名著欣赏:丑小鸭(2)

一只巨大的狗出现在他的身边，离他很近。这只狗露出锐利的牙齿，继续往前走，没有碰他。
这只小鸭叹息说：“哦，谢谢老天爷！我是这么丑，因此连狗都不会咬我！”
晚上他来到一间小屋。这间小屋住着一位老婆婆和她的猫及母鸡。她的视力不好，以为这只小鸭是一只肥鸭。
她说：“要是我有了鸭蛋，我就发财了，”因此她留这只小鸭住了3个星期，但他并没有下蛋。
这只猫是这间房子的主人，而这只母鸡是女主人。

A big dog appeared close beside him. He showed his sharp teeth and went on without touching¹ him.
"Oh, thank Heaven! I am so ugly that even the dog won't bite me!"
sighed the duckling.
In the evening he reached a little cottage where an old woman lived with her cat and her hen.
Her eyesight was not good, and she thought the duckling was a fat duck.
"I will be rich if I have duck eggs," she said.
So she took in the duckling for three weeks, but he laid no eggs.The cat was the master of the house
and the hen was the mistress².

母鸡说：“你能不能下蛋呢？”
小鸭回答说：“不能。”
这只猫说：“那么你最好离开到外面广阔的世界去。”就这样这只小鸭离开了。
有一天晚上，太阳刚刚下山，此时有一群漂亮的大鸟从矮树丛飞出来。
小鸭心想：“我从来没有看过这么漂亮的东西。”

"Can you lay eggs?" asked the hen.

"No," answered the duckling.
"Then you had better go out into the wide world," said the cat. So away went the duckling.

One evening the sun was just setting when a flock³ of beautiful large birds appeared out of the bushes.

The duckling thought," I've never seen anything so beautiful."
他们有长长的脖子，全身是令人眩目的白色。他们是天鹅，他并不知道这些鸟是什么鸟。
冬天非常地寒冷刺骨，因此这只小鸭在水中游来游去以免冻僵了。
太阳又开始温暖地照耀着，云雀在歌唱，美丽的春天已经来临了。突然这只小鸭举起他的翅膀， 而翅膀拍动的力气要比以前大，
不知不觉中，他发觉自己已置身在一座巨大的花园里，花园里的苹果树开满了花，紫丁香长长的枝桠垂挂在湖岸边。
就在他的面前，他看到三只美丽的白天鹅向他游过来。

They were dazzlingly white with long necks. They were swans.
He did not know what the birds were.
The winter was so bitterly cold that the duckling swam about in the water to keep himself from freezing.
The sun began to shine warmly again. The larks⁴ were singing and beautiful spring had come.
Then, all at once, the duckling raised his wings and they flapped⁵ with much greater strength than before.
Before he knew it, he found himself in a large garden where the apple trees were in
full blossom⁶ and long branches of lilacs overhung the shores of the lake.
Just in front of him he saw three beautiful white swans swimming towards him.

“我将朝他们飞去而他们将会把我劈成粉碎，因为我长得非常丑。
不过没有关系，我宁愿被他们杀死也不愿被那些鸭子咬或是被那些母鸡啄。”
因此他飞入水中朝这些天鹅游过去，他们看到他就向他冲过来。
“杀死我吧，噢，杀死我吧！”可怜的小鸭说着朝水中低头，等待死亡的来临。
但他在清澈的水中看到什么样了呢？

"I will fly to them and they will hack⁷ me to pieces because I am so ugly.
But it doesn't matter. I would rather be killed by them than be bitten by the ducks or pecked⁸ by the hens."
So he flew into the water and swam towards the swans. They saw him and darted⁹ towards him.
"Kill me! Oh, kill me!" said the poor duckling,
and he waited for his death bowing his head towards the water.
But what did he see in the clear water? He was no longer a dark gray ugly bird.

他不再是只黑灰丑陋的鸟，他竟然是一只天鹅！
有些小孩手拿玉米和面包来到这个花园，将这些东西投入水中。
个子最小的那个孩子兴高采烈地大叫：“有一只新来的天鹅。”其他的孩子大叫：
“对啊！来了一只新的。”
他对着自己说：“当我是那只丑小鸭的时候，我从来也没梦想过我能够这么快乐！”

He was himself a swan!
Some children came into the garden with corn and pieces of bread, which they threw into the water.
The smallest child shouted with joy," There is a new one."
The other children shouted, "Yes, a new one has come."
He said to himself,
" I never dreamed that I could be so happy when I was the ugly duckling!"

1 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

2 mistress   

n.（文学用语）使男子为之倾倒的女人，女主人

参考例句：

• Does his wife know he has a mistress?他的妻子知道他有一个情妇吗？
• Is your mistress at home?你家女主人在家吗？

3 flock   

n.羊群，一群，大量；vi.群集，聚集，成群

参考例句：

• A flock of customers were waiting for the store to open.一群顾客在等候着商店开门。
• A few sheep have been lost from the flock.羊群里少了几只羊。

4 larks   

n.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的名词复数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了v.百灵科鸟（尤指云雀）( lark的第三人称单数 )；一大早就起床；鸡鸣即起；（因太费力而不想干时说）算了

参考例句：

• Maybe if she heard the larks sing she'd write. 玛丽听到云雀的歌声也许会写信的。 来自名作英译部分
• But sure there are no larks in big cities. 可大城市里哪有云雀呢。” 来自名作英译部分

5 flapped   

（使）上下左右移动( flap的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻拍； 焦急，焦虑； 振（翅）

参考例句：

• The swan flapped its wings noisily. 天鹅大声地拍打着翅膀。
• He flapped the flies away with a fan. 他用扇子把苍蝇拍走。

6 blossom   

n.花，开花；vi.开花，发展

参考例句：

• The blossom on the trees looks lovely in springtime.春天树上的花很漂亮。
• Let a hundred flowers blossom,let a hundred schools of thought contend.百花齐放，百家争鸣。

7 hack   

n.劈，砍，出租马车；v.劈，砍，干咳

参考例句：

• He made a hack at the log.他朝圆木上砍了一下。
• Early settlers had to hack out a clearing in the forest where they could grow crops.早期移民不得不在森林里劈出空地种庄稼。

8 pecked   

啄，啄食，小口地吃( peck的过去式和过去分词 )； 匆匆地吻

参考例句：

• The hen pecked a hole in the sack. 母鸡在麻袋上啄了一个窟窿。
• He pecked his aunt on the check. 他在姨妈的脸颊上匆匆吻了一下。

9 darted   

v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔

参考例句：

• The lizard darted out its tongue at the insect. 蜥蜴伸出舌头去吃小昆虫。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old man was displeased and darted an angry look at me. 老人不高兴了，瞪了我一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》