美国语文第三册 第63期:约翰·卡朋特(2)

 　　"Oh," said the man, laughing, "if you wish it, I will make some wheels for your horse." “噢，”那个人笑着说，“你要是想要，我可以为你的小马做几个轮子。”

　　But mind, when it is finished, you must let me see it. 不过要记住，你做好以后，要给我看看。

　　John promised to do so, and he soon ran home with the wheels in his pocket. 约翰答应了，很快他就带着装在口袋里的轮子跑回家去了。

　　The next evening, he went to the turner's shop with his horse all complete, and was told that he was an ingenious¹ little fellow. 第二天晚上，他带着完成了的马去车工的店里，车工夸他是个心灵手巧的小家伙。

　　Proud of this compliment², he ran to his friend Tom, crying, "Now then, Tom, here is my horse,—look!" 这样的夸奖让约翰很自豪，他跑到好朋友汤姆那里，大声说：“现在看看，汤姆，这是我的马——看！”

　　"Well, that is a funny horse," said Tom; "where did you buy it?""I didn't buy it," replied John; I made it." “嗯，这匹马很有趣，”汤姆说，“你在哪里买的？”“我没有花钱买，”汤姆回答，“我做的。”

　　"You made it yourself! 你自己做的！

　　Oh, well, it's a good horse for you to make. 噢，好吧，你做的马不错。

　　But it is not so good as mine. 不过没有我的好。

　　Mine cost a dollar,and yours didn't cost anything. 我的马值一美元，你的一分钱都不值。

　　"It was real fun to make it, though," said John, and away he ran with his horse rolling after him. “但是自己制作真的很有意思。”说完约翰就跑开了，他的马在身后跟着他滚动。

　　Do you want to know what became of John? 你想知道约翰后来成为什么样的人吗？

　　Well, I will tell you. 好，我来告诉你。

　　He studied hard in school, and was called the best scholar³ in his class. 他在学校里努力学习，被称为他们班上最好的学生。

　　When he left school, he went to work in a machine shop. 离开学校后，他去了一个机械修理店工作。

　　He is now a master workman⁴, and will soon have a shop of his own. 现在他已经是一个工长，而且很快就要拥有他自己的店了。

1 ingenious   

adj.设计独特的，巧妙的，善于创造发明的

参考例句：

• Try to think of unusual and ingenious solutions.尽量想想不同寻常的、巧妙的解决方法。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

2 compliment   

n.[pl.]问候，致意；n./v. 称赞，恭维

参考例句：

• The manager paid her a compliment on her work.经理赞扬了她的工作。
• Your presence is a great compliment.承蒙光临，不胜荣幸。

3 scholar   

n.学者，公费生，有文化者，学习者

参考例句：

• There was no doubt that he was a fine scholar.毫无疑问，他是位杰出的学者。
• To be a scholar is to be the top of society.万般皆下品，惟有读书高。

4 workman   

n.工人，工匠，技工

参考例句：

• A bad workman finds much fault with his tools.蹩脚的工匠总是埋怨自己的工具不好。
• There was a workman up the ladder.有一个工人在梯子上工作。