吹小号的天鹅 第32期:求学生涯(6)

 　　Louis picked up a fresh piece of chalk in his bill. He was scared.

　　路易斯用他的嘴叼起一枝新粉笔。他有些胆怯了。他使劲地盯着这个单词。

　　He took a good look at the word. "A long word," he thought, "is really no harder than a short one.

　　“一个很长的单词，”他想，“可它真的不比一个短的难多少。

　　I'll just copy one letter at a time, and pretty soon it will be finished.

　　我只要一次照着写一个字母，一会儿就能写完的。

　　Besides, my life is a catastrophe¹. It's a catastrophe to be without a voice."

　　此外，我的生活不就是场大灾难嘛。没有嗓子就是一场大灾难。”

　　Then he began writing. CATASTROPHE, he wrote, making each letter very neatly².

　　然后他开始写了。“CATASTROPHE”，他写着，每个字母都写得格外端正。

　　吹小号的天鹅

　　When he got to the last letter, the pupils clapped and stamped their feet and banged on their desks,

　　当他写到最后一个字母时，全体学生都鼓起掌来，还边跺着脚边拼命地拍桌子，

　　and one boy quickly made a paper airplane and zoomed³ it into the air. Mrs. Hammerbotham rapped⁴ for order.

　　一个男孩趁乱飞速地折了一只纸飞机，把它扔上了天。哈默博瑟姆太太大声叫大家安静

　　"Very good, Louis," she said.

　　“很好，路易斯，”她说，

　　"Sam, it's time you went to your own classroom--you shouldn't be in my room.

　　“萨姆，你该回到你自己的教室去了——你不该在我的教室里的。

　　Go and join the fifth grade. I'll take care of your friend the swan."

　　回五年级去吧。我会照顾好你的天鹅朋友的。”

　　Back in his own room, Sam sat down at his desk, feeling very happy about the way things had turned out.

　　回到自己的教室后，萨姆在他的课桌旁坐下，心里为这事能如此解决而高兴。

　　The fifth-graders were having a lesson in arithmetic,

　　五年级正在上数学课，

　　and their teacher, Miss Annie Snug⁵, greeted Sam with a question. Miss Snug was young and pretty.

　　他们的老师安妮·斯格纳小姐用一道题来欢迎萨姆的到来。斯格纳小姐年轻而又漂亮。

1 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

2 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。

3 zoomed   

v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨

参考例句：

• Traffic zoomed past us. 车辆从我们身边疾驰而过。
• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 rapped   

v.突然说出( rap的过去式和过去分词 )；（公开地）严厉批评；突然大声说出；连续敲叩

参考例句：

• He rapped sharply on the door. 他猛烈地敲门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The king rapped on the table with his heavy metal ring, and the company fell silent. 国王用他重重的金属戒指敲打桌子，使客人安静下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。