美国小学英语教材4:第3课 小兔哥的一课(1)

 　　BUNNYBOY LEARNS A LESSON 小兔哥的一课

　　CLARENCE HAWKES 克拉伦斯·霍克斯

　　Did you know that even a little rabbit has lessons to learn? 你知道吗？就连一只小兔子也要学习很多事情。

　　One of these is to listen to his mother, 其中一课就是要听妈妈的话，

　　for she knows many ways by which a rabbit may protect himself from his enemies. 因为她知道很多兔子用来保护自己免遭敌人伤害的方法。

　　This story tells you how a little bunny got into trouble because he did not obey his mother. 这个故事讲述了一只小兔子因为不听妈妈的话而遇到了麻烦。

　　MOTHER RABBIT' S PLAN 兔妈妈的计划

　　Bunnyboy was a half-grown "cottontail" rabbit, whose home was in the woods. 小兔哥是一只半大的棉尾兔。他的家在树林里。

　　He lived with his mother and brothers and sisters in the burrow¹,  他和妈妈以及兄弟姐妹们一起住在地洞里——

　　a nice warm hole that went down into the ground under an old tree stump². 一个温暖而漂亮的洞穴，在一个老树桩下的底下。

　　One bright morning Mother Rabbit thought that she would go to a field 一个晴朗的早晨，兔妈妈想要去一处田野，

　　where she knew there were some early cabbages. 她知道那里有一些早熟的卷 心菜。

　　"Children," she said, "if you are good while I am gone, “孩子们，”她说，“我不在家的时候如果你们表现得很好，

　　I will bring you some juicy³ cabbage leaves. You must stay quietly at home." 我会给你们带一些鲜嫩的卷心菜叶回来。你们必须安安静静地待在家里。”

　　But Bunnyboy followed his mother out of the burrow, saying,  小兔哥却跟着妈妈出了地洞，他说：

　　"I don't want to stay at home, Mother. Please take me with you." “我不想待在家里，妈妈，请带我一起去吧。”

　　"No, no, Bunnyboy!" said Mother Rabbit. “不，不行，小兔哥！”兔妈妈说，

　　"You are too young to go on such a long trip. “你太小了走不了那么远的路。

　　But if you will keep very quiet, I will let you stay in a clump⁴ of bushes⁵ while I am gone. 不过如果你能保持安静的话，我不在的时候可以让你待在一个灌木丛里。

　　You can see all around you, and it will be almost as much fun as if you went with me." 你能够看到周围的一切，这几乎同跟我在一起外出一样有趣。”

　　So Mother Rabbit took Bunnyboy to a thick clump of bushes near the burrow and left him there alone. 于是兔妈妈把小兔哥带到地洞旁边的一个茂密的灌木丛里，让他自己待在那里。

　　Then away she hopped⁶ to the cabbage field. 然后她一蹦一跳地去了卷心菜地。

　　For a while Bunnyboy slept, dreaming of juicy cabbage leaves. 一会儿小兔哥睡着了，梦见了鲜嫩的卷心菜叶。

　　But before long he awoke, sat up, and yawned⁷. 但是，不久他就醒了，坐起来打了一个呵欠。

　　How he wished that his mother had taken him with her! 他多么希望妈妈把他带在身边啊！

　　Surely⁸ he was large enough to go. 他已经够大了，可以外出了。

　　He was certain that he could run almost as fast as she could. 小兔哥确信自己几乎能跟妈妈跑得一样快。

　　He did not think his mothe really knew how much he had grown or how well he could take care of himself. 妈妈其实不知道，他已经长大了，能够照顾自己了。

　　WHAT HAPPENED WHEN BUNNYBOY RAN AWAY 小兔哥跑远时发生的事情

　　For a long time Bunnyboy sat very still in the clump of bushes. 小兔哥在灌木丛里一动不动地坐了很长一段时间。

　　But by and by he crept⁹ out carefully, and looked about. 又过了不久，他小心翼翼地爬了出来，四下张望。

　　As he sat there with the sunlight¹⁰ falling on his head and shoulders, 小兔哥坐在那里的时候，阳光洒在他的头上和肩上，他

　　he was the most beautiful little creature¹¹ in the whole great woods. 是整个大森林中最漂亮的小动物。

　　When he thought he heard a sound, his long ears wiggled this way and that, trying to find out what it was. 当他感觉听到一个声音时，长耳朵摆动着试图弄清楚那是什么声音。

　　His large, bright eyes looked carefully at everything near him. 小兔哥用明亮的大眼睛仔细地观察着周围的一切。

　　His nose tried to smell all the different scents¹² of the woods. 他用鼻子努力去闻树林中所有不同的味道。

　　Bunnyboy's mother had given him and his little brothers and sisters many lessons on the dangers of the woods. 小兔哥的妈妈已经教给他和他的兄弟姐妹们很多关于树林中的危险的课程。

　　She had taught him to listen, to look, and to smell. 她曾教他听、看和闻。

　　For there were the three ways of protecting himself from his enemies—listening, looking, and smelling. 因为避开敌人、保护自己的三种方法就是听、看和闻。

1 burrow   

vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞

参考例句：

• Earthworms burrow deep into the subsoil.蚯蚓深深地钻进底土。
• The dog had chased a rabbit into its burrow.狗把兔子追进了洞穴。

2 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

3 juicy   

adj.多汁的

参考例句：

• The flesh of the peach was sweet and juicy.桃子的果肉甜而多汁。
• These pears are very juicy.这种梨含的水分很多。

4 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

5 bushes   

n.灌木（丛）( bush的名词复数 )；[机械学]（金属）衬套；[电学]（绝缘）套管；类似灌木的东西（尤指浓密的毛发或皮毛）

参考例句：

• There was someone skulking behind the bushes. 有人藏在灌木后面。
• The boy chased his sister in and out among the bushes. 那个男孩在灌木丛里跟着他姐姐追过来追过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 yawned   

v.打呵欠( yawn的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，裂开

参考例句：

• She yawned and looked pointedly at her watch. 她打了个哈欠，又刻意地看了看手表。
• John yawned and scratched his chin. 约翰打个哈欠，挠挠下巴。

8 surely   

adv.确实地，无疑地；必定地，一定地

参考例句：

• It'should surely be possible for them to reach an agreement.想必他们可以达成协议。
• Surely we'll profit from your work.我们肯定会从你的工作中得到益处。

9 crept   

v.蹑手蹑足地走( creep的过去式和过去分词 )；缓慢地行进；爬行；匍匐

参考例句：

• I crept up the stairs, trying not to wake my parents. 为了尽量不吵醒父母，我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• He had crept up on his unsuspecting victim from behind. 他从背后悄悄逼近了那毫无戒备的受害者。

10 sunlight   

n.日光，阳光，日照

参考例句：

• The room was flooded with warm and golden sunlight.房间充满着温暖、金色的阳光。
• In the bright sunlight she had to narrow her eyes.在强烈阳光下她必须眯着双眼。

11 creature   

n.生物；动物

参考例句：

• Man is a sociable creature.人是社会性的动物。
• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体食草动物。

12 scents   

n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉

参考例句：

• The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
• The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》