The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

    once upon a time a country mouse invited his cousin，a townmouse，to stay with him for a few days．The country mouse lived alone under a hedge in the corner of afield．His straw－lined home was dry and warm and he lived there simply and safely from one year to the next．When the town mouse came to visit，the country mouse made a great fuss of him．He gave him the best straw to sleep on and fed him with all the choicest things in his larder¹．There were grains of wheat and barley，walnuts，cheese rinds and even little withered² red apples that he had managed to carry home from the orchard³．The elegant town mouse did not seem to be impressed by all these good things．He looked as if he hardly liked to sit down and only nibbled⁴ disdainfully at the food the country mouse put before him．As the evening drew on he grew more and more restless until at last he said：
    “My dear mouse，how can you bear this plain，dull life？Nothing ever happens here，does it？You should see the place I come from．There is always something going on there．The streets are full of people and the food！You don't have to work your life away scrimping and saving and scavenging to find the next crust．Why，food is just lying around for the taking in my town．A mouse，you know，does not live forever．Come with me and see what life is while you can．”
    The country mouse was impressed by the town mouse's word sand after a little more Persuasion⁵ he agreed to go with him．It was dark when they arrived at the town mouse's home and as the doors and windows were closed they had to scuttle⁶ in through a hole in the wall．The town mouse led the way to the dining room．The country mouse gazed around in wonder．There were thick carpets on the floor and thick velvet⁷ curtains at the windows．In the middle of the room was a table，covered with a White cloth and with food of everykind A great banquet had been held there earlier in the evening and nothing had been cleared away Dishes of turkey and joints⁸ of bee flay⁹ side by side with bowls of trifle，jugs of cream and wedges of the best French cheese Loaves of crusty bread and half－empty flagons of wine were scattered¹⁰ around．The country mouse stood and stared．“Come on，country boy，”cried the town mouse and in a moment they were both scrambling¹¹ to the table top The country mouse did not know where to begin，but the town mouse guided him easily around，bringing him all the best tit－bits and urging him to try more and more different dishes．“Oh my God．”said the country mouse．“This is really…”Before he could finish his sentence the door of the room burst open and a crowd of laughing，noisy people came tumbling in to finish off the feast．The two mice jumped off the table in fright and hid themselves in the first corner they could reach．The country mouse was too terrified to look up．Even the self－confident town mouse was shivering with alarm After what seemed like hours the room grew quiet again and the mice crept cautiously towards the table．They had scarcely started to eat again when something even more frightening happened．A cat came creeping through the open door and darted¹² towards the table The two mice managed to run be－hind a cupboard just as she sprang up to pounce¹³ on them．AS soon as it was a quiet again the country mouse said：“I've had enough of this town，and I still want to live the rest of my life．Good－bye，cousin．The food may be rich and plentiful¹⁴ but it is not for me．I would rather live my dull life in peace than run these risks for my dinner．”
    With that he ran out of the house as fast as he could，back to his comfortable country life．For some people a safe，dull life is better than a rich，dangerous one．Exercises：
    回答下列问题：
    ① What were their lives like？ Whose life is better？
    ② Why did the country mouse agree to go with the town mouse？
    ③ What was the town mouse's dining－room like？
    ④ What made the country mouse decide to leave the town？

1 larder   

n.食物贮藏室，食品橱

参考例句：

• Please put the food into the larder.请将您地食物放进食物柜内。
• They promised never to raid the larder again.他们答应不再随便开食橱拿东西吃了。

2 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

3 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

4 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

6 scuttle   

v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗

参考例句：

• There was a general scuttle for shelter when the rain began to fall heavily.下大雨了，人们都飞跑着寻找躲雨的地方。
• The scuttle was open,and the good daylight shone in.明朗的亮光从敞开的小窗中照了进来。

7 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。

8 joints   

接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on gas mains. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在煤气的总管道上了。
• Expansion joints of various kinds are fitted on steam pipes. 各种各样的伸缩接头被安装在蒸气管道上了。

9 flay   

vt.剥皮；痛骂

参考例句：

• You cannot flay the same ox twice.一头牛不能剥两次皮。
• He was going to flay that stranger with every trick known to the law.他要用法律上所有的招数来痛斥那个陌生人。

10 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

11 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 pounce   

n.猛扑；v.猛扑，突然袭击，欣然同意

参考例句：

• Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦？
• We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。

14 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。