精灵鼠小弟 第11期:半途而废的乔治

 Mrs. Little had provided him with a doll's size toothbrush, a doll's size cake of soap,

特尔太太给他准备了一个玩具般大的牙刷、肥皂、

a doll's size washcloth, and a doll's comb--which he used for combing his whiskers.

毛巾，还有一把玩具梳子--这可以让他用来梳胡子。

He carried these things in his bathrobe pocket, and when he reached the top of the ladder he took them out, laid them neatly¹ in a row, and set about the task of turning the water on.

他把这些东西都放到了他的浴衣口袋里，等他爬到梯子的顶端，便把它们掏出来整齐地排成一行，然后才去做放水的工作。

For such a small fellow, turning the water on was quite a problem.

对这样一个小家伙来说，放水也成了一个难题。

He had discussed it with his father one day after making several unsuccessful attempts.

一天，他在几次不成功的尝试后，和他的父亲商讨起这件事来。

"I can get up onto the faucet² all right," he explained,

"我完全能来到水龙头那里，"他解释，

but I can't seem to turn it on, because I have nothing to brace³ my feet against.

但有时我却好像拧不开它，因为我不能在上面站稳我的脚。

"Yes, I know," his father replied, "that's the whole trouble."

"是的，我知道，"他的父亲回答，"所有的麻烦就在这里。"

George, who always listened to conversations whenever he could, said that in his opinion they ought to construct a brace for Stuart; and with that he got out some boards, a saw, a hammer, a screw driver, a brad-awl, and some nails, and started to make a terrific⁴ fuss⁵ in the bathroom, building what he said was going to be a brace for Stuart.

只要可能，总是在听这些谈话的乔治，建议说他们应该为斯图亚特造一个踏板；于是他便去找了几块小木板，一把锯子，一把锤子，一把螺丝刀，一把小锥子，几根钉子，准备在浴室里干一个漂亮活儿，造一个他所说的要给斯图亚特造的踏板。

But he soon became interested in something else and disappeared, leaving the tools lying all around the bathroom floor.

可是不久他就改了兴趣，跑到别的地方去玩了，任那些工具在浴室里四处乱丢着。

1 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

2 faucet   

n.水龙头

参考例句：

• The faucet has developed a drip.那个水龙头已经开始滴水了。
• She turned off the faucet and dried her hands.她关掉水龙头，把手擦干。

3 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

4 terrific   

adj.可怕的，极好的，非常的

参考例句：

• The game was terrific.那场比赛棒极了。
• Darren drove at a terrific speed.达伦以惊人的速度驾车。

5 fuss   

n.过分关心，过分体贴，大惊小怪，小题大作

参考例句：

• My mother makes a fuss of me every time I come home.我每次回家，母亲总对我体贴备至。
• Stop all this fuss and do your homework.别大惊小怪了，去做你的家庭作业吧。