美国语文第二册 第22期:剪羊毛

 LESSON 24 第24课

thoroughly¹  透

month  月

dried  干的

dyed  染色

cuts 削减

shearer²  采煤机

sheep  羊

those  那些

spun³  纺

dirt 污垢

otherwise 除此以外 

woven  编织

cloth 布

wool  羊毛

rub 擦

SHEEP-SHEARING 剪羊毛

Sheep are washed and sheared⁴ some time in the month of June.  绵羊要在六月里洗澡和剪毛。

This should be done quite early in the month, before the hot days begin. 这项工作应该在六月尽早完成，否则天就开始热了。

It is fine sport for those who look on, but not much fun for the sheep. 对于旁观者来说，这是个好玩的游戏。

It is best for the sheep to have the wool taken off; otherwise they would suffer in the summer time. 但对绵羊来说，则不太有趣。

When the time comes for washing the sheep, they are driven to a pond or a little river. 绵羊的毛剪下来是最好的。否则，它们会在夏天里遭受痛苦。

Then they are thrown into the water, one at a time.  当冲洗羊群的时间到来时，它们会被驱赶到池塘或小河边。

The men who are in the water catch them, and squeeze the wet wool with their hands to get the dirt all out of it. 然后，它们被带进河里，一次一只。在水里的人们抓住它们，用手拧紧湿漉漉的羊毛，把泥土挤出去。

When the wool is thoroughly dried, the sheep are taken to the shearer; and he cuts off the wool with a large pair of shears⁵. 接下来，等羊毛彻底干燥，羊群会被送到剪羊毛工人那里。工人用一把大剪刀把羊毛剪下。

It is then dyed, spun, and woven into cloth. 这些羊毛随后会被染色，用来纺织成布料。

In a short time, before the cold winter comes, new wool grows out on the sheep.  不久，在寒冷的冬天到来之前，新的羊毛又在绵羊身上长了出来。

By the coming of spring there is so much, that it must be cut off again. 春天到来，羊毛又长出很多，它们会再次被剪下来。

1 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

2 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网

3 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

4 sheared   

v.剪羊毛( shear的过去式和过去分词 )；切断；剪切

参考例句：

• A jet plane sheared the blue sky. 一架喷气式飞机划破蓝空。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The pedal had sheared off at the pivot. 踏板在枢轴处断裂了。 来自辞典例句

5 shears   

n.大剪刀

参考例句：

• These garden shears are lightweight and easy to use.这些园丁剪刀又轻又好用。
• With a few quick snips of the shears he pruned the bush.他用大剪刀几下子就把灌木给修剪好了。