美国语文第二册 第51期:善良的老人

 　　LESSON 56 第五十六课

　　hoe¹ 锄头

　　grave² 墓地

　　knock 敲击

　　except 除了

　　droll³ 离奇可笑的

　　hymn⁴ 圣歌

　　prayed 祈求

　　cottage 村舍

　　A GOOD OLD MAN 善良的老人

　　There once lived an old man in a snug⁵, little cottage. 从前，有一位老人，他住在一个温暖的小农舍里。

　　It had two rooms and only two windows. 这间农舍只有两间屋子和两扇窗户。

　　A small garden lay just behind it. 一个小花园就坐落在它后面。

　　Old as the poor man was, 这个贫穷的老人

　　he used to work in the fields. 常在田间干活。

　　Often he would come home very tired and weak, 回到家时，肩头扛着锄头和铲子的他，

　　with his hoe or spade⁶ on his shoulder. 经常累得毫无力气了。

　　And who do you think met him at the door! 你觉得是谁在门口遇见了他？

　　Mary and Jane, his two little grandchildren⁷. 是玛丽和简，她俩是老人的孙女。

　　They were too young to work, 他们还太小，

　　except to weed in the garden, 除了去花园里除下野草，

　　or bring water from the spring. 或去泉里打点水，她们还不能干更多的活。

　　In winter, as they were too poor to buy much wood or coal, 冬天里，他们因为太穷而无法买下足够的木头和煤炭，

　　they had little fire; 只能生一个小小的火炉。

　　so they used to sit close together to keep warm. 她们常常紧紧地坐在一起取暖。

　　Mary would sit on one of the old man's knees, 玛丽坐在老人的一个膝盖上，

　　and Jane on the other. 简坐在另一个膝盖上。

　　Sometimes their grandfather would tell them a droll story. 有时，爷爷会给她们讲一个好笑的故事；

　　Sometimes he would teach them a hymn. 有时，他会教她们唱一首圣歌。

　　He would often talk to them of their father, who had gone to sea, 他时常会和她们聊起她们的爸爸，他是一位出海的水手；

　　or of their good, kind mother, who was in her grave. 也谈及她们善良而亲切的妈妈，她已经去世了。

　　Every night he prayed God to bless them, 每个夜晚，他都会向上帝祈祷，祈祷他能保佑她们，

　　and to bring back their father in safety. 并把她们的爸爸平安带回来。

　　The old man grew weaker every year; 这位老人年复一年，愈加年迈体弱。

　　but the little girls were glad to work for him, 但这两个小女孩却很高兴替他干活，

　　who had been so good to them. 因为爷爷对她们非常仁爱。

　　One cold, windy night, 一个很冷的夜晚，风很大。

　　they heard a knock at the door. 她们听到了一阵敲门声，

　　The little girls ran and opened it. 跑过去开门。

　　Oh, joy to them! 噢，她们高兴极了。

　　There stood their father. 站在外面的是她们的爸爸！

　　He had been at sea a long time. 他已经出海很长一段时间。

　　He had saved some money, 现在他已经攒了一些钱，

　　and had now come home to stay. 打算回家去住。

　　After this the old man did not have to work. 之后老人就不用下地干活了，

　　His son worked for him, 他有儿子替他干活，

　　and his grandchildren took care of him. 他的孙女们则来照顾他。

　　Many happy days they spent together. 他们一起度过了许多美好的时光。

1 hoe   

n.锄；v.用锄整(地)，用锄除草

参考例句：

• They hoe the garden to keep down the weeds.他们把花园里的草锄掉，阻止其生长。
• She bought herself a hoe and a sickle.她给自己买了一把锄头和一把镰刀。

2 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

3 droll   

adj.古怪的，好笑的

参考例句：

• The band have a droll sense of humour.这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
• He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening.他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.

4 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

5 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

6 spade   

n.铁锨，铲子

参考例句：

• This spade is very handy.这把铁锹使起来挺顺手。
• He dug the ground with a spade.他用锹挖地。

7 grandchildren   

n.孙子；孙（女），外孙（女）( grandchild的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He left a bequest to each of his grandchildren. 他给他的孙辈每人留下一笔遗产。
• His grandchildren afforded him his greatest pleasure in his old age. 他的孙子和孙女们在晚年的时候给了他最大的欢乐。 来自《简明英汉词典》