美国小学英语教材3:第59课 兔子的尾巴为什么短(2)

 "How silly you are!" cried the alligator¹, crossly. "Why, there are thousands and thousands of alligators² in the world! 你可真愚蠢，短吻鳄生气地说，世界上有成千上万只短吻鳄！

There are more than a hundred alligators in this swamp! 光沼泽里就超过了一百只！

Can you find a hundred rabbits in the woods?" 你能在这片森林里找到一百只兔子吗？

"Certainly I can!"said the rabbit, "I'll count the alligators, and then you may count the rabbits. 我当然能了，兔子说，我来数短吻鳄，然后你来数兔子。

Call the alligators together. Make a line of them across the swamp, so that I can hop³ out upon their backs and count them." 你先把短吻鳄叫过来，让他们排成一行。横穿这片沼泽，这样我就能跳到他们的背上数它们的数量了。

The old alligator called and called. Up from the swamp came alligators, big ones and little ones. 老短吻鳄喊啊喊，很多短吻鳄从沼泽的四周过来，大大小小的都有。

The old alligator made them into a line right across the swamp just like a bridge. 老短吻鳄让他们排成一行，穿过沼泽，就像一座桥一样。

He stood last in the line, close to the bank on the other side of the swamp. 他排在这支队伍的最后，靠近沼泽另一边的河岸。

"Now count them, Friend Rabbit," he called. "If there are not more than a hundred alligators here, you may eat me!" 兔子朋友，现在数吧，他喊道。如果这里没有一百多只短吻鳄，你就把我吃了。

The rabbit hopped⁴ upon the alligator-bridge. 兔子跳上了短吻鳄搭起的桥。

As he went from one alligator to another, he counted them. "One, two, three, four, five," and so on, up to a hundred. 在从一只短吻鳄跳到另一只短吻鳄背上的同时，他也在数着数，一只、两只、三只、四只、五只，就这样数到了一百只。

Yes! there were many more than a hundred. 没错，比一百只多多了。

By this time the sly rabbit had reached the old alligator and was on the other side of the swamp. 这时狡猾的兔子到了老短吻鳄这里，也到了沼泽的对岸。

"I'll call the rabbits together some other day when I'm not so hungry," he said to the old alligator. 过几天我不饿的时候，我会把兔子叫到一起的，他对老短吻鳄说。

"Good-by! Who is silly now?" he said with a laugh. 再见了！现在是谁愚蠢啊？他笑着说。

But the rabbit laughed too soon, for the old alligator caught the end of the rabbit's tail in his great jaws⁵ and bit it off. 但是兔子笑得太早了，老短吻鳄用它巨大的下颚咬断了兔子的尾巴。

Since then rabbits' tails have always been short. 从此以后兔子的尾巴就一直都很短了。

1 alligator   

n.短吻鳄(一种鳄鱼)

参考例句：

• She wandered off to play with her toy alligator.她开始玩鳄鱼玩具。
• Alligator skin is five times more costlier than leather.鳄鱼皮比通常的皮革要贵5倍。

2 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

3 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

4 hopped   

跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花

参考例句：

• He hopped onto a car and wanted to drive to town. 他跳上汽车想开向市区。
• He hopped into a car and drove to town. 他跳进汽车，向市区开去。

5 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。