英语听力精选进阶版 11255

 

16Aesop's Fables¹  

The Cat and the Mice

By Sharri McGarry

On the kitchen table was a smelly cheese. The smell wafted² through the kitchen. The smell spiralled down the hole in the skirting board. 

The smell drifted into the noses of three little mice.  

'I love ch...ch.. .cheese! ' whined³ Mini-Mouse, hungrily. 

'So do I!' squeaked⁴ Mildred-Mouse. 

Mighty-Mouse narrowed his eyes, 'Mission required to steal cheese!' he said.  

In the kitchen lived a cat. 

'I'm a Terrible-Tiger-Cat!' said the cat, prowling across the floor. 

And this Terrible-Tiger-Cat had the important job of guarding the cheese from pesky mice.

Under the skirting boards, the smell of cheese was too much for the mice.

'Right!' said Mighty-Mouse. 

'Right,'  said Mighty-Mouse , 'Mini-Mouse you go on my right side, 

Mildred-Mouse goes on my left and we'll rush out, steal the cheese and get back quick. OK?'

'What makes you think this plan will work? ' said Mildred-Mouse.

'Trust me! ' said Mighty-Mouse con⁵ fidently . 'We have the element of  surprise! Let’s GO!'

Under the kitchen table sat the 

Terrible-Tiger-Cat. He watched as three little mice shot out of the hole in the skirting board. 

'Mice? I'll catch  'em! I 'll snatch 

'em! '

The Terrible-Tiger-Cat opened his terrible mouth and showed his terrible teeth.

'Wait for me!' yelled Mighty-Mouse.

In the hole under the skirting boards, three little mice panted for breath.

'N...n...now what?' asked Mini-Mouse.

'NOW,' said Mildred-Mouse, with grim determination. 'We forget the cheese! We don’t need it! '

And she marched off, leaving Mighty-Mouse looking embar-rassed.

In the kitchen, the Terrible-Tiger-Cat waited. There was no sign of mice. The Terrible-Tiger-Cat was bored. 

'Mice? I'll catch  'em! I 'll snatch 

'em!...if I can thee 'em!  ' Humm…maybe if I wasn’t here, the mice would come out! Maybe, if I pretend to not be here… '

Terrible-Tiger-Cat looked up at a sack that hung from the wall. The sack was grey. Terrible-Tiger-Cat looked at his fur. His fur was grey also.   

'Now,' he said thoughtfully.  'If I take this sack down from the wall…and if I climb up and hang myself there instead…I would look like a sack and not like a cat! Clever, eh?'  

So Terrible-Tiger-Cat hung himself from the wall and waited.

Down the hole Mini-Mouse groaned⁶.

'The smell of ch...cheese is killing⁷ me! If I could have one taste…' 

'Get back here!' said Mildred, grabbing Mini-Mouse’s tail and pull-ing him back. 'B...b...but NO CAT!' said Mini-Mouse excitedly. 

'Humm,' said Mildred. 'NEVER trust a cat! '

She poked⁸ her snout out cautiously.

Mildred looked up at the sack hang-ing on the wall. The sack with the two bright eyes. 

'No cat? ' Mildred smiled wryly⁹. 

'THEN WHAT’S THAT HANGING ON THE WALL? ' 

And the Terrible-Tiger-Cat replied, 

'Waaaoow! I’m only an old sack!'

'C...c...cat! ' stuttered Mini-Mouse. 

'Abandon plan!' said Mighty-Mouse. 

'Come on! ' laughed Mildred, 'Let's get back to the mousehole. ' 

And there was silence in the kitchen.

'Ooopth!' said the Terrible-Tiger-Cat. ' I wonder what gave me away?' 

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 wafted   

v.吹送，飘送，（使）浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The sound of their voices wafted across the lake. 他们的声音飘过湖面传到了另一边。
• A delicious smell of freshly baked bread wafted across the garden. 花园中飘过一股刚出炉面包的香味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 whined   

v.哀号( whine的过去式和过去分词 )；哀诉，诉怨

参考例句：

• The dog whined at the door, asking to be let out. 狗在门前嚎叫着要出去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He whined and pouted when he did not get what he wanted. 他要是没得到想要的东西就会发牢骚、撅嘴。 来自辞典例句

4 squeaked   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• The radio squeaked five. 收音机里嘟嘟地发出五点钟报时讯号。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Amy's shoes squeaked on the tiles as she walked down the corridor. 埃米走过走廊时，鞋子踩在地砖上嘎吱作响。 来自辞典例句

5 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

6 groaned   

v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦

参考例句：

• He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
• The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 poked   

v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 )；戳出；拨弄；与（某人）性交

参考例句：

• She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
• His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 wryly   

adv. 挖苦地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• Molly smiled rather wryly and said nothing. 莫莉苦笑着，一句话也没说。
• He smiled wryly, then closed his eyes and gnawed his lips. 他狞笑一声，就闭了眼睛，咬着嘴唇。 来自子夜部分