美国语文第五册 第277期:微小的胜利(1)

 　　O Mother, now that I have lost my limb¹, I can never be a soldier or a sailor; I can never go round the world! 哦，妈妈，我现在已经失去了一条腿，我不能成为战士或者水手，再也不能周游世界了！

　　And Hugh burst into tears, now more really afflicted² than he had ever been yet. 休嚎啕大哭，从未像今天这样饱经痛苦折磨。

　　His mother sat on the bed beside him, and wiped away his tears as they flowed, 休的妈妈坐在他的床边，擦去休的满脸泪水。

　　while he told her, as well as his sobs³ would let him, how long and how much he had reckoned⁴ on going round the world, 休抽泣着，向妈妈尽情倾诉他的心中委屈。多年来，他憧憬有一天能周游世界，

　　and how little he cared for anything else in future; and now this was the very thing he should never be able to do! 甚而很少为世俗喧嚣杂事烦扰，但由于残疾，他将永远无法实现自己的梦想了。

　　He had practiced climbing ever since he could remember, and now this was of no use; 从记事起，休就开始练习爬行，现在爬行用不上了；

　　he had practiced marching, and now he should never march again. 他还练习过走路，如今再也断然不能走路了。

　　When he had finished his complaint, there was a pause, and his mother said,“Hugh, you have heard of Huber?” 休不再抱怨后，母子俩静静沉默了一会，妈妈开口说，“休，你听说过胡伯尔这个人吗？”

　　“The man who found out so lunch about bees?” said Hugh. Bees and ants. “就是那个发现蜜蜂食物许多奥秘的人？”休问道。是的，还有蚂蚁。

　　When Huber had discovered more than had ever been known about these, and when he was sure that he could learn still more, 当胡伯尔发现更多他以往不知道的东西，他就相信，他肯定会了解更多；

　　and was more and more anxious to peep into their tiny homes and curious ways, he became blind. 他愈想了解更多，他就愈发急切地窥探蜜蜂以及蚂蚁的微小巢穴，甚至它们奇妙的生活方法，最后，他竟然成了瞎子。

　　Hugh sighed, and his mother went on. 休叹了口气，妈妈接着说，

　　Did you ever hear of Beethoven? He was one of the greatest musical composers that ever lived. 你听说过贝多芬吗？他是迄今为止最伟大的一位作曲家，

　　His great, his sole delight was in music. It was the passion of his life. 他的伟大、他的唯一快乐在于音乐，音乐是他生活的所有激情。

1 limb   

n.树枝，四肢，枝干，边缘；vt.切断手足，切断树干

参考例句：

• She sat on a limb of the tree and looked down.她坐在一根大树枝上往下看。
• His refusal to agree left him out on a limb.他拒不表示同意，致使自己处于孤立地位。

2 afflicted   

使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• About 40% of the country's population is afflicted with the disease. 全国40%左右的人口患有这种疾病。
• A terrible restlessness that was like to hunger afflicted Martin Eden. 一阵可怕的、跟饥饿差不多的不安情绪折磨着马丁·伊登。

3 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

4 reckoned   

计算( reckon的过去式和过去分词 )； 猜想； 考虑； 思忖

参考例句：

• Her poetry is reckoned among the best-known this century. 她的诗被认为是本世纪最著名的诗篇之一。
• He reckoned he should make a better fist at farming than educating. 他认为自己搞农业会比教育更成功。