美国语文第三册 第24期:三只小老鼠

 　　LESSON 26 第26课

　　exactly  完全

　　folding  折叠

　　cheese  奶酪

　　chamber¹  室

　　rattling² 卡嗒卡嗒的

　　protruded³  伸出

　　forepaws  前脚掌

　　gazed  凝视着

　　doubt  怀疑

　　released 发布

　　perplexed⁴  困惑

　　lattice  晶格

　　queer  酷儿

　　cozy⁵  舒适的

　　staircase 楼梯

　　THREE LITTLE MICE 三只小老鼠

　　I will tell you the story of three little mice, 我会给你讲三只小老鼠的故事。

　　If you will keep still and listen to me, 如果你能安静好好聆听，

　　Who live in a cage that is cozy and nice, 它们住在一个舒适惬意的笼子里，

　　And are just as cunning as cunning can be. 像普通老鼠那样狡猾精明。

　　They look very wise, with their pretty red eyes, 它们看上去非常聪明，眨着可爱的红色小眼睛，

　　That seem just exactly like little round beads⁶; 看上去真像小圆珠子；

　　They are white as the snow, and stand up in a row 它们身白如雪，它们就会站成一排；

　　Whenever we do not attend to their needs; 每当我们忽略其需求时，

　　Stand up in a row in a comical way, 他们以令人好笑的方式站成一排，

　　Now folding their forepaws as if saying, "please;” 合上前爪，仿佛在说：“求求你”；

　　Now rattling the lattice, as much as to say, 它们又咔哒咔哒地弄着格子，似乎在说：

　　We shall not stay here without more bread and cheese, 没有面包和奶酪，我们就不待在这里了

　　They are not at all shy, as you'll find, if you try 你会发现它们一点儿也不害羞，

　　To make them run up in their chamber to bed; 假如你想让它们沿着梯子跑回卧室；

　　If they don't want to go, why, they won't go—ah! no, 如果它们不想回去，它们绝不回去呀！

　　Though you tap with your finger each queer little head. 尽管你用手指敲着它们那奇怪的小脑袋。

　　One day as I stood by the side of the cage, 一天我站在笼子边，

　　Through the bars there protruded a funny, round tail; 栅栏里伸出一条有趣的圆尾巴；

　　Just for mischief⁷ I caught it, and soon, in a rage, 为了好玩我很快就抓住了它；

　　Its owner set up a most pitiful wail⁸. 尾巴的主人在笼子里发出了可怜的哀号。

　　He looked in dismay, there was something to pay, 它看上去很沮丧，似乎要付出代价了

　　But what was the matter he could not make out; 但是，它不明白问题出在了哪里，

　　What was holding him so, when he wanted to go 当它想去看看楼上的兄弟们在做什么时，

　　To see what his brothers upstairs were about? 究竟是什么抓住了它？

　　But soon from the chamber the others rushed down, 然而，很快地，另外两只小老鼠从楼上的卧室里冲下来，

　　Impatient to learn what the trouble might be; 迫不及待地想了解发生了什么事情；

　　I have not a doubt that each brow wore a frown, 它们个个都皱着眉头，对此我一点儿都不怀疑，

　　Only frowns on their brows are not easy to see. 只不过它们那紧皱着的眉头不太容易被发现罢了。

　　For a moment they gazed, perplexed and amazed; 它们痴痴地凝视了片刻，既惊讶又困惑；

　　Then began both together to gnaw⁹ off the tail! 然后，一起过来准备咬断那条尾巴！

　　So, quick I released him, do you think that it pleased him? 于是，我马上就放开了它，你认为它会因此而高兴吗？

　　And up the small staircase they fled like a gale¹⁰. 它像风一样夹着尾巴快速跑上了小扶梯。

1 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

2 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

3 protruded   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The child protruded his tongue. 那小孩伸出舌头。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The creature's face seemed to be protruded, because of its bent carriage. 那人的脑袋似乎向前突出，那是因为身子佝偻的缘故。 来自英汉文学

4 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

5 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

6 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

7 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

8 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

9 gnaw   

v.不断地啃、咬；使苦恼，折磨

参考例句：

• Dogs like to gnaw on a bone.狗爱啃骨头。
• A rat can gnaw a hole through wood.老鼠能啃穿木头。

10 gale   

n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等）

参考例句：

• We got our roof blown off in the gale last night.昨夜的大风把我们的房顶给掀掉了。
• According to the weather forecast,there will be a gale tomorrow.据气象台预报，明天有大风。