吹小号的天鹅 第4期:池塘(1)

 　　Chapter 2 The Pond

　　第二章 池塘

　　The pond Sam had discovered on that spring morning was seldom visited by any human being.

　　萨姆在那个春天的早晨发现的池塘很少有人来过。

　　All winter, snow had covered the ice; the pond lay cold and still under its white blanket.

　　整个冬天，冰面上都是雪；池塘则冷冷静静地躺在它的白毯子下面。

　　Most of the time there wasn't a sound to be heard.

　　多数时候这里听不到一丝声音。

　　The frog was asleep. The chipmunk¹ was asleep.

　　青蛙睡着了。金花鼠也睡了。

　　Occasionally a jay would cry out.

　　松鸦偶尔会大叫一声。

　　And sometimes at night the fox would bark--a high, rasping bark.

　　夜里有时狐狸会叫——叫声尖厉，刺耳。

　　Winter seemed to last forever.

　　冬天似乎将永远这么持续下去。

　　But one day a change came over the woods and the pond.

　　但到了某一天时森林和池塘却会变样。

　　Warm air, soft and kind, blew through the trees.

　　温暖的微风会轻柔而又慈爱地在林间披拂。

　　The ice, which had softened² during the night, began to melt.

　　坚冰会在夜间变软，开始融化。

　　Patches of open water appeared.

　　一片片的水面露了出来。

　　All the creatures that lived in the pond and in the woods were glad to feel the warmth.

　　感到天气变暖了，住在森林和池塘里的所有生物都很开心。

　　They heard and felt the breath of spring, and they stirred with new life and hope.

　　他们听到并觉出了春的气息，新的活力和希望便都被诱发出来。

　　There was a good, new smell in the air, a smell of earth waking after its long sleep.

　　空气中有一种美好的，清新的气息，大地在长睡后醒来时的气息。

　　The frog, buried in the mud at the bottom of the pond, knew that spring was here.

　　在池塘底的泥土中冬眠的青蛙，知道春天来了。

　　The chickadee knew and was delighted (almost everything delights a chickadee).

　　山雀知道这消息后也变得很快活（差不多每件事都会让山雀感到快活）。

　　The vixen, dozing³ in her den⁴, knew she would soon have kits⁵.

　　在她的洞里打瞌睡的雌狐，知道她很快就要生小宝宝了。

　　Every creature knew that a better, easier time was at hand--warmer days, pleasanter nights.

　　每种动物都知道，更美好，更舒适的日子就快来了——就会有温暖的白天，快乐的夜晚了。

　　Trees were putting out green buds; the buds were swelling⁶.

　　树木正在萌出绿芽；芽苞正在一点点的膨胀。

　　Birds began arriving from the south.

　　鸟儿开始从南方往这里飞。

　　A pair of ducks flew in.

　　一对野鸭子飞了过来。

　　The Red-winged Blackbird arrived and scouted⁷ the pond for nesting sites.

　　红翼歌鸫来了，在池塘中寻找着可以筑巢的地方。

　　A small sparrow with a white throat arrived and sang, "Oh, sweet Canada, Canada, Canada!"

　　一只灰莺飞过来唱：“噢，可爱的加拿大，加拿大，加拿大！”

　　And if you had been sitting by the pond on that first warm day of spring, suddenly, toward the end of the afternoon, you would have heard a stirring sound high above you in the air

　　如果你在春天的第一个温暖日子一直坐在那个池塘边，呆到下午快过去的时候，你会猛然听到一种从空中传来的激动人心的声音

　　a sound like the sound of trumpets⁸. "Ko-hoh, ko-hoh!"

　　一种号角般嘹亮的鸣声。“吭—嗬，吭—嗬！”

　　And if you had looked up, you would have seen, high overhead, two great white birds.

　　如果你仰起头，就会看见在头顶高高飞着的两只白色大鸟。

　　They flew swiftly, their legs stretched out straight behind, their long white necks stretched out ahead, their powerful wings beating steady and strong.

　　他们飞得很快，腿直着向身后伸展着，长长的白脖子探在前面，强健的翅膀有力而稳健地扇动着。

　　"Ko-hoh, ko-hoh, ko-hoh!" A thrilling noise in the sky, the trumpeting⁹ of swans.

　　“吭—嗬，吭—嗬，吭—嗬！”空中响满了两只号手天鹅兴奋的叫声。

　　When the birds spotted¹⁰ the pond, they began circling, looking the place over from the air.

　　当天鹅们发现了这个池塘，就开始盘旋起来，从空中查看着。

　　Then they glided¹¹ down and came to rest in the water, folding their long wings neatly¹² along their sides and turning their heads this way and that to study their new surroundings.

　　接着，他们落到水上休息，拢起他们的长翅膀，转动着脑袋，打量起他们的新环境来。

　　They were Trumpeter Swans, pure white birds with black bills.

　　他们是号手天鹅，一种黑嘴的纯白大鸟。

　　They had liked the looks of the swampy¹³ pond and had decided¹⁴ to make it their home for a while and raise a family.

　　他们喜欢这个多沼泽的池塘的景色，决定把它当作一个短期的家，在此生儿育女。

　　The two swans were tired from the long flight. They were glad to be down out of the sky.

　　飞了这么久，这两只天鹅都已经累了。能离开天空在此歇息，他们都很高兴。

　　They paddled slowly about and then began feeding, thrusting their necks into the shallow water and pulling roots and plants from the bottom.

　　他们慢慢划着水，游了一会儿，想要找食物吃了，便把他们的长脖子插到浅水里，把一些植物和草根从水底拽出来。

　　Everything about the swans was white except their bills and their feet; These were black.

　　这两只天鹅浑身雪白，只除了喙和脚；它们都是黑色的。

　　They carried their heads high.

　　他们高高地昂起了头。

　　The pond seemed a different place because of their arrival.

　　池塘似乎变了个样子，因为他们到来了。

1 chipmunk   

n.花栗鼠

参考例句：

• This little chipmunk is hungry.这只小花栗鼠肚子饿了。
• Once I brought her a chipmunk with a wound on its stomach.一次，我带了只腹部受伤的花栗鼠去找她。

2 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

3 dozing   

v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• He never falters in his determination. 他的决心从不动摇。

4 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

5 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

6 swelling   

n.肿胀

参考例句：

• Use ice to reduce the swelling. 用冰敷消肿。
• There is a marked swelling of the lymph nodes. 淋巴结处有明显的肿块。

7 scouted   

寻找，侦察( scout的过去式和过去分词 )； 物色（优秀运动员、演员、音乐家等）

参考例句：

• They scouted around for a shop that was open late. 他们四处寻找，看看还有没有夜间营业的商店。
• They scouted around for a beauty parlour. 他们四处寻找美容院。

8 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

9 trumpeting   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• She is always trumpeting her son. 她总是吹嘘她儿子。
• The wind is trumpeting, a bugle calling to charge! 风在掌号。冲锋号！ 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

10 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

11 glided   

v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔

参考例句：

• The President's motorcade glided by. 总统的车队一溜烟开了过去。
• They glided along the wall until they were out of sight. 他们沿着墙壁溜得无影无踪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

13 swampy   

adj.沼泽的，湿地的

参考例句：

• Malaria is still rampant in some swampy regions.疟疾在一些沼泽地区仍很猖獗。
• An ox as grazing in a swampy meadow.一头牛在一块泥泞的草地上吃草。

14 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。