Текст

Новые слова.

TAKING THE PHOTOGRAPH OF A RHINO
(A true story told by the man who took the photograph)

I

One day, while dark [da:k] and I with a Masai (1) conductor were walking, past some very high grass, the conductor stopped and pointed. We looked where he was pointing and we saw among the high grass a great grey body. It was the back of a great rhino lying in the grass. The conductor closed his eyes to show me that the rhino was sleeping.

We walked very quietly until we were only thirty yards from the animal. Then we could see that it was a huge rhino, weighing at least (2) two tons. He was sleeping quietly. We could see his gray skin rising and falling with his breath, and his little pig's eyes were closed. His big flat nose, with its sharp cruel horn, was nearest to us. Each breath blew on the grass near, his nose. The, warm African sunlight was shining on his huge gray body.

Very quietly I got my camera ready to take the photograph. The conductor stood near me on my left side and dark stood on my right side, with his gun in his hands. We did not kill the animals which we photographed unless our lives were in danger, and dark always fired his gun in the air when I took my pictures to make the animals turn away from me.

Everything was ready. I stood with my camera right in front of the rhino and I was so close that I could see his nose moving with his breath. I even saw a fly walk across his head. We waited for several minutes but the animal continued to sleep; and as I wanted to photograph him when he was moving, I took a deep breath (3) and shouted "Hey!"

In a moment he was up. Although he was so huge, he moved very rapidly. For a moment he stood looking at us. What did he see? A rhino has very weak sight and he cannot see anything clearly which is more than fifteen or twenty yards away. We were nearly thirty yards away from him, so he could not see us I well, but he saw something. For a few moments he stood there. Then he put his head down (4) and rushed at us.

II

My camera was pointed at him, and as I looked through the little glass I could see the great rhino rushing towards me. As he got nearer he seemed to get bigger. When he was fifteen yards away he looked as big as a railway train. With my camera near my eye I waited to get my picture. The ground under my feet shook with the great weight of the rushing rhino. His little red eyes were cruel and angry. When the rhino was near enough (5) I pressed the button of my camera and took my picture. The huge animal was almost touching me.

At that moment, dark fired his gun in order to make the animal turn away from me. But the animal paid no attention at all (6) and came straight on. I jumped to one side, quicker than I had ever jumped before. As I did so, I knew I was safe, but the rhino was almost on top of the Masai conductor. There was a cloud of dust and I saw the man's body thrown into the air. The rhino rushed on and away from us. We did not see him again.

dark and I ran to the place where the Masai was lying on the ground, we were sure that he was either dead or dying. No man can be thrown up into the air by a rhino's horn and live. But just as we reached him, the conductor jumped up laughing. No, he was neither dead nor dying. The rhino's horn had not touched him, for (7) that jump into the air had been his own. When a rhino is rushing towards an enemy, he holds his head so that he can see. When he is close, he puts his head down so that the sharp point of his horn is in front. Therefore, just for a moment he cannot see in front of him, and in that moment the Masai jumped to one side. The rhino rushes on and usually does not stop until he is out of sight. This is how our conductor had saved himself.

Примечания

(1) Masai - название африканской народности

(2) at least - по меньшей мере

(3) I took a deep breath - я глубоко вздохнул

(4) put... down - нагнул

(5) near enough - достаточно близко

(6) paid no attention at all - не обратил никакого внимания; Сочетание at all усиливает отрицание, как русское вовсе. Например:

I see you are busy. - Not at all. Я вижу, вы заняты. - Нет, ничуть (вовсе нет).

(7) for - здесь значит так как, ибо.

Анализ слов

В этом уроке большинство слов относится к основному словарному фонду английского языка, т.е. они являются чрезвычайно распространенными. Количество международных слов невелико: вы их сами легко найдете.

Ряд слов связан с уже известными вам словами: fly муха и fly летать, continue продолжать и Continuous - название группы времен; fire стрелять и fire огонь; past мимо и past прошедший; to pass проходить; shake трястись и shock удар, сотрясение; dead мертвый и die умирать.

Button пуговица имеет тот же корень, что бутон. Глагол to turn вращаться сравните с глаголом to return возвращаться (урок 18), а также со словом турникет.

Dust пыль, порошок вошло в русский язык в узком значении дуст. Прилагательное flat плоский породило существительное flat квартира, так как flats, где все комнаты расположены в одной плоскости, противопоставляются домикам в два этажа, распространенным в Англии.

Союз unless переводится сочетание если ... не, а иногда если только не. В тексте вы видите: We did not kill the animals which we photographed, unless our lives were in danger. Мы не убивали животных, которых мы фотографировали, если только наша жизнь не была в опасности. Заметьте, что в английском предложении глагол стоит в утвердительной форме, так как отрицание заключено в самом союзе unless: unless our lives were ... если только наша жизнь не была .... Несколько примеров с союзом unless:

I shall be unable to answer Я не смогу ответить на этот this question, unless you вопрос, если вы мне не поможете. help me.

The picture will not be good, Снимок не будет хорошим, если unless you sit still. вы не будете сидеть смирно.