3. LOST ON THE MOOR.

 1. As I went along, more than one person who passed me on the way said, "We shall have a wild night, sir, I advise you to hurry into shelter."

 

2. As I set foot upon the first part of the wide, open moor¹, where the narrow path could hardly be seen in the twilight², a few flakes³ of snow began to fall.

 

3. For a moment I began to wonder whether it would not be better, even now,[Pg 38] to turn back and stay in the town for that night.

 

4. But thinking that my wife and dear little girl would be both sorry and anxious when I did not appear, I put a stout⁴ heart into the matter, and strode boldly forward.

 

5. The snowflakes came down thicker and faster, my beard and the front of my coat were quite white, the great brown moor changed first to a grey, and then to pure dazzling white too.

 

6. The whirling flakes blinded me, I felt giddy from the cold. The storm was now upon me with full fury, the wind almost lifted me from my feet.

 

7. I trusted that the sudden gale⁵ would soon pass over, and folding my arms close to my body, tried to struggle forward still. But so far from getting better, the weather grew worse each moment.

 

8. With a dreadful feeling of despair, I found that I could no longer find my way. I did not know where my home lay, nor how I must turn my face in order to reach it. I cried to God for mercy.[Pg 39]

 

9. I now felt that I had been very foolish in trying to get across the moor on such a night. Perhaps I might never see my wife and dear child again.

 

10. The bitter wind seemed to pierce through my clothes, I was fast getting drowsy⁶ and ready to fall down. Then the snow would soon have buried me, and no one would have seen me alive again.

 

11. A groan⁷ broke from my lips as I looked around at the waste of snow, but I was at the same instant startled to hear a low, plaintive⁸ whine⁹ close at hand.

 

12. I turned and saw a large, thin, starved-looking dog sitting close behind. He gazed in a troubled way into my face, when I turned round. It was my poor fellow of the inn door!

 

13. As he crept along over the snow to my feet, he seemed with the same humble¹⁰ love to say, "Do not send me away, let me come with you. You are the only person who has shown me mercy."

 

14. I stooped and patted him on the head. "Good dog!" I said, "have you found me out? Come now, I wish you[Pg 40] could show me the way home, or else I am afraid we shall both be frozen to death."

 

15. He seemed to know what I meant in some strange way, and just then I heard far off a church clock strike, which I knew must be in the town I had left behind.

 

16. This was a help, for I now knew that if I turned my back on the place from which the sound came, I should be right in keeping straight on.

 

Write: The storm grew worse. When the man had lost his way on the moor, he saw the dog which he had fed at the inn sitting behind him.

 

Questions: 1. What did more than one person say as the man began his walk? 2. As he began to cross the moor, what did he see? 3. Did the weather grow any better? 4. What did he see sitting close to him when he turned round? 5. What did the dog seem to say? 6. What did the traveller hear far off?

1 moor   

n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊

参考例句：

• I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
• There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。

2 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

3 flakes   

小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人

参考例句：

• It's snowing in great flakes. 天下着鹅毛大雪。
• It is snowing in great flakes. 正值大雪纷飞。

4   

参考例句：

5 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。

6 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

7 groan   

vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音

参考例句：

• The wounded man uttered a groan.那个受伤的人发出呻吟。
• The people groan under the burden of taxes.人民在重税下痛苦呻吟。

8 plaintive   

adj.可怜的，伤心的

参考例句：

• Her voice was small and plaintive.她的声音微弱而哀伤。
• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。

9 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

10 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。