英语听力精选进阶版 11261

 

22Aesop's Fables¹  

The Fox and the Stork²

By Kate Stonham

A rather large bird was wandering round the wood, looking a bit lost.  

It had long legs, a long thin neck and a very long bill for eating , that clattered³ away as it searched for nice things to eat. 

‘Hey there, big bird!’ cried the little birds in the trees above. 

‘You’re  new round these parts, aren’t you?’

‘Indeed I am,’ replied Stork. ‘And I’d like to make some friends.’  

‘I’ll be your friend,’ purred a soft voice from behind a bush. Out slunk Fox with his shiny red coat and soft paws. 

‘Oooo, we wouldn’t make friends with old Foxy if we were you,’ chorused the birds. ‘He’s a bit of a joker.’

‘Oh, ignore them’, Fox purred reas-suringly. ‘Please, allow me to show you round the woods…’  

Fox and Stork were soon laughingand chatting as if they’d known each other forever…

‘What do you like to eat, Stork?’ asked Fox. ‘Frogs, fish, insects and earthworms are my favourites,’ replied Stork.  

‘Mine too –  oh, leaving aside frogs,’ said Fox. ‘I eat nuts and berries too – and I’m very partial to the occasional little bird.’ 

‘Boo, hiss⁴!’ cried the birds from above.

‘Only joking,’ said Fox rather too quickly. ‘Would you like to come around my house tomorrow for supper, Stork?’  

‘It’s a trick, it’s a trick!’ chorused the birds.  

‘Thank you , Fox, I’d love to !’

That night, Stork flew over to Fox’s house.  

‘Come in!’ cried Fox as he showed Stork into the dining room. ‘I hope you like fish soup with mashed⁵ earthworms.’

Stork was expecting to see two bowls full of lovely steaming soup – but instead, two flat plates covered in a thin layer of liquid lay on the table.  

Stork tried her hardest to eat the soup with her bill, but it was im-possible.  

Fox meanwhile was already licking his bowl clean. ‘Oh, dear, is there a problem?’ he asked with a smirk⁶.  

‘Not at all,’ replied Stork. ‘It’s just – well, I had rather a large tea before I came and my tummy’s full.’

‘Tea – I like the sound of that,’ purred Fox. ‘Well, why don’t you come to my home tomorrow and join me?’ suggested Stork. ‘I shall look forward to it,’ replied Fox. 

Stork flew home that night with a heavy heart. ‘We warned you, we warned you!’ chorused the birds.

‘I know, my so -called friend tricked me,’ replied Stork. ‘But I may yet have the last laugh.’ 

The next day, Fox set off for Stork’s house. ‘Shame on you!’ cried the birds as he slunk under their tree. 

‘Stork can take a joke,’ Fox replied.  

‘And a fter all, she’s invited me over for  tea. ’

‘Hee, hee!’ sniggered the birds.  

‘Come in!’ said Stork to Fox. ‘I’ve cooked roast rabbit on a bed of grass with berry and nut sauce.  

‘Mmm, my favourite, ’ said Fox as Stork carried in a tray.  

He stared at the tall jar Stork had placed in front of him. It was long and thin and the food lay right at the bottom.   

Fox watched in frustration⁷ as Stork stuck her long bill into her jar and gobbled up the meal. ‘Oh dear,’ said Stork. ‘Is there a problem?’ 

‘None at all,’ growled⁸ Fox. He stuck his nose as far down the jar as he could, but he still couldn’t reach his dinner.

And now there really was a prob-lem. ‘Yowl! The jar’s stuck to my face!’ came Fox’s muffled⁹ cries.

‘Hee hee! Serves you right, Foxy,’ chorused the birds who were watching on the window sill. For once, Fox couldn’t answer back.  

‘I’ll pull it off with my wings,’ offered Stork kindly¹⁰. 

‘Hmmm, I guess I deserved that after the joke I played on you,’ said Fox sheepishly. ‘Never mind,’ said Stork. ‘I’ve got plenty of f ood in the kitchen. This time we’ll have it on proper plates – and our little feathered friends can have some too.’

‘Wee, hee!’ cried the birds.  

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 stork   

n.鹳

参考例句：

• A Fox invited a long-beaked Stork to have dinner with him.狐狸请长嘴鹳同他一起吃饭。
• He is very glad that his wife's going to get a visit from the stork.他为她的妻子将获得参观鹳鸟的机会感到非常高兴。

3 clattered   

发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
• His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。

4 hiss   

v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满

参考例句：

• We can hear the hiss of air escaping from a tire.我们能听到一只轮胎的嘶嘶漏气声。
• Don't hiss at the speaker.不要嘘演讲人。

5 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

6 smirk   

n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说

参考例句：

• He made no attempt to conceal his smirk.他毫不掩饰自鸣得意的笑容。
• She had a selfsatisfied smirk on her face.她脸上带着自鸣得意的微笑。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 muffled   

adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己）

参考例句：

• muffled voices from the next room 从隔壁房间里传来的沉闷声音
• There was a muffled explosion somewhere on their right. 在他们的右面什么地方有一声沉闷的爆炸声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。