美国小学英语教材6:第182课 西班牙擦鞋童(1)

THE SPANISH BOOTBLACK Caroline Mabry

西班牙擦鞋童 卡罗琳·马布里

When you studied the history of America, you read a great deal about Spain and the Spaniards.

你在学习美国历史时，要读很多关于西班牙和西班牙人的书。

You remember those great explorers—De Soto, de Leon, and Coronado.

你记得那些伟大的探险家—德索托、德莱昂和科罗纳多。

Perhaps you remember also that when we won our freedom, Spain owned nearly all the land from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

也许你也记得，当我们赢得自由时，西班牙几乎拥有从密西西比河到太平洋的所有土地。

Even today there are thousands of Spanish-speaking people in our country.

就连到了今天，我国仍有成千上万讲西班牙语的人。

The story you will now read tells something of life in Spain today.

你现在要读到的故事讲述了西班牙今天的生活。

In the company of Pepin, the bootblack, you will travel to Seville and Granada, two of the most famous cities in the world.

在擦鞋童佩平的陪伴下，你将前往塞维利亚和格拉纳达这两个世界上最著名的城市。

NO WORK IN RONDA

隆达没生意

Pepin was a bootblack in Spain. He lived in Ronda near the great bridge which stretches across a chasm¹ so deep

佩平是西班牙的一个擦鞋童。他住在隆达的一座大桥附近，大桥横跨一个很深的峡谷，

that on one side four hundred steps are carved in the rock leading down to the valley.

深到在峡谷的一侧，有四百级台阶刻在岩石上，一直通向峡谷。

They are old steps, cut in an early day when the Romans had besieged² Ronda,

这些台阶年头很久了，是罗马人在早期包围隆达时凿成的，

and they were made so that the water carriers³ could slip down them secretly and bring water from the stream to the thirsty town.

以便让运水的人偷偷地从台阶上滑下来，把水从小溪带到缺水的城镇。

Now Ronda lay peacefully in the sunshine, and boys played on the steps, hiding in the caves along the way.

现在隆达安静地躺在阳光下，孩子们在台阶上玩耍，躲在路边的洞穴里。

Pepin, usually the joiliest of them all, had not joined the boys today.

佩平通常是他们当中最快乐的一个，今天却没有和孩子们在一起。

His heart was heavy.

他的心情很沉重。

He stood leaning over the high bridge looking out across the valley where the river turned the wheels of the grist mills⁴.

他站在高高的桥上，俯下身子，望着山谷，河水使磨粉机的轮子转动了起来。

In his pocket was only one little dog, which is a small coin with a lion on it.

他的口袋里只有一只“小狗”了，那是一枚小硬币，上面印有狮子图案。

It was the last one Pepin had, for there had not been many boots to black lately in Ronda.

这是佩平剩下的最后一枚硬币了，因为最近隆达没有多少擦鞋的生意可做。

They needed blacking just as they had before, for the paths of Spain are dusty and rough with pebbles⁵.

西班牙的道路尘土飞扬，布满卵石，所以人们还像以前一样需要擦鞋。

But the crops had not been good this summer, and everyone was poor, too poor even to pay Pepin a few pennies to shine dusty shoes

但是今年夏天庄稼不太好，每个人都很穷，穷得连擦鞋的钱都付不起了。

1 chasm   

n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突

参考例句：

• There's a chasm between rich and poor in that society.那社会中存在着贫富差距。
• A huge chasm gaped before them.他们面前有个巨大的裂痕。

2 besieged   

包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Paris was besieged for four months and forced to surrender. 巴黎被围困了四个月后被迫投降。
• The community besieged the newspaper with letters about its recent editorial. 公众纷纷来信对报社新近发表的社论提出诘问，弄得报社应接不暇。

3 carriers   

（自身不受感染而传播疾病的）带菌者( carrier的名词复数 )； （尤指经营空运的）运输公司； 搬运人； 军输车

参考例句：

• Mosquitoes are carriers of disease. 蚊子是疾病的传播媒介。
• The chair carriers arrived at the crack of dawn. 轿是一早就到了。

4 mills   

n.磨坊( mill的名词复数 )；磨粉机；作坊；工厂

参考例句：

• He was tall, dark and handsome, like a Mills and Boon hero. 他个头高大、皮肤黝黑、相貌堂堂，像通俗爱情小说的男主角。
• The captain wants to play Mills as defence in our next game. 队长想让密尔斯在下次比赛中打后卫。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。