美国小学英语教材5:第250课 埃斯特班——狂欢王后的花童(3)

Esteban stood beaming even after she had gone. And then his joy was suddenly turned to dismay. He had been so busy caring for his garden that he had not heard the other boys planning the part each would take when they sang carols the night before Three Kings’ Day. The Porto Rican children do not have gifts on Christmas, but their gifts come on Three Kings’ Day, which is January the sixth. The kings are said to ride on camels, and every child gathers grass for the camels and puts a little box of it under his bed so that they will find it when they bring the kings with their gifts.

即使在她走后，埃斯特班仍然满面春风地站在那里。然后他的喜悦突然变成了沮丧。他一直忙着照料他的花园，没有听见别的孩子在计划在三圣节的前一天晚上唱颂歌时各自扮演什么角色。波尔图的孩子们在圣诞节没有礼物，但他们是在三圣节收到礼物，也就是1月6日。据说国王们都骑着骆驼，每个孩子都为骆驼收集草，并把一小盒草放在床底下，这样当他们把礼物送给国王时就能找到。

On the night before the kings come, bands of children throng¹ the streets, singing carols. They stop before many houses, and the night rings with their music. The part each child wants is that of a king. There are two white kings and one black one, as the Bible teaches, and now it was that Esteban learned how the other boys had been chosen for the part of the white kings, and the part left for him was that of the black king. He would have to blacken his face and his hands with burnt cork².

在国王到来的前一天晚上，成群的孩子们涌上街头，唱着颂歌。他们在许多房屋前停下，夜晚随着他们的音乐响起。每个孩子都想成为国王。根据圣经，有两个白人国王和一个黑人国王，现在，埃斯特班知道了其他男孩是如何被选为白人国王的，留给他的是黑人国王。他必须用烧过的软木把脸和手涂黑。

1 throng   

n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集

参考例句：

• A patient throng was waiting in silence.一大群耐心的人在静静地等着。
• The crowds thronged into the mall.人群涌进大厅。

2 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。