雙語讀電影 《賽車總動員》第15章 :一輛保時捷為什么要留在這個地方呢？

Lightning just couldn’t keep news like that to himself. He knew that most of the townsfolk would be gathered at the café, so he zipped over there at top speed. “Oh my gosh!” he said as he drove into Flo’s. “Guys! Did you know Doc is a famous race car?”

For a moment, everyone was silent.

Then they burst out laughing.

“Doc?” Sheriff cried. “Our Doc?”

“Not Doc Hudson?” Sarge bellowed.

“Did you hear that one?” Ramone—radiant in new yellow paint—was laughing hysterically. “He’s saying Doc’s a—this guy cracks me up!”

“No, no, no,” Lightning insisted. He felt almost desperate. He had to convince them of who Doc was. “It’s true! He’s a real racing legend. He’s the Fabulous Hudson Hornet!”

“Fabulous?” Flo said doubtfully. “I’ve never seen Doc drive more than twenty miles an hour. I mean, have you ever seen him race?”

“No,” Lightning admitted, “but I wish I could’ve.” Lightning was dead serious. “They say he was amazing. He won three Piston Cups!”

Mater spat out the oil he’d been drinking. “He did what in his cup?”

Lightning tried to persuade them that Doc Hudson was the real deal, but the townsfolk didn’t buy it.

“I think the heat’s startin’ to get to the boy,” Sheriff said.

“Are you sick, buddy?” Mater asked.

Sally hit the gas lever with her tire. Ding ding ding! She filled up Lightning’s tank.

“Hey! Hey!” Sheriff protested. This could be dangerous. “What’re you doing?”

“It’s okay, Sheriff,” Sally said. “You can trust me, right?”

“I trust you, all right,” Sheriff said, narrowing his eyes at Lightning. “It’s him I’m worried about.”

“I trust him,” Sally said. “C’mon,” she told Lightning. “Let’s take a drive.”

Once his tank was full, Lightning considered taking off for the open road. Nothing was stopping him now.

Sally started toward a mountain in the distance. “Hey, Stickers,” she called. “You comin’ or what?” She drove away, letting Lightning decide for himself whether to make a run for it.

After hesitating for just a moment, he took off after Sally.

“Mmm-hmm,” Flo said knowingly to Sheriff. “And you thought he was gonna run.”

“Okay,” Lightning said as he caught up to Sally, “you got me out here. Where are we going?”

“I don’t know.” Sally zipped off.

Lightning was surprised by how fast Sally was as he chased her into a forest. Playfully, she splashed him with an icy puddle, and the shock took his breath away. Grinning, Sally tried to splash him again, but Lightning dodged the water—and ran into a puddle of mud.

Sally laughed as Lightning took off after her. He accidentally drove into a pile of leaves, which stuck to his muddy surface.

As they rounded a few turns, Lightning took the lead, but Sally shot past him again. The two cars passed through a rock tunnel as the road wound up the mountain. Lightning was starting to notice the natural beauty that surrounded him.

As he took a curve, Lightning caught sight of Sally passing a majestic waterfall up ahead. He was stunned by how beautiful she looked. He smiled at her and she laughed. His grill was covered in bugs! Lightning spit the bugs out and took off after her again, and soon he found himself at the top of the mountain. Sally was stopped in front of an old abandoned motel.

“Wow,” Lightning said as he looked around at the dusty motel. “What is this place?”

Sally sighed. “Wheel Well. Used to be the most popular stop on the Mother Road.” She was referring to the old Highway 66.

Lightning looked carefully at Sally and wondered. She was a brand-new Porsche. A fancy car. Why was she living in the little town of Radiator Springs in the middle of nowhere?

“How does a Porsche wind up in a place like this?” he asked, marveling.

“Well, it’s really pretty simple,” Sally told him. “I was an attorney in L.A., living life in the fast lane. And you know what? It never felt … happy.”

“Yeah … ,” Lightning said thoughtfully, then caught himself. “I mean, really?”

“Yeah.” Sally went on. “So I left California— just drove and drove and finally broke down right here. Doc fixed me up. Flo took me in. Well, they all did. And I never left.”

Lightning thought for a moment. He had to admit, his time in Radiator Springs hadn’t been all bad. Still, he couldn’t really imagine himself living there. “I understand you need to recharge the old batteries, but you know, after a while, why didn’t you go back?”

“I fell in love,” Sally said simply.

Lightning’s tires deflated a little. “Corvette?”

“No.” Sally drove to the edge of the cliff. “I fell in love … with this.”

Lightning followed her and looked down. “Whoa.” Below them, Radiator Springs was a glistening green oasis at the base of a towering mountain range. The setting sun made the breathtaking waterfall sparkle in the distance. Beyond Radiator Springs, cars zipped by on the Interstate, oblivious to the beautiful scene. “Look at that,” Lightning said to himself. “They’re driving right by. They don’t even know what they’re missing.”

“Forty years ago,” Sally said, “that Interstate down there didn’t exist. Back then, cars came across the country a whole different way.”

“How do you mean?” Lightning asked.

“Well, the road didn’t cut through the land like that Interstate,” Sally explained. “It moved with the land; you know it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn’t drive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time.”

Lightning was quiet. His whole life was about speed. The idea of driving slowly, for fun, was strange. “What happened?”

“The town got bypassed just to save ten minutes of driving,” Sally said.

Lightning imagined what the Wheel Well and Radiator Springs must have been like when they were thriving. “How great would it have been to see this place in its heyday?”

“Oh,” Sally said in a soft, sincere voice, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dreamed of that. But one of these days we’ll find a way to get it back on the map.”

“Hey, listen,” Lightning said thoughtfully, “thanks for the drive. I had a great time. It’s kind of nice to slow down every once in a while.”

“You’re welcome,” Sally said, smiling.

The two cars headed back to town in silence, enjoying the view.