美国语文第三册 第83期:威利是怎样逃出枯井的(2)

 　　Everybody ran at once to the far corner of the pasture¹; and there was Willie, alive and well, in the shaft². 所有人马上跑到牧场那个遥远的角落，威利果然在那个枯井里，安然无恙。

　　Oh, how glad he was when his father caught him in his arms, and lifted him out! 噢，当父亲的双臂抱起威利，把他拉到井外的那一刻，威利多么高兴啊！

　　Now I will tell you how Willie came to be in the shaft. 好了，现在我来告诉你威利是怎么掉进枯井里去的。

　　Heand Caper³ went to the pasture field, and came to the edge⁴ of the shaft and sat down. 他和凯普到牧场上玩耍，来到枯井的边缘坐了下来。

　　In bending over to see how deep it was, he lost his balance, and fell in. 在弯腰看井有多深的时候，威利失去平衡掉了下去。

　　He tried very hard to get out, but could not. 他做了很大的努力，却怎么也爬不上来。

　　When the good little dog saw that his master was in the shaft, he would not leave him, but ran round and round,reaching down and trying to pull him out. 小狗看见主人掉进了井里，它始终不离不弃，绕着井口跑来跑去，还往下探身子试图把他拉上来。

　　But while Caper was pulling Willie by the coat sleeves⁵, a piece of sod gave way under his feet, and he fell in too. 可是就在凯普咬着威利外套的袖子往上拉的时候，它脚下的一块草皮松了，于是凯普也滑进了井里。

　　Willie called for his father and mother as loud as he could call; but he was so far away from the house that no one could hear him. 威利用尽最大的声音使劲喊爸爸妈妈，然而他离家太远了，根本没有人听见他的呼喊。

　　He cried and called till it was dark, and then he lay down on the ground, and Caper lay down close beside him. 他又哭又喊直到天黑，然后躺倒在地上，凯普也在他身边躺了下来。

　　It was not long before Willie cried himself to sleep. 威利哭着哭着，没多久就睡着了。

　　When he awoke it was morning, and he began to think of a way to get out. 到威利醒过来的时候已经天亮了，他开始想办法离开这个地方。

　　The little writing book that his aunt had given him, was in his pocket. 他想起了口袋里阿姨送给他小本子。

　　He took it out, and, after a good deal of trouble, wrote the letter to his father. 威利把小本子掏了出来，费了半天的劲儿，写了那封给爸爸的信。

　　Then he tore the leaf out, and took a string out of his pocket, and tied it round Caper's neck, and tied the letter to the string. 写完之后，威利撕下了那一页纸，从口袋里拿出一根绳子，绑在凯普的脖子上，再把信绑紧。

　　Then he lifted the dog up, and helped him out, and said to him, "Go home, Caper, go home!" 然后，他把小狗举起来，帮助它爬了上去，对它说：“回家，凯普，回家！”

　　The little dogs campered away, and was soon at home. 小狗马上飞奔起来，很快就到家了。

1 pasture   

n.牧场，牲畜饲养

参考例句：

• This is the place where they used to pasture.这就是他们过去经常放牧的地方。
• The boy got up very early every morning to pasture cattle.这男孩每天起得很早去放牛。

2 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

3 caper   

v.雀跃，欢蹦；n.雀跃，跳跃；续随子，刺山柑花蕾；嬉戏

参考例句：

• The children cut a caper in the yard.孩子们在院子里兴高采烈地乱蹦乱跳。
• The girl's caper cost her a twisted ankle.小姑娘又蹦又跳，结果扭伤了脚踝。

4 edge   

n.边(缘)；刃；优势；v.侧着移动，徐徐移动

参考例句：

• Sight along the edge to see if it's straight.顺着边目测，看看直不直。
• She lived on the extreme edge of the forest.她住在森林的最边缘。

5 sleeves   

n.衣服袖子( sleeve的名词复数 )；套管；套筒；唱片套

参考例句：

• The long sleeves of her dress embarrassed her movements. 她衣服的长袖子妨碍她的行动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Girls nowadays don't wear their heart on their sleeves. 如今女孩子不轻易流露自己的感情。 来自《简明英汉词典》