美国小学英语教材5:第239课 祖母的那不勒斯之旅(8)

Ah, that rascal¹ Uncle Tony was laughing at her.

啊，那个无赖托尼叔叔在嘲笑她。

At once the boys set about giving the silkworm house—a tiny place with broad shelves along two walls—a thorough cleaning, whitewashing² it inside and out. On the shelves they laid clean papers, and put a piece of netting at the window. There were a few bricks piled in one corner. Should a day threaten to be chilly³, these would be heated in the kitchen oven and placed below the shelves to warm the air slightly. For silkworms are tender creatures, and must be cared for as though they were fretful babies.

孩子们立刻着手给蚕舍——一个两面墙上都有宽阔架子的小地方——彻底打扫，把它里里外外刷洗干净。他们把干净的纸铺在架子上，把一张网放在窗前。角落里堆着几块砖。如果有一天可能会变冷，这些东西就会在厨房的烤箱里加热，然后放在架子下面，让空气稍微暖和一点。因为蚕是柔弱的动物，必须像照顾焦躁不安的婴儿一样。

Then the four, barefooted and bareheaded, and in their simple, home-made clothes, patched but clean, walked the four miles to Florence to buy both silkworm eggs and straw for the braiding. The eggs they bought at a little shop not far from the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest of the bridges over the river—the one that has a row of shops clinging on each side all the way across. For the I straw, they went to the New Market, which, in spite of its name, is centuries old.

于是这四个人光着脚，光着头，穿着简单的自制的衣服，打着补丁，但是很干净，走了四英里路到佛罗伦萨去买蚕卵和编辫子用的稻草。他们在离维琪奥桥不远的一家小店买的鸡蛋，那是河上最古老的桥之一，桥的两边都有一排商店。为了得到这根稻草，他们去了新市场。尽管这个市场的名字叫“新市场”，但是它已经有几百年的历史了。

1 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

2 whitewashing   

粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的现在分词 )； 喷浆

参考例句：

• Tom went on whitewashing the fence, paying no attention to Ben. 汤姆没有理睬本，继续在粉刷着篱笆。
• When whitewashing the wall, he painted with a roller in his hand. 刷墙的时候，他手里拿个辊子，挥舞着胳膊。

3 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。