美国小学英语教材4:第33课 拓荒少年乔纳森巴特利特

 JONATHAN BARTLETT, A PIONEER LAD 拓荒少年乔纳森·巴特利特

EDWARD W. FRENTZ 爱德华·W·芙伦兹

When our country was young, 当我们国家还年轻的时候，

there were hundreds of miles of thick forests and wide plains without a road, a farm, or a city. 数百英里的茂密森林和广阔平原上曾不见一条公路、一个农场或是一座城市。

Boys and girls in those times faced many dangers from Indians and wild animals. 那时的男人女人们面临着来自印第安人和野兽的许多危险。

You will now read of the strange way in which a boy of those days saved himself from savage¹ wolves. 下面你将读到当时的一个男孩用奇怪方法从凶猛的狼群里逃脱出来的故事。

Crossing The Plains 穿越平原

Long ago, when our country was young, thirty or more families started to cross the great plains of the West. 很久以前，在我们国家还年轻的时候，30多个家庭开始穿越西部大平原，

They wanted to make new homes for themselves where land was free and the farming was easier. 他们要在闲置无主且易于耕作的地方建立新的家园。

One of these families had a five-year-old son, whose name was Jonathan Bartlett. 其中一家有一个五岁大的儿子，他的名字叫乔纳森·巴特利特。

Jonathan and his mother and father and all the rest of the people traveled in covered wagons³. 乔纳森和他的父母以及其他人都乘坐篷车赶路，

Each wagon² was pulled by two or three pairs of oxen. 每辆篷车由两三对公牛拉着。

All together the families made up a procession nearly half a mile long. 所有家庭组成了一个近半英里长的队伍。

Under the wagons hung the kettles and pots and pans in which the travelers cooked their meals by the camp fires. 篷车下面挂着水壶、锅碗瓢盆，旅客们用它们在篝火旁做饭。

All day long the kettles and pans went cling⁴! clang! clang! tink! tank! as they struck against one another. 水壶和锅碰到一起时，整天都铿锵铿锵、丁当丁当得响。

Sometimes the families slept in the big wagons; 这些家庭有时睡在大篷车里，

but when the weather was pleasant, they spread their blankets on the ground. 但天气好的时候，他们会把毯子铺在地上睡觉，

Then they backed the wagons into a ring about the camp. 然后，倒车在营地围成一个圈。

The men took turns in keeping awake to watch for Indians, and to see that wolves did not get the cattle. 男人们轮流保持清醒，警惕印第安人，并监视狼不会袭击牛。

Often after supper, as the travelers sat by the blazing⁵ camp fire, 通常晚饭后，旅行者会坐在熊熊燃烧的篝火旁，

a sound would rise from somewhere beyond the ring of wagons. 这时一种声音会从篷车圈外的某处响起。

It made the children feel so creepy that they would snuggle close to their fathers. 这让孩子们感到毛骨悚然，他们会依偎在父亲身边。

This noise was a wild howl, sometimes coming from one side, and sometimes from the other. 这声音是狂野的嚎叫，有时来自一边，有时来自另一边。

Soon another howl just like it would begin, and then another, 不久，又有一声像开始时的嗥叫，接着又是一声，

until there were more howls than one could count. 嚎叫声渐渐增多，多得让人数不过来。

The children would shiver and were glad when someone stirred up the fire. 孩子们通常会打哆嗦，当有人把火煽旺时，他们会很高兴。

Jonathan Bartlett's family were taking their dog Shep with them to the new land. 乔纳森·巴特利特一家带着他们的狗一起到新大陆去。

It was funny to see old Shep when the howling began. 当嚎叫省略开始的时候，老谢普的表现很有趣。

The first time he heard it, he barked with all his might and rushed out into the darkness. 它第一次听到嚎叫声时，用尽全身力气尖叫一声，然后冲到黑暗中去了。

In a few minutes back he rushed, whining⁶, with his tail between his legs. 几分钟后，他冲了过来，尾巴夹在双腿间。

1 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

2 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

3 wagons   

n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车

参考例句：

• The wagons were hauled by horses. 那些货车是马拉的。
• They drew their wagons into a laager and set up camp. 他们把马车围成一圈扎起营地。

4 cling   

vi.缠住，粘住，依恋，依靠，坚信，坚持

参考例句：

• Wet clothes cling to the body.湿衣服贴身。
• Members of a family should cling together in times of trouble.一家人应该患难与共。

5 blazing   

a.强烈的，燃烧的，炫目的

参考例句：

• A huge fire was blazing in the fireplace. 壁炉中火烧得正旺。
• a blazing hot day 大热天

6 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。