英语听力精选进阶版 11262

 

23Aesop's Fables¹  

Two Travellers and a Bear

By Sue Reid

One cold winter’s day two friends set off to travel to the town. They talked and laughed as they strode along. It was cold and snow was falling but the two men hardly noticed - they were enjoying each other’s company so much. What a pleasant fellow he is, each of them thought. I’m glad that we are trav-elling together.

The road to the town lay through a forest. It was late by the time the men reached it. ‘We should turn back, ’ one of them said to the other nervously². ‘It’ll soon be dark and there are bears in that forest.’

His friend was just as scared as he was. But didn’t want his friend to know. So he laughed. ‘Pah! Bears. 

That’s nothing to be afraid of. I fought a bear once – and he ran away.’

The other man felt ashamed of himself. I am a coward, but he is brave, he thought. ‘Then we’ll go on,’ he said. 

It was very dark in that forest. 

The trees grew close together. It was hard to see the road clearly. It was hard to see anything at all!  

But the man wasn’t afraid any more. He listened as his friend told him all about his fight with the bear. ‘It was very big,’ he boasted. 

‘Twice as big as me. But I picked up a stick and fought it off.’ 

All of a sudden there was an enor-mous crash. And out of the bushes 

lumbered³ - a bear. The men had never seen such a huge bear. When it saw the men it licked its lips. ‘At last!’ it said, standing⁴ up on its hind⁵ legs and growling⁶. ‘Dinner!’ 

With a cry of fright, the friend ran to the nearest tree and hauled him-self up onto a branch. ‘Aren’t you going to fight it?’ the man cried.

‘Fight it! You must be mad,’ said his friend. ‘It will kill us.’ The man ran up to the tree where his friend crouched⁷, trembling.  ‘ There’s room for us both in that tree, ’ he cried. ‘Help me up.’ 

But his friend pushed him away. 

‘No there isn’t. Find somewhere else to hide,’ he said.

‘What shall I do?’ the man thought. 

The bear was so close now he could have stretched out a hand and touched it. ‘If I try to run it will run faster. If I fight it, it will kill me. It is bigger and stronger than me.’

He flung himself to the ground and lay there, as still as he could. 

‘Perhaps it will leave me alone,’ he thought, ‘if it thinks I am dead.’  

The bear was very hungry. It hadn’t eaten for a long time. But it was puzzled when it saw the man drop to the ground. ‘Is he dead?’ it wondered. ‘Let me see.’ 

It bent⁸ down, so close that the man could feel its fur brush his cheek. 

Then it put out a paw and prodded⁹ him. The man lay still, his heart pounding. ‘Any minute now,’ he thought, ‘that bear will tear me to pieces.’ But the bear got up. ‘He hasn’t moved. He must be dead,’ it thought. ‘And I don’t like dead meat.’ And it ambled¹⁰ away sadly into the forest. 

The man got up and dusted himself down. He didn’t look at his friend. 

He was very angry with him. He had pretended to be brave, but he was a coward. He had left him to face the bear on his own.

‘I saw the bear whisper in your ear,’ the friend said climbing down from the tree. ‘What did he say? ’ 

‘He said a man who leaves his friend to face danger isn’t a true friend.’ And with that he turned away, leaving the other to make his own way home.

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 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

3 lumbered   

砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• A rhinoceros lumbered towards them. 一头犀牛笨重地向他们走来。
• A heavy truck lumbered by. 一辆重型卡车隆隆驶过。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 hind   

adj.后面的，后部的

参考例句：

• The animal is able to stand up on its hind limbs.这种动物能够用后肢站立。
• Don't hind her in her studies.不要在学业上扯她后腿。

6 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

7 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

8 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

9 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 ambled   

v.（马）缓行( amble的过去式和过去分词 )；从容地走，漫步

参考例句：

• We ambled down to the beach. 我们漫步向海滩走去。
• The old man ambled home through the garden every evening. 那位老人每天晚上经过花园漫步回家。 来自《简明英汉词典》