美国语文第五册 第14期:唱歌课

 　　A nightingale made a mistake; 一只夜莺，露了丑，

　　She sang a few notes out of tune¹: 刚开口唱歌，就跑了调，

　　Her heart was ready to break, 它的心儿，就要碎了，

　　And she hid away from the moon. 连忙赶紧，躲开月亮。

　　She wrung² her claws, poor thing, 不小心还扭了脚，这可怜家伙，

　　But was far too proud to weep; 是否太过骄傲，大哭一场，

　　She tucked her head under her wing, 反正，它将头蜷缩翼翅下，

　　And pretended to be asleep. 装模作样地睡着了。

　　A lark³, arm in arm with a thrush, 云雀和画眉，肩并肩，

　　Came sauntering up to the place; 蹒跚走过来，查看究竟，

　　The nightingale felt herself blush, 夜莺捂住，羞红的脸，

　　Though feathers hid her face; 虽然羽毛遮住，心中胆怯，

　　She knew they had heard her song, 它知道，鸟儿听见自己歌唱，

　　She felt them snicker and sneer⁴; 叽喳嘲笑，犹如芒刺，

　　She thought that life was too long, 它讨厌憎恨，时光漫长，

　　And wished she could skip a year. 一年眨眼过去，该有多棒！

　　"O nightingale!" cooed a dove; “哦，夜莺”，一只鸽子咕咕叫，

　　O nightingale! what's the use? 有什么大事不得了？

　　You bird of beauty and love, 你那么漂亮，又可爱，

　　Why behave like a goose? 何必，像那些粗鄙家鹅？

　　Don't sulk away from our sight, 别躲在旮旯里，生闷气，

　　Like a common, contemptible⁵ fowl⁶; 也不要小鸡肚肠，没度量，

　　You bird of joy and delight, 你应该，开心更快乐，

　　Why behave like an owl⁷? 为什么，不学学猫头鹰？

　　Only think of all you have done; 只要想一想，你所做的，

　　Only think of all you can do; 再思忖看看，你能做的，

　　A false note is really fun, 唱错了调，无关紧要，

　　From such a bird as you! 权当有趣，一笑别过。

　　Lift up your proud little crest⁸, 耸起你，那骄傲鸟冠，

　　Open your musical beak⁹; 打开你，美丽的喙角，

　　Other birds have to do their best, 鸟儿们，竭力帮助你，

　　You need only to speak! 不妨，亮开歌喉再唱歌。

　　The nightingale shyly took her head from under her wing, 夜莺，羞愧地，从翼翅里，抬起头，

　　And, giving the dove a look, 感激中，看了鸽子一眼，

　　Straightway began to sing. 蓦然间，亮开嗓门，

　　There was never a bird could pass; 鸟儿，纷纷飞来驻足，

　　The night was divinely calm; 夜晚，霎时庄严静穆，

　　And the people stood on the grass 草地上，人群安静伫立，

　　To hear that wonderful psalm¹⁰. 聆听那，质朴无华的圣歌。

　　The nightingale did not care, 夜莺，不再害怕，

　　She only sang to the skies; 它的歌声，渐次上扬回旋，

　　Her song ascended¹¹ there, 它的目光，悠然攀升，

　　And there she fixed¹² her eyes. 伴随着，响彻入云骄傲，

　　The people that stood below, 歌声拂过，娴静无边夜色。

　　She knew but little about; 夜莺，或许茫然不知，

　　And this tale has a moral, I know, 这篇故事，包含人生箴言，

　　If you'll try and find it out. 只要尝试，奇迹不难发现。

1 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

2 wrung   

绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水）

参考例句：

• He has wrung the words from their true meaning. 他曲解这些字的真正意义。
• He wrung my hand warmly. 他热情地紧握我的手。

3 lark   

n.云雀，百灵鸟；n.嬉戏，玩笑；vi.嬉戏

参考例句：

• He thinks it cruel to confine a lark in a cage.他认为把云雀关在笼子里太残忍了。
• She lived in the village with her grandparents as cheerful as a lark.她同祖父母一起住在乡间非常快活。

4 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

5 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

6 fowl   

n.家禽，鸡，禽肉

参考例句：

• Fowl is not part of a traditional brunch.禽肉不是传统的早午餐的一部分。
• Since my heart attack,I've eaten more fish and fowl and less red meat.自从我患了心脏病后，我就多吃鱼肉和禽肉，少吃红色肉类。

7 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

8 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

9 beak   

n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻

参考例句：

• The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
• This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。

10 psalm   

n.赞美诗，圣诗

参考例句：

• The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
• The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。

11 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。