吹小号的天鹅 第77期:费城(6)

 Louis didn't understand this, but he nodded good-bye to Mr. Lucas and swam off toward the island in the center of the lake.

路易斯不明白这些，可他还是点点头对卢卡斯先生道了再见，向湖中心的小岛游去。

There he stepped ashore¹, straightened his things, preened² his feathers, and rested.

他跨上小岛岸，整理好他的东西，又梳理了他的羽毛，然后才休息下来。

He was not sure he was going to like his new job.

他还不知道自己是否能喜欢他的新工作。

He was not sure he liked Mr. Lucas.

他也说不准自己是否喜欢卢卡斯先生。

But he needed money badly, and when you need money, you are willing to put up with difficulties and uncertainties³.

可他的确是特别需要钱，而当你需要钱的时候，你就不在乎什么困难和不确定因素了。

One good thing about the whole business was the Zoo itself.

整个交易中有一点肯定是不错的，那就是关于动物园本身的那点。

It seemed like an extremely nice place in spite of what he had heard about having your wing clipped.

尽管听说了那些剪掉翅膀尖的消息，但他似乎还觉得这是个非常不错的地方。

Louis had no intention of having a wing clipped.

路易斯可不打算让自己的一个翅膀尖被人剪掉。

"I'll sock anybody who tries that on me!" he said to himself.

“我要揍扁那个敢对我这样人！”他自语。

He was pleased to see so many other water birds.

他很高兴能看到这么多的其他水鸟。

There were many kinds of ducks and geese.

这里有很多种鸭子和鹅。

In the distance, he saw three Trumpeter Swans.

远远地，他看到了三只号手天鹅。

They were old residents of the Lake. Their names were Curiosity, Felicity, and Apathy⁵.

他们是这湖上的老居民。他们的名字分别叫好奇，快活和冷淡。

Louis decided⁶ he would wait a day or two before making their acquaintance.

路易斯决定等一两天后再去结识他们。

Bird Lake has a fence around it.

鸟湖的四周有一道篱笆。

When the night came for him to start work, Louis polished his trumpet⁴,

到了去工作的那天晚上，路易斯擦亮他的小号，

put on all his things, flew over the fence, and landed at the North Entrance.

带上他所有的东西，飞过那道篱笆，落到北门那里。

He was there promptly⁷ at nine. The taxicab was there, waiting, just as Mr. Lucas had promised.

他是在九点准时到达的。出租车已经在那里等着了，就像卢卡斯先生答应过的那样。

Louis got in and was driven away to his new job.

路易斯进了车，被带到他的新工作那里去了。

1 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

2 preened   

v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She preened herself upon her beauty. 她为自已的美貌感到自满。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Pigeons preened their wings and cooed. 鸽子用喙整理翅膀，咕咕地叫。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 uncertainties   

无把握( uncertainty的名词复数 )； 不确定； 变化不定； 无把握、不确定的事物

参考例句：

• One of the uncertainties of military duty is that you never know when you might suddenly get posted away. 任军职不稳定的因素之一是你永远不知道什么时候会突然被派往它处。
• Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the rise. 影响和平与发展的不确定因素在增加。 来自汉英非文学 - 十六大报告

4 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

5 apathy   

n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡

参考例句：

• He was sunk in apathy after his failure.他失败后心恢意冷。
• She heard the story with apathy.她听了这个故事无动于衷。

6 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。

7 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。