美国小学英语教材5:第249课 埃斯特班——狂欢王后的花童(2)（在线收听）

She sat smiling at the scholars in history class, and when Esteban was called upon to tell how Columbus had landed on this island, the boy’s heart beat with pride. He told the story in glowing words, while he looked at the visitor out of the corner of his eye to see whether she was watching him. It was here in Porto Rico that Columbus had found his new world. It was here that he had set the Spanish flag. Esteban was almost sorry for the visitor to think that his little island had been so honored, and that Columbus had never seen New York, where the visitor lived.

她坐在历史课上对着学生们微笑，当埃斯特班被要求讲述哥伦布如何登上这个岛屿时，男孩的心骄傲地跳动着。他用热烈的语言讲述了这个故事，同时用眼角余光看着来客，看她是否在注视着他。哥伦布就是在这里发现新大陆的。他就是在这里升起了西班牙国旗。埃斯特班几乎为这位客人感到遗憾，因为他认为他的小岛是如此受人尊敬，而哥伦布从未见过这位客人居住的纽约。

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When she came out later to look at the school gardens, Esteban tried to think of some way to make her forget that the great Columbus had not set foot on her native soil. She stood praising the gardens. Now the prize object in Esteban’s garden was a large red tomato that had grown bigger than any of the others. It was fine and smooth, and it hung from its vine as round and red as the morning sun. When the visitor spoke of it, Esteban was so proud that he plucked it for her and pressed it into her hands.

当她后来出来看看学校的花园时，埃斯特班试图想办法让她忘记伟大的哥伦布还没有踏上她的故土。她站着赞美花园。现在，埃斯特班花园里的奖品是一颗比其他任何番茄都大的红色大番茄。它又细又滑，挂在葡萄藤上，又圆又红，像初升的太阳。当客人谈到这件事时，埃斯特班非常自豪，他把它摘下来塞到她手里。

“Like the United States?” he asked, looking up shyly.

“喜欢美国吗？”他抬头害羞地问道。

“It’s the finest tomato I ever saw,” she said. “It will make three salads.”

“这是我见过的最好的番茄，”她说。“可以做三份沙拉。”