179 The prospectors and rocket propellant
179 采矿者和火箭推进器
There were a couple of prospectors, Clem and Jake, sitting around a fire at their camp after a hard days’ prospecting, just shooting the breeze.
两个采矿工人，克莱姆和杰克，经过一天艰苦的采矿工作后坐在营地火堆旁闲聊。
“Clem, did you hear about the proposal for the new rocket our government is going to develop?”
“克莱姆，你听说过政府关于发展新型火箭的提案吗？”
“Yeah, Jake. One of the chief proponents is J.G. Beezwax, the proprietor of our mine and the surrounding property, and he is a politician in the federal government.”
“听说过，杰克。其中一个支持者就是J.G．比兹瓦斯，我们矿山的业主，这周围的财产也是他的，他是联邦政府的政治家。”
“He sure knows how to prosper, doesn’t he? He’s got some kind of propensity for prosperity if you ask me, a big wig like that.”
“那他应该知道怎样使这个计划获得成功，对不对？像他那样的大头目，对于如何兴旺发达好像有天生的直觉倾向。”
“Yeah, but I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to be a protagonist of that prospective rocket project. They were protesting it out in front of City Hall the other day. If something goes wrong, a man could get prosecuted or something. Then the news gets propagated around and all that. It doesn’t matter if they have any proof or not.”
“没错。但我不知道他的那些绝妙点子在预期的火箭计划中是否能起到主导作用。前几天在市政厅门前就有人抗议这个计划。如果中途出了什么问题的话，就可能会有人被起诉和发生什么别的事。隋。这样一来，消息就会不胫而走，四处传播。而且不管他们有没有证据情况可能都一样。”
“Don’t worry about old J.G., Clem. He’s got money running out his ears. If he gets into any trouble, he’s got the money to get out of it. Besides, he’s got a sense of propriety. He doesn’t ever get into any trouble. He’s a smooth talker, too. Everything he says sounds like prose.”
“不要再替那个老家伙J.G.比兹瓦斯担心了。他富得流油。万一陷入了麻烦，他肯定会有足够的钱使自己摆脱麻烦。何况他行为举止一直非常得体，从来没有遇到过任何麻烦。他说话总是八面玲珑，油嘴滑舌。他所说的每一件事听起来都好像是一篇散文。”
“Well, I guess it pays to be prosperous. Hey, what do you think propels those rockets, anyway?”
“没错，为了成功而有所付出，这是划得来的嘛。嘿，你认为什么东西能推进火箭呢？”
“I guess they’ve got some kind of propellant. Maybe something like that moonshine we make.” They both laugh. “They have to keep it in proportion to the weight of the rocket, though, or it won’t have enough propulsion to get off the ground.” Jake looks up at the stars. “What do you propose we do now, Clem?”
“我想他们已经研制出了某种推进器，说不定就是和我们自制的烈性酒一样的东西呢。”他们同时哈哈大笑起未。“不管怎样，他们必须使推进器的重量和火箭的重量保持一定的比例，否则的话就会缺少足够的推进力，甚至无法离开地面了。”杰克抬起头仰望星空。“你提议我们现在干什么呢？克莱姆？”
“I need to go proofread my latest manuscript.”
“我得去校对我的最新手稿了。”
“I think we ought to go drink some of that moonshine. After all, we’ve got to prospect again tomorrow.”
“我认为我们应该去喝一杯烈性酒。毕竟，明天我们又得采矿了。”
Words:
proof n.证据
proofread vt.校正,校对
propagate vt.繁殖,散布,传播
propel vt.推进,促进
propellant n.推进器
propensity n.倾向,癖好
property n.财产,所有物,性质,特性,(小)道具
proponent n.支持者,拥护者
proportion n.比例,比率
proposal n.提案,建议
propose vt.提出,提议
proprietor n.所有者,业主
propriety n.(行为\举止等)适当得体
propulsion n.推进,推进力
prose n.散文
prosecute vt.对…起诉,告发
prospect n.前景,期望vt.勘探,采矿
prospecting n.探矿
prospector n.探勘者,采矿者
prospective adj.预期的,期望中的
prosper vi.繁荣,成功
prosperity n.兴旺,繁荣
prosperous adj.成功的,繁荣的
protagonist n.领导者,主角
protest n./v.抗议