夏洛的网 第181期:凉爽的晚上(1)

 　　CHAPTER 18The Cool of the Evening 第十八章凉爽的晚上

　　In the cool of the evening, when shadows darkened the Fair Grounds, 在暮色笼罩了集市场地、傍晚的凉爽下来以后，

　　Templeton crept from the crate¹ and looked around. 坦普尔顿从板条箱里爬出来朝四下里看。

　　Wilbur lay asleep in the straw. 威尔伯在麦草上睡着了，

　　Charlotte was building a web. 夏洛在结网。

　　Templeton's keen nose detected many fine smells in the air. 坦普尔顿那个尖鼻子闻到了空气中的许多美味。

　　The rat was hungry and thirsty. 老鼠这时又饥又渴。

　　He decided² to go exploring. 它决定去探察一番。

　　Without saying anything to anybody, he started off. 也没对谁说一声，它就走了。

　　"Bring me back a word!" Charlotte called after him. “给我带个字眼回来！”夏洛在它后面叫道，

　　"I shall be writing tonight for the last time." “我今天夜里最后一次织字。”

　　The rat mumbled³ something to himself and disappeared into the shadows. 老鼠管自咕噜了一声，就钻到阴影里不见了。

　　He did not like being treated like a messenger boy. 它不喜欢让人当听差似地差来差去。

　　After the heat of the day, the evening came as a welcome relief to all. 热了一天，傍晚到来正合心意，大家松了口气。

　　The Ferris wheel was lighted now. 费里斯转轮这时候灯火辉煌。

　　It went round and round in the sky and seemed twice as high as by day. 它在空中转啊转，好象比白天高了一倍。

　　There were lights on the midway, 游艺场里到处都是灯，

　　and you could hear the crackle of the gambling⁴ machines 可以听到吃角子老虎机的嘎啦声、

　　and the music of the merry-go-round 旋转木马的音乐声、

　　and the voice of the man in the beano booth calling numbers. 摇彩摊的喊号码声。

　　The children felt refreshed after their nap. 两个孩子睡了一觉，觉得精神了。

　　Fern met her friend Henry Fussy⁵, 弗恩碰到她的朋友亨利·富西，

　　and he invited her to ride with him in the Ferris wheel. 他请她一道去坐费里斯转轮。

　　He even bought a ticket for her, so it didn't cost her anything. 他甚至请客，这样弗恩就一分钱也没花。

　　When Mrs. Arable⁶ happened to look up into the starry⁷ sky 阿拉布尔太太碰巧抬头看星空，

　　and saw her little daughter sitting with Henry Fussy 一眼看到女儿和亨利·富西坐在一起，

　　and going higher and higher into the air, 朝空中越升越高，

　　and saw how happy Fern looked, 她看到弗恩非常开心，

　　she just shook her head. 不禁摇头。

　　"My, my!" she said. “天啊，天啊！”她说，

　　"Henry Fussy. Think of that!" “亨利·富西。想想看吧！”

1 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

2 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。

3 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。

4 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

5 fussy   

adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的

参考例句：

• He is fussy about the way his food's cooked.他过分计较食物的烹调。
• The little girl dislikes her fussy parents.小女孩讨厌她那过分操心的父母。

6 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？

7 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。