美国语文第四册 第15期:爱捣乱的玛蒂(1)

 　　Oh, how one ugly trick has spoiled the sweetest and the best! 哦，一个丑陋的把戏是如何毁掉了最甜美、最好的一切啊！

　　Matilda, though a pleasant child, 虽说玛蒂达是个讨人喜欢的孩子，

　　One grievous fault possessed¹, 但她有一个严重的毛病，

　　Which, like a cloud before the skies, 就像是天空中的乌云，

　　Hid all her better qualities. 遮挡住了她所有的优秀品质。

　　Sometimes, she'd lift the teapot lid 有时候，她会拿起茶壶盖，

　　To peep at what was in it; 偷看里面是什么，

　　Or tilt², the kettle, if you did but turn your back a minute. 或者将水壶斜过来，如果你转过身一分钟时间，

　　In vain you told her not to touch, 尽管你告诉她不要碰，但无济于事，

　　Her trick of meddling³ grew so much. 她爱捣乱的毛病有增无减。

　　Her grandmamma went out one day, 一天她祖母外出，

　　And, by mistake, she laid her spectacles and snuffbox gay, 不小心把她的老花镜和颜色鲜艳的鼻烟盒

　　Too near the little maid; 放得离小女孩太近了，

　　"Ah! well," thought she, I'll try them on, “啊，好！”她想，“等祖母一出门，

　　As soon as grandmamma is gone. 我来试试它们。”

　　Forthwith, she placed upon her nose the glasses large and wide; 随即，她把又大又宽的眼镜架在了鼻梁上；

　　And looking round, as I suppose, 环顾四周，我猜

　　The snuffbox, too, she spied. 她也偷偷地看了鼻烟盒。

　　Oh, what a pretty box is this! 噢，这个盒子多漂亮啊！

　　I'll open it, said little miss. 我来把它打开，小女子说。

1 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

2 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

3 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句