小王子 第18期:花苞中的奇迹

 　　I soon learned to know this flower better.

　　很快我就进一步了解了这朵花儿。

　　On the little prince's planet the flowers had always been very simple.

　　在小王子的星球上，过去一直都生长着一些只有一层花瓣的很简单的花。

　　They had only one ring of petals¹; they took up no room at all; they were a trouble to nobody.

　　这些花非常小，一点也不占地方，从来也不会去打搅任何人。

　　One morning they would appear in the grass, and by night they would have faded peacefully away.

　　她们早晨在草丛中开放，晚上就凋谢了。

　　But one day, from a seed blown from no one knew where, a new flower had come up;

　　有一天，不知从哪里来了一颗种子，忽然一天这种子发了芽。

　　and the little prince had watched very closely over this small sprout² which was not like any other small sprouts³ on his planet.

　　小王子特别仔细地监视着这棵与众不同的小苗：

　　It might, you see, have been a new kind of baobab.

　　这玩艺说不定是一种新的猴面包树。

　　The shrub⁴ soon stopped growing, and began to get ready to produce a flower.

　　但是，这小苗不久就不再长了，而且开始孕育着一个花朵。

　　The little prince, who was present at the first appearance of a huge bud, felt at once that some sort of miraculous⁵ apparition⁶ must emerge from it.

　　看到在这棵苗上长出了一个很大很大的花蕾，小王子感觉到从这个花苞中一定会出现一个奇迹。

　　But the flower was not satisfied to complete the preparations for her beauty in the shelter of her green chamber⁷.

　　然而这朵花藏在它那绿茵茵的房间中用了很长的时间来打扮自己。

　　She chose her colours with the greatest care. she drest her slowly.

　　她精心选择着她将来的颜色，慢慢腾腾地妆饰着，

　　She adjusted her petals one by one.

　　一片片地搭配着她的花瓣，

　　She did not wish to go out into the world all rumpled⁸, like the field poppies.

　　她不愿象虞美人那样一出世就满脸皱纹。

　　It was only in the full radiance of her beauty that she wished to appear.

　　她要让自己带着光艳夺目的丽姿来到世间。

　　Oh, yes! She was a coquettish creature!

　　是的，她是非常爱俏的。

　　And her mysterious adornment⁹ lasted for days and days.

　　她用好些好些日子天仙般地梳妆打扮。

1 petals   

n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
• The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

3 sprouts   

n.新芽，嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• The wheat sprouts grew perceptibly after the rain. 下了一场雨，麦苗立刻见长。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The sprouts have pushed up the earth. 嫩芽把土顶起来了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

5 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

6 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

8 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

9 adornment   

n.装饰；装饰品

参考例句：

• Lucie was busy with the adornment of her room.露西正忙着布置她的房间。
• Cosmetics are used for adornment.化妆品是用来打扮的。