak of white and along the high cheekbones he drew a strip of blue paint. He paused and watched Ken throw pinches of corn meal and pollen into the wind that fluttered the small gray feather. Then Leon painted with yellow under the old man's broad nose, and finally, when he had painted green across the chin, he smiled.

他倆把老人裹起來之前，里昂從口袋里掏出一段細繩，將一小根灰羽毛系在老人長長的白發(fā)中?？隙靼延筒蔬f給他。在老人皺紋密布的棕色前額上，他畫了一道白線，然后在老人高高的顴骨上，他畫了一條藍線。他停下來，看著肯恩將一撮撮玉米面和花粉拋向風中，那根小小的灰色羽毛隨風顫動。接著，里昂又在老人寬大的鼻子下涂了黃色，最后，當給老人的下頜涂上綠色時，他笑了笑。

[3] "Send us rain clouds, Grandfather." They laid the bundle in the back of the pickup3 and covered it with a heavy tarp before they started back to the pueblo4.

“爺爺，求您給我們送來雨云吧!”他們將尸裹放在卡車后面，蓋上一塊厚重的油布，然后，他們發(fā)動卡車，返回村莊。

[4] They turned off the highway onto the sandy Pueblo road. Not long after they passed the store and post office they saw Father Paul's car coming toward them. When he recognized their faces he slowed his car and waved for them to stop. The young priest rolled down the car window.

下了公路，他們拐上村莊的沙路。經(jīng)過商店和郵局不一會兒，他們看見神父保羅的車迎面駛來。認出他們后，他放慢車速，招手示意他們停下。年輕的牧師搖下車窗。

[5] "Did you find old Teofilo?" he asked loudly.

Leon stopped the truck. "Good morning, Father. We were just out to the sheep camp. Everything is O.K. now."

"Thank God for that. Teofilo is a very old man. You really shouldn't allow him to stay at the sheep camp alone."

"No, he won't do that any more now."

"Well, I'm glad you understand. I hope I'll be seeing you at Mass this week. We missed you last Sunday. See if you can get old Teofilo to come with you." The priest smiled and waved at them as they drove away.

“你們找到老泰奧菲洛了嗎?”他大聲問道。

里昂停下卡車?！霸缟虾?，神父。我們剛去過牧羊營，現(xiàn)在一切正常了!”

“好，感謝上帝!泰奧菲洛年事已高，你們真不該讓他一個人待在牧羊營?！?/p>

“對，他現(xiàn)在再也不會那樣啦!”

“恩，你們明白了，我很高興。我希望這周彌撒能見著你們。上周日你們可沒去?？茨銈兡芊駧Ю咸W菲洛一塊兒去?！鄙窀感χ鴽_他們揮揮手，他們開車離去。

[6] Louise and Teresa were waiting. The table was set for lunch, and the coffee was boiling on the black iron stove. Leon looked at Louise and then at Teresa.

"We found him under a cottonwood tree in the big arroyo near sheep camp. I guess he sat down to rest in the shade and never got up again." Leon walked toward the old man's bed.

露易絲和特蕾薩在等他們。午餐桌已備好，黑鐵爐上正煮著咖啡。里昂看看露易絲，又看看特蕾薩。

“我們在一棵棉白楊樹下找到他，牧羊營附近的那條大河谷里。估計他是想坐在樹蔭下休息會兒，但再也沒能站起來?！崩锇撼先说拇蹭佔呷ァ?/p>

[7] The red plaid shawl had been shaken and spread carefully over the bed, and a new brown flannel shirt and pair of stiff new Levis were arranged neatly beside the pillow. Louise held the screen door open while Leon and Ken carried in the red blanket. He looked small and shriveled, and after they dressed him in the new shirt and pants he seemed more shrunken.

那條抖過的紅色方格布披巾平整地鋪在床上，枕邊整齊地擺放著一件新棕色法蘭絨襯衫和一條筆挺的“李維斯”牌牛仔褲。露易絲把紗門開著，里昂和肯恩將紅毯抬進屋內(nèi)。泰奧菲洛看上去瘦小而干癟，待他們給他換上新衣新褲后，他似乎愈加瘦瘠了。

[8] It was noontime now because the church bells rang the Angelus5. They ate the beans with hot bread, and nobody said anything until after Teresa poured the coffee.

Ken stood up and put on his jacket.

"I'll see about the gravediggers. Only the top layer of soil is frozen. I think it can be ready before dark."

Leon nodded his head and finished his coffee. After Ken had been gone for a while, the neighbors and clans people came quietly to embrace Teofilo's family and to leave food on the table because the gravediggers would come to eat when they were finished.

教堂的祈禱鐘響了起來，時間已到正午。他們吃著豆子和熱面包，沒有人說話，直到特蕾薩給大家沏上咖啡。

肯恩站起來，穿上夾克。

“我去找挖墓的人。土只是上層結冰。我想天黑前就可以挖好了?！?/p>

里昂點點頭，喝完咖啡。肯恩走后一會兒，左鄰右舍和族人默默前來，擁抱泰奧菲洛的家人，他們在桌上留下吃的，因為挖墓的人完事后要過來吃飯。

[9] The sky in the west was full of pale-yellow light. Louise stood outside with her hands in the pockets of Leon's green army jacket that was too big for her. The funeral was over, and the old men had taken their candles and medicine bags and were gone. She waited until the body was laid into the pickup before she said anything to Leon. She touched his arm, and he noticed that her hands were still dusty from the corn meal that she had sprinkled around the old man.

西邊的天空泛滿了淡黃的亮光。露易絲站在屋外，身著里昂的綠色軍大衣(那衣服對她來說實在過于肥大)，手插在大衣口袋里。葬禮已經(jīng)結束，老人們帶上他們的蠟燭和藥袋，回去了。她一直等到遺體放進卡車后，才和里昂說話。她碰了碰里昂的手臂，里昂注意到，她之前在老人遺體周圍撒玉米面，現(xiàn)在雙手仍沾著粉末。

[10]When she spoke, Leon could not hear her.

"What did you say? I didn't hear you."

"I said that I had been thinking about something."

"About what?"

"About the priest sprinkling holy water for Grandpa. So he won't be thirsty."

她開口說話的時候，里昂都聽不清。

“你說什么?我沒聽清?！?/p>

“我說，我一直在想……”

“想什么?”

“我在想，請那牧師來給爺爺灑圣水，這樣他就不會口渴了。”

[11] Leon stared at the new moccasins that Teofilo had made for the ceremonial dances in the summer. They were nearly hidden by the red blanket. It was getting colder, and the wind pushed gray dust down the narrow pueblo road. The sun was approaching the long mesa where it disappeared during the winter. Louise stood there shivering and watching his face. Then he zipped up his jacket and opened the truck door. "I'll see if he's there."

里昂緊盯著泰奧菲洛腳上那雙新鹿皮鞋，那是他為夏天慶典舞會專門制作的。鹿皮鞋幾乎被紅毯子完全遮住。天氣越發(fā)涼了，冷風卷起狹窄的村莊小道上的灰土。太陽正緩緩靠近那座長長的平頂山(冬天，太陽就在那兒下山)。露易絲站在那里，周身發(fā)抖，盯著里昂的臉。過了一會，里昂拉上夾克拉鏈，打開車門?！拔胰デ魄疲诓辉?。”

（轉第二頁）

               
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