美国小学英语教材6:第45课 金黄色的彩虹泥沼(1)

 　　Yellow Lilies: The Gold of Rainbow Slough¹  R. Bruce Horsfall 黄色百合花：金黄色的彩虹泥沼  R.布鲁斯·霍尔斯

　　Bruce Horsfall is one of America's greatest artists of birds and animals. 布鲁斯·霍尔斯是美国著名的鸟类和动物艺术家。

　　If you read Nature Magazine, you will find some of his pictures there. 如果你看过《自然》杂志，你一定看到过他的照片。

　　He has also painted many backgrounds for mounted animals, such as you read about in the story of Carl Akeley. 他还画过动物标本背景，比如之前关于卡尔·阿克利的文章。

　　A small boy, his shoes tied together with their own strings² and slung³ over one shoulder, trudged⁴ along the muddy shore of Rainbow Slough. 在湿漉漉的“彩虹泥沼”岸边，小男孩拖着沉重的步伐行走，鞋带将两只鞋捆绑在一起挂在肩膀上。

　　At each step the black soil oozed⁵ up in curly ribbons between his toes, 每走一步，他的脚指甲中间的卷曲彩虹就会溢出黑土，

　　while the hard clay a few inches below made walking slippery. 脚下几英寸的黑色黏土让地面十分光滑。

　　But this was better than the higher slope where the saw grass grew, the grass with notched⁶ edges which cut like knives. 但这比海拔相对较高的斜坡好多了，斜坡上长着锯齿草，这种草的边缘凹凸不平，像小刀一样尖锐。

　　It had already left several stinging slashes⁷ on his ankles and legs below the reach of his rolled-down trousers. 裤子裸露的脚踝和脚留下了多道被草刮过的伤痕。

　　It was hot mid-day in early August. The air shimmered⁸ in a misty⁹ haze¹⁰; 这是八月初的一个炎热的中午，空气散发着迷雾，发出微弱的光芒；

　　not a breath of wind stirred the surface of the pond which lay quiet in the steaming heat. 湖泊在炽热的环境中一动不动，没有一点涟漪。

　　The buzz of countless¹¹ insects and the hum of bees and flies filled the drowsy¹² air. 无数昆虫发出的响声，还有蜜蜂和蚊虫的嗡嗡声充满了这个寂静的空气。

　　The smell of decaying plants and drying mud, mingled¹³ with the odors of growing plants, 植物腐烂和干土发出的味道，植物生长发出的气味，

　　freshly cut marsh¹⁴ grass, and water lilies, came to the boy's nostrils¹⁵. 新砍伐的沼泽草和水百合的味道，男孩闻到了这些气味。

　　But he thoroughly¹⁶ enjoyed every whiff as he recognized the well-known odors of Rainbow Slough. 但他沉浸在每一口呼吸中，他知道这是著名的彩虹泥沼的味道。

　　There was the spicy¹⁷ odor of the pennyroyal, tansy, and other marsh flowers; 这里有薄荷花，艾菊以及其它沼泽花朵发出的刺激味道；

　　the sharp sweetness in the odor of the horsemint; 银薄荷发出的甜甜的味道；

　　and the overpowering perfume of the white pond lilies just beyond his depth out there in the water. 在距离他更深的地方，白睡莲发出的沁人心脾的芳香，

　　However, he was not after white lilies, nor did he pick the lovely marsh mallows as he passed along, 但他不喜欢白百何，他在经过沼泽时也没有采美丽的芙蓉葵，

　　well knowing that they would droop¹⁸ and wither¹⁹ before he could get them home. 知道在他拿回家之前，芙蓉葵会发蔫枯萎。

1 slough   

v.蜕皮，脱落，抛弃

参考例句：

• He was not able to slough off the memories of the past.他无法忘记过去。
• A cicada throws its slough.蝉是要蜕皮的。

2 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

3 slung   

抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往

参考例句：

• He slung the bag over his shoulder. 他把包一甩，挎在肩上。
• He stood up and slung his gun over his shoulder. 他站起来把枪往肩上一背。

4 trudged   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
• He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 oozed   

v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出

参考例句：

• Blood oozed out of the wound. 血从伤口慢慢流出来。
• Mud oozed from underground. 泥浆从地下冒出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 notched   

a.有凹口的，有缺口的

参考例句：

• Torino notched up a 2-1 win at Lazio. 都灵队以2 比1 赢了拉齐奧队。
• He notched up ten points in the first five minutes of the game. 他在比赛开始后的五分钟里得了十分。

7 slashes   

n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• Inmates suffered injuries ranging from stab wounds and slashes to head trauma. 囚犯们有的被刺伤，有的被砍伤，而有的头部首创，伤势不一而足。 来自互联网

8 shimmered   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea shimmered in the sunlight. 阳光下海水闪烁着微光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A heat haze shimmered above the fields. 田野上方微微闪烁着一层热气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

10 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

11 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

12 drowsy   

adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的

参考例句：

• Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉，还引起了头疼。
• I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。

13 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

14 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

15 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

16 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

17 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

18 droop   

v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡

参考例句：

• The heavy snow made the branches droop.大雪使树枝垂下来。
• Don't let your spirits droop.不要萎靡不振。

19 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。