英国语文第二册 第17期:马

 　　LESSON 17 The horse 第十七课 马

　　The horse is a noble, useful animal. 马是一种高尚的益兽。

　　He is gentle, and willing to work. He is not made to destroy or to hurt, but to be of use to man. 他很温和，乐于工作。他不会消灭或伤害人类，而是为人类所用。

　　He never takes the life of any other creature for his food; for he feeds on grass, hay, and corn. 他不会为了食物去杀害其他动物；因为他靠牧草、干草和玉米为食。

　　You have seen that he cannot defend himself against the fierce wolf. 你已经看见了，他不能保护自己，抵抗凶猛的狼。

　　He can run away, but the wolf can run too; and many fearful tales are told of the races for life between the horse and the hungry wolf. 他能跑远，但狼也会跑；很多可怕的故事讲述了马和狼之间为了生存展开的竞赛。

　　The horse loves his master, and soon learns to know him. 马爱他的主人，并且不久就会学着去认识他。

　　A story is told of a soldier who had a favourite horse, that never seemed so happy as when his master was on his back. 有关于一名军人的故事，他有一匹最爱的马儿，当主人骑在他背上时，他看起来从未如此高兴。

　　Then he was all life, and full of spirit. 然后他充满了激情。

　　At last, in a fierce battle, the soldier was killed, and fell from his horse. 最后，在一场激战中，军人死了，从他的马上摔了下来。

　　When his body was found some days afterwards, the faithful animal was still standing¹ beside it! 很多天后他的尸体被找到时，这个忠诚的动物依然站立在他旁边。

　　During that long time, the horse had never left the body of his master. 在那很长一段时间内，这匹马从未离开他主人的身体。

　　Without food or water, he had stood over it, driving away the birds of prey². Was he not a noble animal? 没有食物和水，他就站立在那儿，赶走猛禽。难道他不是高尚的动物吗？

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。