Lesson 62

Firemen had been fighting the forest fire for nearly three weeks before they could get it under control.
消防员们在扑救这场森林大火持续了将近三周之后，才得以将其控制住。
A short time before, great trees had covered the countryside for miles around.
不久之前，巨大的树木覆盖了方圆数英里的乡村。
Now, smoke still rose up from the warm ground over the desolate hills.
现在，烟雾依然从荒凉山丘上温暖的地面升起。
Winter was coming on and the hills threatened the surrounding villages with destruction, for heavy rain would not only wash away the soil but would cause serious floods as well.
冬天即将来临，山丘威胁着要毁灭周围的村庄，因为大雨不仅会冲走土壤，还会导致严重的洪水。
When the fire had at last been put out, the forest authorities ordered several tons of a special type of grass-seed which would grow quickly.
当火终于被扑灭时，森林部门订购了几吨一种特殊类型的草籽，这些草籽将快速生长。
The seed was sprayed over the ground in huge quantities by aeroplanes.
种子被飞机大量地喷洒在地面上。
The planes had been planting seed for nearly a month when it began to rain.
这些飞机已经播种了将近一个月，这时开始下雨了。
By then, however, in many places the grass had already taken root.
然而，到那时，在许多地方，草已经扎根了。
In place of the great trees which had been growing there for centuries, patches of green had begun to appear in the blackened soil.
代替那些生长了几个世纪的参天大树，一小片一小片的绿色已经开始在焦黑的土壤中出现。