英国语文第二册 第21期:驴子的故事

 　　LESSON 21 The donkey 第二十一课 驴子的故事

　　Poor donkey!  可怜的小毛驴啊！

　　I'll give him a handful of grass; 只要给它一把草，

　　I'm sure he's an honest, though stupid, old ass¹. 老实、忠厚且上了年级的笨毛驴

　　He trots² to the market to carry the sack, 就会兴冲冲的跑去驮麻袋,

　　And lets me ride all the way home on his back; 并一路载着我回家。

　　And only just stops by the ditch for a minute, 路上遇到沟槽时，它会稍作停顿

　　To seeif there's any fresh grass for him in it. 看看里面是否有新鲜的草；

　　It’s true, now and then, he has got a bad trick of standing³ stock-still,  当然了，有时它会故意停下不走，

　　and just trying to kick; 要不然就只踢一下腿。

　　But then, poor old fellow! you know he can't tell. 我那可怜的毛驴不会说话，

　　That standing stock-still is not using me well; 但它的所作所为我丝毫不为所动。

　　For it never comes into his head, I dare say, To do his work first, and then afterwards play.  驴子从来不会想着先把手头儿的活儿干完再玩的，

　　No, no, my good donkey, I'll give you some grass,  所以我扔给它一把草，

　　For you know no better, because you're an ass; 没什么比这更好的了，因为它只是个毛驴。

　　But what little donkeys some children must look, 但是现实生活中有多少孩子一动不动地

　　Who stand, very like you, stock-still at their book, 坐在书本前

　　And waste every moment of time as it passes— 等待时间一点一滴地流逝，

　　A great deal more stupid and silly than asses⁴! 这种行为比起驴子有过之而无不及。

1 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

2 trots   

小跑，急走( trot的名词复数 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• A horse that trots, especially one trained for harness racing. 训练用于快跑特别是套轭具赛跑的马。
• He always trots out the same old excuses for being late. 他每次迟到总是重复那一套藉口。

3 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。

4 asses   

n. 驴，愚蠢的人，臀部 adv. (常用作后置)用于贬损或骂人

参考例句：

• Sometimes I got to kick asses to make this place run right. 有时我为了把这个地方搞得像个样子，也不得不踢踢别人的屁股。 来自教父部分
• Those were wild asses maybe, or zebras flying around in herds. 那些也许是野驴或斑马在成群地奔跑。