The Nor'easter

The Nor 'easter. Written by Katherine Follett. Illustrated by John Kastner. Focus question. What is a Nor 'easter?

《东北风暴》 作者：凯瑟琳·福利特 绘者：约翰·卡斯特纳 思考题 什么是东北风暴？

Some weather for Thanksgiving, eh, Kevin?" Grandma said, her voice seeming to break the ice in the freezing living room. It was silent except for three sounds, the creaking of the house straining against the wind, the wick, wick of Grandma's knife as she

“凯文，感恩节这天气可真够呛，对吧？” 奶奶说道，她的声音仿佛打破了冰冷客厅里的冻意。 屋里静悄悄的，只有三种声响：被狂风拉扯的房子吱呀作响，奶奶的小刀嚓、嚓响着，正

not a good night for people to be out," she murmured almost to herself. Kevin and his parents had left their apartment in Boston extra early that morning because it was beginning to sleet. By the time they got on the highway, it was nearly a blizzard. Cars fish -tailing everywhere until the whole highway slowed to thirty -five miles an hour. The two -hour trip to Cape Cod ended up taking six, and they assumed they would be the last to arrive. But as soon as they stepped into Grandma's wonderful smelling but chilly entryway, she called from the kitchen. Uncle Bob and his new wife are stuck in a ditch out on the turnpike and the tow truck's so busy it can't get to them for an hour. They asked if you'd pick them up in your four -wheel drive. You stay here, Kevin. His father had instructed, and Kevin groaned. Without his cousins around, the only thing to do at Grandma's house was listen to another one of her stories.

“今晚可不适合出门呀，”她几乎是自言自语地喃喃道。 那天早上，因为开始下冻雨，凯文和爸妈特意提早离开了波士顿的公寓。 等他们开上高速的时候，天气差不多已经变成暴风雪了。 到处都有汽车打滑摆尾，整段高速的车速都降到了每小时三十五英里。 去科德角原本两小时的路程最后花了六个小时，他们还以为自己肯定是最晚到的。 可他们刚一踏进奶奶家香喷喷却冷冰冰的玄关，奶奶就从厨房喊了起来。 “鲍勃舅舅和他的新婚妻子困在收费公路的沟里了，拖车太忙，一小时都排不过来。” “他们问你能不能开四驱车去接他们。” “凯文，你留在这里。” 爸爸吩咐道，凯文无奈地叹了口气。 表亲们不在，在奶奶家他就只能再听一遍奶奶的老故事了。

Not a good night at all," she muttered, the knife scratching as she etched the dwarf's beard. When I was a girl, we had a nor 'easter like this right around the holidays. Must have been twice as bad as this one. You hear that wind groaning, Kevin? Well, that isn't the worst of it. As if disagreeing with her, the wind suddenly gusted against the house, pounding like an enormous fist on all the windows. Outside, Kevin could see the snow sweeping through the single cone -shaped beam of light from the streetlamp.

“今晚真是太糟糕了，”她低声念叨着，小刀刻着小矮人的胡子，刮得沙沙作响。 我还是小姑娘的时候，过节前后也遇上过一次这样的东北风暴。 那天气可比这次糟糕一倍还多。 凯文，你听见风在低吼了吗？ 告诉你哦，这还不是最吓人的呢。 风好像不同意她的话似的，突然猛地刮向房子，像一只巨大的拳头哐哐砸着所有窗户。 凯文能看见外面的雪扫过街灯那一道圆锥形的光柱。

There's something called the storm swell that happens when the air pressure drops at the center of the storm," Grandma continued. It sucks up a huge dome of water, like God was holding a giant vacuum cleaner over the ocean. Comes in at high tide and you've got flooding like you can't imagine. This storm swell came in at evening tide, she continued. My father herded us all upstairs where we watched the ocean from the big bay windows in mother and father's bedroom. First the spray came across the road and began to wet the paint on our neighbor's, the Macintosh's house. Then the water came up to the top of their foundation and the waves were creeping up our front walk. Then we heard them slap, slapping against the house. Sometimes a big one came along and whoosh, we'd hear it drumming against the walls. The wind seemed to be listening, for it echoed the noise of the waves. Kevin gasped and looked quickly out the window, imagining for a moment that the blowing snow was the white fringe of a wave crashing against the house.

“风暴中心气压下降的时候，就会产生风暴潮，”奶奶接着说。 它会吸起一大块圆顶状的海水，就好像上帝在大海上方举着一个巨大的吸尘器。 赶上涨潮袭来的话，会引发你根本想象不到的大洪水。 那次的风暴潮就是傍晚涨潮的时候来的，她接着说。 我爸爸把我们全都赶上楼，我们从爸妈卧室的大凸窗望着大海。 一开始浪花溅过公路，打湿了我们邻居麦金托什家房子的墙面漆。 接着水位涨到了他们家地基顶部，海浪还慢慢爬上了我家的门前步道。 然后我们就听见海浪啪、啪地拍打着房子。 有时候一个大浪打来，呼的一声，我们就能听见它咚咚砸着墙壁。 风好像在听着呢，它还跟着海浪的声音应和。 凯文倒吸一口凉气，赶紧看向窗外，一瞬间竟把漫天飞雪错当成了拍向房子的浪头的白边。

The waves kept rising, and one by one we heard our windows smash out. Front door busted open, and the water poured into the living room. We could hear our furniture bumping into things as it bobbed around, Here is the water slopping up the stairs.

海浪不停涨高，我们家的窗户一个接一个被砸烂了。 前门被冲开，洪水哗哗涌进了客厅。 我们能听见家具在水里漂来漂去东撞西碰的声音，洪水正漫上楼梯。