美国小学英语教材3:第21课 松鼠警察(3)

 　　A dark hole like his nest was the best place he knew. 他觉得最好的地方就是一个像他的巢穴一样的黑洞。

　　So he jumped into the first hole he saw. 于是他便跳进了他所看见的第一个洞里。

　　It was the opening to a sewer¹ at the corner of the street. 那是街角处的下水道入口。

　　Mother Squirrel² did not see what happened, but Billy did. 松鼠妈妈不知道发生了什么，但是比利清楚。

　　He ran to the sewer-opening and looked in. 他跑到了下水道的入口处往里看了看。

　　There was the poor baby squirrel, trying to climb up the wet sides of the hole. 可怜的松鼠宝宝正试图从下水道的栅栏往外爬。

　　He could not get out by himself, and he was too far away to call his mother. 他自己爬不出来，他的妈妈又离得太远叫不到。

　　Even if she could come to him, Billy knew that she could not help him. 比利知道即便是他妈妈能过来也帮不了他。

　　But Billy knew how to help. He was a policeman's son. 比利知道应该怎么做，他是警察的儿子。

　　He could think quickly, and he remembered his rake. 他很快想到了他的耙子。

　　At once he put the rake down into the hole. 他立刻把耙子插进栅栏里。

　　The little squirrel, who had been taught to climb so well, came up, up, up the handle. 小松鼠之前攀爬学得很好，便顺着耙子爬上来了。

　　The little fellow was very wet and frightened when he climbed out of the hole. 爬出下水道的时候，这个小家伙浑身湿透了还受了惊吓。

　　But Billy took him off the rake gently and rubbed his fur clean and dry with soft grass. 比利把从耙子上他轻轻地拿了下来，用软草把他的毛擦干、擦净。

　　Then he carried the baby squirrel across the street to the garden where the other squirrels³ were playing. 然后他带着松鼠宝宝穿过大街，来到其他松鼠正在嬉戏的花园里。

　　Mother Squirrel heard the lost one chatter⁴ when Billy put him down on the grass, and she came running. 比利把走失的松鼠宝宝放到草地上时，松鼠妈妈听到了他的叫声，跑了过来。

　　Billy watched her while she carried the little squirrel safely across the street to the nest in the elm tree. 在松鼠妈妈带着小松鼠安全地穿过马路回到榆树上的巢里的过程中，比利一直关注着她。

　　After she had put her baby to bed, she went back to the garden. 松鼠妈妈把自己的宝宝放到巢以后，她又回到了花园。

　　That evening Mother Squirrel came to Billy's window for her peanuts. 那天晚上，松鼠妈妈来到比利的窗前拿花生。

　　She chattered⁵ and tried to talk to the boy. 她吱吱地叫，似乎是在和这个男孩说话。

　　"She wants to say 'Thank you,'" thought Billy. "I am glad I helped her. 她想说谢谢你，比利想，我很高兴帮助她。

　　That's what a policeman does. I was the squirrel's policeman. Some day I'll be a real one." 这是一个警察该做的，我是松鼠警察，有一天我会成为一名真正的警察。

1 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

2 squirrel   

n.松鼠，松鼠的毛皮；vt.贮藏以备用

参考例句：

• The squirrel makes a store of nuts for the winter.松鼠贮藏坚果以备过冬。
• A squirrel hoards nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬贮藏坚果。

3 squirrels   

n.松鼠( squirrel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Squirrels are arboreal creatures. 松鼠是栖于树上的动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Red squirrels are now very rare in Britain. 红色松鼠在英国已十分罕见了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 chatter   

vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战

参考例句：

• Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
• I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。

5 chattered   

（人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤

参考例句：

• They chattered away happily for a while. 他们高兴地闲扯了一会儿。
• We chattered like two teenagers. 我们聊着天，像两个十多岁的孩子。