囚犯拉文和降落伞

河北省石家庄市 孙俏供稿

囚犯拉文和降落伞

河北省石家庄市 孙俏供稿

1.In 1638,Laverne,an Italian,was sent into prison because of a fight.Laverne tried to escape from the terrible prison life after several weeks.1638年，意大利有个叫拉文的人，因与别人打架斗殴被警察抓进监狱。拉文进去没几个星期，就想方设法越狱出逃。

2.One day during the exercise,Laverne walked around quietly and found a worn-out wall.“I’d be free if I could climb out of here,” thought Laverne happily.有一天放风时，拉文不露声色地在监狱里走了一圈，发现一堵破墙。拉文心中一阵惊喜：如果能找机会从这儿爬出去，就可重获自由了。

3.But after a second thought,he found this way is not good.The wall was too high for him to jump down.There were no ropes or ladders.So it seemed impossible to escape.Laverne was discouraged.但他回牢房后冷静一想，唉，这办法不行，围墙那么高，爬上去怎么下来呢?监狱里又找不到绳子、梯子，看来越狱是没指望了。拉文很灰心。

4.Some days later,a relative of Laverne’s came to visit him.He left an umbrella in the prison.The umbrella was ordinary,so the guard didn’t take any notice.Laverne took it to his room.不久后的一天，拉文的一位亲戚来探监，临走时把一把雨伞忘丢在监狱里。看守见这是一把普普通通的雨伞，就没多管，拉文便把伞拿回自己房间。

5.He usually played with the umbrella when he was bored.One day,he opened it and held high,then pulled down quickly.Ah,the umbrella became very heavy.拉文无聊之时，常常拿这把雨伞解闷。一天，他打开雨伞，高高举起，猛地向下一拉。呀，他感到雨伞变得重了许多。

6.Laverne was inspired:the air resistance made the umbrella very difficult to pull.It was good for escaping!He tore his shirt into ropes.Then he tied one end to the umbrella bone,the other to the handle.拉文受到启发：雨伞因受到空气的阻力而难以拉动，它就是很好的越狱工具呀！他撕破衬衫，做成一条条布绳，一头系在伞骨上，一头拴在伞把上。

7.After a few tries,the umbrella became a strong“airborne apparatus.”Laverne began to look for a chance again.One windy and rainy night,Laverne ran to the place he chose with the umbrella under his arm.经过努力，这把雨伞变成一个牢固的“空降器具”。拉文又开始找机会越狱了。一天夜晚，风雨交加，拉文躲开看守，夹着雨伞溜到他早已选定的地点。

8.He climbed onto the wall quickly,opened the umbrella,held the handle and jumped down.The strong wind made the umbrella go down slowly.Laverne landed safely.He was successful.拉文飞速爬上那面高墙，然后撑开雨伞，紧握伞把，跳了下去。狂风托着雨伞慢慢下降，拉文也随着雨伞安全落地。拉文跳伞越狱成功了。

9.Soon,Levine was caught by the police again.He told them all about that.Laverne’s eascape inspired people to make all kinds of parachutes.可是不久，拉文又被警察抓住了，他交待了越狱的全部秘密。拉文“跳伞”越狱行为启发了后人制造了各式各样的降落伞。