《风语河岸柳》第3章 野树林(1)

Chapter¹ 3 The Wild Wood

第3章 野树林

The Mole² had wanted for a long time to meet the Badger³.

很长时间以来鼹鼠一直想见獾，

He often spoke⁴ about his wish to the Water Rat⁵, but the Rat didn't seem to want to do anything about it.

他时常把这个愿望告诉水鼠，但水鼠似乎对此无动于衷。

'It's all right, 'the Rat always said. 'Badger will come past one day, and then I'll introduce you. '

他总是说：没问题，獾总有一天要经过这儿，到时我会把他介绍给你。

'Couldn't you invite him to dinner or something?' asked the Mole.

你能不能邀请他吃饭或别的什么？鼹鼠问道。

'He wouldn't come, 'said the Rat. 'He hates crowds, and parties, and dinners, and all that kind of thing. '

他不愿意来。他讨厌人群、派对、聚餐和诸如此类的事。

'Well then, shall⁶ we go and visit him?'

那么，我们是不是应该去拜访他？

'Oh, no! , the Rat said. 'He's very shy, and he wouldn't like that at all. I know him very well, but I've never visited his home.

噢，不！水鼠答道，他非常害羞，他根本就不喜欢来访。我跟他很熟，但我从没去过他家。

And it's not really possible to go there, because he lives right in the middle of the Wild Wood. '

而且去那儿也不大可能，因为他刚好住在野树林中间。

'You said you would tell me about the Wild Woo, 'said the Mole, 'but you never did. Aren't they-aren't they very nice people in there?'

你说过要告诉我一些关于野树林的事，但你从没谈过。他们——他们那儿的人不是很好吗？

'Well, 'said the Rat, 'the squirrels⁷ are all right, and the rabbits-most of them. And Badger, of course. He likes living there.

喔，水鼠说，松鼠很好，还有野兔—他们中大多数都不错，当然还有獾。他喜欢住在那儿，

And nobody gives him any trouble. '

而且谁也没敢给他找麻烦。

'But who could give trouble?' asked the Mole.

但是谁会惹麻烦呢？鼹鼠问。

'There are, well, others, 'the Rat went on slowly. 'Weasels…stoats…ferrets, and so on.

有那么一些，水鼠不紧不慢地继续说，黄鼠狼…大白鼬…雪貂等等。

They're all right in a way. Most of the time. But, well, you wouldn't want to turn your back to them in the dark, and that's a fact.

大部分时间里他们一般都不错，但是，在黑暗中你别想背对着他们的，这是事实。

Don't worry about Badger. He'll come along one day. '

不要担心獾，他总有一天要经过这儿的。

1 chapter   

n.章，篇，重要章节

参考例句：

• I will skip the next chapter.我将略过下一章。
• Go and open a wonderful new chapter.去开启美好的新篇章。

2 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

3 badger   

v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠

参考例句：

• Now that our debts are squared.Don't badger me with them any more.我们的债务两清了。从此以后不要再纠缠我了。
• If you badger him long enough,I'm sure he'll agree.只要你天天纠缠他，我相信他会同意。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 rat   

n.鼠，卑鄙的人，变节者；vi.背叛，捕鼠；vt.弄蓬松，告发

参考例句：

• The rat is hated by many people.老鼠被很多人憎恶。
• He stopped up the rat holes.他塞住了那些老鼠洞。

6 shall   

v.aux.（主要用于第一人称）将

参考例句：

• I shall always love you.我将永远爱你。
• Which club shall we join?我们要参加哪个社团？

7 squirrels   

n.松鼠( squirrel的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Squirrels are arboreal creatures. 松鼠是栖于树上的动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Red squirrels are now very rare in Britain. 红色松鼠在英国已十分罕见了。 来自《简明英汉词典》