英国语文第四册 第21期:荨麻(2)

"To me, grandpapa! I am quite sure that it has been of no use to me."

“对我来说，爷爷！我敢肯定，它已经对我毫无用处。”

"No use!" said the old gentleman, smiling.

“没有用处！”老先生笑着说。

"Why, did it not save you from tumbling into the ditch?"

“为什么，它不是救了你一命，没让你掉进沟里吗？”

Here Alfred looked rather foolish, while his grandfather went on: "It is not a very long time, Alfred, since you were praising yournettle-soup.

艾尔弗雷德看起来样子很可笑，他爷爷接着说：“艾尔弗雷德，过不了多久你就要夸赞你喝的荨麻汤了。

The soup was made of the tender tops of young nettles², and I daresay you remember it very well."

这汤是用嫩荨麻做的，我敢说你会记得非常清楚。”

"Oh, yes!" said Mary. "It was old Martha Smith who told my mother to give it to us; she said it would do us 'a power of good.'"

“哦，是的！”玛丽说。“是老玛莎·史密斯告诉我妈妈，让她给我们的；她说它对我们很有帮助。”

"I am glad you remember it. But let us look at the nettle¹ a little nearer."

“我很高兴你还记得。但让我们再仔细看看荨麻。”

Just then a bee alighted on one of the nettle flowers.

这时，一只蜜蜂飞落在一朵荨麻花上。

"Do you think that bee, if he could speak, would say that the nettle was of no use?

“你认为那只蜜蜂，如果它能说话，它会说荨麻没用吗？

See! he is gathering³ honey from it, and perhaps finds it as useful as the looming⁴ rose."

看！它在吸食花蜜，它可能觉得它像若隐若现的玫瑰一样有用。”

The old gentleman then sat down on the bank; and having his gloves on, he turned over some of the nettle leaves.

老先生则坐在岸上，带着他的手套，他翻转了一些荨麻叶。

"Look here!" said he. "Here is the insect called the ladybird, with its red back spotted⁵ with black.

“看这里！”他说。“这种昆虫叫瓢虫，红色的背上有黑色斑点。

I daresay this ladybird finds the nettle of some use, or it would not take shelter under its leaves.

我敢说，这瓢虫发现荨麻有些用处，不会在它的叶子下避雨。

"Then, again, here is a spider that has woven his web from one leaf to another: no doubt the spider finds the nettle of some use too.

“这里还有一只蜘蛛，它在两片叶子之间织了一张网：毫无疑问，蜘蛛页发现荨麻有些用处。

So that the bee, the ladybird, and the spider are all against you."

所以，蜜蜂、瓢虫和蜘蛛都不同意你的说法。”

1 nettle   

n.荨麻；v.烦忧，激恼

参考例句：

• We need a government that will grasp the nettle.我们需要一个敢于大刀阔斧地处理问题的政府。
• She mightn't be inhaled as a rose,but she might be grasped as a nettle.她不是一朵香气扑鼻的玫瑰花，但至少是可以握在手里的荨麻。

2 nettles   

n.荨麻( nettle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I tingle where I sat in the nettles. 我坐过在荨麻上的那个部位觉得刺痛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard. 那蔓草丛生的凄凉地方是教堂公墓。 来自辞典例句

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。