美国小学英语教材3:第150课 很久以前的一位少年(2)

 So, when a neighbor had said that Abe might borrow a book and keep it until he had read it through, do you wonder that his eyes shone like stars? 所以，当一位邻居说亚伯可以从他那里借一本书，而且让他可以读完以后再还回来的时候，你还会奇怪他的眼睛像星星一样闪发光吗？

Little Abe's home was not much like your home. 小亚伯的家和你们的家不太一样。

It was not built of stone or brick¹, but of rough logs². 它不是用石头或砖建成的，而是用粗糙的木头建的。

When he lay in his small bed, close to the roof, he could look through the cracks between the logs and see the twinkling³ stars shining down upon him. 他躺在自己的小床上时，屋顶很近，他可以透过木头间的缝隙向外看，闪耀的星光也透过缝隙照在他身上。

Sometimes the great yellow moon smiled at him as she sailed through the dark night sky. 有时，大大的、黄色的月亮悬挂在夜空中，向他微笑。

Sometimes, too, the raindrops pattered down upon the face of the sleeping boy. 有时，雨点啪啪地滴到男孩熟睡的脸上。

Every night, before little Abe went to sleep, he put his precious book in a crack between the logs. 每天晚上睡觉前，小亚伯都会把他珍贵的书本放在木头的缝隙里。

In the morning, when the first light came in, he woke up and read until his father called him. 早上当第一缕阳光照进来的时候，他便会醒来读书，一直读到他的父亲喊他的时候。

Little Abe worked hard all day long. 小亚伯每天都工作得很辛苦。

He never had a moment in the daytime to peep⁴ between the covers of his much-loved book. 白天里从来没有一刻时间可以看他喜爱的书籍。

Night after night he read until the story was nearly finished. 他就是这样一夜一夜地畅读，直到快把故事读完才罢休。

One night he put the book carefully away and fell asleep to dream of the wonderful story. 一天晚上，他小心地把书收了起来，做着书中美妙故事的美梦睡着了。

But the next morning no pleasant light came in through the cracks. 但是，第二天早上，没有舒适的阳光透过缝隙照进来。

The room was dark and cold. 整个屋子又黑又冷。

Little Abe reached out his hand for the book—and what do you think? 小亚伯伸手去找书，你猜怎么样？

He put his fingers into a pile of something soft and cold; for his bed was covered with snow! 他的手指摸到了一堆又软又冷的东西，他的床上全是雪！

 

1 brick   

n.砖；vt.用砖砌，用砖堵住

参考例句：

• She stared blankly at the brick wall in front of her.她面无表情地瞪着面前的砖墙。
• I bought a brick of ice cream for my daughter.我给女儿买了块冰砖。

2 logs   

n.练习用球瓶；原木，木材，木料( log的名词复数 )；航海[飞行]日志

参考例句：

• logs for the fire 烧火用的木材
• The logs were knocked together as they floated down the stream. 圆木顺流而下时互相碰撞着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 twinkling   

n.闪烁；眨眼间；诙谐的闪光；一刹那adj.闪烁的，闪亮的，闪耀的v.闪烁( twinkle的现在分词 )；（眼睛）闪亮；（经光照耀而）闪闪发光；（舞蹈者的双脚）轻快地移动

参考例句：

• A galaxy of twinkling stars matched the thousands of sparkling city lights. 闪烁的繁星与城内闪耀的万家灯火交相辉映。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• That's fantastic. He's vanished in the twinkling of an eye. 他怎么一转眼就不见了，真见鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 peep   

n.瞥见，偷看，初现；v.窥视，慢慢露出，吱吱叫

参考例句：

• I took a peep through the keyhole.我从钥匙孔偷看了一眼。
• Let me have just one peep at the letter.让我瞥一眼这封信。