美国小学英语教材3:第20课 松鼠警察(2)

 　　They learned to jump from one branch to another and to run up and down the tree trunk. 小松鼠们学会了在树枝上跳来跳去，也学会了在树干上跑上跑下。

　　They learned where to find the best branches to nibble¹ at. 他们学会了到哪去找最好咬的树枝。

　　And they, learned to follow their mother wherever she went. 还学会了妈妈走到哪就跟到哪。

　　Sometimes one of the little squirrels would start to go somewhere by himself. 有时一只小松鼠会自己一个人外出。

　　Then Mother Squirrel would give him a hard pat with her paw and make him go back. 这时，松鼠妈妈便会用爪子重重地拍一下他，让他回来。

　　Day after day, Billy watched the little gray squirrels learning their lessons. 日复一日，比利每天都会看到灰色的小松鼠不断学习。

　　How he hoped that he would see them when they made their first trip to the ground. 他多么希望看到他们第一次落地行走的样子。

　　One Saturday morning Billy was raking the grass. 一个星期六早晨，比利正在耙草。

　　Suddenly an excited chattering² told him that something was happening, and he stood very still. 突然，他听到了一阵欢快的叽喳声，他马上就意识到有事情要发生，他静静地站在那儿一动不动。

　　In a minute Mother Squirrel came down the tree. 很快松鼠妈妈从树上跳了下来。

　　One by one, the little squirrels followed her. 小松鼠们也紧随其后，一只接着一只跳了下来。

　　The smallest squirrel was the very last. 最后跳下来的是最小的那只。

　　Across the street from Billy's house was a garden in which grew a walnut³ tree. 比利家的街对面是一个花园，里面有一棵核桃树。

　　It was to this tree that Mother Squirrel wanted to take her family. 松鼠妈妈就是想带孩子们到核桃树那里。

　　She ran to the sidewalk, and in a moment was safely across the street and in the garden. 她跑到了人行道上，很快便穿过了马路进了花园。

　　The first little squirrel followed, and the next and the next. 第一只小松鼠跟了过去，第二只、第三只也都跟了过去。

　　But the last little squirrel was very tiny, and could not run so fast. 但是最后一只小松鼠太小了，根本跑不快。

　　Just as he reached the street, along came a big automobile⁴. 正当最后一只小松鼠走上大街时，一辆大汽车开了过来。

　　"Oh!" said Billy to himself," what will happen to the baby squirrel?" 啊，比利失声叫道，松鼠宝宝会出事吗？

　　The tiny squirrel was so frightened that he looked for some safe place to hide in. 这只小松鼠受到了惊吓，想找个地方躲起来。

1 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。

2 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

3 walnut   

n.胡桃，胡桃木，胡桃色，茶色

参考例句：

• Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
• The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸，材质分胡桃木和红木两种。

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。