美国小学英语教材5:第119课 点金术(13)

 King Midas next snatched a hot potato, and attempted to cram¹ it into his mouth, and swallow it in a hurry. 迈达斯国王接着抓起一个热土豆，想把它塞进嘴里，赶紧吞下去。

But the Golden Touch was too nimble for him. 但对他来说，点石成金的手法太灵活了。

He found his mouth full, not of mealy potato, but of solid metal, 他发现嘴里塞满了东西，不是粉状的土豆，而是坚硬的金属。

which so burned his tongue that he roared aloud, and, jumping up from the table, began to dance and stamp about the room, both with pain and fright. 他的舌头被烧得火辣辣的，他大叫起来，从桌子上跳起来，又痛又怕地在房间里跳来跳去。

“Father, dear father!” cried little Marygold, who was a very affectionate child. “父亲,亲爱的父亲！”小玛丽金叫道，她曾是一个非常可爱的孩子。

“Tray, what is the matter? Have you burned your mouth?” “托盘怎么了？你的嘴灼伤了吗？”

“Ah, dear child,” groaned² Midas. “啊，亲爱的孩子，”迈达斯呻吟道。

“I don't know what is to become of your poor father!” “你可怜的父亲不知道发生了什么！”

And, truly, did you ever hear of such a pitiable case in all your lives? 说真的，你一生中听说过这样一件可怜的事吗？

Here was the richest breakfast that could be set before a king, and its very richness made it good for nothing. 这是摆在国王面前的最值钱的早餐，它的值钱使它毫无用处。

The poorest laborer³, sitting down to his crust of bread and cup of water, was far better off than King Midas, whose food was really worth its weight in gold. 最穷的工人，坐下来吃面包皮喝一杯水，比迈达斯国王富裕得多，因为他的食物价值相同重量的黄金。

And what was to be done? 该怎么办呢？

Already, at breakfast, Midas was very hungry. 吃早饭的时候，迈达斯已经非常饿了。

Would he be less so by dinnertime? 到吃晚饭的时候，他会不会不那么高兴了？

And how great would be his appetite for supper, which must consist of the same kind of food as that now before him! 他对晚饭的胃口该有多好啊，晚饭一定和他面前的一样!

How many days, think you, would he survive the use of this rich fare? 你想，他能在这值钱的食物中活多少天呢?

These thoughts so troubled wise King Midas that he began to doubt whether, after all, riches are the one desirable thing in the world, or even the most desirable. 这些想法使聪明的迈达斯国王非常苦恼，他开始怀疑财富到底是不是世界上唯一值得拥有的东西或者说最值得拥有的东西。

But this was only a passing thought. 但这只是一个转瞬即逝的想法。

So pleased was Midas with the glitter of the yellow metal that he would still have refused to give up the Golden Touch for so small a matter as a breakfast. 迈达斯对这种黄色金属的闪闪发光非常满意，即使是为了一顿早餐这样的小事，他也不会放弃这种点金术。

Just imagine what a price for one meal! 想象一下一顿饭的价格有多贵！

It would have been the same as paying millions and millions of money for some fried trout⁴, an egg, a potato, a hot cake, and a cup of coffee! 这就像花数百万美元买一些炸鳟鱼、一个鸡蛋、一个土豆、一个热蛋糕和一杯咖啡！

 

1 cram   

v.填塞，塞满，临时抱佛脚，为考试而学习

参考例句：

• There was such a cram in the church.教堂里拥挤得要命。
• The room's full,we can't cram any more people in.屋里满满的，再也挤不进去人了。

2 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 laborer   

n.劳动者，劳工

参考例句：

• Her husband had been a farm laborer.她丈夫以前是个农场雇工。
• He worked as a casual laborer and did not earn much.他当临时工，没有赚多少钱。

4 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。