英语听力：世界上最冷的地方 03 The ponies

　　Chapter¹ 3 The Ponies²

　　On October 27th，the Terra Nova arrived in Wellington，New Zealand．When Scott came³ off⁴ the ship，a newspa-per man walked up to him．

　　'Captain⁵ Scott！Captain Scott！Can I talk to you，please！'he said⁶．

　　Scott stopped and smiled．'Yes，of course，'he said．'What do you want to know？'

　　'Are you going⁷ to win？'the man asked．

　　'Win？'Scott asked．'Win what？'

　　'Win the race to the South Pole，of course，'the newspaper man said．'It's a race between you and Amundsen，now．Look at this！'He gave⁸ a newspaper to Scott．Scott looked at it．It said：Scott's face went white．'Give me that！'he said．He took⁹ the newspaper and read it carefully¹⁰．The newspaper man watched him，and waited．'Well，Captain Scott，'he said at last．'Who's going to win this race？Tell me that！'

　　Scott looked at him angrily．'This is stupid¹¹！'he said．'It's not a race！I came here to learn about the Antarctic¹²—I'm not interested¹³ in Amundsen，or in races！'Then he walked back on-to his ship，with the newspaper in his hand．

　　Later¹⁴ that day，he talked to his men．He gave them the newspaper，and laughed．

　　'It doesn't matter，'he said．'We're in front of Amundsen，and we have more men，and more money．He has only eight men，and a lot of dogs．I know about dogs—they don't work in the Antarctic．We have sixteen men and the new motor¹⁵ sledges—they are much better．And tomorrow the ponies are coming．We need ponies，motor sledges，and good strong British¹⁶ men—that's all．Forget about Amundsen！He's not important¹⁷！'

　　Scott asked Oates to look after the ponies，but he did¹⁸ not let Oates buy them．When Oates first saw¹⁹ the ponies，in New Zealand，he was²⁰ very unhappy²¹．Most of the ponies were old，and some of them were ill．

　　'They're beautiful ponies，Titus，'Scott said．'They come from China—they're wonderful ponies！'

　　Oates looked at them angrily，and said nothing．Then he asked：'Where is their food，Captain？'

　　'Here！'Scott opened a door．

　　Oates looked inside²²．He thought²³ for a minute．'We need more food than this，Captain Scott！These ponies are going to work in the coldest place on earth²⁴—they need a lot of food—more than this！'

　　Scott smiled quietly²⁵．'We can't take more food on this ship，Titus．Where can we put it？But it doesn't matter，old boy．They're very strong ponies，you know．The best ponies on earth．'

　　Later that night，Oates wrote²⁶ a letter to his mother．There are nineteen ponies on the Terra Nova now，he wrote．All the penies are in a small room at the front of the ship．We eat our food in the room under the ponies，so our table is often wet and dirty．Scott makes a lot of mistakes，I think，and Antarc-tica is a very dangerous place．

　　3 小马

　　10月27日，特若·诺瓦号船抵达新西兰的惠灵顿。当斯科特走下船时，一位报社记者迎面走来。

　　“斯科特队长！斯科特队长！我能与你谈谈吗？”他说。

　　斯科特停下来，面带微笑。“行，当然可以！”他说，“你想知道什么？”

　　“你们会是赢家吗？”那人问。

　　“赢家？”斯科特问，“什么赢家？”

　　“当然是赢得前往南极的竞赛。”报社记者说。“现在这个竞赛在你与阿蒙森之间展开。瞧！”他将一份报纸递给斯科特。斯科特看着报纸。报上是这样写的：

　　弗雷门号正与斯科特争先到达南极

　　阿蒙森说：“我们将赢得比赛！”

　　斯科特脸色变得苍白。“给我报纸！”他说。他拿过报纸认真阅读。记者观察着他，期待着。“那么，斯科特队长，”他最终开口了，“谁将赢得这场比赛？请告诉我！”

　　斯科特愤怒地看着他。“真是愚蠢！”他说，“这不是比赛！我来这儿是为了了解南极。我对阿蒙森对比赛都不感兴趣！”然后，他回到船上，手里拿着那张报纸。

　　当天晚些时候，他对同行人员讲起这事，将报纸递给他们，并且大笑起来。

　　“没关系，”他说，“我们现今还在阿蒙森前面。我们不仅人数占优势，而且钱也更多。他呢，除了许多狗外，只有8个人。我熟悉狗性：它们在南极洲干不了活儿。我们有16个人，还配有新式机动雪橇。这些雪橇比狗好使多了。明天，还有小马送来。我们需要小马、机动雪橇以及身强力壮的英国人！这些就够了。忘了那个阿蒙森！他并不重要！”

　　斯科特分配奥茨喂养小马，但不让他负责买马。在新西兰，奥茨一见到这些小马，便大为光火。这些小马大部分都已老态毕呈，有些还是病马。

　　“这些都是漂亮的小马，泰特斯，”斯科特说，“纯中国货，匹匹都极为出色！”

　　奥茨恼火地看着这些小马，没有说什么。随即他问：“队长，它们的饲料在哪里？”

　　“这儿！”斯科特打开一道门。

　　奥茨朝里看了看，思索了一会儿。“我们需要更多饲料，斯科特队长！这些小马将在地球上最冷的地区干活儿：它们需要许多饲料，远不止这些！”

　　斯科特无声地笑了。“这条船上，我们不可能带许多饲料，泰特斯。往哪放呢？没什么关系，老兄。你看见了，这些马十分壮实，是地球上最好的小马。”

　　那天深夜，奥茨给他母亲写了封信。信是这样写的：特若·诺瓦号船上现在有 19匹小马，所有小马都养在船首的小舱里。我们进餐的地方正好位于装运小马的船舱下面。所以我们的餐桌经常湿漉漉、脏兮兮的。我认为，斯科特犯了许多错误。南极洲其实是非常危险的地方。 

1 chapter   

n.章，篇，重要章节

参考例句：

• I will skip the next chapter.我将略过下一章。
• Go and open a wonderful new chapter.去开启美好的新篇章。

2 ponies   

矮种马，小型马( pony的名词复数 )； ￡25 25 英镑

参考例句：

• They drove the ponies into a corral. 他们把矮种马赶进了畜栏。
• She has a mania for ponies. 她特别喜欢小马。

3 came   

v.动词come的过去式

参考例句：

• I was surprised why he came here so early.他为什么那么早到这里，我很惊奇。
• The doctor came in time to save his life.医生及时来抢救他的生命。

4 off   

adj.远的；休假的，空闲的；adv.走开，出发，隔断；prep.离开，脱落，在...之外

参考例句：

• You'd better cool off first.你最好先冷静下来。
• I need some time off.我需要一些时间休息。

5 captain   

n.队长；首领；船长，舰长；（军）上校

参考例句：

• Have you seen our captain?你看到队长了吗？
• The captain sailed his ship through the narrow channel.船长驾驶他的船穿过了狭窄的航道。

6 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

7 going   

n.去，离去，地面(或道路)的状况，工作情况；(复数形式）goings: 行为；adj.进行中的，流行的，现存的

参考例句：

• We're going to listen to a report this afternoon. 今天下午我们要去听报告。
• He hates leaving the office and going on holiday.他不愿离开办公室去度假。

8 gave   

vbl.（give的过去式）给予，产生，发表

参考例句：

• He asked for money and I gave him some.他要钱，我给了他一些。
• I gave you a map so you wouldn't get lost. 我给你一张地图，这样你就不会迷路了。

9 took   

vt.带，载(take的过去式)

参考例句：

• I took my dog for a walk along the river.我带着狗沿那条河散步。
• It took me about two hours to cook the meat.我花了大约两个小时来煮这些肉。

10 carefully   

adv.仔细地；小心地

参考例句：

• If you watch carefully you will see how to do it. 如果你仔细观察，你就会看出如何做此事了。
• Now listen carefully everybody.请大家仔细地听。

11 stupid   

adj.愚蠢的，笨拙的，麻木的，无趣味的；n.傻瓜

参考例句：

• The boy is too stupid.那个男孩太笨了。
• He must be really stupid.那他一定很傻。

12 Antarctic   

adj.南极(区)的；n.(the A-)南极洲，南极圈

参考例句：

• The Antarctic is a mountainous area.南极洲是一个多山的地区。
• It is well known that penguins live in the Antarctic.企鹅生活在南极洲是众所周知的。

13 interested   

adj.感兴趣的；拥有权益的；有成见的v.使…感兴趣(interest的过去分词)

参考例句：

• to be interested in wildlife conservation 对野生动物保护感兴趣
• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。

14 later   

adv.过后，后来；adj.以后的，更后的，较晚的

参考例句：

• He didn't turn up until half an hour later.半小时后他才出现。
• This part of the hospital was built on later.医院的这个部分是后来增建的。

15 motor   

adj.机动的，有引擎的，汽车的；n.发动机，马达，汽车；v.（用引擎）驱动

参考例句：

• A washing machine is run by a small electric motor.洗衣机由一台小电动机驱动。
• The motor usually operates well.这台发动机通常运转良好。

16 British   

adj.英国的；大不列颠的；英国人的

参考例句：

• The British drink a great deal of tea.英国人饮大量的茶。
• The ship is in British waters.这条船行驶在英国的海域里。

17 important   

adj.重要的；重大的；严重的

参考例句：

• It's important to find out what he is doing.弄清他在干什么是重要的。
• This is a very important problem.这个问题很重要。

18 did   

v.动词do的过去式

参考例句：

• How many goals did you score in the last game?上一场比赛你们进了几个球？
• Why did you choose basketball in the first place?你为何首先选择篮球呢？

19 saw   

vbl.看见(see的过去式)；n.锯；v.用锯子锯

参考例句：

• Would you like to saw a tree for me?你能为我锯棵树吗？
• The moment I saw you,I knew you were angry with me.我一看到你，就知道你在生我的气。

20 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

21 unhappy   

adj.不幸的，不愉快的，不幸福的

参考例句：

• With all his money,he is unhappy.尽管他有那么多钱，他也并不愉快。
• I'm unhappy about the work you did for me.你替我做这件事我不太满意。

22 inside   

n.内部，内脏，内幕；adj.内部的，秘密的，户内的；prep.在...之内

参考例句：

• Two minutes later we were inside the taxi.两分钟以后我们已经坐在出租车里面了。
• He will be back inside two days.他将在两天内回来。

23 thought   

n.想法，思想，思维，思潮，关心，挂念；v.vbl.think的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• It was just a thought.这仅仅是一个想法。
• She thought he had a cold.她认为他感冒了。

24 earth   

n.陆地；大地；地球

参考例句：

• The earth moves round the sun.地球绕着太阳转。
• Spring returns to the earth.大地回春。

25 quietly   

adv.安静地，沉着地，稳地

参考例句：

• Winter has been come to quietly.冬天悄然地来了。
• You have to play quietly.你要安安静静地玩。

26 wrote   

v.（write的过去式）写

参考例句：

• She wrote the music and he wrote the book.她作曲子，他写歌词。
• He wrote back that he was too busy to join us.他回信说他太忙不能参加我们的活动。