夏洛的网 第161期:蟋蟀(4)

 　　Charlotte had worries of her own, 夏洛也有它自己担心的事，

　　but she kept quiet about them. 不过它闭口不言。

　　One morning Wilbur asked her about the Fair. 一天早晨，威尔伯问它集市的事。

　　"You're going with me, aren't you, Charlotte?" he said “你和我一起去，对吗，夏洛？“它说。

　　"Well, I don't know," replied Charlotte. “这个嘛，我不知道，”夏洛回答说，

　　"The Fair comes at a bad time for me. “对我来说，集市来得不是时候。

　　I shall find it inconvenient¹ to leave home, even for a few days." 这时候，我不便离开家，哪怕只去几天。”

　　"Why?" asked Wilbur. “为什么呢？”威尔伯问它。

　　"Oh, I just don't feel like leaving my web. “噢，我就是觉得不想离开我这张网。

　　Too much going on around here." 这里事情太多了。”

　　"Please come with me!" begged Wilbur. “请和我一起去吧！”威尔伯问它，

　　"I need you, Charlotte. “我需要你，夏洛。

　　I can't stand going to the Fair without you. 不和你一起上集市去，我要受不了的。

　　You've just got to come." 你就是得去。”

　　"No," said Charlotte, "I believe I'd better stay home and see if I can't get some work done." “不，”夏洛说，“我想我最好留在家里，看能不能找到点活儿干。”

　　"What kind of work?" asked Wilbur. “什么活儿呢？”威尔伯问道。

　　"Egg laying. It's time I made an egg sac and filled it with eggs." “产卵。是我该做一个卵袋，在里面装满卵的时候了。”

　　"I didn't know you could lay eggs," said Wilbur in amazement². “我不知道你会产卵。”威尔伯惊讶地说。

　　"Oh, sure," said the spider. "I'm versatile³." “噢，当然，”蜘蛛说，“我是多才多艺的。”

　　"What does 'versatile' mean - full of eggs?" asked Wilbur. “‘多才多艺’是什么意思——是满是卵吗？”威尔伯问道。

　　"Certainly not," said Charlotte. “当然不是，”夏洛说，

　　"'Versatile' means I can turn with ease from one thing to another. “‘多才多艺’这意思是我能很容易地从一样东西变成另一样东西，

　　It means I don't have to limit my activities to spinning and trapping and stunts⁴ like that." 表示我不用把我的活动局限在结网、捕捉昆虫这些绝活。”

1 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

2 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

3 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

4 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》