美国语文第三册 第3期:下雨吧

 　　LESSON 3 第3课

　　daughter 女儿

　　quench¹  熄灭

　　wreaths²  花圈

　　butter  黄油

　　thirsty 口渴

　　LET IT RAIN 下雨吧

　　Rose：See how it rains! Oh dear, dear, dear! how dull it is!Must I stay in doors all day? 罗斯：瞧，又下雨了！唉，天哪，天哪，天哪！多么无聊呀！难道我一整天都要待在家里？

　　Father：Why, Rose, are you sorry that you had any bread and butter for breakfast, this morning? 爸爸：罗斯，今天的早餐多么丰盛呀，有面包和奶油。你为什么不高兴呢？

　　Why, father, what a question! I should be sorry,indeed, if I could not get any. 为什么，爸爸，您怎么这样问呀！如果我没事可干，的确不高兴呀。

　　Are you sorry, my daughter, when you see the flowers and the trees growing in the garden? 亲爱的女儿，当你看到花园里盛开的鲜花和茂密的树木时，也会不高兴吗？

　　Sorry? No, indeed. Just now, I wished very much to go out and see them,—they look so pretty. 不高兴？应该不会吧。刚才，我只是希望能出去看看它们——它们实在太美了。

　　Well, are you sorry when you see the horses, cows,or sheep drinking at the brook³ to quench their thirst? 好吧，当你看到小牛、小羊、小马在溪边饮水解渴时，也会不高兴吗？

　　Why, father, you must think I am a cruel girl, to wish that the poor horses that work so hard,  为什么，爸爸，您一定认为我是一个冷酷无情的小女孩，总希望那些可怜的小马不知疲惫地工作，

　　the beautiful cows that give so much nice milk, and the pretty lambs should always be thirsty. 希望那些漂亮的小牛只会产奶，希望那些可爱的小羊总会口渴。

　　Do you not think they would die, if they had no water to drink? 它们若没有水喝就会死掉，难道你不这样认为吗？

　　Yes, sir, I am sure they would. How shocking⁴ to think of such a thing! 是的，现在，我也是这么想的。一想到这些事，多么可怕呀！

　　I thought little Rose was sorry it rained.  我以为小罗斯因为下雨而不高兴了。

　　Do you think the trees and flowers would grow, if they never had any water on them? 如果没有水滴落到它们身上，树木花草还会长大吗？这些你想过没有？

　　No, indeed, father, they would be dried up by the sun.  它们不会长大了，爸爸。它们会被太阳烤干的。

　　Then we should not have any pretty flowers to look at,and to make wreaths of for mother. 那么，我们也就看不到美丽的鲜花，不能给妈妈编织花环了。

　　I thought you were sorry it rained. Rose, what is our bread made of? 我以为你会因为下雨而伤心呢。罗斯，我们吃的面包是由什么做成的？

　　It is made of flour, and the flour is made from wheat, which is ground in the mill⁵. 是由面粉做的，面粉是由麦子通过磨而制成的。

　　Yes, Rose, and it was rain that helped to make the wheat grow, and it was water that turned the mill to grind⁶ the wheat.  是的，罗斯，正是雨水促使小麦成熟，也正是水使磨盘碾碎了麦子。

　　I thought little Rose was sorry it rained. 我还以为小罗斯不喜欢下雨呢。

　　I did not think of all these things, father. I am truly very glad to see the rain falling. 爸爸，我没有想过这么多事情。我真的很高兴看到下雨了。

1 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

2 wreaths   

n.花环( wreath的名词复数 )；花圈；（烟、云等的）圈状物；环状物

参考例句：

• Wreaths were laid at the martyr's tomb. 烈士墓前安放着花圈。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Wreaths are woven of wool, feathers, or even human hair. 还有人将羊毛、羽毛、甚至头发编织成花环。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

3 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

4 shocking   

adj.令人气愤的；令人震惊的

参考例句：

• His attitude was shocking to her.他的态度令她感到震惊。
• Such behaviour is really shocking.这种行为真不像话。

5 mill   

n.磨坊，碾磨机；制造厂，工厂；vt.磨，碾

参考例句：

• The rice mill was wrecked by the enemy bombing.碾米厂遭到了敌机的轰炸。
• The farmer took his grain to the mill.这个农民把谷子送到磨房。

6 grind   

n.（常贬义）用功的学生，书呆子；vt.磨，磨碎

参考例句：

• Would you please grind a pound of coffee for me? 请给我磨一磅咖啡好吗？
• Do you find learning English a grind?你觉得学英语是一件苦差事吗？