美国小学英语教材6:第71课 闪烁的翅膀(1)

 THE GLINT OF WINGS  Marie Barton 闪烁的翅膀 玛丽·巴顿

What makes a good aviator¹? Is it enough just to learn how to fly and to understand the machinery² of airplanes? 怎样才能成为一名优秀的飞行员呢？仅仅学习如何飞行和了解飞机的机械原理就够了吗?

In this story you will learn what kind of person an aviator should be, 在这个故事里，你会学到飞行员应该是什么样的人，

and you will read of the strange way in which Clint Warren showed that he had in him the making of a good pilot. 你会读到克林特·沃伦用一种奇怪的方式证明他有成为一名优秀飞行员的天赋。

CLINT YEARNS³ TO FLY 克林特想成为飞行员

Clattering⁴ up the rock-worn trail on his wiry little pony⁵, Clint Warren watched the sun snatching purple shadows from the hills ahead of him. 克林特·沃伦骑着他那匹瘦削的小马，在岩石嶙峋的小径上一路颠簸，看着太阳从他面前的山丘上攫取紫色的影子。

Beyond their greenness rose the gray crags of a lofty mountain range. 在它们的绿色之外，耸立着一座高山的灰色峭壁。

All the morning he pressed up the fence-line of his father’s ranch⁶, stopping to mend a break, to tighten⁷ a wire, 整个上午，他都在父亲的农场里修篱笆，停下来修补裂缝，拉紧铁丝，

to dislodge a large boulder⁸ that might crash down unexpectedly, or to call to a Mexican herder trotting⁹ after the snowy Angora goats. 把可能会意外坠落的巨石移走，或者呼唤一个墨西哥牧民，后者正在小跑着追赶那些雪白的安哥拉山羊。

His noon meal he ate under a twisted juniper tree. “It’s good to be home,” he told himself for the fiftieth time. 中午，他会在一棵扭曲的桧树下吃午饭。“回家真好，”他第五次对自己说。

Yet his restless brown eyes were lifted to the mountains. “Wish, though, I were up there; the higher the better!” 但是，他那不安的棕色眼睛仰望着群山。“不过，要是我在上面就好了；越高越好！”

An eagle circled the summit, great-winged and sure of flight. Clint’s keen, eager eyes followed it to the upper air, to a mere¹⁰ speck¹¹, to nothing. 一只鹰在山顶盘旋，它翅膀很大，在空中自在飞行。克林特那双敏锐而急切的眼睛一直盯着它看，直到它升到空中，然后变成一个小点，最后消失不见。

He sprang to his feet. “Come!” he whispered to his beast. “Let’s climb, too!” He swung into the saddle and dug his heels into the pony’s flanks. 他跳了起来。“来！他低声对他的马儿说。“让我们也爬上去吧!他跨上马鞍，把脚跟插进小马两侧的套具里。

“The fence can wait. The top calls. I’ve got to go!” 修篱笆的事可以等一等。高峰在呼唤。我得走了!”

 

1 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

2 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

3 yearns   

渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Every man yearns for sympathy in sorrow. 每个遇到不幸的人都渴望得到同情。
• What I dread is to get into a rut. One yearns for freshness of thought and ideas. 我害怕的就是墨守成规。人总是向往新思想和新观念的。

4 clattering   

发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Typewriters keep clattering away. 打字机在不停地嗒嗒作响。
• The typewriter was clattering away. 打字机啪嗒啪嗒地响着。

5 pony   

adj.小型的；n.小马

参考例句：

• His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
• They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。

6 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

7 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

8 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

9 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

10 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

11 speck   

n.微粒，小污点，小斑点

参考例句：

• I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
• The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。