【惊险悬疑小说】红玫瑰追杀令24
24
Jameson spent the morning on the telephone.At lunchtime,he announced that it was all'finished'.I was to board a fishing boat at Taormina,a small port on the east coast.We would leave Adrano that night and be there by dawn.
He handed me an anorak,three thin sweaters and a pair of heavy walking boots.
‘If we don't want to be noticed,'he said,‘then we've got to do it the hard way-up there and over the top.'He was pointing towards Mount Etna,still smoking gently in the distance.
‘You mean round the crater,'I said.
‘I mean through the crater-and tkake my word,it's cold up there at night-unless you manage to fall into some molten lava!'( 文章阅读网：www.sanwen.net )
I might have felt better if Jameson had told me that night trips to see the the crater of Etna were well organised tourist attractions.Jameson's car took us to a spot about two thirds of the way up the south face of the mountain.There we boarded a cable railway that brought us to within striking distance of the top.There were guides,waiting to conduct parties on foot.There were also several old wartime jeeps for hire,complete with drivers.Jameson wanted a jeep but not a driver.I don't know how much money exchanged hands,but when Jameson returned he was driving the jeep himself.He told me to get in the back and to hang on.It wuld be a rough ride.
There were no roads,but rim of the crater was broken by wide cracks or ‘fissures'.From these,streams of solid lava spread down the hillside;evidence of recent eruptions.It was up one of these lava ‘roads'that the jeep set off.
The night glow in the sky abvove the rim of the crater was a reminder that Etna was still an active volcano.Even the ‘road'we were following was pitted with small craters which would suddenly belch clouds of steam or envelope us in choking sulphurous fumes!
At last,we bumped our way through the crack in the rim and were into the crater itself.It was bigger than I expected;a shallow,dusty bowl,several miles wide,the glowing lava like a tiny shimmering lake,far below us in the centre(29).
注释：
1，I was to board a fishing boat at Taormina：我将在陶尔米纳登上渔轮。 be to do：表示按计划或安排要做的事。board：上（车、船、飞机等）。Taormina：陶尔米纳，西西里岛东海岸小镇，旅游名胜。
2，by dawn：黎明前。by：不迟于。
3，anorak：连帽风雨衣。
4，we've got to do it the hard way-up：我们得走一条艰险难走的山路。we've got to:we have to。
5，Mount Etna：埃特纳火山，意大利西西里岛东岸活火山，海拔3200米以上，为欧洲最高的活火山。1979年喷发时间持续三年，最近两次喷发时间分别为2007年9月4日，2011年5月11日。
6，crater：火山口。
7，tkake my word：相信我说的话；manage to do sth：想方设法做成某事。
8，molten lava：熔岩。
10，I might have felt better if Jameson had told me that：假如詹姆森当时就告诉了我······我就会感到轻松一些（事实上他并没有告诉我，我也就一直提心吊胆的）。虚拟的条件句，从句用过去完成时，主句用would（could/might ）have done，表示与过去事实相反。
11，well organised tourist attractions：精心组织的游览旅游景点的活动。tourist attractions：旅游风景名胜。
12，a spot about two thirds of the way up the south face：从南坡上山行至约三分之二的一个地点。
13，boarded a cable railway that brought us to within striking distance of the top，乘坐缆车到了离峰顶只有一步之遥的地方。that引导定语从句，其先行词是cable railway，在从句中作主语；within striking distance of：离······只有一步之遥。
14，guides：tourguides，导游；parties：游客。
15，wartime jeeps for hire,complete with drivers：参加过战争的吉普车，连同司机一起出租。
16，hang on：抓紧（扶手）。rough ride：艰险的旅程。
17，but rim of the crater：除了（只有）火山口的边缘。
18，cracks or ‘fissures'：裂口或“裂缝”。
19，streams of solid lava spread down the hillside：岩浆曾顺坡流淌，现已凝成固体。
20，evidence of recent eruptions：表明最近喷发过。evidence：证据。
21，It was up one of these lava ‘roads'that the jeep set off：正是在这样的一条岩浆凝结成的“路”上，我们的吉普车出发了。It was···that：强调句。
22，active volcano：活火山。
23，Even the ‘road'we were following was pitted with small craters which would suddenly belch clouds of steam or envelope us in choking sulphurous fumes! 甚至在我们行车的“路”上，也有不少小火山口造成的坑坑洼洼；这些坑坑洼洼会突然喷发出一团团水蒸气，或把我们包裹在呛人的的硫磺气味的烟雾中。we were following是road的定语从句，关系代词在从句中作宾语，故省。was pitted with：由···形成的坑。which到句末是craters的定语从句，which在从句中作主语。belch：打嗝,喷出,喷射，吐出；choking ：令人窒息的。
24，bumped our way through ：颠来簸去地穿过。
25，shallow：浅浅的。
26，shimmering ：微光的，闪烁的。shimmer：（发）微光，闪烁。比较：glow：发热，发光，发红。
24
一上午，詹姆森都在打电话。午饭时，他宣布一切“搞定”。我将在东海岸的一个小港，陶尔米纳，登上一艘渔轮。我们晚上就从阿德拉诺出发，黎明前到达陶尔米纳。
他给我一件带有帽子的风雨衣，三件薄毛衣和一双结实的适合步行的靴子。
“不想引起注意，”他说，“就得走那条很难走的路——从那上面翻越过去。”他指着远处的埃特纳火山；那儿，烟雾依然冉冉升起。
“你的意思是绕着火山口······”
“是穿过火山口。相信我，那上面晚上较冷——除非你想方设法掉进熔岩里！”
要是詹姆森当时就告诉我，夜游埃特纳火山口本来就是当地精心组织的旅游活动的话，我也许就不会那么提心吊胆的了。
詹姆森开车带我从埃特纳火山南坡上山，到了离山顶三分之二的一个地点，换乘缆车。一下缆车，距顶部就只有一步之遥了。有一些导游等在那儿，接待徒步旅行者。也有几辆战争时期的军用吉普，连带司机一起出租。詹姆森想租一辆吉普，但不要司机。我不知道他到底花了多少钱，但他终于自己开了一辆吉普回来。他要我坐在后排，并且抓紧扶手。这将是一次艰险的旅程。
除了火山口的边缘，根本就没有路；边缘上有较宽的裂口或裂缝，从这些裂缝中，岩浆曾经流出，顺山坡流淌，现已凝结成固体；它们表明，火山不久前才喷发过。正是在这样的一条岩浆凝结成的“路”上，我们的吉普车出发了。
火山口上面的天空中闪着微光；这微光提醒我们：埃特纳火山此刻仍然是一座活火山！甚至在我们行车的“路”上，也有不少小小的火山口组成的小小的坑坑洼洼；这些坑坑洼洼会突然喷发出一团团水蒸气，或把我们包裹在呛人的硫磺气味的烟雾中。
颠来簸去地，我们终于穿过了边缘的裂缝地带，进入了火山口里面。它比我想象的还要大，像一个浅浅的、铺满灰尘的大碗，有几英里宽；火山口的中心——在我们下面深深的最低处——岩浆发出红光，远远望去像一个波光闪闪的小小的湖泊（29）。
注释：
1，陶尔米纳：西西里岛东海岸小镇，旅游名胜。
2，埃特纳火山：位于意大利西西里岛东岸，海拔3200米以上，为欧洲最高的活火山。1979年那次喷发，时间持续三年；最近两次喷发时间分别为2007年9月4日，2011年5月11日。
