美国小学英语教材6:第87课 故事给我们带来诸多益处

 STORIES DO MANY THINGS FOR US 故事给我们带来诸多益处

Stories do many different things for us: They make us laugh heartily¹; they bring real tears to our eyes. 故事能给我们带来诸多的益处：让我们尽情欢笑，也让我们热泪盈眶。

They take us through exciting adventures that thrill us almost as much as if we ourselves were having a part in them. 这些故事带我们经历种种激动人心的冒险历程，就好像我们自己置身其中一样，让我们兴奋不已。

They teach us valuable lessons, because they show us just how people have acted and thought, 故事教会我们宝贵的教训，因为它们告诉我们人们如何行动和思考，

and what happened to them because of their actions. 而这些行动又会给他们带来怎样的结果。

Story-tellers, authors, as we call them, have two great gifts: Their eyes are quick to see, and their minds are keen² to understand what they see. 故事讲述者，也就是我们所说的作者，具有两种伟大的天赋：他们的目光敏锐，他们的头脑渴望了解周遭的一切。

Then, they have the power to write about the things they see in such a way as to make them live for us on the printed page. 他们还有能力写下所看到的事情，让这些事跃然于纸张之上。

Now, certain authors have written so well that their stories have lived for long, long years and have been read by millions of people. 有些作者把故事写得非常好，使它们流传久远，被数百万人所拜读。

Isn't it strange that we should enjoy tales that were written fifty, one hundred, even a thousand years ago 想想真是奇怪，我们会喜欢五十年、一百年、甚至一千年前所写出的故事，

by men who never dreamed of our world of automobiles³, radios, and airplanes? 而这些故事的作者从未想到过在我们的世界中会有汽车、收音机和飞机？

You have probably already read some of these stories that never grow old. 您可能已经读过一些经久不衰的故事。

Do you remember King Midas, whose touch turned everything to gold; the dwarf⁴, Rumplestiltskin, who spun⁵ straw into fine gold for the princess; 还记得点石成金的迈达斯国王吗；为公主把稻草纺成了金子的侏儒怪；

and little August, who so deeply loved the beautiful stove, Hirschvogel? 还有深爱美丽的炉子赫希沃格尔的小奥古斯特？

You will now read three more of these famous tales that everyone should know. 现在，您将读到另外三篇脍炙人口的故事。

See if you can tell why people for so many years have loved to read them. 看看您能否说出人们数百年来喜欢阅读它们的原因。

 

1 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

2 keen   

adj.热心的；敏锐的；激烈的；锋利的

参考例句：

• There is keen competition between the two motorcar firms.两家汽车公司之间存在着激烈的竞争。
• The children are mad keen to go to the zoo.孩子们非常想去动物园。

3 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

5 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。