牛津书虫系列《神秘及幻想故事集》Chapter1 附中英双语文本

As I finished reading this sentence，I jumped in my seat and then sat very still．I thought that I had heard，from somewhere far away in the house，the same noise of cracking and breaking wood．But I could not hear it clearly，and the noise of the storm was much louder．I continued reading：
我念完这个句子后，在座位上跳了一下，然后又稳稳地坐定了。我觉得自己听见了这座府邸远处呆个地方传来一阵与那木头噼里啪啦的碎裂声完全相同的声音；但我听得不是太真切，况且暴风雨的声音要大得多。我继续念道：
Ethelred entered the house but could not see the old man．Then the house disappeared and he saw a dragon，with fire coming out of its mouth．Ethelred lifted his heavy stick and brought it crashing down on the dragon's head．As the dragon fell dying to the ground，it gave a terrible cry-a long，hard，unnatural scream．
艾特尔瑞德进了那房子，却不见老人的踪影。然后，房子消失，他看见一条恶龙，口中喷吐着火舌。艾特尔瑞德举起大棒子朝恶龙头上砰地一声砸去。恶龙倒在地上，垂死之际发出一声哀嚎——这声长嚎尖厉刺耳，惨绝人寰。
Here again I stopped suddenly．I was sure that I could hear a cry．It was low and far away，but it was a long screaming sound-just like the one described in the book．
到这里我再一次戛然而止。我敢肯定我听见了一声嚎叫。叫声很低，离得很远，但那的确是一声长长的尖叫——就像书中写到的那声哀嚎一样。
Although I was feeling so nervous，I tried hard to hide my terror．I was not sure if Usher had heard the sounds that I had heard．In the last few minutes he had moved and was now sitting with his face towards the door．But I could see that his lips were shaking and his body was moving gently from side to side．I continued reading the story：
虽然我感到极度紧张，但我还是尽力掩饰住自己的惊恐。我拿不准鄂榭是否听到了我听到的那些声音。在过去的几分钟里，他已经有所动作，现在正面对房门坐着。但我仍能看见他的嘴唇在发抖，他的身体左一下右一下地微微摇摆着。我接着念那个故事：
And now Ethelred，after he had killed the dragon，turned and saw in front of him a palace of gold with tall gates of shining silver in the walls．Bravely，Ethelred ran towards the palace，but the shining silver gates did not wait for his coming and fell to the ground at his feet with a great and terrible ringing sound．
杀掉恶龙以后，现在艾特尔瑞德转过身来，看见他面前立着一座金子的宫殿，宫墙上嵌着一扇扇光闪闪的银质大门。艾特尔瑞德勇敢地向宫殿跑去，但还没等他跑近，那些闪光的银质大门便倒在他脚边的地上，发出巨大的、可怖的、钟磬齐鸣般的轰响。
As I read these words，I heard clearly the loud，heavy sound of metal falling．I jumped to my feet，but Usher sat in his seat and did not move．I ran towards him．He was looking straight in front of him and his face was like stone．As I placed my hand on his arm，his body began to shake．A sickly smile came over his lips，and he spoke in a low hurried voice．He did not seem to realize that I was there．I put my head close to his to catch his words．
我念到这些词句时，清晰地听见金属器物倒地的沉重的巨响。我一跃而起，但鄂榭坐在座位上一动不动。我朝他奔过去。他正直勾勾地瞪视着前方，脸庞好像石头一样。我把一只手放在他胳膊上，这时他的身体开始发抖，一丝惨淡的笑容出现在他的嘴唇上。然后他开口了，声音又低又急，似乎没有意识到我的存在。我低头凑近他的脑袋，去捕捉那些词句。
‘Don't I hear it？-yes，I hear it，and I have heard it．For many minutes，many hours，many days I have heard it-but I was too frightened，too frightened to speak．We have put her alive into her coffin！Did I not tell you that I could hear even the softest sound？I tell you now that I heard her move in the coffin．I heard the sounds many days ago，but my terror was too great-I could not speak！And now tonight-when you read about Ethelred breaking the old man's door，about the cry of the dragon，and the falling of the gates-it was，in fact，the breaking of her coffin，the scream of metal as she broke open the vault，and the ringing crash as the metal door fell to the floor！Oh，where can I escape to？Is she hurrying towards me at this very minute？Is that her angry footstep that I can hear on the stairs？Can I hear the heavy and terrible beating of her heart？MADMAN！’