英语听力精选进阶版 11246

 

06Aesop's Fables¹  

The Gnat² and the Lion

By Jan Payne

Far, far away in a hot land called Africa, lived a Gnat and a Lion. 

These two creatures were com-plete opposites. One was weak and one was strong. One was huge and one was tiny. One was fierce and one was timid. They met one dark night, and this is what happened. 

The Gnat had gone to sleep. He had made himself a swinging hammock on a blade of grass and he was snoring gently.

The Lion was awake. He was hunt-ing - and his roar could be heard in the distance.

It woke the Gnat.

‘What is that?’ he asked.

The Lion roared again. The sound was even louder.

‘It’s getting closer,’ thought the Gnat, holding his breath. 

A minute later the Lion came into view.

When the Gnat saw who it was he felt relieved. 

‘Oh!’ he said. ‘It’s only you.’

This annoyed the Lion.  

‘Only me!’ he murmured silkily, narrowing his yellow eyes. Are you aware I am the King of the Beasts.’ 

When Lions narrow their eyes and murmur³ silkily, they are at their most dangerous.  But the Gnat wasn’t worried.

He opened his tiny mouth and yawned.

‘You may be the King of the 

Beasts,’  he said, ‘but I can outwit you anytime.’

The Lion snorted.

‘Ha!’ he said. ‘I could flatten⁴ you with one swipe of my paw.’

The Gnat stood up on his spindly legs.

‘Go on then,’ he said.

The lion raised his paw above his head and brought it down as hard as he could.

The Gnat jumped out of the way.

‘Missed,’ he said.

Humming a little tune⁵ he began 

buzzing round the Lions head.

'Zzzz, Zzzz, Zzzz, 

 Diddly, Diddly, Dee.

 Zzzz, Zzzz, Zzzz, 

 Try And Catch Me. ' 

The Lion was furious. He twisted his head this way and that. He snapped, he snarled⁶, he swirled⁷ his tail, he swiped with his paws. 

But the Gnat was too nimble. 

A thought came into the Lion’s head.  

‘If I keep perfectly⁸ still, the Gnat will settle down, and I can pounce⁹.’

But the Gnat didn’t settle down. He acted quickly.

He flew straight up the lions nose!And began to bite.   

Roaring with pain the Lion shook his head. He stuffed his claws up his nose. 

The Gnat pulled the hairs inside the Lion’s nostrils¹⁰.

‘Make me the King of the Beasts,’  he called.

‘Never,’ roared the Lion.

The Gnat bit him again. The Lion’s nose began to swell¹¹. He could hardly breath. 

‘Say it,’ said the Gnat. ‘Say -  The Gnat is the King of the Beasts.’

The Lion could bear it no longer. 

‘The Gnat is King of the beasts,’ he muttered.

His face hurt. His nose was running. 

His eyes were watering. Without saying another word the once proud Lion turned and disappeared into the long grass.

The Gnat was full of glee.

‘I am the smartest creature that ever lived,’ he boasted. 

He began looking for a new place to make his home. He wanted something soft and comfortable. 

Ahead, draped over a bush was what looked like a white, lacy shawl.

‘That’s perfect,’ said the Gnat. And he wrapped himself in it.

At first, the Gnat didn’t notice a small creature moving swiftly towards him, climbing delicately over the lacy threads. When he did, it was too late.

‘Hello, Gnat,’ said the Spider.The Gnat tried to fly away, but he was stuck.

‘You can’t harm me,’ he said, ‘I’m the new King of the Beasts.’‘We’ll see about that,’ said the Spider. 

And he ate the Gnat for his supper.

1 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

2 gnat   

v.对小事斤斤计较，琐事

参考例句：

• Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.小事拘谨，大事糊涂。
• He's always straining at a gnat.他总是对小事很拘谨。

3 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

4 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 swirled   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The waves swirled and eddied around the rocks. 波浪翻滚着在岩石周围打旋。
• The water swirled down the drain. 水打着旋流进了下水道。

8 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

9 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

10 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

11 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。