美国小学英语教材5:第242课 祖母的那不勒斯之旅(11)

Meanwhile the girls, seated on the veranda¹, braided the rather brittle² straws, which from time to time they moistened in bowls of water to keep them from splitting³. Grandmother, in her rocking-chair near by, gave directions and was deeply interested. If she found a lumpy place, or a place too wide or too narrow, the girls would have to take it out and do it over better. There were some tears at first, and hands with many scratches, but as days passed, their braid grew smooth and even.

与此同时，坐在阳台上的姑娘们把相当脆的稻草编成辫子，不时地用碗里的水把它们弄湿，免得它们裂开。奶奶坐在旁边的摇椅上，指导着，非常感兴趣。如果她发现一个凹凸不平的地方，或者一个太宽或太窄的地方，女孩们就得把它拿出来，重新做得更好。起初流过眼泪，手上有许多划痕，但随着时间的推移，他们的辫子变得光滑和均匀。

It was in the midst⁴ of all this busy work that Margaretta said that the one of the three older children doing the most faithful work and getting the best results should be the one to take Grandmother to Naples. This increased both care and speed, and Tino, who was too young to take care of Grandmother on the trip, and who might, therefore, if he wished, shirk his work, was faithful and eager in going four times daily to the mulberry trees to get fresh leaves for the little spoiled darlings of silkworms.

在所有这些忙碌的工作中，玛格蕾塔说，在三个年龄较大的孩子中，做最忠诚的工作并取得最好成绩的应该是带祖母去那不勒斯的那个。这既增加了照料，又加快了速度。提诺年纪太小，不能在旅途中照顾祖母，因此，如果他愿意，可以逃避工作，但他忠诚而热切地每天去四次桑树，为那些被宠坏了的小宝贝蚕采新鲜的叶子。

1 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

2 brittle   

adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的

参考例句：

• The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
• She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。

3 splitting   

爆裂式的

参考例句：

• the splitting of the atom 原子的分裂
• We heard an ear-splitting scream from the terrified girl. 我们听见那个受惊的女孩发出一声刺耳的尖叫声。

4 midst   

n.中部，中间，当中

参考例句：

• The hut is in the midst of the forest.小屋在森林深处。
• There is a thief in our midst.我们当中有小偷。