build to last

第1页

ToBuildaFire大学英语

themanflungalookbackalongthewayhehadcome。the

yukonlayamilewideandhiddenunderthreefeetofice。on

topofthisicewereasmanyfeetofsnow。itwasallpurewhite,

rollingingentle,undulationswheretheicejamsofthe

freeze-uphadformed。northandsouth,asfarashiyecould

e,itwasunbrokenwhite,saveforadarkhairlinethatcurved

andtwistedfromaroundthespruce-coveredislandtothesouth,

andthatcurvedandtwistedawayintothenorth,whereit

disappearedbehindanotherspruce-coveredisland。thisdark

hair-linewasthetrail--themaintrail--thatledsouthfive

hundredmilestothechilcootpass,dyea,andsaltwater;and

thatlednorthventymilestodawson,andstillontothenorth

athousandmilestonulato,andfinallytost。michaelonbering

a,athousandmilesandhalfathousandmore。

butallthis--themysterious,far-reachinghair-line

trail。theabnceofsunfromthesky,thetremendouscold,

andthestrangenessandweirdnessofitall--madenoimpression

ontheman。itwasnotbecauhewaslongudtoit。hewas

anewcomer!intheland,achechaquo,andthiswashisfirst

winter。thetroublewithhimwasthathewaswithout

imagination。hewasquickandalertinthethingsoflife,but

第2页

onlyinthethings,andnotinthesignificances。fiftydegrees

belowzeromeanteighty-odddegreesoffrost。suchfact

impresdhimasbeingcoldanduncomfortable,andthatwasall。

itdidnotleadhimtomeditateuponhisfrailtyasacreature

oftemperature,anduponmansfrailtyingeneral,ableonlyto

livewithincertainnarrowlimitsofheatandcold;andfrom

thereonitdidnotleadhimtotheconjecturalfieldof

immortalityandmansplaceintheuniver。fiftydegreesbelow

zerostoodfortebiteoffrostthathurtandthatmustbeguarded

againstbytheuofmittens,ear-flaps,warmmoccasins,and

thicksocks。fiftydegreesbelowzerowastohimjustprecily

fiftydegreesbelowzero。thatthereshouldbeanythingmore

toitthanthatwasathoughtthatneverenteredhishead。

asheturnedtogoon,hespatspeculatively。therewas

asharp,eplosivecracklethatstartledhim。hespatagain。

andagain,intheair,beforeitcouldfalltothesnow,the

spittlecrackled。heknewthatatfiftybelowspittlecrackled

onthesnow,butthisspittlehadcrackledintheair。

undoubtedlyitwascolderthanfiftybelow--howmuchcolderhe

didnotknow。butthetemperaturedidnotmatter。hewasbound

fortheoldclaimontheleftforkofhendersoncreek,where

theboyswerealready。theyhadcomeoveracrossthedivide

第3页

fromtheindiancreekcountry,whilehehadcometheroundabout

waytotake;alookatthepossibilitiesofgettingoutlogs

inthespringfromtheislandsintheyukon。hewouldbein

tocampbysioclock;abitafterdark,itwastrue,butthe

boyswouldbethere,afirewouldbegoing,andahotsupper

wouldbeready。asforlunch,hepresdhishandagainstthe

protrudingbundleunderhisjacket。itwasalsounderhisshirt,

wrappedupinahandkerchiefandlyingagainstthenakedskin。

itwastheonlywaytokeepthebiscuitsfromfreezing。he

smiledagreeablytohimlfashethoughtofthobiscuits,

eachcutopenandsoppedinbacongrea,andeachenclosing

ageneroussliceoffriedbacon。

heplungedinamongthebigsprucetrees。thetrailwas

faint。afootofsnowhadfallensincethelastsledhadpasd

over,andhewasgladhewaswithoutasled,travelinglight。

infact,hecarriednothingbutthelunchwrappedinthe

handkerchief。hewassurprid,however,atthecold。it

certainlywascold,heconcludedasherubbedhisnumbnoand

cheek-boneswithhismittenedhand。hewasawarm-whiskered

man,butthehaironhisfacedidnotprotectthehigh

cheek-bonesandtheeagernothatthrustitlfaggressively

intothefrostyair。

第4页

atthemansheelstrottedadog,abignativehusky,the

properwolfdog,gray-coatedandwithoutanyvisibleor

temperamentaldifferencefromitsbrother,thewildwolf。the

animalwasdepresdbythetremendouscold。itknewthatit

wasnotimefortraveling。itsinstincttolditatruertale

thanwastoldtothemanbythemansjudgment。inreality,it

wasnotmerelycolderthanfiftybelowzero;itwascolderthan

sitybelow,thanventybelow。itwasventy-fivebelowzero。

sincethefreezingpointisthirty-twoabovezero,itmeantthat

onehundredandvendegreesoffrostobtained。thedogdid

notknowanythingaboutthermometers。possiblyinitsbrain

therewasnosharpconsciousnessofaconditionofverycold

suchaswasinthemansbrain。butthebrutehaditsinstinct。

iteperiencedavaguebutmenacingapprehensionthatsubdued

itandmadeitslinkalongatthemansheels,andthatmadeit

questioneagerlyeveryunwontedmovementofthemanasif

epectinghimtogointocamportoeksheltersomewhereand

buildafire。thedoghadlearnedfire,anditwantedfire,

oreltoburrowunderthesnowandcuddleitswarmthawayfrom

theair。

thefrozenmoistureofitsbreathinghadttledonits

furinafinepowderoffrost,andespeciallywereitsjowls,

第5页

muzzle,andeyelasheswhitenedbyitscrystalledbreath。the

mansredbeardandmustachewerelikewifrosted,butmore

solidly,thedeposittakingtheformoficeandincreasingwith

everywarm,moistbreathheehaled。also,themanwaschewing

tobacco,andthemuzzleoficeheldhislipssorigidlythat

hewasunabletoclearhischinwhenheepelledthejuice。the

resultwasthatacrystalbeardofthecolorandsolidityof

amberwasincreasingitslengthonhischin。ifhefelldown

itwouldshatteritlf,likeglass,intobrittlefragments。

buthedidnotmindtheappendage。itwasthepenaltyall

tobacco-chewerspaidinthatcountry,andhehadbeenoutbefore

intwocoldsnaps。theyhadnotbeensocoldasthis,heknew,

butbythespiritthermometeratsitymileheknewtheyhadbeen

registeredatfiftybelowandatfifty-five。

heheldonthroughthelevelstretchofwoodsforveral

miles,crosdawideflatofrigger-heads,anddroppeddown

abanktothefrozenbedofasmallstream。thiswashenderson

creek,andheknewhewastenmilesfromtheforks。helooked

athiswatch。itwastenoclock。hewasmakingfourmilesan

hour,andhecalculatedthathewouldarriveattheforksat

half-pasttwelve。hedecidedtocelebratethateventbyeating

hislunchthere。

第6页

thedogdroppedinagainathisheels,withatail

droopingdiscouragement,asthemanswungalongthecreek-bed。

thefurrowoftheoldsled-trailwasplainlyvisible,buta

dozeninchesofsnowcoveredthemarksofthelastrunners。

inamonthnomanhadcomeupordownthatsilentcreek。the

manheldsteadilyon。hewasnotmuchgiventothinking,and

justthenparticularlyhehadnothingtothinkaboutsavethat

hewouldeatlunchat-theforksandthatatsioclockhewould

beincampwiththeboys。therewasnobodytotalkto;and,

hadtherebeen,speechwouldhavebeenimpossiblebecauof

theice-muzzleonhismouth。sohecontinuedmonotonouslyto

chewtobac

ToBuildaFire高校英语作文四ToBuildaFire高校英

语作文五

titwasamatteroflifeanddeathwiththechances

againsthim。thisthrewhimintoapanic,andheturnedand

ranupthecreek-bedalongtheold,dimtrail。thedogjoined

inbehindandkeptupwithhim。heranblindly,without

intention,infearsuchashehadneverknowninhislife。

slowly,asheplowedandflounderedthroughthesnow,hebegan

toethingsagain,thebanksofthecreek,theoldtimber-jams,

theleaflessaspens,andthesky。therunningmadehimfeel

第7页

better。hedidnotshiver。maybe,ifheranon,hisfeetwould

thawout;and,anyway,ifheranfarenough,hewouldreachcamp

andtheboys。withoutdoubthewouldlosomefingersandtoes

andsomeofhisface;buttheboyswouldtakecareofhim,and

savetherestofhimwhenhegotthere。andatthesametime

therewasanotherthoughtinhismindthatsaidhewouldnever

gettothecampandtheboys;thatitwastoomanymilesaway,

thatthefreezinghadtoogreatastartonhim,andthathewould

soonbestiffanddead。thisthoughthekeptinthebackground

andrefudtoconsider。sometimesitpusheditlfforward

anddemandedtobeheard,buthethrustitbackandstroveto

thinkofotherthings。

itstruckhimascuriousthathecouldrunatallonfeet

sofrozenthathecouldnotfeelthemwhentheystrucktheearth

andtooktheweigh。ofhisbody。heemedtohimlftoskim

alongabovethesurface,andtohavenoconnectionwiththe

earth。somewherehehadonceenawingedmercury,andhe

wonderedifmercuryfeltashefeltwhenskimmingovertheearth。

histheoryofrunninguntilhereachedcampandtheboys

hadoneflawinit:helackedtheendurance。veraltimeshe

stumbled,andfinallyhetottered,crumpledup,andfell。when

hetriedtori,hefailed。hemustsitandrest,hedecided,

第8页

andnettimehewouldmerelywalkandkeepongoing。ashesat

andregainedhisbreath,henotedthathewasfeelingquitewarm

andcomfortablehewasnotshivering,anditevenemedthat

awarmglowhadcometohischestandtrunk。andyet,whenhe

touchedhisnoorcheeks,therewasnonsation。running

wouldnotthawthemout。norwoulditthawouthishandsand

feet。thenthethoughtcametohimthatthefrozenportions

ofhisbodymustbeetending。hetriedtokeepthisthought

down,toforgetit,tothinkofsomethingel;hewasaware

ofthepanickyfeelingthatitcaud,andhewasafraidofthe

panic。butthethoughtasrteditlf,andpersisted,until

itproducedavisionofhisbodytotallyfrozen。thiswastoo

much,andhemadeanotherwildrunalongthetrail。oncehe

sloweddowntoawalk,butthethoughtofthefreezingetending

itlfmadehimrunagain。

andallthetimethedogranwithhim,athisheels。when

hefelldownacondtime,itcurleditstad!overitsforefeet

andsatinfrontofhim,facinghim,curiouslyeagerandintent

thewarmthandcurityoftheanimalangeredhim,andhecurd

ittillitflatteneddownitarsappealingly。thistimethe

shiveringcamemorequicklyupontheman。hewaslosinginhis

battlewiththefrost。itwascreepingintohisbodyfromall

第9页

sides。thethoughtofitdrovehimon,butherannomorethan

ahundredfeet,whenhestaggeredandpitchedheadlong。itwas

hislastpanic。whenhehadrecoveredhisbreathandcontrol,

hesatupandentertainedinhismindtheconceptionofmeeting

deathwithdignity。however,theconceptiondidnotcometo

himinsuchterms。hisideaofitwasthathehadbeenmaking

afoolofhimlf,runningaroundlikeachickenwithitshead

cutoff--suchwasthesimilethatoccurredtohim。well,he

wasboundtofreezeanyway,andhemightaswelltakeitdecently。

withthisnew-foundpeaceofmindcamethefirstglimmerings

ofdrowsiness。agoodidea,hethought,tosleepofftodeath。

itwaslikesaltingananaesthetic。freezingwasnotsobad

aspeoplethought。therewerelotsworwaystodie。

hepicturedtheboysfindinghisbodynetday。suddenly

hefoundhimlfwiththem,comingalongthetrailandlooking

forhimlf。and,stillwiththem,hecamearoundaturnin

thetrailandfoundhimlflyinginthesnow。hedidnotbelong

withhimlfanymore,foreventhenhewasoutofhimlf,

standingwiththeboysandlookingathimlfinthesnow。it

certainlywascold,washisthought。whenhegotbacktothe

stateshecouldtellthefolkswhatrealcoldwashedrifted

onfromthistoavisionoftheold-timeronsulphurcreekhe

第10页

couldehimquiteclearly,warmandcomfortable,andsmoking

apipe。

youwereright,oldhoss;youwereright,themanmumbled

totheold-timerofsulphurcreek。

thenthemandrowdoffintowhatemedtohimthemost

comfortableandsatisfyingsleephehadeverknown。thedog

satfacinghimandwaiting。thebriefdaydrewtoacloin

along,slowtwilight。therewerenosignsofafiretobemade,

and,besides,neverinthedogperiencehaditknownaman

tositlikethatinthesnowandmakenofire。asthetwilight

drewon,itageryearningforthefiremasteredit,andwith

agreatliftingandshiftingofforefeet,itwhinedsoftly,then

flatteneditarsdowninanticipationofbeingchiddenbythe

man。butthemanremainedsilent。later,thedogwhinedloudly。

andstilllateritcreptclotothemanandcaughtthescent

ofdeath。thismadetheanimalbristleandbackaway。alittle

longeritdelayed,howlingunderthestarsthatleapedand

dancedandshonebrightlyinthecoldsky。thenitturnedand

trottedupthetrailinthedirectionofthecampitknew,where

weretheotherfood-providersandfire-providers。