So this is heaven, he thought, and he had to smile at himself. It was hardly respectful to analyze¹ heaven in the very moment that one flies up to enter it.

原来这就是天堂，他心里想，不禁暗自好笑。一飞过天堂，马上就对它进行猜度，似乎太不尊敬了

 As he came from Earth now, above the clouds and in close formation with the two brilliant gulls², he saw that his own body was growing as bright as theirs. True, the same young Jonathan Seagull was there that had always lived behind his golden eyes, but the outer form had changed.

他从尘世飞升来到这里，与这两只光辉的海鸥紧紧排成行列。一同穿过云层。这会儿他发现自己的身体也和他们一样变成晶莹的了。的确，他的生活一向比他的金色眼睛看到的要更丰富，但还是这个年轻的乔纳森，现在连外貌也改变啦。

It felt like a seagull body, but alreadv it flew far better than his old one had ever flown. Why, with half the effort, he thought, I’ll get twice the speed, twice the performance of my best days on Earth!

身上的感觉还像只海鸥，但飞起来已和过去大不相同。他想：真怪，只要费一半力气，我的速度就比过去快了一倍。我的成就比在尘世最美好的日子翻了一番。

]

 His feathers glowed brilliant white now, and his wings were smooth and perfect as sheets of polished silver. He began, delightedly, to learn about them, to press power into these new wings.

现在他的羽毛闪着灿烂的白光，双翅像磨光的银片那样平滑、完美。他满心喜悦，开始揣摩自己翅膀的功能，要把力量使到这一对新的翅膀上去。

 At two hundred fifty miles per hour he felt that he was nearing his level-flight maximum speed. At two hundred seventy-three he thought that he was flying as fast as he could fly, and he was ever so faintly disappointed. There was a limit to how much the new body could do, and though it was much faster than his old level-flight record, it was still a limit that would take great effort to crack. In heaven, he thought, there should be no limits.

到了时速二百五十英里，他觉得已经接近水平飞行的最高速度。到了时速二百七十三英里，他认为已经决得不能再快了。他不免略微有点失望。想不到这个新躯体也会有力所不能及。尽管已经远远超过了过去的水平飞行纪录，但毕竟还是有限的速度，要超出过限度，还得再花一番功夫。他想，在天堂，应当什么都是无限的。

点击收听单词发音  

1 analyze
vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)
参考例句：
We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。 The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

2 gulls
n.鸥( gull的名词复数 )v.欺骗某人( gull的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
A flock of sea gulls are hovering over the deck. 一群海鸥在甲板上空飞翔。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》 The gulls which haunted the outlying rocks in a prodigious number. 数不清的海鸥在遥远的岩石上栖息。 来自辞典例句

3 gull
n.鸥；受骗的人；v.欺诈
参考例句：
The ivory gull often follows polar bears to feed on the remains of seal kills.象牙海鸥经常跟在北极熊的后面吃剩下的海豹尸体。 You are not supposed to gull your friends.你不应该欺骗你的朋友。

4 blurred
v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离
参考例句：
She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。 Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 standing
n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
参考例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。 They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 spoke
n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说
参考例句：
They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。 The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 aeronautics
n.航空术，航空学
参考例句：
National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。 He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

8 instructor
n.指导者，教员，教练
参考例句：
The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。 The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

9 forth
adv.向前；向外，往外
参考例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。 He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 inverted
adj.反向的，倒转的v.使倒置，使反转( invert的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
Only direct speech should go inside inverted commas. 只有直接引语应放在引号内。 Inverted flight is an acrobatic manoeuvre of the plane. 倒飞是飞机的一种特技动作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 nervously
adv.神情激动地，不安地
参考例句：
He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。 He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

12 kindly
adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地
参考例句：
Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。 A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

13 flicker
vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现
参考例句：
There was a flicker of lights coming from the abandoned house.这所废弃的房屋中有灯光闪烁。 At first,the flame may be a small flicker,barely shining.开始时，光辉可能是微弱地忽隐忽现，几乎并不灿烂。

14 unlimited
adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的
参考例句：
They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。 There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

15 stunned
adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词
参考例句：
The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。 The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

16 awe
n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧
参考例句：
The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。 The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

17 embarrassment
n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫
参考例句：
She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。 Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

18 exhorting
v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 )
参考例句：
Joe Pationi's stocky figure was moving constantly, instructing and exhorting. 乔·佩特罗尼结实的身影不断地来回走动，又发指示，又替他们打气。 来自辞典例句 He is always exhorting us to work harder for a lower salary. （（讽刺））他总是劝我们为了再低的薪水也得更卖力地工作。 来自辞典例句

19 adept
adj.老练的，精通的
参考例句：
When it comes to photography,I'm not an adept.要说照相，我不是内行。 He was highly adept at avoiding trouble.他十分善于避开麻烦。

20 helping
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
参考例句：
The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。 By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

21 brotherhood
n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊
参考例句：
They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。 They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

22 injustice
n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利
参考例句：
They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。 All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

23 outlaw
n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法
参考例句：
The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。 The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

24 faltered
（嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃
参考例句：
He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。 "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着：“这孩子脑袋真长。”

25 gliding
v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的
参考例句：
Swans went gliding past. 天鹅滑行而过。 The weather forecast has put a question mark against the chance of doing any gliding tomorrow. 天气预报对明天是否能举行滑翔表示怀疑。

26 chaos
n.混乱，无秩序
参考例句：
After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。 The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。