吹小号的天鹅 第27期:求学生涯

 　　Chapter 7 School Days

　　第七章 求学生涯

　　A few days after the swans arrived at their winter home on the Red Rock Lakes, Louis had an idea.

　　天鹅们到达他们在红石湖的冬居的几天后，路易斯有了一个主意。

　　He decided¹ that since he was unable to use his voice, he should learn to read and write.

　　他觉得他既然不能使用他的嗓子，就该学会读和写。

　　"If I'm defective² in one respect," he said to himself, "I should try and develop myself along other lines.

　　“如果我在某一个方面有缺陷，”他心想， “我就应当试着让自己在别的方面有所造就。

　　I will learn to read and write. Then I will hang a small slate³ around my neck and carry a chalk pencil.

　　我要学会读和写。然后我要在我的脖子上挂一块小石板，再带枝石笔。

　　In that way I will be able to communicate with anybody who can read."

　　那样我就能和那些识字者交流了。”

　　Louis liked company, and he already had many friends on the lakes.

　　路易斯喜欢交朋友，他在湖上已经有很多朋友了。

　　吹小号的天鹅

　　The place was a refuge⁴ for water birds--swans, geese, ducks, and other waterfowl.

　　这里是水鸟的天堂——有天鹅，野鹅，野鸭，还有一些其他的水禽。

　　They lived there because it was a safe place and because the water stayed warm even in the coldest winter weather.

　　他们都住在这里，因为这是个安全的地方，更因为这里的水即使在最冷的冬天里也是温暖的。

　　Louis was greatly admired for his ability as a swimmer.

　　由于游泳本领高强，路易斯受到了大家的高度敬仰。

　　He liked to compete with other cygnets to see who could swim underwater the greatest distance and stay down the longest.

　　他喜欢和其他的小天鹅们比赛，看谁能在水下游得最远，潜得最久。

　　When Louis had fully⁵ made up his mind about learning⁶ to read and write, he decided to visit Sam Beaver⁷ and get help from him.

　　当路易斯下定决心去学读和写以后，他决定去拜访萨姆·比弗并从他那里得到帮助。

　　"Perhaps," thought Louis, "Sam will let me go to school with him, and the teacher will show me how to write."

　　“大概，”路易斯想，“萨姆会让我和他一起上学，然后老师将教我怎么写字。”

　　The idea excited him.

　　这个念头令他非常激动。

　　He wondered whether a young swan would be accepted in a classroom of children.

　　他不知道一只小天鹅能不能被孩子们的课堂所接收。

　　He wondered whether it was hard to learn to read. Most of all, he wondered whether he could find Sam.

　　他不知道学习阅读是不是件很难的事。更重要的是，他不知道他能否找到萨姆。

　　Montana is a big state, and he wasn't even sure Sam lived in Montana, but he hoped he did.

　　蒙大拿本来就是个很大的州，可他甚至说不准萨姆是否住在蒙大拿，但他希望他住在那里。

　　Next morning, when his parents were not looking, Louis took off into the air. He flew northeast.

　　第二天一早，父母一没留神，路易斯就飞上了天。他朝东北方向飞去。

　　When he came to the Yellowstone River, he followed it to the Sweet Grass country.

　　当他来到黄石河时，便沿河一路飞到了香草乡。

　　When he saw a town beneath him, he landed next to the schoolhouse and waited for the boys and girls to be let out.

　　他看到下面有个城镇，就降落到镇里的学校旁，等着男女学生放学。

　　Louis looked at every boy, hoping to see Sam. But Sam wasn't there.

　　路易斯打量着每一个男孩，希望能从中看到萨姆。可萨姆却不在里面。

　　"Wrong town, wrong school," thought Louis. "I'll try again."

　　“错误的城镇，错误的学校，”路易斯想，“我要再试一次。”

　　He flew off, found another town, and located the school, but all the boys and girls had gone home for the day.

　　他起身飞到另一座城镇，停到镇里的学校旁，可那里的所有男孩女孩们早都放学回家了。

　　"I'll just have a look around anyway," thought Louis.

　　“我就在四周转转吧，”路易斯想。

　　He didn't dare walk down the main street, for fear somebody would shoot him.

　　他不敢沿着主要街道走，因为他怕有人开枪打他。

　　Instead, he took to the air and circled around, flying low and looking carefully at every boy in sight.

　　所以，他在空中盘旋着，低低地飞起来，仔细打量着他见到的每一个男孩。

　　After about ten minutes, he saw a ranch⁸ house where a boy was splitting⁹ wood near the kitchen door.

　　大约十分钟后，他看到了一个低矮的小平房，一个男孩子正在它的厨房门口劈柴火。

　　The boy had black hair. Louis glided¹⁰ down.

　　这个男孩有一头黑发。路易斯滑翔下来。

1 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。

2 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

3 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

4 refuge   

n.避难（处），庇护（所）；v.庇护，避难（所）

参考例句：

• They took refuge in a cave yesterday.他们昨天是在一个洞里避难的。
• We took refuge in the lee of the wall.我们在墙的背风处暂避。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

7 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

8 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。

9 splitting   

爆裂式的

参考例句：

• the splitting of the atom 原子的分裂
• We heard an ear-splitting scream from the terrified girl. 我们听见那个受惊的女孩发出一声刺耳的尖叫声。

10 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》