Английский язык с Робинзоном Крузо (в пересказе для детей) (ASCII-IPA)

Why, nothing but a shaggy old goat (да ничего, как только потрепанную старого козла; goat — козел; коза) that I had missed from my flock for nearly a week past (которого недоставало моему стаду почти неделю уже = который пропал из стада почти неделю назад; to miss smth. — обнаружить отсутствие /чего-л./).

He was stretched on the floor of the cave (он лежал, растянувшись на полу пещеры), and too weak to rise up (и был слишком слаб, чтобы встать). He was a very old fellow (он был очень старым: «старым парнем»), and perhaps had gone in there to die (и, возможно, зашел сюда умирать).

I gave him some food and water (я дал ему еды и воды), and made him as comfortable as I could (и сделал ему так удобно, как мог). But he was too far gone to live long (но он был слишком стар, чтобы прожить долго).

I found that, although I could stand up in the cave, it was very small (я обнаружил, что, хотя я мог стоять в пещере, она была очень маленькой). It was only a hole in the rocks (она была лишь дырой в скалах), and was neither round nor square (и не была ни круглой, ни квадратной).

But at the end of this little chamber there seemed to be a passage that led farther in (но в конце этой маленькой комнаты, казалось, был проход, который вел дальше внутрь; to lead — вести). This passage was very narrow and dark (этот проход был узким и темным; to pass — проходить), and as my torch had burned out (и поскольку мой факел выгорел), I did not try to follow it (я не попытался последовать по нему).

I went back to my wood chopping (я вернулся к моей рубке леса).

discovery [dI'skVv(@)rI], suppose [s@'p@uz], upon [@'pOn], charcoal ['tSA:k@ul], brush [brVS], aside [@'saId], sigh ['saI], chamber ['tSeImb@], passage ['p&sIdZ]

I MAKE A SURPRISING DISCOVERY

ONCE every week I went into the woods to see the flock of goats that I had hidden there. I always carried my gun, but since my last great fright I did not dare to fire it off. I was afraid even to drive a nail or chop a stick of wood, lest some savages might be near enough to hear the sound.

I was afraid to build a fire at my castle, lest the smoke should be seen.

At last I carried some of my pots and kettles to my hidden field in the woods. I could do my cooking there much more safely than at my castle.

Hardly had I put things in order there when I found something that made me very glad. What do you suppose it was?

It was a cave — a real cave. The door into it was through a little hollow place at the bottom of a great rock. It was so well hidden that no one could have found it even by looking for it.

Shall I tell you how I came upon it?

I was afraid to make a smoke near my house, and yet I could not live without cooking meat. I tried all kinds of dry wood, and yet there was always some smoke. Then I thought I would try charcoal. But I must first make the charcoal.

I found a place in the darkest part of the woods where the smoke would hardly rise to the tops of the trees. There I built my charcoal pit.

This was done in the following way:

First, I cleared off a round space about ten feet in diameter. Here I dug out the earth till I made a pit about a foot deep. Then I cut a cord or more of wood and piled it up in this space. I piled it up until it was almost as high as my shoulders. I covered it a foot deep with earth and turf, leaving a small open place at the bottom.

When this was done, I set fire to the wood through the hole in the bottom. It burned slowly. The wood became charcoal.

One day, while cutting wood for my charcoal pit, I happened to see a hollow place in the rock close by a tree I was chopping.

It was half covered with brush. I pushed this aside and looked in. I saw a little cave just large enough for me to creep into on my hands and knees.

But, a little farther in, it was larger. It was so high that I could stand upright, and it was so wide that two men could have walked in it side by side.

It was a very dark place, and I stood still a moment till my eyes should become a little used to it.

All at once I saw something in the darkness that made me scramble out of that place much faster than I had come into it.