英语小达人 152 That's why

 　　That's why

　　原来如此

　　Jimmy started painting¹ when he was² three years old, and when he was five, he was already³ very good at it. He painted many beautiful and interesting pictures, and people paid⁴ a lot of money for them. They said⁵, "This boy's going⁶ to be famous⁷ when he's little older, and then we're going to sell these pictures for a lot more money."

　　吉米三岁开始画画，五岁时已经画得很好了。他画了很多美丽而有趣的画，人们出高价购买。他们说，"这个孩子长大一点肯定会出名，我们可以靠这些画大赚一笔。"

　　Jimmy's pictures were different from other people's because he never painted on all of the paper. He painted on half of it, and the other half was always empty.

　　吉米的画与众不同。因为他从来不在整张纸上作画。他只画一半的纸，而另一半他总空着。

　　"That's very clever," everyone said, "Nobody⁸ else does that!"

　　"构思多么巧妙啊!"大家都说，"从来没有人这么做过。"

　　One day somebody⁹ bought one of Jimmy's pictures and then said to him, "Please tell me this, Jimmy. Why do you paint on the bottom¹⁰ half of your pictures, but not on the top half?"

　　有一天，一个人买了吉米的画，然后问他："请告诉我，吉米，你为什么总是在纸的下半部分画画，而不是在纸的上半部分？"

　　"Because I'm small," Jimmy said, "and my burshes don't reach¹¹ very high."

　　吉米说，"因为我个头小，够不着上面。"

1 painting   

n.油画；水彩画

参考例句：

• I know something about painting.我懂一点绘画。
• I painted a water painting.我画了一幅水彩画。

2 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

3 already   

adv.已经

参考例句：

• We have eaten already.我们已经吃过了。
• I've been there already,so I don't want to go again.我早已去过那里了，所以我不想再去了。

4 paid   

adj.有报酬的；领取报酬的；领钱的；付费的v.付给( pay的过去式)；付款；有利可图；（对…）有利

参考例句：

• You can be paid in cash weekly or by cheque monthly; those are the two alternatives. 你的工资可以按周以现金支取，或按月以支票支取。二者可选其一。
• My salary is paid directly into my bank. 我的工资直接拨到我的银行。

5 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

6 going   

n.去，离去，地面(或道路)的状况，工作情况；(复数形式）goings: 行为；adj.进行中的，流行的，现存的

参考例句：

• We're going to listen to a report this afternoon. 今天下午我们要去听报告。
• He hates leaving the office and going on holiday.他不愿离开办公室去度假。

7 famous   

adj.著名的，驰名的，闻名遐迩的；极好的；擅长的

参考例句：

• The hotel is famous for its suppers.那个酒店以晚餐而著称。
• He is famous for his learning.他以有学问而出名。

8 nobody   

pron.无人，没有任何人

参考例句：

• Nobody is in the house.没有人在房子里。
• Nobody knows where she lives.没有人知道她住哪里。

9 somebody   

n.重要人物；pron.某人，有人

参考例句：

• Somebody is using the computer.有人在用电脑。
• He seems to be somebody.他似乎是个重要人物。

10 bottom   

n.底部;屁股，臀部；adj.底部的

参考例句：

• The bottom of the cup is broken.这杯子的底破了。
• The channel must have a flat bottom.沟道的底要平。

11 reach   

n.延伸，范围，河段；vt.到达，伸出，延伸，取得联系；vi.延伸

参考例句：

• The railway line will soon reach to our town. 铁路不久就要延伸到我们镇了。
• Can you reach that apple down in the tree? 你能把树上那个苹果摘下来吗？