英国语文第二册 第61期:寡妇的灯

 　　LESSON 61 The widow¹'s lamp 第六十一课 寡妇的灯

　　Once there was a poor widow who lived on a hill near the sea-shore.  从前，在海边的一座小山上有一位生活很拮据的寡妇。

　　She had no children, and she passed a lonely life.  她没有孩子，过着孤苦无依的生活。

　　She was so poor that she had to work hard every day. 生活不富裕，所以每天都得辛苦工作。

　　But one night as she sat at her work the widow said to herself,  一天晚上海风呼呼的刮着，海浪拍打着岩石，

　　while the winds blew and the waves dashed² on the rocks,  寡妇坐在她的工作台前

　　"I wish I could be of some use in the world.  自言自语“我希望成为一个对世界有用的人。

　　Can I not do good to some one besides myself?" 难道我不能为身边的人做些什么吗？”

　　At last she bethought her that ships were sometimes wrecked³ on the coast near her house,  最后她想到了有的船只晚上不小心撞上她家附近的海岸，

　　as there was no light-house to warn⁴ them of their danger at night. 经常会因为没有灯塔的指引

　　From her window she could look out on the sea.  而她的窗户可以直接看到大海。

　　Why might she not keep a lighted lamp at the window every night,  为什么不每天晚上在窗户边拿着油灯

　　so as to warn the poor sailors when their ships came near to the rocks on the coast. 为那些开船到附近的水手们指引方向呢？

　　The widow felt glad when the thought flashed through her mind.  这个念头闪过她的脑海时她不禁高兴起来。

　　She found that, if she worked an hour later each night,  她想着，如果每天晚上多工作一小时，

　　she could earn enough to pay for the oil to feed the lamp. 那她就可以挣到足够的钱来买灯油。

　　So she sat up and earned money to buy the oil;  想到这她又直起身来做工，努力赚买灯油的钱，

　　and then she trimmed⁵ the lamp, and placed it at the window each night, and in this way she saved many lives. 她拨了拨灯芯并每晚将油灯放置到窗前，就这样她挽救了很多人的生命。

　　She had been doing this for five years without reward⁶,  五年来不求回报，默默无闻；

　　or the hope of reward; but good deeds, even in this world, are often found out. 好在她的付出慢慢得到回报。

　　The sailors whose lives had been saved now began to send gifts to her from far-off lands.  被她油灯所救的水手经常把从遥远的地方带来的礼物送给她。

　　They sent her tea from China and shawls from India, silks from France and grapes from Spain. 比如说中国的茶叶，印度的披肩，法国的丝绸和西班牙的葡萄。

　　But the poor widow did not need these gifts to make her happy. 但真正让寡妇开心的不是这些礼物。

　　She used to give many of them to the poor and the sick. 她把大多数礼物送给了穷人和病人。

　　She was happy with the thought that she was doing good;  只要想到自己在做善事，她就很开心。

　　and so, as long as she lived, she lit her lamp each night, and put it at the window. 因此，只要她活着，她就会将窗前的油灯点燃。

1 widow   

n.寡妇

参考例句：

• Martha was a very rich young widow.玛莎是个很有钱的年轻寡妇。
• All this money was appropriated for the support of his widow.所有这些钱作为给他的遗孀的抚养费。

2 dashed   

n.虚线v.冲，猛冲( dash的过去式和过去分词 )；猛掷， （使）猛撞；匆匆地写或画；打碎

参考例句：

• The minister air-dashed to Delhi because of the parliamentary crisis. 部长因议会危机立刻起程飞往德里。
• We gave him covering fire as he dashed across the clearing. 我们用火掩护他冲过空地。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞

4 warn   

vt.警告，注意，远离；vi.提醒

参考例句：

• I must warn you that my patience is almost at an end.我必须警告你我已经没有耐心了。
• If you warn me in advance,I will have your order ready for you.你若预先通知我，我就能给您准备好了。

5 trimmed   

adj.平衡的，纵倾的v.整理( trim的过去式和过去分词 )；修剪；装饰；减少

参考例句：

• The general's uniform was trimmed with gold braid. 将军的制服饰有金色穗带。
• She wore a white satin gown trimmed with lace. 她穿着一条饰有蕾丝花边的白色缎子长裙。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 reward   

n.报酬，酬谢，赏金；vt.奖赏，酬谢，报应

参考例句：

• He will expect some reward after working so hard.他工作很努力，会得到报偿的。
• I didn't do it for reward;I did it for love.我做这件事不是为了报酬，而是出于爱好。