雙語讀電影 《賽車總動員》第16章 :他們放棄了我

When they got back to town, Mater pulled up alongside Lightning.

“Hey, hey,” Mater whispered, “if anyone asks you, we were out smashin’ mailboxes, okay?” The tow truck tore off.

Just then, Lightning heard a noise. The ground was vibrating. And something was … mooing?

It was a tractor stampede—and it was heading straight for him!

Lightning ducked out of the tractors’ path just in time. The stampede rolled downtown, where Ramone was busy painting the white divider line down the newest stretch of asphalt.

“Oh, man,” Ramone groaned as he scurried away, “the paint’s still wet!”

Red was watering his flowers at the base of the Stanley statue. As the tractors drew near, he steeled himself to face the beasts. There was no way he was going to let a bunch of tractors take out his newly replanted posies!

The fire truck unleashed a mighty blast, and the tractors stopped in their tracks. With a group moo, they tipped over, except for a few strays who scattered in different directions.

“No, no, no, get out of the store!” Luigi cried frantically as his tire shop was overrun by stray tractors. “Hey! Don’t eat the radial! Here, take the snow tire!”

“Mater!” Sheriff bellowed.

“I wasn’t tractor-tippin’!” Mater insisted.

“Then where did all of these gol’ dern tractors come from?” Sheriff demanded.

Lightning stood at the edge of town, smiling at the crazy tractors. Suddenly, he noticed one heading out of town. “Hey, guys?” he called. “There’s one going this way… . I got it.” He headed off to wrangle the tractor, following it all the way to Willys Butte. Lightning whistled. “Come here, come here, tractor.” He followed it to the edge of the rise that overlooked the butte. “Don’t wander off.” Catching sight of a lone car at the butte, Lightning grew quiet. It was Doc. “What are you doing with those old racing tires?” Lightning muttered to himself. He snuck behind some brush to see what Doc was going to do.

Down below, Doc rubbed the dirt with a tire and sighed.

“Come on, Doc,” Lightning whispered, eager to see the Hornet in action. “Drive.”

Doc got into position, focusing on the track ahead. He took a moment to blow the carbon out of his pipes, then took off.

“Whoa!” Lightning said as Doc ripped down the straightaway, kicking up plumes of dust behind him. Lightning watched nervously as Doc charged the turn at full speed, but the old car counter steered, taking the curve beautifully. Finally, Doc finished the course and skidded to a stop in the same place he’d started. He was out of breath but smiling.

“Wow,” Lightning said, driving up to Doc.

“You’re amazing!”

Doc’s expression hardened. He hadn’t realized that anyone was watching. Without a word, the old race car took off, throwing dirt into Lightning’s grill.

“What are you doing?” Lightning coughed. He wasn’t about to let Doc leave without a word. “Doc, wait!” The race car followed Doc back into town.

Doc rumbled into his office, slamming the door behind him, but Lightning caught it with a tire and forced his way in. “Doc, hold it. Seriously, your driving’s incredible.”

“Wonderful,” Doc grumbled. “Now, go away.”

“Hey, I mean it,” Lightning insisted. “You’ve still got it!”

Doc glared at the young race car. “I’m asking you to leave.”

“C’mon,” Lightning begged. “I’m a race car. You’re a much older race car, but under the hood, you and I are the same.”

“We are not the same!” Doc bellowed, losing his usual cool. “Understand? Now, get out!” Doc drove to the door and held it open.

But Lightning didn’t budge. “How could a car like you quit at the top of your game?”

“You think I quit?” Doc demanded. He yanked a pull chain, clicking on an overhead light. Below it was a framed article. CRASH WIPES OUT HUDSON HORNET, the headline read, above a photo of a much younger Doc—wrecked on a racetrack infield.

“Right … ,” Lightning said slowly as his racing history came back to him, “your big wreck in ’54.”

“They quit on me.” Doc was silent for a moment. “When I finally got put together, I went back expecting a big welcome. You know what they said? ‘You’re history.’ Moved right on to the next rookie standing in line.” He looked carefully at the photograph. “There was a lot left in me. I never got a chance to show ’em. I keep that to remind me never to go back. I just never expected that that world would find me here.”

“Hey, look, Doc,” Lightning said, an edge in his voice, “I’m not them.”

“Oh, yeah?” Doc demanded. “When is the last time you cared about something except yourself, hot rod? You name me one time, and I will take it all back.”

Lightning hesitated. As much as he wanted to show the older car that he was wrong, he couldn’t come up with anything that would convince Doc— or himself—otherwise.

“Uh-huh,” Doc said. “I didn’t think so. These are good folk around here who care about one another. I don’t want them depending on someone they can’t count on.”

“Count on?” Lightning said. “You’ve been here how long and your friends don’t even know who you are. Who’s caring only about himself?”

“Just finish that road and get outta here,” Doc said. He drove off, leaving Lightning alone with his thoughts.