双语有声阅读：爱的试验

【英文原文1】

 

An Experiment in love

 

The dog discovered them――four newborn kittens abandoned in tall grass beside the road．When I returned from my walk carrying the tiny creatures in the palm of my hand，my partner，Mike，said firmly，“No more animals．”Mike had already been saddled with my dog and three cats，and he wasn’t used to a houseful of pets．

 

“I won’t keep them，”I promised．“Just till they’re old enough to be on their own．”Mike looked dubious¹．“Word of honor，”I assured him，never dreaming how much I‘d come to regret the easily uttered words．

 

I made a warm nest for the babies by rip ping up an old blue blanket and lining² a wicker basket with it．Then I set out for the general store in the village to get advice about feeding them．“You can’t raise kittens that young，”the storekeeper told me．But he sold me a set of toy nursing bottles and I went home to try．I warmed milk，and after we all got the hang of it，the infants drank avidly³．

 

Two hours later they woke and set up an insistent⁴ chorus of soft little screams to be fed again．And every two hours after that．Four times in the night，I crawled out of bed to warm their milk，and in the morning I congratulated myself that they were looking just a little bit stronger，a little bit bigger．

 

Mike，reporting on their progress to his co－workers，came home one evening with word that his secretary had offered to adopt Peaches，my favorite because of her lovely soft coloring．Now that she soon would be leaving，I found myself picking up Peaches less often．Idly I wondered if no longer being treated as special would affect her personality．Then the thought turned itself around．Suppose I were to give one of the other kittens extra amounts of mothering？Suppose I held and cuddled and talked to him more？Would he grow up to be any different than his siblings⁵？I thought it might be an interesting experiment．

 

I continued to love all the kittens，but I chose the most unpromising of the kittens as my subject．This was the little black one Mike had named Bat Cat because he was so homely，with his dull fur，squashed porcine face and little folded flaps of skin for ears．The runt of the litter，Bat Cat was always on the bottom o f the kitten heap，the last to be picked up，the last to be fed，and so the one who got the least attention．I gave the tiny creature a new name――Boston――and I repeated it over and over while I held him for his bottle．He would drink until，blissfully full，he fell asleep．Then I tucked him into my sweater so that he slept against my beating heart while I worked at my desk．When he woke，I snuffled his small body with my warm breath and talked to him before putting him back in the basket to play with his siblings．

 

The effect on the kitten was immediate⁶．His newly opened eyes，vague and unfocused like his siblings，became alert，and he studied my face with interest．Quickly he learned his name and，when I spoke⁷ it，he clambered over the folds of the blue blanket as fast as his unsteady little legs could carry him to come to me．Now when he was in the sleeping heap of kittens，he no longer passively accepted the bottom spot；sweetly but determinedly⁸ he wriggled⁹ out from under and nested himself on top．Was it that，sensing himself valued，Boston began to value himself？

 

爱 的 试 验

 

我的狗发现了它们---４只被遗弃在路边茂密草丛中的新生小猫。我捧着这几个小生灵散步回来时，我的丈夫迈克坚决地说：“不能再养动物了。”迈克已经容忍了我的狗和３只猫，而他是不习惯满屋子宠物的。

 

“我不会久留它们的，”我发誓说。“就留它们到能自己生存为止。”迈克半信半疑。“我用名誉担保，”我向他保证，想也没想我将怎样后悔这轻易说出的话。

 

我把一条旧的蓝色毯子撕碎衬在一个柳条筐里，给这些小猫崽做了一个温暖的窝。然后我起身到村里的商店询问怎样喂养它们。“你养不了这么小的猫崽儿，”店主对我说。但他还是卖了我一套玩具奶瓶，然后我回家去试着喂。我热了牛奶，等我们都掌握了使用奶瓶的窍门后，猫崽们就贪婪地喝了起来。

 

两个小时以后它们醒了，开始不断地你一声我一声地轻轻叫着要吃奶。就这样每两个小时喂一次。那天夜里，我四次从床上爬起来给它们热奶。早晨起来我恭喜自己，因为它们看上去强壮了一点，长大了一点。

迈克也把它们的成长情况告诉了他的同事。一天傍晚，他回到家告诉我说，他的秘书提出要领养“桃桃”。

 

桃桃的毛色柔和可爱，我最喜欢它。现在桃桃就要走了，我发觉我不像以往那样经常抱它了。我无端地空想，如果它不再受到特别的宠爱，它的个性会不会受到影响呢？接着我又反过来想：假设我给其余几只小猫中的一只更多的母爱，假设我更多地抚爱它，和它说话，它长大了会不会与它的兄弟姐妹有什么不同呢？我想这或许是个有趣的试验。

 

我继续爱着所有的小猫，但是我选择了其中一只最不起眼的做我的试验对象。它是一只小黑猫，迈克叫它蝙蝠猫，因为它是那么其貌不扬，毛色暗淡，长着一张扁扁的小猪脸，耳朵皱皱巴巴地耷拉着。黑蝙蝠是这窝小猫中最瘦小的一个，老是被别的小猫挤在最下边，最后一个被抱起来，最后一个吃奶，因此也是最不起眼的一个。我给这个小家伙起了个新名：波士顿。给它喂奶的时候我一遍又一遍地喊它的名字。它会喝啊喝直到心满意足地吃饱了美美地睡去。然后我就把它塞进我的毛衣，这样我在桌前工作时它就能听见我的心跳。它醒来的时侯，我先用温暖的鼻息嗅嗅它那小小的身体，跟它说几句话，然后再把它放回到篮子里与它的兄弟姐妹们一起玩。

 

试验很快产生了效果。它那刚刚睁开的眼睛，曾经和它兄弟姐妹们的一样混沌、茫然，现在变得机敏了，它还饶有兴趣地观察我的脸。很快它就学会了听自己的名字。我一叫它，它就以最快的速度摇摇晃晃地从毯子的褶皱里朝我爬过来。现在，当它和别的小猫一起睡觉的时候，它再也不消极接受最底下的铺位了。它会轻快地却又坚定地从底下扭动着爬到上边，给自己找个好窝。这说明了什么？是不是波士顿觉得它受到了重视，也开始认识到自己的价值？

1 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

2 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

3 avidly   

adv.渴望地，热心地

参考例句：

• She read avidly from an early age—books, magazines, anything. 她从小就酷爱阅读——书籍、杂志，无不涉猎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her melancholy eyes avidly scanned his smiling face. 她说话时两只忧郁的眼睛呆呆地望着他的带笑的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

4 insistent   

adj.迫切的，坚持的

参考例句：

• There was an insistent knock on my door.我听到一阵急促的敲门声。
• He is most insistent on this point.他在这点上很坚持。

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 determinedly   

adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地

参考例句：

• "Don't shove me,'said one of the strikers, determinedly. "I'm not doing anything." “别推我，"其中的一个罢工工人坚决地说，"我可没干什么。” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Dorothy's chin set determinedly as she looked calmly at him. 多萝西平静地看着他，下巴绷得紧紧的，看来是打定主意了。 来自名作英译部分

9 wriggled   

v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）

参考例句：

• He wriggled uncomfortably on the chair. 他坐在椅子上不舒服地扭动着身体。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A snake wriggled across the road. 一条蛇蜿蜒爬过道路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》