美国小学英语教材5:第66课 小小美国伐木工(4)

 These trees he cuts into logs about three feet long and floats them down to the dam, where he piles them up. 他把这些树砍成大约三英尺长的圆木，让圆木漂到水坝下面，堆积起来。

Then when the great freeze comes, most of this wood will be frozen under the ice where the beaver¹ can get at it. 当大冰冻来临时，大部分木材会被冻在冰下，海狸可以在那里找到它们。

Day after day he comes out and gets a stick, carries it into his house, and eats the bark. 一天又一天，海狸出来把圆木搬到自己的房子里，吃树皮。

When it is stripped clean and white, he puts it back on the dam and gets another stick. 当这个圆木被剥得干干净净的时候，他把它放回水坝上，又拿了一根新的。

Thus he and his family live under the ice all winter long. 因此，海狸和家人整个冬天都住在冰下。

His mud house by this time has frozen until it is as hard as steel, and it would take a strong enemy to break into it, although the top still shows above the ice and snow. 这时，他的泥屋已经冻得像钢铁一样硬了，要想破门而入，得是一个强大的敌人，尽管泥屋顶部仍然露出冰雪之上。

Today the beaver has nearly disappeared from the United States. 如今，海狸几乎在美国灭绝了。

He is sometimes protected in the Adirondack region and in the State of Maine, but the timber-men soon get angry because of his destruction of their Trees. 海狸有时在阿迪朗达克地区和缅因州受到保护，但是伐木工人很快就因为海狸毁坏了树木而生气了。

Then the law is again repealed², and the beaver again disappears. 然后法律又被废除了，海狸又消失了。

Away to the Northwest, in Idaho and Montana, he is probably still found in his wild state enjoying his freedom. 在西北部的爱达荷州和蒙大拿州，人们可能还能发现海狸在自己的野生州享受着自由。

But he is almost sure finally to dis- appear, like all his wild kindred whose fur is valuable or whose hides or bones can be made useful to man. 但是几乎可以肯定的是，海狸最终会消失，就像所有的野生亲属一样，其皮毛是有价值的，其兽皮或骨头对人类是有用的。

So the beaver will go the way of the bison and the American Indian. 所以海狸会走野牛和美洲印第安人走过的路。

He was most useful before the coming of the white man in clearing his beautiful meadows and in making them ready for the farmer, but he has served his day and done his work; 在白人到来之前，海狸在清理他美丽的草地和为农民们做准备方面是最有用的，但他已经完成了他的工作；

so he disappears just as many other beautiful and wonderful creatures have done. 所以海狸消失了，就像其他许多美丽而奇妙的生物一样。

I always think of the beaver with gratitude³ and affection and sorrow when I remember that soon his sleek⁴ coat will wholly disappear, not only from the fur market, but from his own plump body where God first placed it. 每当我想起海狸那光滑的皮毛不久就会完全消失，不仅是在皮毛市场上消失，还会在上帝第一次让皮毛长出的海狸身体上消失，我感激、喜爱又悲伤。

Good-by, little American. 再见了，小亚美利加。

We are grateful to you for all you did for us even before we came to your wilderness⁵. 我们感谢你们在我们来到你们的荒野之前为我们所做的一切。

 

1 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

2 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

3 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

4 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

5 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。