美国小学英语教材4:第112课 收羊毛(3)

 　　THE SHEARING¹ 剪羊毛

　　It was not long before they could see the flags flying over the tents, and then the tents themselves. 没过多久，他们就看到飘动的旗帜，然后是帐篷。

　　When they reached the place where the horse was to be left, 他们来到马所在的地方，

　　Grandfather turned to Peter, saying: "I can unharness alone; you run along and see the sights." 爷爷转向彼得说道：“我可以独自解开，你们去看他们剪羊毛吧。”

　　These were welcome words to the boy, who started off toward the sheep pens. 男孩高兴地朝羊圈走去。

　　His mother called after him: "Remember to come to your Uncle's tent for dinner at twelve o'clock!" 妈妈在身后叫道：“记得12点到你叔叔的帐篷吃晚饭!”

　　Peter turned and waved his hand to show her that he heard;  彼得转过身来，挥挥手向妈妈表示他听到了；

　　then he ran on to the place where Joseph and Benjamin Bunker were standing² beside the shearing pens. 然后跑到约瑟夫和本杰明·邦克剪羊毛的栅栏旁边。

　　"Hi, Joseph!” he panted as he reached them. “嗨,约瑟夫!彼得气喘吁吁地走到他们跟前。

　　"Hello,” answered Joseph. "Come on; we're going to get near the fence to see the men shearing—they're at it now!" “你好,”约瑟夫回答说。“来吧，我们准备走近去看看那些剪羊毛的人——他们现在就在那儿!”

　　A great crowd of men and big boys were pushing up to the outer fence of the sheep pen, and the smaller boys could not see past them.  一大群人还有孩子们被挤到羊栏外，小男孩们看不见。

　　They could only hear the bleating³ of the sheep.  他们只能听到羊叫声。

　　However, by squeezing through the crowds,  然而，彼得挤过人群，

　　they managed to reach the fence, where a good-natured man made room for them. 设法到达了栅栏，一个好心人给他们让出了位置。

　　On the left, they could see the pasture where the lambs were playing.  左边，他们可以看到小羊正在草地上玩耍。

　　The sheep were in the great round pen in front of the boys. 孩子们的面前有个巨大的羊圈，里面都是羊。

　　Peter tried to count them, but he might as well have tried to count the waves in the harbor. 彼得想数一数有多少只羊，但太多了，数不过来。

　　A number of men were pushing among the sheep, sorting them out in a circle around the shearing space. 许多人在羊群中间挤来挤去，他们在剪羊毛的地方围成一个圈，给羊分类。

　　"There's Father shearing that black-faced sheep," exclaimed Joseph. "See, Ben, he's getting a lot of wool off her!" “爸爸在剪那只黑脸羊，”约瑟夫叫道。“看，本，好多羊毛啊!”

　　Mr. Bunker always did his own shearing, for he did not own more than twenty sheep. 邦克先生总是自己剪羊毛，因为他的羊还不到20只。

　　No shearer⁴ was more quick or sure than Mr. Bunker. 邦克先生速度最快。

1 shearing   

n.剪羊毛，剪取的羊毛v.剪羊毛( shear的现在分词 )；切断；剪切

参考例句：

• The farmer is shearing his sheep. 那农夫正在给他的羊剪毛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The result of this shearing force is to push the endoplasm forward. 这种剪切力作用的结果是推动内质向前。 来自辞典例句

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 bleating   

v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说

参考例句：

• I don't like people who go around bleating out things like that. 我不喜欢跑来跑去讲那种蠢话的人。 来自辞典例句
• He heard the tinny phonograph bleating as he walked in. 他步入室内时听到那架蹩脚的留声机在呜咽。 来自辞典例句

4 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网