美国语文第四册 第145期:彩虹之旅(1)

 　　One summer afternoon, when I was about eight years of age, I was standing¹ at an eastern window,  我八岁时，一个夏天的下午，我站在窗边，

　　looking at a beautiful rainbow that, bending from the sky, seemed to be losing itself in a thick, swampy² wood about a quarter of a mile distant. 看着美丽的彩虹从天边弯下来，似乎消失在四分之一英里外的一片沼泽密林里。

　　It happened that no one was in the room with me then but my brother Rufus,  当时房间里只有我和我的哥哥鲁弗斯，

　　who was just recovering from a severe illness, and was sitting, propped³ up with pillows, in an easy-chair, looking out, with me, at the rainbow. 重伤康复的他靠着枕头坐在扶手椅里，和我一起看彩虹。

　　"See, brother," I said, "it drops right down among the cedars⁴, where we go in the spring to find wintergreens!" “看，哥哥，”我说，“彩虹正好落在雪松林里，我们春天还在那儿找过鹿蹄草呢！”

　　"Do you know, Gracie," said my brother, with a very serious face, “你知道吗，格雷西，”哥哥认真地说，

　　that if you should go to the end of the rainbow, you would find there purses filled with money, and great pots of gold and silver? 如果你到彩虹尽头，你会找到鼓鼓的钱包，和一罐罐的金银？

　　"Is it truly so?" I asked. “真的吗？”我问。

　　"Truly so," answered my brother, with a smile. “真的，”哥哥笑着说。

　　Now, I was a simple-hearted child who believed everything that was told me, although I was again and again imposed upon; 我当时还是一个头脑简单的孩子，尽管多次被骗，但别人说什么我仍然信以为真。

　　so, without another word, I darted⁵ out of the door, and set forth⁶ toward the wood. 于是，二话不说，我蹦蹦跳跳地跑出门，向树林跑去。

　　My brother called after me as loudly as he was able, but I did not heed⁷ him. 去。哥哥大声喊我的名字，可是我并没注意。

　　I cared nothing for the wet grass, which was sadly drabbling my clean frock,—on and on I ran: I was so sure that I knew just where that rainbow ended. 我完全不顾潮湿的草地是不是弄脏了我干净的连衣裙，只是不停地跑：我相信我知道彩虹的尽头在哪儿。

　　I remember how glad and proud I was in my thoughts, and what fine presents I promised to all my friends out of my great riches. 我是那么开心和自豪，我发誓用我的巨大财富把最好的礼物送给好朋友们。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 swampy   

adj.沼泽的，湿地的

参考例句：

• Malaria is still rampant in some swampy regions.疟疾在一些沼泽地区仍很猖獗。
• An ox as grazing in a swampy meadow.一头牛在一块泥泞的草地上吃草。

3 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

4 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

5 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

7 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。