夏洛的网 第1期:早饭前

 Chapter 1 Before Breakfast

第1章 早饭前

"Where's Papa going with that axe¹?" said Fern to her mother

“爸爸拿着那把斧子上哪儿去？”弗恩问她妈妈，

as they were setting the table for breakfast.

摆桌子吃早饭的时候。

"Out to the hog² house," replied Mrs. Arable³.

“上猪圈去，”阿拉布尔太太回答说，

"Some pigs were born last night."

“昨天夜里下小猪了。”

"I don't see why he needs an ax,"

“我不明白，他干吗要拿着把斧子去，”

continued Fern, who was only eight.

只有八岁的弗恩又说。

"Well," said her mother,

“这个嘛，”她妈妈说，

"one of the pigs is a runt.

“有一只小猪是落脚猪。

It's very small and weak,

它太小太弱，

and it will never amount to anything.

不会有出息。

So your father has decided⁴ to do away with it."

因此你爸爸拿定主意不要它。”

1 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

2 hog   

n.猪；馋嘴贪吃的人；vt.把…占为己有，独占

参考例句：

• He is greedy like a hog.他像猪一样贪婪。
• Drivers who hog the road leave no room for other cars.那些占着路面的驾驶员一点余地都不留给其他车辆。

3 arable   

adj.可耕的，适合种植的

参考例句：

• The terrain changed quickly from arable land to desert.那个地带很快就从耕地变成了沙漠。
• Do you know how much arable land has been desolated?你知道什么每年有多少土地荒漠化吗？

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。