美国小学英语教材5:第123课 点金术(17)

 As he dipped the pitcher¹ into the water, it gladdened his very heart to see it change from gold into the same good, earthen vessel² which it had been before he touched it. 当他把水罐浸在水里时，看到它从金子变成了和他接触之前一样好的陶制器皿，他心里非常高兴。

He felt, also, a change within himself. 他自己也感到了一种变化。

A cold, hard, and heavy weight seemed to have gone out of his bosom³. 一股冰冷、坚硬、沉重的气息似乎从他的胸中消失了。

Seeing a violet that grew on the bank of the river, Midas touched it with his finger, and was overjoyed to find that the delicate flower kept its purple hue⁴, instead of turning yellow. 迈达斯看到河岸上生长着一株紫罗兰，他用手指触摸了一下，欣喜地发现这朵娇嫩的花没有变黄，而是保持了紫色。

The curse of the Golden Touch had, therefore, really been removed from him. 因此，点石成金的诅咒真的从他身上消失了。

King Midas hastened back to the palace; and, I suppose, the servants knew not what to make of it when they saw their royal master so carefully bring home an earthen pitcher of water. 迈达斯国王急忙回到宫殿；我想，当仆人们看到他们的主人如此小心翼翼地端来一壶水回家时，他们不知道该怎么办。

But that water, which was to undo⁵ all the mischief⁶ that his folly⁷ had wrought⁸, was more precious to Midas than an ocean of melted gold could have been. 但是，对迈达斯来说，这水要比融化的黄金海洋更珍贵，因为这水可以消除他的愚蠢所造成的一切危害。

The first thing he did, as you need hardly be told, was to sprinkle the water by handfuls over the golden figure of little Marygold. 他做的第一件事，就像你几乎不需要被告知的那样，是把水一把把地洒在金色的小玛丽金雕像上。

No sooner did it fall on her than you would have laughed to see how the rosy⁹ color came back to the dear child’s cheek! 它一落到她身上，你就会笑起来，因为你看到那可爱的孩子的面颊又恢复了玫瑰色！

—and how she began to sneeze and splutter! 她怎么又打喷嚏又吐痰了！

and how astonished she was to find herself dripping wet, and her father still pouring more water over her! 她惊奇地发现自己浑身湿漉漉的，父亲还在往她身上浇更多的水。

“Pray, do not, dear father!” cried she. “请不要这样做，亲爱的父亲！”她哭着说。

“See how you have wet my nice clean frock, which I put on only this morning!” “看你把我今天早上才穿上的干净漂亮的衣服弄湿了!”

For Marygold did not know that she had been a little golden statue; 因为玛丽金并不知道她曾经是一个小金雕像；

nor could she remember anything that had happened since the moment when she ran with outstretched arms to comfort poor King Midas. 她也记不起自从她伸出双臂去安慰可怜的迈达斯国王之后发生了什么事。

 

1 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

4 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

5 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

6 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

7 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

8 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

9 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。