夏洛的网 第40期:孤独(7)

 　　Sadly, Wilbur lay down and listened to the rain.

　　威尔伯很难过，只好躺下来，听雨声。

　　Soon he saw the rat climbing down a slanting¹ board that he used as a stairway.

　　很快它看到那只老鼠从一块斜板上爬下来，它把它当楼梯了。

　　"Will you play with me, Templeton?" asked Wilbur.

　　“你肯跟我一起玩吗？坦普尔顿？”威尔伯问它。

　　"Play?" said Templeton, twirling his whiskers.

　　“玩？”坦普尔顿捻捻它的小胡子，

　　"Play? I hardly know the meaning of the word."

　　“玩？我简直不知道玩这个字是什么意思。”

　　"Well," said Wilbur, "it means to have fun, to frolic, to run and skip and make merry."

　　“玩嘛，”威尔伯说，“它的意思是游戏、耍、又跑又跳、取乐儿。”

　　"I never do those things if I can avoid them," replied the rat, sourly.

　　“只要能避免，这种事我从来不干，”老鼠尖刻地回答说，

　　"I prefer to spend my time eating, gnawing², spying, and hiding.

　　“我情愿把时间花在吃啊，啃啊，窥探啊，躲藏啊这些上头。

　　I am a glutton³ but not a merry-maker.

　　我是个大食鬼而不是个寻欢作乐的。

　　夏洛的网

　　Right now I am on my way to your trough to eat your breakfast,

　　这会儿我正要上你的食槽去吃你的早饭，

　　since you haven't got sense enough to eat it yourself."

　　既然你自己不想吃。”

　　And Templeton, the rat, crept stealthily along the wall

　　坦普尔顿这老鼠说着偷偷地顺着墙爬，

　　and disappeared into a private tunnel that he had dug between the door and the trough in Wilbur's yard.

　　钻进它在门和猪栏的食槽之间挖的地道。

　　Templeton was a crafty⁴ rat, and he had things pretty much his own way.

　　坦普尔顿是只诡计多端的机灵老鼠，它办法多多。

　　The tunnel was an example of his skill and cunning.

　　这条地道就是它的技巧和狡猾的一个例子，

　　The tunnel enabled him to get from the barn to his hiding place under the pig trough without coming out into the open.

　　让它不用上地面就能从谷仓到达它在食槽底下的藏身处。

　　He had tunnels and runways all over Mr. Zuckerman's farm and could get from one place to another without being seen.

　　它的地道和通路遍布朱克曼先生的整个农场，能够从一个地方到另一个地方而不被人看见。

　　Usually he slept during the daytime and was abroad only after dark.

　　白天它通常睡觉，天黑了才外出活动。

1 slanting   

倾斜的，歪斜的

参考例句：

• The rain is driving [slanting] in from the south. 南边潲雨。
• The line is slanting to the left. 这根线向左斜了。

2 gnawing   

a.痛苦的，折磨人的

参考例句：

• The dog was gnawing a bone. 那狗在啃骨头。
• These doubts had been gnawing at him for some time. 这些疑虑已经折磨他一段时间了。

3 glutton   

n.贪食者，好食者

参考例句：

• She's a glutton for work.She stays late every evening.她是个工作狂，每天都很晚才下班。
• He is just a glutton.He is addicted to excessive eating.他就是个老饕，贪吃成性。

4 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。