美国语文第三册 第62期:约翰·卡朋特(1)

 　　John Carpenter¹ did not like to buy toys that somebody else had made. 约翰.卡朋特不喜欢买那些别人做的玩具。

　　He liked the fun of making them himself. 他喜欢享受自己动手制作玩具的乐趣。

　　The thought that they were his own work delighted him. 想到那是自己的作品，他就会高兴。

　　Tom Austin, one of his playmates, thought a toy was worth nothing unless it cost a great deal of money. 汤姆.奥斯汀是他的一个玩伴，他认为一件玩具除非是花很多钱买回来的，否则就一文不值。

　　He never tried to make anything, but bought all his toys. 他从来不会自己做任何东西，所有的玩具都是买回来的。

　　"Come and look at my horse," said he, one day. "It cost a dollar, and it is such a beauty! Come and see it." “来看我的马，”有一天，他说，“它值一美元呢，它是多么漂亮啊！快来看！”

　　John was soon admiring his friend's horse; and he was examining it carefully, to see how it was made. 很快约翰就喜欢上了朋友的马，他认真地查看，观察它是怎么做成的。

　　The same evening he began to make one for himself. 当天晚上，他就开始自己动手做一个。

　　He went into the wood shed², and picked out two pieces of wood—one for the head of his horse, the other for the body. 他走进木棚，挑了两块木头——一块用来做马头，另一块做马的身子。

　　It took him two or three days to shape them to his satisfaction. 他花了两三天才做出自己满意的造型。

　　His father gave him a bit of red leather for a bridle³, and a few brass⁴ nails⁵, and his mother found a bit of old fur with which he made a mane and tail for his horse. 他的父亲给了他一点红色的皮革做缰绳，还给了他一些铜钉，母亲帮他找到一小片旧的毛皮，他用这个做了马的鬃毛和尾巴。

　　But what about the wheels? 可是车轮怎么办呢？

　　This puzzled⁶ him. 这可把他难住了。

　　At last he thought he would go to a turner's shop, and see if he could not get some round pieces of wood which might suit his purpose. 最后他想可以到车工的店里，看看是否能找到圆形的木片，也许可以达到他的目的。

　　He found a large number of such pieces among the shavings on the floor, and asked permission to take a few of them. 他在地上的刨花堆里找到了很多这样的木片，征得同意后他拿了一些。

　　The turner asked him what he wanted them for, and he told him about his horse. 车工问他要这些木片来做什么，他跟他说起了他的马。

1 carpenter   

n.木工，木匠

参考例句：

• I have a complete set of carpenter's tools.我有全套的木工工具。
• He worked in a carpenter's shop.他在一家木工厂工作。

2 shed   

n.车棚，小屋，脱落之物，分水岭；vt.使流出，放射，脱落，散发，摆脱；vi. 流出

参考例句：

• There are a lot of straws in the shed.棚子里有许多稻草。
• His nose told him that he was getting near the cow shed.他的嗅觉告诉他，他正走近牛棚。

3 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

4 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

5 nails   

n.钉子( nail的名词复数 )；钉状物；指甲；趾甲v.钉住( nail的第三人称单数 )；抓住；证明…不属实；揭露

参考例句：

• Stop biting your nails! 别咬指甲！
• He joined up the two pieces of wood together with nails. 他用钉子把两块木头接起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 puzzled   

adj.迷惑的；困惑的

参考例句：

• The student was puzzled about what to do next.这个学生对下一步做什么伤透了脑筋。
• I was somewhat puzzled at his unwillingness to help.他不愿意帮忙让我有点困惑。