托业阅读辅导：星球大战第九章(7)

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　　　The garbage chamber grew remorselessly smaller, the smoothly fitting metal walls moving toward one another with stolid precision. Larger pieces of refuse performed a concerto of snapping and popping that was rising toward a final shuddering crescendo.
　　Chewbacca whined pitifully as he fought with all his incredible strength and weight to hold back one of the walls, looking like a hirsute Tantalus approaching his final summit.
　　"One thing’s for sure," Solo noted unhappily. "We’re all going to be much thinner. This could prove popular for slimming . The only trouble is its permanence." Luke paused for breath, shaking the innocent comlink angrily. "What could have happened to Threepio?" "Try the hatch again," advised Leia. "It’s our only hope." Solo shielded his eyes and did so. The ineffectual blast echoed mockingly through the narrowing chamber.
9 e1 ]1 H6 c3 e8 _, x　　The service bay was unoccupied, everyone apparently having been drawn away by the commotion elsewhere. After a cautious survey of the room Threepio beckoned for Artoo to follow. Together they commenced a hurried search of the many service panels. Artoo let out a beep, and Threepio rushed to him. He waited impatiently as the smaller unit plugged the receptive arm carefully into the open socket.
; _5 A+ I9 P" d6 d: r　　A superfast flurry of electronics spewed in undisciplined fashion from the grid of the little ’droid. Threepio made cautioning motions.
　　"Wait a minute, slow down!" The sounds dropped to a crawl. "That’s better.
: U' M8 m# q# k　　They’re where? They what? Oh, no! They’ll only come out of there as liquid!" Less than a meter of life was left to the trapped occupants of the garbage room.
( a9 ^4 S. T; Q8 P* Q　　Leia and Solo had been forced to turn sideways, had ended up facing each other. For the first time the haughtiness was gone from the Princess’s face. Reaching out, she took Solo’s hand, clutching it convulsively as she felt the first touch of the closing walls.
9 g# c% O3 u9 c" i5 I! n/ G　　Luke had fallen and was lying on his side, fighting to keep his head above the rising ooze. He nearly choked on a mouthful of compressed sludge when his comlink began buzzing for attention.
　　"Threepio!" "Are you there, sir?" the ’droid replied. "We’ve had some minor problems.
& H% T- o9 a( s2 U6 [& O　　You would not believe—" "Shut up, Threepio!" Luke screamed into the unit. "And shut down all the refuse units on the detention level or immediately below it. Do you copy? Shut down the refuse—" Moments later Threepio grabbed at his head in pain as a terrific screeching and yelling sounded over the comlink.
　　"No, shut them all down!" he implored Artoo. "Hurry! Oh, listen to them— they’re dying, Artoo! I curse this metal body of mine. I was not fast enough. It was my fault. My poor master—all of them…no, no, no!" the screaming and yelling, however, continued far beyond what seemed like a reasonable interval. In fact, they were shouts of relief. The chamber walls had reversed direction automatically with Artoo’s shutdown and were moving apart again.
　　"Artoo, Threepio," Luke hollered into the comlink, "it’s all right, we’re all right! Do you read me? We’re okay—you did just fine." Brushing distastefully at the clinging slime, he made his way as rapidly as possible toward the hatchcover. Bending, he scraped accumulated detritus away, noting the number thus revealing.
　　"Open the pressure-maintenance hatch on unit 366-117891." "Yes, sir," came Threepio’s acknowledgment.
; {6 Z( F" T  \5 x　　They may have been the happiest words Luke had ever heard