美国语文第三册 第34期:草莓(1)

 　　George's mother was very poor. Instead of having bright,blazing fires in winter, 乔治的妈妈非常贫穷，冬天里见不到明亮、闪烁的炉火，家里没有木柴生火取暖，

　　she had nothing to burn but dry sticks, which George picked up from under the trees and hedges¹. 她只能利用乔治从树下或篱笆边拣来的干树枝取暖。

　　One fine day in July, she sent George to the woods, which were about two miles from the village in which she lived. 七月的一天，她让乔治到森林中去拣木头，那个地方离他们住的村子大概两英里远。

　　Hewas to stay there all day, to get as much wood as he could collect. 乔治在森林里逛了一整天，以尽量多收集一点能用的木头。

　　It was a bright, sunny day, and George worked very hard; 这是一个洒满阳光的日子，乔治很辛苦地拣拾着木头。

　　so that by the time the sun was high, he was hot, and wished for a cool place where he might rest and eat his dinner. 等到太阳高高在上时，他已经非常热了，希望能找个凉快的地方吃点东西，好好休息一下。

　　While he hunted about the bank he saw among the mosssome fine, wild strawberries, which were a bright scarlet² with ripeness. 他一路搜寻到岸边，在苔藓丛中发现了一些外形诱人的野生草莓，散发着明亮的猩红色，一副圆圆的熟透了的样子。

　　"How good these will be with my bread and butter!"thought George; “用这些草莓来充当我的面包和奶油，多好呀！”乔治心里这样想着。

　　and lining³ his little cap with leaves, he set to work eagerly to gather all he could find, and then seated himself by the brook⁴. 他将树叶铺在自己的小帽子里，开始迫不及待地去摘那些刚刚发现的草莓，随后，他就在小溪边坐下来。

　　It was a pleasant place, and George felt happy and contented⁵. 这是一个很舒适的地方，乔治既高兴又满足。

　　He thought how much his mother would like to see him there, and to be there herself, instead of in her dark, close room in the village. 他心想，要是妈妈看到自己坐在这里该多么高兴，她该多么想到这里来坐坐呀，而不是整天待在村中那个黑暗、封闭的小屋里。

　　George thought of all this, and just as he was lifting the first strawberry to his mouth, 乔治一边想着，一边拿起一个草莓准备放入口中，

　　he said to himself, "How much mother would like these;" 就在这时，他自言自语地说：“妈妈该多么喜欢这些草莓呀。”

　　and he stopped, and put thest rawberry back again. 接着，他的手停下来，又把草莓放回原处。

　　"Shall I save them for her?" said he, thinking how muchthey would refresh⁶ her, yet still looking at them with a longing⁷ eye. “我应该把草莓留给她吗？”他说，心里一边想着这些草莓能给妈妈补充多少营养，一边又带着渴望的眼神看着它们。

1 hedges   

树篱( hedge的名词复数 )； 保护手段； 防止损失（尤指金钱）的手段

参考例句：

• Farmers often enclose their land with hedges. 农夫们常用树篱将他们的地围起来。
• She came across butchered hedges and flowerbeds choked with weeds. 她发现树篱被糟蹋，花坛里野草丛生。

2 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

3 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

4 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

5 contented   

adj.满意的，安心的，知足的

参考例句：

• He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office.不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
• The people are making a good living and are contented,each in his station.人民安居乐业。

6 refresh   

v.使...生气蓬勃，提起精神，恢复精神

参考例句：

• I looked at the map to refresh my memory of the road.我看看地图以唤起对这条路的回忆。
• I think I'll just refresh myself with a cup of tea before I go to meet the children.我想在见孩子们之前先喝杯茶来恢复一下精神。

7 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。