美国小学英语教材3:第17课 傻蛋的故事(3)

 　　"Ask for gold," whispered the first servant. 要黄金，第一个仆人低声说道。

　　"Ask for diamonds," whispered the second one. 要钻石，第二个仆人低声说道。

　　"I will not ask for diamonds or gold," said Simpleton. "I wish for nothing, O King, but a good beating." 我不要黄金也不要钻石，傻蛋说。我什么都不想要，国王陛下，只求一顿狠打。

　　"Come, come!" said the king. "Do you call that a good wish? You must be joking." 什么，什么！国王说。那真是你想要的吗？你一定是在开玩笑吧？

　　Simpleton made a bow and said, "I wish for nothing but a good beating." 傻蛋鞠了一躬说道，我只想要一顿狠打。

　　"Very well," said the king. Then he asked a man to take the lad away and give him fifty strokes¹. 国王说，好吧。说完便让人来把这孩子带走赏他50大板。

　　Up spoke² Simpleton: "But this reward is not mine," he said. "I must not take it. 傻蛋急忙说，这个奖赏不是给我的，我一定不能领受。

　　The keeper of the door would not let me come in until I had promised him half of my reward. 因为我答应了把我一半的奖赏给门卫，他才让我进来。

　　Then I had to promise the other half to the keeper of the stairs before he would bring me here. 我又答应把另一半奖赏给楼梯侍卫，他才让我进来。

　　I must keep my promises. Let the servants have my reward." 我必须遵守诺言。让这两个仆人得到我的奖赏。

　　The king said to the two servants, "Well, you asked for a reward, and you shall have it. 国王对两个侍卫说，好吧，既然你们要了奖赏那你们就该得到。

　　You shall each have half of the fifty strokes." 你们俩各挨25大板。

　　At that everyone laughed but the two servants, who were at once led away to get their rewards. 听到这里，在场的人都笑了，只有这两个仆人没有笑，他们很快被带来下去受罚。

　　Then the king turned to Simpleton and said, "As for you, my lad, tell me your name." 国王转过身来对傻蛋说，至于你，我的孩子，告诉我你叫什么。

　　"My brothers call me Simpleton," said the boy. "They sent me away from home." 我的哥哥们叫我傻蛋，男孩说。他们把我从家里赶了出来。

　　"You shall stay here in my palace," said the king. "I need just such simpletons as you." 你可以留在我的宫殿里，国王说。我就需要像你这样头脑简单的人。

　　So Simpleton lived happily all his life at the king's palace. 于是傻蛋快快乐乐地在王宫里度过了一生。

1 strokes   

中风； a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain.； （游泳或划船的）划( stroke的名词复数 )； 中风； （打、击等的）一下； （成功的）举动

参考例句：

• Apply the paint thickly in even strokes. 涂颜料要厚，笔画要匀。
• To improve your tennis strokes you try using a different grip. 为了提高你网球的击球法，你试试用另一种握拍方法。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。