有声英文阅读-英文万花筒

Eddie Gets a Job—Almost  埃迪碰钉子

Hotshot Eddie needed money to buy a new guitar. His old one was on its last legs, and if he wanted to become a famous rock star, he needed the right equipment.

Eddie went to his mother and put his cards on the table, asking her for the money to buy a new guitar. His mother refused point-blank. She told him that if he wanted to live a successful life, he should try harder.

Next, Eddie turned to his sister, Gillian. She was a smart cookie, and Eddie felt sure she would be able to suggest something. He was right. Gillian told him to get a part-time job at Billy’s Burgers.  “Great idea” said Eddie. “How much do they pay?”

“Peanuts,” said Gillian. “It will take you years to save up enough money for a guitar, but at least you’ll have something to do. Now go away. I’m trying to read.”

自命不凡的埃迪需要钱买把新吉他。他的旧吉他快报废了，而如果他想成为一名著名的摇滚明星，他需要合适的装备。埃迪去找他妈妈说明事实，向她要钱买把新吉他。他母亲直截了当地拒绝了他。她告诉埃迪如果他想过功成名就的日子，他就该多加把劲。接着埃迪向他妹妹吉莉安求助。她是个聪明的家伙，埃迪相信她能提出好的建议。他猜对了。吉莉安叫他去比利汉堡店打工。 “好主意！” 埃迪说。“他们付多少钱？”“少得可怜。” 吉莉安说，“你得用好几年才能存够钱买把吉他，但至少你会有事情做。现在快走开。我要看书了。”

One-eyed Doe  独眼鹿

A one-eyed doe was grazing¹ near the river. She kept her one eye on the land to watch out for hunters. She kept the other side of her face towards the river because she never saw hunters coming from the river. However, she didn’t see the boat on the river with sailors in it. When they got close enough, one of them shot her with his rifle. She lay there dying, and with her last few breaths, said, “My God! I expected an attack from land, but it turns out I was safe from that. I took the river for granted, so I didn’t watch it. My enemy came from the one place I least expected!”

MORAL: Danger often comes from a source that is least expected.
—based on a story from “Aesop’s Fables²”

一只独眼母鹿正在河边吃草。她用一只眼睛对着陆地，注意看有没有猎人。她脸的另一侧眼睛则对着河流，因为她从未见猎人从河里出现。可是她没有看到河上载着水手的船。当水手们靠近她时，其中一人射杀了她。她躺在那儿奄奄一息。用仅存的几口气说道：“天哪！我以为攻击会来自陆上，结果我却毫发无损。我以为河流这边一定安全，所以我没有注意。我的敌人居然来自最出乎我意料的地方！”

寓意：最安全的地方往往是最危险的地方。
─根据《伊索寓言》故事改编

The Bald Guy  秃头先生

Once there was an old guy, who was growing old and starting to lose his hair. By the time he had gone completely bald, he decided³ to cover his bald head with a wig⁴.

One day, he went out hunting with some friends. A strong wind suddenly blew his wig off. When his friends saw what had happened, they started laughing so hard that they could not stop.

The bald guy started laughing, too, and just as loudly as the other men. He said to his friends, “How can I expect my fake⁵ hair to stay on my head when even my real hair won’t stay there?”

从前有个老先生，随着年龄的增长开始掉头发。当他的头发全掉光后，他决定戴顶假发遮掩他的秃头。一天，他和一些朋友一起去打猎。突然一阵强风吹走了他的假发。他的朋友看到这样的情景，全都乐得大笑不止。秃头的先生也开始大笑起来，而且和其他人一样出声大笑。他对朋友说：“连我的真发都不肯留在我的头顶上，我又怎能奢望我的假发会留在那儿呢？”

1 grazing   

n. 放牧, 牧草 动词graze的现在分词

参考例句：

• There were cows grazing beside the river. 有些牛在河边吃草。
• Cows were grazing on the marshes. 牛群在湿地上吃草。

2 fables   

n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说

参考例句：

• Some of Aesop's Fables are satires. 《伊索寓言》中有一些是讽刺作品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Little Mexican boys also breathe the American fables. 墨西哥族的小孩子对美国神话也都耳濡目染。 来自辞典例句

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

5 fake   

vt.伪造，造假，假装；n.假货，赝品

参考例句：

• He can tell a fake from the original.他能分辨出赝品和真品。
• You can easily fake up an excuse to avoid going out with him.你可以很容易地编造一个借口而不与他一同外出。