英国语文第二册 第11期:狼

 　　LESSON 11 The wolf 第十一课 狼

　　The wolf is one of the fiercest of all the beasts of prey¹. 狼是最为凶猛的猛兽之一。

　　It is an animal of the dog kind, and is a little like a dog, and a little like a fox. 属于犬属，有一点像狗，又有一点像狐狸。

　　It has its den² in the forest, far away from the homes of men. 狼在森林里有洞穴，离人类的家园很远。

　　Here in summer it lives on birds, hares, and other small animals. 狼在夏天以捕食鸟儿，野兔，其他的小动物为生。

　　But in winter, wolves often leave the forests in search of food. 冬天狼经常离开森林寻找食物。

　　They then hunt in large packs or bands; and when pressed by hunger they become very fierce and bold. 它们会成群结队的出来打猎，在饥饿的驱使下变的凶残和大胆。

　　They will even enter villages, and attack lambs, sheep, cows, and horses. 它们会进入村庄，袭击羊群，牛群，马群。

　　In the depth of winter, when the snow is on the ground, a wild howl is often heard in the stillness of the night. 当深冬里，地上铺满了雪时，在平静的夜里经常会听到一声野嚎。

　　And in the morning, the loss of a cow or a horse tells the people of the village that they have had a visit from the wild wolf of the forest. 到了早上一头牛或马的丢失告诉村庄的人们森林里的野狼来拜访了他们。

　　Once a Russian noble and his wife were chased by a pack of wolves, when driving in a sledge³ drawn⁴ by four horses. 曾经一名俄罗斯贵族和他老婆在乘坐由四匹马车拉着的雪橇时被一群狼追赶。

　　They were in great fear of being torn to pieces. 他们很害怕被撕成碎片。

　　And they had to leave first one, and then another of their horses, to occupy the wolves till they got out of their reach! 他们为了拖住狼群使自己脱离狼群的攻击范围不得不放弃一匹又一匹的马。

1 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

2 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

3 sledge   

n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往

参考例句：

• The sledge gained momentum as it ran down the hill.雪橇从山上下冲时的动力越来越大。
• The sledge slid across the snow as lightly as a boat on the water.雪橇在雪原上轻巧地滑行，就象船在水上行驶一样。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。