英国语文第二册 第31期:狐狸与山羊

 　　LESSON 31 The fox and the goat 第三十一课 狐狸与山羊

　　Every one had heard of the fox's cunning;and every one but the goat believed in it. 大家都听说过狐狸的狡猾，并且所有人都对此深信不疑，但山羊却不相信。

　　One very hot summer, when all the springs and brooks¹ were dry, a fox looked about all day in vain for water to drink.  在一个炎热的夏天，当所有的泉水和小溪都干涸了，一只狐狸终日徒劳地到处找水喝。

　　He even crept slyly into a farm-yard; but the dog saw him, and he had to leave in a great hurry. 他甚至狡黠地爬进一个农场的院子，但是狗看到了他，于是他不得不急忙地离开了。

　　At last he thought of an old well in the middle of a field near the farm; and to it he set off with all speed. 最后他想起在农场附近的田地中央有一口很老的井，于是他全速地向那里奔去。

　　When he came to it, he found that the water was quite out of his reach. 当他来到了井旁，他发现水深得令他根本够不到。

　　He tried again and again to reach it, and at last tumbled in, heels over head! 他反复地试了很多次去够水喝，结果却掉进了井里，摔了个脚朝天！

　　He got a great fright, but he was not much hurt; and as the water was not very deep, he was glad enough to drink. 他吓得要命，不过他没受多大伤；而且由于水不是很深，他美滋滋地喝起了水。

　　When his thirst was gone, he wished to get out; 当他止了渴，便开始期望能逃出去；

　　but the sides of the well were steep, and even when standing² on his hind³ legs, he could not reach halfway⁴ to the top. 但是井壁很陡，即便是用后腿站立，他连距离井口的一半都够不到。

　　There he was, a close prisoner! 现在好了，他成了一个没人知道的囚犯”！

　　The next morning, a goat came down to the well; and seeing the fox there, she said, "Is the water good?" 第二天早晨，一只山羊来到井旁，看见了井里的狐狸，她说，“水好喝吗？”

　　"Oh!" said the fox, "come down, my friend; it is so good, that I cannot stop drinking it!" 哦！狐狸回答，“下来啊，我的朋友；水很好喝呢，我根本控制不了自己，总想喝！”

　　Down jumped long-beard at once; but no sooner was she down than the fox leaped on her back, and in an instant was on the green grass! 山羊立即跳了下去；然而在她跳下的瞬间狐狸纵身跃上她的后背，很快地他就跳到了绿草地上！

　　As he sprang to the top of the well, he turned round and said, "Thank you, madam; I bid you good morning!" 当他弹到井口时，他回过头说,谢谢你，女士；我祝你早安！”

　　The silly goat soon saw how foolish she had been, to listen to the cunning fox. 这只愚蠢的山羊很快见识到了自己有多傻，居然听信了狡猾的狐狸。

　　—Never trust those who are known to be sly and selfish. ——永远不要相信那些出了名的狡诈而自私的人。

1 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

4 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。