英语PK台 第845期:英国奇趣童书《小淘气威廉》
英语课
It was a half-holiday and William was in his bedroom making careful preparations for meeting his fellow outlaws 2, as they called themselves, in the afternoon. He and the other outlaws would always meet up during half-holidays, to go on adventures and make campfires together near their barn.
这天是半休日。威廉在自己的卧室里,认真地为下午与他那几位不法分子的同伴的见面做着准备。他和他的这几位同伴自称“不法分子”。他们总是在半休日这天见面,一起去体验冒险,然后在他们的谷仓旁一起搞个篝火晚会。
“Oh! I’m so glad you’ve come, dear. And is this the baby!” This was William’s mother. “Oh, crumbs 3!” said William and retreated hastily. He sat down on his bed to wait till the coast was clear. Soon came the sound of footsteps ascending 4 the stairs. “Oh, William,” said his mother, as she entered his room, “Mrs. Butler’s come with her baby to spend the afternoon, and we’d arranged to go out till tea-time with the baby, but she’s got such a headache, I’m insisting on her lying down for the afternoon in the drawing-room. But she’s so worried about the baby not getting out this nice afternoon.”
“哦!亲爱的,我很高兴你能来。小宝贝也来啦!”这是威廉的母亲在说话。“哎呀,不好!”威廉边自言自语边慌忙地向后退了几步。他坐在床上等待着危险警报的解除。不一会儿,传来了上楼梯的脚步声。“哦,威廉,”他的母亲走进他的房间对他说,“巴特勒太太带着孩子来咱家了,我们本打算带她家的宝贝出去逛逛,下午茶时候再回来,可巴特勒太太头痛,我就坚持让她在客厅躺下休息会儿。但她觉得这么好的天气不带孩子出去玩太可惜了。”
“Oh!” said William, without interest. “I told Mrs. Butler I was sure you wouldn’t mind taking the baby out for a bit in the perambulator!” William stared at her, speechless. “Me?” he said. “Me? Me take a baby out in a pram 5?” “Now, William, I’m sure you’d like to help, and I’m sure you wouldn’t like your father to hear that you wouldn’t even do a little thing like that for poor Mrs. Butler. And she’s got such a headache.” “All right,” he muttered, “I’ll be down in a minute.”
“哦!”威廉敷衍地回答道。“我跟巴特勒太太说了,我确信你不介意推着婴儿车带着孩子出去玩会儿!”威廉盯着母亲,哑口无言。“我?”他说,“我?我推着婴儿车,带着一个婴儿出去?”“没错,就现在,威廉,我确信你愿意帮忙。而且,我确信你不会希望让你父亲听到你连帮助可怜的巴特勒太太这样一点儿小事也做不了。何况,巴特勒太太确实头疼得厉害。”“好吧,”他咕哝着回答说,“我这就下楼。”
He heard them fussing over the baby in the hall. “Here he is, dear, all ready for you, and you needn’t go far away—just up and down the road, if you like, but stay out till tea-time. He’s a dear little baby, isn’t he? And isn’t it a nice Willy-Billy den 6, to take it out a nice ta-ta, while it’s mummy goes bye-byes, den?” William blushed for pure shame.
他听到大人们在大厅里手忙脚乱地摆弄着婴儿。 “准备好了,亲爱的,你不需要带他去太远的地方——就推着婴儿车随便在路上走来走去就行,但要到下午茶时间再回来。小宝贝很可爱,不是吗?而且天气很不错,带小家伙出去好好玩玩儿,让他离开妈妈一会儿,怎么样?”威廉的脸红了,这脸红纯粹是因为觉得很丢人。
He pushed the pram down to the end of the road and round the corner. “A nice way for an Outlaw 1 to spend the afternoon!” He thought to himself. “Blab—blab—blab—blab—blub—blub—blub!” The baby said. “Oh, you shut up!” said William crushingly. Suddenly a Great Idea came to him.
他把婴儿车推到路的尽头,转过路的拐角。“这条路简直就是为不法分子精心准备的!我知道这个下午该怎么过了!”他心想。婴儿巴拉巴拉说个不停。“闭嘴!”威廉大声命令道。突然间,一个很棒的想法进入他的头脑。
He went to the barn where he’d always meet his fellow outlaws, and entered with the baby in his arms. He was greeted by a sudden silence. “It’s a kidnap,” said William, triumphantly 8. “We’ll get a ransom 9 on it.” They gazed at him in awed 10 admiration 11. This was surely the cream of outlawry 12. “Dad—dad—dad—dad—dad!” Douglas, the tallest boy, grinned sheepishly. “It thinks I’m its father,” he explained complacently 13 to the company.
他来到了他与他的那些不法分子同伴碰面的老地点——谷仓。他怀里抱着婴儿进入了谷仓。看到他,同伴们突然沉默了下来。“我绑架了个小孩,”威廉耀武扬威地说道。“我们可以用他换赎金。”同伴们向他投来敬畏的目光。这种非法的手段简直绝了。“爸爸-爸爸-爸爸-爸爸!”个子最高的男孩道格拉斯羞怯地咧嘴笑了笑。“他以为我是他爸爸。”他沾沾自喜地向同伴们解释道。
“What do we do first? That’s the question.” “In books,” said the outlaw called Ginger 14, “they write a note to its people and say they want a ransom.” “We won’t do that—not just yet,” said William hastily. “Why not?” said Ginger. “Who’s got a paper and pencil? I’m simply statin’ a fact. Who’s got a paper and pencil?” No one spoke 15. “Oh, yes!” went on William in triumph. “Go on! Write a note. Write a note without paper and pencil, and we’ll all watch. Huh!”
“我们首先怎么做?这是个问题。”“书里说”,名字叫金杰的不法之徒说,“绑架者会给被绑架者的家人写一个纸条,告诉他们用赎金换人。”我们不这样做,至少现在不行。”威廉匆匆说道。“我觉得行!”金杰说,“谁有纸和笔?听我的没错。谁有纸和笔?”没有人回答。“好嘞!”威廉得意洋洋地接着说道,“继续啊!写一张纸条。我们要看看没有纸和笔,你怎么写纸条,哈!”
“Well,” said Ginger sulkily, “I don’t s’pose they had paper and pencils in outlaw days. They weren’t invented. They wrote on—on—on leaves or something,” he ended vaguely 16. “Well, go on. Write on leaves,” said William still more triumphant 7. “We’re not stoppin’ you are we? I’m simply statin’ a fact. Write on leaves.”
“好吧,”金杰生气地说,“我也觉得不法之徒做非法的事情时,不应该带着纸和笔。这些东西还没发明出来。他们应该在……在……在树叶或别的东西上写字。”他含糊地说完了他的话。“好吧,继续啊,就在树叶上写纸条,”威廉说,表现得更加得意洋洋,“我们不会阻止你的,没错吧,其他人?听我的没错。快在树叶上写纸条啊!”
They were interrupted by a yell of pain from Douglas. With vague memories of his mother’s treatment of infants, he had inserted a finger in its mouth. The infant happened to possess four front teeth, two upper and two lower, and they closed like a vice 17 upon Douglas’ finger. He was now examining the marks.
他们被道格拉斯发出的一阵痛苦的喊叫声打断了。由于他已经记不清他的母亲是怎样照顾婴儿的了,于是他把自己的一根手指伸进了婴儿的嘴里。婴儿碰巧张了四颗门牙,两颗上牙,两颗下牙,它们像台钳一样夹住了道格拉斯的手指。现在,他正在查看自己手指上的牙印。
“Look! Right deep down! See it? Wotcher think of that! Nearly to the bone! Pretty savage 18 baby you’ve brought along,” he said to William. “Anyway, what have we brought for the feast?” William produced liquorice water and half a cake, Douglas two slices of raw ham and a dog biscuit, Ginger some popcorn 19 and some cold boiled potatoes wrapped up in newspaper, Henry a cold apple dumpling and a small bottle of paraffin-oil. “Let’s put them on the floor here”, said Ginger, and go out for adventures first. Back in a quarter of an hour for the feast.”
“看!咬得真狠的!看见没?不敢相信,几乎咬到骨头了!你带来的婴儿太野蛮了!”他对威廉说。“嗯,好吧。还是看看大家都为晚上的盛宴带来了什么好吃的?”威廉带来了自制的甘草水和半块蛋糕;道格拉斯带来了两片生火腿和一块硬饼干;金杰用报纸裹来了一些爆米花和一些冷煮土豆;亨利带来了一个冷苹果布丁和一小瓶石蜡油。“我们把吃的都放在地板上,”金杰说,“然后,我们先去出去探探险,一刻钟后再回来吃大餐。”
They came back in 15 minutes, opened the door of the barn and went in. The infant was sitting on the floor among the stores, or rather among what was left of them. There was paraffin-oil on its hair, face, arms, frock and feet. It was drenched 20 in paraffin-oil. The empty bottle and its hat lay by its side. Mingled 21 with the paraffin-oil all over its person was cold boiled potato. It was holding the apple-dumpling in its hand.
15分钟后,他们回来了,打开谷仓的门,进入了谷仓。此时,婴儿正坐地板上他们的大餐中间,更确切地说是他们剩下的大餐中间。他的头发、脸、手臂、上衣和脚上都黏满了石蜡油。他已经被石蜡油浸透了。空瓶子和瓶盖躺在他的身边。他已经被混在一起的冷煮土豆和石蜡油裹得严严实实的,手里还抓着苹果布丁。
“Ball!” it announced ecstatically from behind its mask of potato and paraffin-oil. They stood in silence for a minute. There was no doubt that when William condescended 22 to adopt a phrase from any of his family’s vocabularies, he considerably 23 overworked it. “Well, it did it itself. It’s no one else’s fault, is it?” “No, it’s not,” said William. “But that’s the sort of thing folks never see. Anyway, I’m goin’ to wash its face.” “What with?” William took out his grimy handkerchief and advanced upon his prey 24. His bottle of liquorice water was lying untouched in the corner. He took out the cork 25.
“球!”他脸上敷着土豆和石蜡油做成的面膜,狂喜地宣布着。这群不法分子默默地站在那里足有一分钟的时间。毫无疑问,威廉又得从家庭的词汇库中选出些好词了,而且这次他还得多做些功课。“好吧,都是他自己做的。不能赖别人,是吧?”“不,不行,”威廉说,“但这种事谁也没遇到过。不管怎样,我还是去给他洗个脸吧。”“用什么洗呢?”威廉拿出他那脏兮兮的手帕,朝他的猎物走去。他带来的那瓶甘草水还完好无损地躲在一个角落里。他拔下软木塞。
William started passing his handkerchief, moistened with liquorice water, over the surface of the baby’s face. The baby had caught a corner of it firmly between its teeth and refused to release it. “If you’d got to take this baby home like this,” he said, “you wouldn’t be thinking much about drinking liquorice water. I’m simply statin’——” “Oh, shut up saying that!” said Ginger in sudden exasperation 26. “I’m sick of it.” For many years afterwards William associated babies in his mind with paraffin-oil and potato. “Just help me get the potato out of its hair,” he pleaded; “never mind the oil and the rest of it.” “Doesn’t it look funny—all oil and potato and bits of cake!” said Ginger. “Oh! shut up about it,” said William irritably 27.
威廉开始用甘草水沾湿他的手帕,然后用湿手帕擦拭婴儿的脸颊。婴儿用牙牢牢地咬住了手帕的一角,不肯放开。“如果你不得不这样把婴儿带回家,”他说,“你就不要想再喝到甘草水了。听我的没错……”“嘿,闭嘴,别再说这个了!”金杰突然愤怒地说道。“烦死了!”多年后,在他的脑海中,威廉的形象还和婴儿以及石蜡油和土豆联系在一起。“快帮我把他头发里的土豆弄出来,”他恳求道,“别管油和其他脏东西了。”“他看起来不好笑吗?——所有的油、土豆还有蛋糕屑都混在一起了!”金杰说。“快闭嘴吧!”威廉烦躁地说。
Douglas placed the baby in its seat and William thoughtfully put up the hood 28 to shield his charge as far as possible from the curious gaze of the passers-by. With a “heart steeled for any fate” William turned the corner into his own road. The baby’s mother was standing 29 at his gate. “There you are!” she called. “I was getting quite anxious. Thank you so much, dear.”
道格拉斯将婴儿放在座位上,威廉贴心地为他戴上兜帽,尽可能别吸引到路人好奇的目光。威廉已经下定决心直面命运的安排。他转过拐角,走在回家的路上。婴儿的母亲正站在门口等候。“你们终于回来啦!”她喊道。“我都有点儿着急了。非常感谢你,亲爱的!”
BUT THAT IS WHAT SHE SAID BEFORE SHE SAW THE BABY!
但是,当她看到婴儿之后……
n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法
- The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
- The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。
歹徒,亡命之徒( outlaw的名词复数 ); 逃犯
- During his year in the forest, Robin met many other outlaws. 在森林里的一年,罗宾遇见其他许多绿林大盗。
- I didn't have to leave the country or fight outlaws. 我不必离开自己的国家,也不必与不法分子斗争。
adj.上升的,向上的
- Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.现在按照体型由小到大的顺序画出或是临摹出10只恐龙。
n.婴儿车,童车
- She sat the baby up in the pram. 她把孩子放在婴儿车里坐着。
- She ran in chase of the pram. 她跑着追那婴儿车。
n.兽穴;秘密地方;安静的小房间,私室
- 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。
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的
- The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
- There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
- The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
- Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
n.赎金,赎身;v.赎回,解救
- We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
- The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。
adj.充满敬畏的,表示敬畏的v.使敬畏,使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 )
- The audience was awed into silence by her stunning performance. 观众席上鸦雀无声,人们对他出色的表演感到惊叹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I was awed by the huge gorilla. 那只大猩猩使我惊惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
- He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
- We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。
adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地
- He complacently lived out his life as a village school teacher. 他满足于一个乡村教师的生活。
- "That was just something for evening wear," returned his wife complacently. “那套衣服是晚装,"他妻子心安理得地说道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
n.姜,精力,淡赤黄色;adj.淡赤黄色的;vt.使活泼,使有生气
- There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
- Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
- They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
- The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
adv.含糊地,暖昧地
- He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
- He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面,对一切都视而不见。
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
- He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
- They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人
- The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
- He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
n.爆米花
- I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时,喜欢吃爆米花。
- He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后,嘴里塞满了爆米花。
adj.湿透的;充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 );在某人(某物)上大量使用(某液体)
- We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨,淋得浑身透湿。
- The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系]
- The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
- The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候,这一男一女就开始交往了。
屈尊,俯就( condescend的过去式和过去分词 ); 故意表示和蔼可亲
- We had to wait almost an hour before he condescended to see us. 我们等了几乎一小时他才屈尊大驾来见我们。
- The king condescended to take advice from his servants. 国王屈驾向仆人征求意见。
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上
- The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
- The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
- Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
- The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
n.软木,软木塞
- We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
- Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。
n.愤慨
- He snorted with exasperation.他愤怒地哼了一声。
- She rolled her eyes in sheer exasperation.她气急败坏地转动着眼珠。
ad.易生气地
- He lost his temper and snapped irritably at the children. 他发火了,暴躁地斥责孩子们。
- On this account the silence was irritably broken by a reproof. 为了这件事,他妻子大声斥责,令人恼火地打破了宁静。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
n.头巾,兜帽,覆盖;v.罩上,以头巾覆盖
- She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
- The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。
标签:
英语PK台