美国小学英语教材6:第35课 山齿鹑家族(6)

 　　Their friends at the farmhouse¹ wondered if any had survived; so old Ben and a small boy went out into the storm to look for the quail². 农舍的朋友在想是否有幸存者，老本和小男孩在大雨中寻找鹑。

　　The old man went ahead with a long swinging stride, while the small boy trotted³ after him. 老人在前面走，他的走路姿势晃来晃去，小男孩在后面小跑跟着。

　　These two had watched over the quail family from the very first. 这二人从一开始就在照看鹑家族。

　　They had discovered the nest under the old log and had visited it several times while the eggs were hatching. 他们发现了旧木筏下的鸟巢，在孵卵期间曾多次造访。

　　They had fished the three water-soaked chicks out of the puddle⁴ after the rainstorm 大雨过后，他们在水坑里捞出了三个湿透的小鸟，

　　which filled the little hollow where the brood was sleeping that night with their mother. 那天晚上大雨倾盆，大水漫灌了空洞，当时妈妈和小鹑们还在熟睡。

　　They had also happened upon the remains⁵ of the old raccoon's supper, scattered⁶ about near that circle of footprints. 有的成为了老浣熊晚餐残余，散落在一圈圈脚印旁边。

　　The evil doings of Red Fox they had likewise discovered while repairing the brush fence. 在修缮篱笆时他们还发现了无恶不作的赤狐。

　　They had also seen the quail many times in neighboring grain fields and had heard their cheery "more wet" before each rainstorm; 在附近田地他们多次发现了鹌鹑，在每次暴风雨来临之前，他们总能听到鹌鹑的欢乐叫声；

　　so it was no wonder that their hearts were heavy tonight. 难怪它们今晚的心情无比沉重。

　　The old man sprang lightly over the barway into the pasture, while the boy crawled between the bars. 老人轻盈地跳过横木进入牧场，小男孩在栏杆间爬行。

　　They went on for fifteen or twenty rods and then crawled under a clump⁷ of small spruce trees 他们走过了15或20个围栏，之后在小杉树丛中爬行，

　　and sat down where the leaves were still dry. 坐在了一片干燥的叶子上。

　　Suddenly from their very midst came a clear shrill⁸ whistle, bob-white, bob-white, bob-bob-white. 突然从他们中间传来了清晰刺耳的鸟叫声，布谷，布谷，布谷。

　　They are right here in the bush, Ben, exclaimed the boy in an eager whisper. 小男孩急促地低声说，本它们在草丛中。

　　The old man chuckled⁹ and laughed softly. 老人轻声笑了起来。

　　That was my call, he whispered. I had my hand over my mouth so you could not tell where the sound came from. 他轻声说道这是我的叫喊声，我用手遮住了嘴，所以你不知道声音是来自哪里。

1 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

2 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

3 trotted   

小跑，急走( trot的过去分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• She trotted her pony around the field. 她骑着小马绕场慢跑。
• Anne trotted obediently beside her mother. 安妮听话地跟在妈妈身边走。

4 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

7 clump   

n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走

参考例句：

• A stream meandered gently through a clump of trees.一条小溪从树丛中蜿蜒穿过。
• It was as if he had hacked with his thick boots at a clump of bluebells.仿佛他用自己的厚靴子无情地践踏了一丛野风信子。

8 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

9 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。