美国小学英语教材5:第62课 长牙象彭博·库巴(8)

 There was very little about the natives’ way of doing things that Kubwa did not know. 库巴几乎了解所有土著人的想法。

He had taken a liking¹ to their food, especially to their bananas, and he used to make a business of raiding the villages. 他已经喜欢上了他们的食物，尤其是香蕉，他经常以袭击村庄为业。

He knew the difference between a fire on the ground that stayed there, and one in the hand that could be thrown; 他知道地上的火和在手里可以扔出去的火的区别；

he knew all about spears and about sharp sticks stuck in the ground; 他知道长矛和插在地上的尖棍的区别；

and whenever the natives played any of those tricks on him, he used to tear down the huts of the villages and trample² the fields under foot, just for revenge. 每当当地人对他耍这些花招时，他总是拆毁村庄的茅屋，践踏田野，只为报复。

After a while he got to trampling³ just for the fun of it. 过了一会儿，他开始为了好玩而践踏田野。

When he was in the banana groves⁴ at night, he used, to chuckle⁵ over the way the youngsters were smashing over the young trees not bearing fruit. 当他晚上在香蕉林里的时候，他常常笑着看着那些年轻象在没有结果的小树上砸来砸去。

It was wasteful⁶, but it was good fun, and the natives could always plant others. 这很浪费，但很有趣，当地人总是可以种植其他植物。

Altogether he lived a lordly life, helping⁷ himself to what he liked and taking care to keep what he got; 总之，他过着贵族的生活，爱吃什么就吃什么，得到什么就拿什么;

his herd⁸ was the biggest in the country, and his name was the most feared by elephants and natives. 他的大象群是这个国家最大的，他的名字是大象和当地人最害怕的。

 

1 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

2 trample   

vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯

参考例句：

• Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
• Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。

3 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

4 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

5 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

6 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。