背诵为王 第 四 册 第 32 课

　　Lesson32 John Henry
John Henry is one of the famous heroes of American folklore¹. He worked on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad² toward³ the end of the nineteenth century.
John Henry was very strong. He made his mark in history because he could work harder and faster than any other man on the railroad. Curious people came from far and wide to see him hammer steel spikes⁴ through the hard earth. When the Big Bend Tunnel was started, trouble began. The mountain seemed impossible to get through. The men who were building the railroad bought a new invention, a drilling machine, to try to speed up the tunneling. The other railroad workers welcomed the machine, but not John Henry. He stubbornly⁵ insisted he could work harder and faster than any machine. "I'll die with a hammer in my hand, before I let a machine make a fool out of me," he said.
And so a competition was planned. It would last for 45 minutes, or until one of the competitions gave up. The winner would be the man or machine who had drilled fartherest into the rock. Hundreds of people went to Big Bend to watch this great attraction.
After 30 minutes, the machine broke down, but John Henry kept right on working for 45 minutes. The machine had drilled only nine feet. John Henry, 15 feet. He had won a great victory, but the effort had been too much. As the song goes, "He died with the hammer in his hand, Lord⁶, Lord ... died with the hammer in his hand."
约翰亨利
约翰亨利是美国民间传说中一位著名的英雄人物。他于19世纪末在切萨皮克和俄亥俄铁路上工作。
约翰亨利非常强壮。他之所以名垂史册是因为他比铁路上的任何其他人工作更努力更快。好奇的人们从四面八方赶来看他用锤子把铁钎打入坚硬的土地。
大本德隧道开始修建的时候遇到了困难。看起来没有可能打通大山了。将新发明的钻机买了回来，以加快开凿隧道的速度。其他的铁路工人都很欢迎这种机器，但是亨利不喜欢。他固执地认为自己工作起来比任何机器更努力更快。“我宁可手拿锤子死去，也不愿受机器的愚弄。”他说。
于是，人们策划了一场比赛。比赛将持续45分钟，或者到比赛的一方放弃为止。胜者将是在岩石上开凿距离最远的机器或人。成百上千的人来到大本德观看这场引人注目的比赛。
30分钟后，机器因故障停了下来，但约翰亨利没有停，他一直工作了45分钟。机器仅开凿了9英尺，而约翰亨利开凿了15英尺。他大获全胜。然而这个努力的代价太大了，正如歌中所唱，“他手拿锤子死去了，主呀，主呀，他手拿锤子死去了。”

1 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

2 railroad   

n.铁路；vi.由铁路运输

参考例句：

• The railroad connects two cities,namely,New York and Chicago.这条铁路连接两个城市，即纽约与芝加哥。
• My brother is working on the railroad.我兄弟在铁路系统工作。

3 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

4 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stubbornly   

adv.倔强地，顽强地，顽固地

参考例句：

• His jaw jutted stubbornly forward; he would not be denied. 他固执地扬起下巴，一副不肯罢休的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This country refuses stubbornly to make amends for its past war crimes. 该国顽固地拒绝为其过去的战争罪行赔罪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lord   

n.上帝，主；主人，长官；君主，贵族

参考例句：

• I know the Lord will look after him.我知道上帝会眷顾他的。
• How good of the Lord not to level it beyond repair!上帝多么仁慈啊，竟没有让这所房子损毁得不可收拾！