囚犯拉文和降落傘

河北省石家莊市 孫俏供稿

囚犯拉文和降落傘

河北省石家莊市 孫俏供稿

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，意大利有個叫拉文的人，因與別人打架斗毆被警察抓進監獄。拉文進去沒幾個星期，就想方設法越獄出逃。

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.有一天放風時，拉文不露聲色地在監獄里走了一圈，發現一堵破墻。拉文心中一陣驚喜：如果能找機會從這兒爬出去，就可重獲自由了。

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.但他回牢房后冷靜一想，唉，這辦法不行，圍墻那么高，爬上去怎么下來呢?監獄里又找不到繩子、梯子，看來越獄是沒指望了。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，拉文的一位親戚來探監，臨走時把一把雨傘忘丟在監獄里。看守見這是一把普普通通的雨傘，就沒多管，拉文便把傘拿回自己房間。

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.拉文無聊之時，常常拿這把雨傘解悶。一天，他打開雨傘，高高舉起，猛地向下一拉。呀，他感到雨傘變得重了許多。

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.拉文受到啟發：雨傘因受到空氣的阻力而難以拉動，它就是很好的越獄工具呀！他撕破襯衫，做成一條條布繩，一頭系在傘骨上，一頭拴在傘把上。

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.經過努力，這把雨傘變成一個牢固的“空降器具”。拉文又開始找機會越獄了。一天夜晚，風雨交加，拉文躲開看守，夾著雨傘溜到他早已選定的地點。

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.拉文飛速爬上那面高墻，然后撐開雨傘，緊握傘把，跳了下去。狂風托著雨傘慢慢下降，拉文也隨著雨傘安全落地。拉文跳傘越獄成功了。

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，他交待了越獄的全部秘密。拉文“跳傘”越獄行為啟發了后人制造了各式各樣的降落傘。