美国小学英语教材3:第103课 魔法小屋(4)

 　　The Fairy Returns 仙女回来了

　　When evening came, the whole house looked very different from the way it had looked when the little girl first came into it. 夜幕降临了，整个屋子看起来和小姑娘最初进来的时候大不一样。

　　Everything seemed to be out of place. The floor was not swept, and the dishes were not washed. 一切都乱糟糟的。地没扫，碟子也没洗。

　　Suddenly Irene saw her fairy godmother standing¹ before her," How is this?" asked the fairy in a stern² voice, as she looked all around the room. 突然，艾琳看到仙女教母站在了她的面前。“这是怎么回事？”仙女看了看屋子周围，非常生气地问道。

　　"I left things so that I could do them all at once," answered Irene, very much ashamed³. “我想把事情放在一起，这样我可以把它们一次性做完。”艾琳很惭愧地回答道。

　　"Left them to do all at once! You can do only one thing at a time, whenever you begin. Didn't the things ask to be done?" “放在一起做！无论什么时候开始做事，你一次都只能做一件事。难道他们没要求你做事吗？”

　　"We did, we did!" they all shouted together; "but she told us to be quiet." “我们要求了，要求了！”他们一起嚷道，“但是她让我们安静。”

　　"So you want to do all the things at once, lazy girl? Then have your wish." When the fairy spoke⁴ these words, she disappeared. “既然你那么想一下子完成所有的事情，懒姑娘，那么就如你所愿吧。”仙女说完了这些话就消失了。

　　Suddenly shouts came from all sides. "Hang me up!" "Put me away!" "Wash me!" "Dust me!" 突然，四周传来了一片喊叫声：“把我挂起来！”“把我收起来！”“把我洗干净！”“把我扫干净！”

　　The poor little girl did not know which way to turn. 可怜的小姑娘完全不知道应该先去做哪个好。

　　The broom⁵ beat her, the cups flew at her head, and the table and chairs pushed against her. 扫帚打她，杯子朝着她的脑袋飞过来，桌子和椅子一个劲儿挤她。

　　At last, when the broom gave Irene a very hard blow, she caught it and hung it up. 最后，扫帚狠狠地打了艾琳一下，她一把抓住扫帚，把它挂了起来。

　　The broom said, in a pleased voice," Thank you, mistress⁶." 扫帚高兴地说：“谢谢你，小主人！”

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 stern   

adj.严厉的，严格的，严峻的；n.船尾

参考例句：

• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。
• The headmaster ruled the school with a stern discipline.校长治校严谨。

3 ashamed   

adj.感到惭愧，感到害臊，因为羞耻或勉强作某事

参考例句：

• He is ashamed to show his face at the club.他不好意思在俱乐部露脸。
• You ought to be ashamed of your foolish behaviour.你应当为自己的愚蠢行为而感到羞耻。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 broom   

n.扫帚，灌木；vt.扫

参考例句：

• She is sweeping with a broom.她在用扫帚扫地。
• He stood his broom behind the door.他把扫帚立在门后。

6 mistress   

n.（文学用语）使男子为之倾倒的女人，女主人

参考例句：

• Does his wife know he has a mistress?他的妻子知道他有一个情妇吗？
• Is your mistress at home?你家女主人在家吗？