牙牙学英语之:乌龟与兔子

The Tortoise and the Hare
乌龟与兔子

The Hare was once boasting of his speed before other animals. "I have never been beaten," said he, "when I put forth¹ my full speed. I challenge any one here to race with me."
     The Tortoise said quietly, "I accept your challenge."
     "That is a good joke," said the Hare; "I could dance round you all the way."
     "Keep your boasting till you've won," answered the Tortoise. "Shall we race?"
     So a course was fixed² and a start was made. The Hare darted³ almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded⁴ on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race.
     Then the Tortoise said: "Slow but steady progress wins the race."

从前有一只兔子，他在其它动物面前吹嘘自己跑得是如何如何的快。
“当我全速奔跑的时候，我从来没有被打败过，”他说，“谁敢跟我比一比？”
“我来跟你跑一场”，一只乌龟沉着地说。
“快笑死我了，” 兔子说，“我一边跑一边围着你跳舞都能赢你”。
“你跑赢了再吹牛吧”，乌龟说，“我们可以开始比赛了吗？”
于是，他们确定了一条比赛路线和起点。比赛开始，兔子是嗖的一声就跑得没影了，但他很快就停了下来。　为了让乌龟知道他并没把乌龟放在眼里，兔子决定睡上一觉再接着跑。　这时，乌龟正一点一点艰难地向前爬着。　当兔子一觉醒来，发现乌龟离终点已经很近了，要追已经赶不上了。
这时，乌龟说：“踏踏实实、一步步前进，你就会赢得比赛”。

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 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》

4 plodded   

v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作）

参考例句：

• Our horses plodded down the muddy track. 我们的马沿着泥泞小路蹒跚而行。
• He plodded away all night at his project to get it finished. 他通宵埋头苦干以便做完专题研究。 来自《简明英汉词典》