美国语文第三册 第55期:真正的勇气(2)

 　　George says: "I am not afraid to throw it; but I do not want to." 乔治说：“我不是不敢扔，而是我不想这么做。”

　　I do not see that it will do any good, or that there will be any fun in it. 我不认为这么做对我有任何好处，也看不出这有什么好玩。

　　There! I told you he would not dare to throw it. 看吧！我告诉你他不敢扔。

　　Why, George, are you turning coward? 不是吧，乔治，你真的变成胆小鬼了吗？

　　I thought you did not fear anything. 我以为你什么都不怕。

　　Come, save your credit, and throw it. 来吧，挽回你的荣誉，把雪球扔出去。

　　I know you are not afraid. 我知道你并不是害怕。

　　Well, I am not afraid to throw. 好吧，我并不害怕。

　　Give me the snowball. 把雪球给我。

　　I would as soon throw it as not. 我很乐意把它扔出去。

　　Whack¹! went the snowball against the door; and the boys took to their heels. “砰”的一声，一击即中！雪球砸在门上。那两个男孩马上溜之大吉。

　　Henry was laughing as heartily² as he could, to think what a fool he had made of George. 亨利想到愚弄乔治的情景，尽情地哈哈大笑。

　　George had a whipping for his folly³, as he ought to have had. 乔治为他的愚蠢挨了一顿打，一如他应该受到的惩罚。

　　He was such a coward, that he was afraid of being called a coward. 他真是个胆小鬼，他担心别人说他是胆小鬼，

　　He did not dare refuse to do as Henry told him, for fear that he would be laughed at. 不敢拒绝亨利叫他做的事情，因为害怕会因此受到嘲笑。

　　If he had been really a brave boy, he would have said, "Henry, do you suppose that I am so foolish as to throw that snowball, just because you want to have me?" 如果他真是个勇敢的孩子，他应该说：“亨利，你以为我会那么笨，只是因为你想要我扔那个雪球，我就会照做吗？”

　　You may throw your own snowballs, if you please! 你要是愿意的话，你完全可以自己扔！

　　Henry would, perhaps, have laughed at him, and called him a coward. 也许，亨利会嘲笑他，叫他胆小鬼。

　　But George would have said, "Do you think that I care for your laughing?" 然而乔治可以说：“你以为我会在乎你的嘲笑吗？”

　　I do not think it right to throw the snowball. 我认为扔这个球是不对的。

　　I will not do that which I think to be wrong, if the whole town should join with you in laughing. 我不会去做我认为是错的事情，哪怕全镇的人都跟你一起嘲笑我。

　　This would have been real courage. 这才是真正的勇气。

　　Henry would have seen, at once, that it would do no good to laugh at a boy who had so bold a heart. 亨利马上就会看到，嘲笑一个有着如此勇敢的一颗心的男孩没有任何好处。

　　You must have this fearless spirit, or you will get into trouble, and will be, and ought to be, disliked by all. 你必须有这种无畏的精神，否则你会陷入麻烦当中，而你将会、也应该会，为所有人所不耻。

1 whack   

v.敲击，重打，瓜分；n.重击，重打，尝试，一份

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• He gave me a whack on the back to wake me up.他为把我弄醒，在我背上猛拍一下。

2 heartily   

adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很

参考例句：

• He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
• The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。

3 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。