双语有声阅读：狮子和老鼠

The Lion and the Mouse

 

狮子和老鼠

 

A lion was awakened¹ from sleep by a mouse running over his face.

 

狮子躺在草地上睡觉，一只老鼠跑来，在它的身边绕来绕去，把它吵醒了。

 

Rising up in anger, he caught the mouse and was about to kill him

 

狮子很生气，一把抓住老鼠，打算把它杀死。

 

when the mouse piteously entreated², saying,

 

老鼠浑身发抖，结结巴巴地哀求:

 

"If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness"

 

"狮......子大王，求求你......放了我吧，日后......我一定会报答......你的。"

 

The lion laughed and let him go.

 

狮子觉得好笑，于是放了它。

 

It happened shortly after this that the lion was caught by some hunters,

 

几天后，狮子被猎人抓住，

 

who bound him by strong ropes to the ground.

 

被绳子绑着躺在地上动弹不得。

 

The mouse,recognizing his roar,came up,

 

老鼠听到它的吼叫声，悄悄地爬到狮子身上，

 

and gnawed³ the rope with his teeth,and set him free,and exclaimed,

 

用牙齿把绳子咬断救了它，并感叹道:

 

"You ridiculed⁴ the idea of my ever being able to help you,

 

"你曾嘲笑过我，以为你我不能帮助你，

 

not expecting to receive from me any repayment⁵ of your favor;

 

也没想过有朝一日能得到回报，

 

but now you know

 

但现在你明白了

 

that it is possible for even a mouse to confer benefits on a lion."

 

即使是无用的小老鼠，也可能救狮子一命。"

1 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 entreated   

恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They entreated and threatened, but all this seemed of no avail. 他们时而恳求，时而威胁，但这一切看来都没有用。
• 'One word,' the Doctor entreated. 'Will you tell me who denounced him?' “还有一个问题，”医生请求道，“你可否告诉我是谁告发他的？” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

3 gnawed   

咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
• The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

4 ridiculed   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Biosphere 2 was ultimately ridiculed as a research debade, as exfravagant pseudoscience. 生物圈2号最终被讥讽为科研上的大失败，代价是昂贵的伪科学。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She ridiculed his insatiable greed. 她嘲笑他的贪得无厌。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。