英语听力精选进阶版 11273

 

35Aesop's Fables¹  The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

By Nicky Grischotti

Town Mouse was very fond of his own appearance.

'I shall visit my friend Country Mouse,'  he announced one morn-ing, waxing his whiskers with a dab² of butter and admiring his reflec-tion in the teapot . 'And he shall see what a very fine mouse I am! ' And with a hop³ and a skip he straight-ened his bow tie and scurried⁴ off to catch the 10.17 packing crate⁵ bound for Paddington station.

Meanwhile, deep in the trunk of an old chestnut⁶ tree, Country Mouse was busy dusting and tidying, cleaning and sweeping⁷ and cook-ing an extra special hotpot of beans and corn to welcome his cousin from the city. He had been collect-ing food all week to celebrate.

There was a loud rap at the door and Country Mouse took off his apron⁸ and scampered⁹ over to greet his friend.  

There on the doorstep stood Town Mouse looking very smart indeed in his pin-stripe suit and bowler¹⁰ hat.  

He handed Country Mouse his gloves and bag, looked down his long nose and said , 'What a very small house you have dear cousin… no chandeliers, no Persian rugs… no velvet¹¹ cushion to rest upon? '

Country Mouse smiled, he was very fond of Town Mouse and he ignored his snooty remarks - he knew that he didn ' t mean to be rude.  

'Come and sit down, dear cousin.  

You must be tired and hungry from your journey,'  he said pulling out a little acorn¹² stool for him to sit on.

'What no napkins?…no silver ser-vice?' sniffed¹³ Town Mouse. 'No scented¹⁴ bowl to wash my paws?'

Country Mouse smiled again and served up the hot soup and barley-seed bread.

'What is this food?' scoffed¹⁵ Town Mouse. 'No caviar, no steak tartare?  

No pickled herring and horse-radish  sauce?! Come, my friend, this instant! We 're off to the city and I  shall show you how to live! ' 

It was late that night when they arrived at Town Mouse's House and as they crept along the hall to the grand dining room Country Mouse felt the soft wool carpet under his tired little paws and the warm glow of the fire and he remembered the cold, bitter wind that blew through his country tree cottage.  

And how his little eyes beamed and his whiskers twitched¹⁶ at the sight of the left over feast that was laid out on the table for them to gobble up!

There were soufflés and sand -wiches, savoury flans and pastries¹⁷.  

There were jellies and trifles and fresh cream cakes and a MOUN-TAIN of meringues…

'Couthin…I'b neber seen such a banquet as thith! ' cried Country Mouse.

'But this is how you could feast EVERY night my friend!'  laughed Town Mouse.

The two little mice had a very mer-ry time… 

Then all of a sudden there was a thunderous ROAR!

‘Wwwwwwwhat 's that terrible noise Cousin?!'  stammered Country Mouse. 

'H-h-h-h-hoover?! ' cried the terri-fied little mouse.

'Yes…oh and the Humans'…

And just at that moment the door burst open and in marched a team of kitchen staff with brooms and mops.

'WHAT EEZ ZEES?!' shouted the 

French Chef… 'MEESES! Quick hoover zem up! '

'Yikes! ' squeaked¹⁸ Country Mouse as they scampered down the table leg and through a crack in the floorboards. 'I'm off!' he cried as he scurried off under the door.  

'So soon?' called Town Mouse . 'No fabulous¹⁹ food?  No smart city life?'

'No, no , dear cousin,'  called Coun-try Mouse over his shoulder . 'And no loud scary monsters to gobble me up! It's the simple, safe life at home for me…not the rich, dan-gerous high life!'

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 dab   

v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂

参考例句：

• She returned wearing a dab of rouge on each cheekbone.她回来时，两边面颊上涂有一点淡淡的胭脂。
• She gave me a dab of potatoes with my supper.她给我晚饭时，还给了一点土豆。

3 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

4 scurried   

v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She said goodbye and scurried back to work. 她说声再见，然后扭头跑回去干活了。
• It began to rain and we scurried for shelter. 下起雨来，我们急忙找地方躲避。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 crate   

vt.(up)把…装入箱中；n.板条箱，装货箱

参考例句：

• We broke open the crate with a blow from the chopper.我们用斧头一敲就打开了板条箱。
• The workers tightly packed the goods in the crate.工人们把货物严紧地包装在箱子里。

6 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

7 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

8 apron   

n.围裙；工作裙

参考例句：

• We were waited on by a pretty girl in a pink apron.招待我们的是一位穿粉红色围裙的漂亮姑娘。
• She stitched a pocket on the new apron.她在新围裙上缝上一只口袋。

9 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 bowler   

n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手

参考例句：

• The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确，对球速的掌握恰到好处。
• The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下，换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。

11 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

12 acorn   

n.橡实，橡子

参考例句：

• The oak is implicit in the acorn.橡树孕育于橡子之中。
• The tree grew from a small acorn.橡树从一粒小橡子生长而来。

13 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 scoffed   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
• A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。

16 twitched   

vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
• The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 pastries   

n.面粉制的糕点

参考例句：

• He gave a dry laugh, then sat down and started on the pastries. 杜新箨说着干笑一声，坐下去就吃点心。 来自子夜部分
• Mike: So many! I like Xijiang raisins, beef jerky, and local pastries. 麦克：太多了。我最喜欢吃新疆葡萄干、牛肉干和风味点心。

18 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

19 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。