英国语文第六册(双语):直布罗陀包围战(5)
It was kept up during the entire night. At one in the morning, two of the ships were entirely a prey to the flames. It was not long before the others also caught fire, either from the operation of the red-hot balls, or, as the Spaniards afterwards alleged, because they set them on fire themselves, when they had lost all hope of saving them. It was then that trouble and despair broke out in all their violence. Every moment the Spaniards made signals of distress, and fired off rockets to implore assistance.
这种情况持续了一整晚。凌晨一点，两艘船完全被大火吞噬。没过多久，其他人也着火了，要么是由于滚烫的火球引起的，要么是西班牙人后来声称，他们自己把火球点燃了，而当时他们已经对救球失去了所有信心。就在那时，他们所有的暴力中爆发出了烦恼和绝望。西班牙人每时每刻都在发出求救的信号，并发射火箭请求援助。
All their boats were immediately sent off, and surrounded the floating gun-ships, in order to save their crews—an operation executed with extreme intrepidity, in spite of perils of every sort. Not only was it necessary for the men to brave the artillery of the besieged: they had also to expose themselves to almost inevitable burning in approaching the flaming vessels. Never, perhaps, did a spectacle more horrible—more deplorable—present itself to the eyes of men. The profound darkness that covered the earth and the sea intensified, by contrast, the lurid flames; and the shrieks of the victims were distinctly heard by the garrison, in the intervals of their cannonade.
为了救船员，所有的船只都立即被派出，包围了那些浮动的炮艇。尽管有各种各样的危险，士兵们还是以极大的勇气进行。这些人不仅必须勇敢地面对被围困者的炮火，而且在接近燃烧着的船只时，他们几乎不可避免地要暴露在火焰中。也许从来没有比这更可怕、更悲惨的景象出现在人们的眼前。黑暗笼罩着大地和大海，与此形成鲜明对比的是，烈焰更加猛烈；在加农炮的间隙，守军清楚地听到了遇害者的尖叫声。
