Английский язык с Э. Р. Берроузом. Принцесса Марса / Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Princess of Mars

"I only need to pass these guards and I can do it," he said at last. "I know a secret entrance to the palace through the pinnacle of the highest tower. I fell upon it by chance one day as I was passing above the palace on patrol duty. In this work it is required that we investigate any unusual occurrence we may witness, and a face peering from the pinnacle of the high tower of the palace was, to me, most unusual. I therefore drew near and discovered that the possessor of the peering face was none other than Sab Than. He was slightly put out at being detected and commanded me to keep the matter to myself, explaining that the passage from the tower led directly to his apartments, and was known only to him. If I can reach the roof of the barracks and get my machine I can be in Sab Than's quarters in five minutes; but how am I to escape from this building, guarded as you say it is?"

"How well are the machine sheds at the barracks guarded (насколько хорошо охраняются ангары для машин при казармах; shed — навес, сарай; ангар)?" I asked.

"There is usually but one man on duty there at night upon the roof (обычно на дежурстве только один человек ночью на крыше)."

"Go to the roof of this building, Kantos Kan, and wait me there (отправляйся на крышу этого здания, Кантос Кан, и жди меня там)."

Without stopping to explain my plans (не останавливаясь, чтобы объяснить мои планы) I retraced my way to the street (я вернулся прежним путем на улицу; to retrace — возвращаться по пройденному пути) and hastened to the barracks (и поспешил к казармам). I did not dare to enter the building (я не решался войти в здание), filled as it was with members of the air-scout squadron (заполненное членами эскадрильи воздушных разведчиков), who, in common with all Zodanga, were on the lookout for me (которые вместе со всей Зодангой разыскивали меня; in common — совместно, заодно).

barrack ['bxrqk], retrace [rI'treIs], air-scout ['eq" skaut]

"How well are the machine sheds at the barracks guarded?" I asked.

"There is usually but one man on duty there at night upon the roof."

"Go to the roof of this building, Kantos Kan, and wait me there."

Without stopping to explain my plans I retraced my way to the street and hastened to the barracks. I did not dare to enter the building, filled as it was with members of the air-scout squadron, who, in common with all Zodanga, were on the lookout for me.

The building was an enormous one (здание было огромным), rearing its lofty head fully a thousand feet into the air (и гордо возносилось вверх: «поднимающим величественный верх» на целых тысячу футов; to rear — поднимать, возносить). But few buildings in Zodanga were higher than these barracks (только немногие здания в Зоданге были выше этих казарм), though several topped it by a few hundred feet (хотя несколько и превышали их на несколько сотен футов); the docks of the great battleships of the line standing some fifteen hundred feet from the ground (доки огромных боевых линейных кораблей поднимались на высоту около тысячи пятисот футов от земли), while the freight and passenger stations of the merchant squadrons rose nearly as high (в то время как грузовые и пассажирские терминалы торговых кораблей поднимались почти на такую же высоту; freight — грузовой, товарный; squadrons — соединение кораблей).

rear [rIq], battleship ['bxtl" SIp], freight [freIt], merchant ['mWtS(q)nt]