美国语文第六册 第91期:教师和生病的学者(1)

 　　Shortly after the schoolmaster had arranged the forms and taken his seat behind his desk, 老师安排好各年级的座位，在讲台后面的椅子上刚一落座，

　　a small white-headed boy with a sunburnt face appeared at the door, 只见一位脸上晒得黝黑，长着一头淡黄色头发的小男孩闪身出现在门口。

　　and, stopping there to make a rustic¹ bow, came in and took his seat upon one of the forms. 他停下脚步，土里土气地鞠了一躬后走进来，找到自己年级的座位坐了下来。

　　He then put an open book, astonishingly dog's-eared, upon his knees, 他拿出一本没有封皮的书放在膝盖上，

　　and, thrusting his hands into his pockets, began counting the marbles with which they were filled; 令人惊讶的是书的页脚折了起来，之后他两手插进衣袋，开始数里面装的弹子；

　　displaying, in the expression of his face, a remarkable² capacity of totally abstracting his mind from the spelling on which his eyes were fixed³. 他把玩着，脸上现出与他的眼神迥然不同的神情。

　　Soon afterward⁴, another white-headed little boy came straggling in, 不一会儿，另一位长着一头淡黄头发的小孩也晃晃悠悠地走进教室，

　　and after him, a red-headed lad, and then one with a flaxen poll, 跟在他后面的是一位留着一头红发的小女孩，之后进来的孩子手里提着一只淡黄色投票箱。

　　until the forms were occupied by a dozen boys, or thereabouts, with heads of every color but gray, 大约十二个男孩子按照所属年级陆续坐好，这些孩子头发的颜色除了灰色以外，什么颜色都有，

　　and ranging in their ages from four years old to fourteen years or more; 按顺序排列年龄从四岁到十四岁，

　　for the legs of the youngest were a long way from the floor, when he sat upon the form; 最小的孩子坐下时双腿与地板隔了很大一块距离；

　　and the eldest⁵ was a heavy, good-tempered fellow, about half a head taller than the schoolmaster. 年龄最大的是个块头很大，性情颇为温和的孩子，要比老师足足高出半头。

　　At the top of the first form—the post of honor in the school—was the vacant place of the little sick scholar; 在一年级座位的把头——学校的荣誉座位——是专为生病的小学者留的空座位；

　　and, at the head of the row of pegs⁶, on which those who wore hats or caps were wont⁷ to hang them, one was empty. 在高年级那一排座位的把头，坐的是那些戴帽子或习惯戴软帽的孩子，其中有一个没戴帽子。

1 rustic   

adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬

参考例句：

• It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
• We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

4 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

5 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

6 pegs   

n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平

参考例句：

• She hung up the shirt with two (clothes) pegs. 她用两只衣夹挂上衬衫。 来自辞典例句
• The vice-presidents were all square pegs in round holes. 各位副总裁也都安排得不得其所。 来自辞典例句

7 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。