美国故事 SENEWS-2005-0813-Feature
时间：2018-12-06 作者：英语课 分类：弗兰肯斯坦.Frankenstein
英语课
Now the Special English program "American Stories".
Our story today is called “Tale For A Frosty Morning”, it was written by Merrill Pollack. Here is Shep O'Neal with our story.
Ben was awakened 2 by a gunshot. The shot 3 noise came through the thick stone walls of the house. It was cold in the bedroom. Ben Newman was shaking as he got out of bed. He put on his eyeglasses and went over to the window. The field was covered with white frost 1. Nothing moved out there in the deep quiet just before sunrise.
Ben looked past the field to the thick woods. Two weeks ago, he saw a deer among the trees. He held his breath 5 with excitement; then the deer walked off.
Ben wondered where the shot had come from. He thought perhaps he had dreamed he heard a gunshot. He looked out toward 6 the frozen 7 lake. Near the trees he saw a shining piece of metal. When it moved, Ben saw that it was a long gun.
A minute later, a man came out of the woods, he wore hunting clothes. Suddenly, a bird flew upward 8, the man quickly put the gun to his shoulder and shot.
Ben watched the bird praying it had not been hurt. It flew near the ground and went into some tall grass.
"Safe," Ben thought.
The hunter did not move for a moment; then he began to follow the bird. Hate for the hunter burned inside of Ben. "Hey!" he shouted.
His voice cut through the stillness. The hunter stopped, but then continued to follow the bird.
Ben shouted again, this time, the hunter did not stop. Ben started to move toward him, but Ben was in his nightclothes and he did not go far. Instead, he returned to the house, he got a metal shovel 9 and hit the stone sides of the house so that the noise would warn 10 the birds and animals of danger.
The hunter looked back at Ben.
“No hunting on my land.” Ben shouted. The man called “Where can I hunt?” The hunter started to walk away.
Ben had just bought this house in the woods. He wanted to protect everything on his land. He thought that everyone would obey the signs “No Hunting.”
Ben had just finished putting on his clothes when he heard another gunshot. This troubled him deeply 11. How could he stop this hunter?
He walked toward the lake, he did not want to fight, but the man must go.
He walked quietly. He wanted to surprise the hunter, but then what would he do? He could not fight the hunter.
Suddenly, he heard a bird's wings beating the dry grass. Ben moved quickly toward the sound. He saw a colored head, the head of a beautiful pheasant bird. The bird did not move until Ben came close. Then it tried to fly away, but one wing was broken.
Ben lifted the bird and held it close against his body. The bird fought to escape, but soon lay quietly in Ben’s arms. Its body was warm and heavy.
Ben decided 12 to take the bird home and fix its broken wing so that it could fly again.
He was almost through the woods when he heard the hunter behind him. “You just find that bird?” the hunter asked.
“Yes,” Ben answered, “it is mine.”
Ben was afraid and tried to answer but his mouth was too dry to speak. But he wet his lips 13 and said “No.”
“I shot him, I say he is mine!”
“But he is not dead yet,” Ben answered, “besides anything on my land belongs to me.”
The hunter reached out for the bird. “I will have to kill it,” he said. “The bird will soon die anyway.”
Ben got angry. “Get out of here,” he said, “I told you before and I am telling you again get off my land.”
The hunter looked down at the little man and smiled. “Say, who are you?”
Ben’s voice shook with both fear and anger. “I own this land; there are signs everywhere that say “No Hunting.”
“No need to get angry, mister” the hunter said. ”Control yourself.”
There were something threatening in the man’s cool quiet voice and he had a gun. His arms were free, Ben’s were not.
The hunter stepped closer and said. “Give me that bird.”
Ben was white with anger. “No!” he answered. His eyeglasses became wet. He had to look over the top of them to see the other man.
“Give me the bird and I will go away,” the hunter said.
“You get off my land,” Ben told him, “Get off right now, you do not belong here.”
The man’s face got red. “Mister,” he said, “I have been hunting here all my life. I grew up here.”
“That is a thing of the past,” Ben said, “I do not know who you are and I do not care. I own this place now; I am telling you to leave. You get off my land.”
“Now, look, mister,” the hunter said, “be reasonable.”
“I am trying to be as reasonable as I can,” said Ben, holding the bird tightly 14, “I just want you to get off my land.”
The hunter raised his gun.
A cold wind blew across Ben’s face. He looked into the hunter’s grey eyes. Ben was frightened. It was not too late, he thought. He could still give the bird to the hunter and return safely home…that would end this whole terrible business.
The bird struggled weakly. It made a wild strange noise; then Ben knew he could never give this bird to the hunter. This feeling gave Ben great strength. He was no longer afraid.
“I will never let you kill this bird,” he said. “Get away from here. If you try to take this bird I will fight. You have a gun and you are bigger, but that does not worry me. You will never get this bird. You will have to kill me first.”
The 2 men looked at each other. Ben’s fear returned. His knees began to shake and he felt sick. Yet, he stood straight, wondering what would happen next.
They stood close to each other for a long time. The woods were strangely quiet; then the hunter’s rough 4 voice broke the silence.
“You are a fool.” And to Ben’s surprise, he slowly walked away.
Ben watched until the hunter was gone. His arms hurt. His body felt wet and cold. He went to the house.
Ben carried the bird into the kitchen and put it gently on the floor. It did not move. Ben took off his foggy glasses and dried his face. The bird watched him. Ben smoothed its feathers with gentle fingers.
He carefully studied the injured 15 wing. There seemed to be no hope. The wing was pulled almost away from the body. The bullet 16 had smashed 17 the bone.
Ben knew the bird was dying 18. There was noting he could do to help it. He wondered if birds felt pain. He wondered how long it took a bird to die. The hunter was right. The bird would soon die.
There was just one thing to do now to stop its suffering. Ben could kill it quickly.
He put his hands around the bird’s neck, but when he felt the warm life under his fingers, he could not kill this beautiful thing.
Tears filled his eyes. He knew now what he would do. He would stay with the bird, smoothing its feathers until it died.
You have been listening to the American Story "Tale For A Frosty Morning”. It was written by Merrill Pollack. It was published by the Anteyack Press. Your storyteller was Shep O'Neal. For VOA Special English this is Shirley Griffith.
Our story today is called “Tale For A Frosty Morning”, it was written by Merrill Pollack. Here is Shep O'Neal with our story.
Ben was awakened 2 by a gunshot. The shot 3 noise came through the thick stone walls of the house. It was cold in the bedroom. Ben Newman was shaking as he got out of bed. He put on his eyeglasses and went over to the window. The field was covered with white frost 1. Nothing moved out there in the deep quiet just before sunrise.
Ben looked past the field to the thick woods. Two weeks ago, he saw a deer among the trees. He held his breath 5 with excitement; then the deer walked off.
Ben wondered where the shot had come from. He thought perhaps he had dreamed he heard a gunshot. He looked out toward 6 the frozen 7 lake. Near the trees he saw a shining piece of metal. When it moved, Ben saw that it was a long gun.
A minute later, a man came out of the woods, he wore hunting clothes. Suddenly, a bird flew upward 8, the man quickly put the gun to his shoulder and shot.
Ben watched the bird praying it had not been hurt. It flew near the ground and went into some tall grass.
"Safe," Ben thought.
The hunter did not move for a moment; then he began to follow the bird. Hate for the hunter burned inside of Ben. "Hey!" he shouted.
His voice cut through the stillness. The hunter stopped, but then continued to follow the bird.
Ben shouted again, this time, the hunter did not stop. Ben started to move toward him, but Ben was in his nightclothes and he did not go far. Instead, he returned to the house, he got a metal shovel 9 and hit the stone sides of the house so that the noise would warn 10 the birds and animals of danger.
The hunter looked back at Ben.
“No hunting on my land.” Ben shouted. The man called “Where can I hunt?” The hunter started to walk away.
Ben had just bought this house in the woods. He wanted to protect everything on his land. He thought that everyone would obey the signs “No Hunting.”
Ben had just finished putting on his clothes when he heard another gunshot. This troubled him deeply 11. How could he stop this hunter?
He walked toward the lake, he did not want to fight, but the man must go.
He walked quietly. He wanted to surprise the hunter, but then what would he do? He could not fight the hunter.
Suddenly, he heard a bird's wings beating the dry grass. Ben moved quickly toward the sound. He saw a colored head, the head of a beautiful pheasant bird. The bird did not move until Ben came close. Then it tried to fly away, but one wing was broken.
Ben lifted the bird and held it close against his body. The bird fought to escape, but soon lay quietly in Ben’s arms. Its body was warm and heavy.
Ben decided 12 to take the bird home and fix its broken wing so that it could fly again.
He was almost through the woods when he heard the hunter behind him. “You just find that bird?” the hunter asked.
“Yes,” Ben answered, “it is mine.”
Ben was afraid and tried to answer but his mouth was too dry to speak. But he wet his lips 13 and said “No.”
“I shot him, I say he is mine!”
“But he is not dead yet,” Ben answered, “besides anything on my land belongs to me.”
The hunter reached out for the bird. “I will have to kill it,” he said. “The bird will soon die anyway.”
Ben got angry. “Get out of here,” he said, “I told you before and I am telling you again get off my land.”
The hunter looked down at the little man and smiled. “Say, who are you?”
Ben’s voice shook with both fear and anger. “I own this land; there are signs everywhere that say “No Hunting.”
“No need to get angry, mister” the hunter said. ”Control yourself.”
There were something threatening in the man’s cool quiet voice and he had a gun. His arms were free, Ben’s were not.
The hunter stepped closer and said. “Give me that bird.”
Ben was white with anger. “No!” he answered. His eyeglasses became wet. He had to look over the top of them to see the other man.
“Give me the bird and I will go away,” the hunter said.
“You get off my land,” Ben told him, “Get off right now, you do not belong here.”
The man’s face got red. “Mister,” he said, “I have been hunting here all my life. I grew up here.”
“That is a thing of the past,” Ben said, “I do not know who you are and I do not care. I own this place now; I am telling you to leave. You get off my land.”
“Now, look, mister,” the hunter said, “be reasonable.”
“I am trying to be as reasonable as I can,” said Ben, holding the bird tightly 14, “I just want you to get off my land.”
The hunter raised his gun.
A cold wind blew across Ben’s face. He looked into the hunter’s grey eyes. Ben was frightened. It was not too late, he thought. He could still give the bird to the hunter and return safely home…that would end this whole terrible business.
The bird struggled weakly. It made a wild strange noise; then Ben knew he could never give this bird to the hunter. This feeling gave Ben great strength. He was no longer afraid.
“I will never let you kill this bird,” he said. “Get away from here. If you try to take this bird I will fight. You have a gun and you are bigger, but that does not worry me. You will never get this bird. You will have to kill me first.”
The 2 men looked at each other. Ben’s fear returned. His knees began to shake and he felt sick. Yet, he stood straight, wondering what would happen next.
They stood close to each other for a long time. The woods were strangely quiet; then the hunter’s rough 4 voice broke the silence.
“You are a fool.” And to Ben’s surprise, he slowly walked away.
Ben watched until the hunter was gone. His arms hurt. His body felt wet and cold. He went to the house.
Ben carried the bird into the kitchen and put it gently on the floor. It did not move. Ben took off his foggy glasses and dried his face. The bird watched him. Ben smoothed its feathers with gentle fingers.
He carefully studied the injured 15 wing. There seemed to be no hope. The wing was pulled almost away from the body. The bullet 16 had smashed 17 the bone.
Ben knew the bird was dying 18. There was noting he could do to help it. He wondered if birds felt pain. He wondered how long it took a bird to die. The hunter was right. The bird would soon die.
There was just one thing to do now to stop its suffering. Ben could kill it quickly.
He put his hands around the bird’s neck, but when he felt the warm life under his fingers, he could not kill this beautiful thing.
Tears filled his eyes. He knew now what he would do. He would stay with the bird, smoothing its feathers until it died.
You have been listening to the American Story "Tale For A Frosty Morning”. It was written by Merrill Pollack. It was published by the Anteyack Press. Your storyteller was Shep O'Neal. For VOA Special English this is Shirley Griffith.
1 frost
n.霜，冰冻，冷漠；vt.覆着霜，冻结，结霜；vi.受冻，起霜
- A lot of crops were damaged by the frost.这次霜冻，受害的庄稼不少。
- Try to harvest the fruit before the first frost.在第一次霜冻以前要设法把水果收摘完。
2 awakened
v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到
- She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
- The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 shot
n.炮弹，射击，射手；v.射击，发出，发芽；vbl.射击，发出，发芽
- He shot a wild duck.他射中一只野鸭。
- All the children shot out their hands for the money.所有的孩子突然伸出手来要钱。
4 rough
adj.粗糙的；粗略的，大致的；粗野的，粗暴的
- It's just a very rough translation.这只是一篇非常粗糙的译稿。
- His reply was a bit rough.他的答复过于粗鲁了一点。
5 breath
n.呼吸，气息，微风，迹象，精神，一种说话的声音
- I'm just going out for a breath of fresh air.我正要出去呼吸新鲜空气。
- While climbing up the stairs the old man always loses his breath.那老人上楼时总是气喘吁吁的。
6 toward
prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝
- Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
- Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。
7 frozen
adj.冻结的，冰冻的
- He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
- The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。
8 upward
adj.向上的，上升的；adv.向上，上升
- The birds flew upward.鸟儿向上飞去。
- Prices have an upward tendency.价格有上升的趋势。
9 shovel
n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出
- He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
- He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。
10 warn
vt.警告，注意，远离；vi.提醒
- 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。
11 deeply
adv.深刻地，在深处，深沉地
- I do feel deeply the strength of the collective.我确实深深地感到了集体的力量。
- We're deeply honoured that you should agree to join us.您能同意加入我们，我们感到很荣幸。
12 decided
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
- This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
- There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
13 lips
abbr.logical inferences per second 每秒的逻辑推论n.嘴唇( lip的名词复数 )；（容器或凹陷地方的）边缘；粗鲁无礼的话
- Her lips compressed into a thin line. 她的双唇抿成了一道缝。
- the fullness of her lips 她丰满的双唇
14 tightly
adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地
- My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
- The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。
15 injured
adj.受伤的
- Our best defender is injured and won't be able to play today.我们最佳的防守员受伤了，今天不能参加比赛。
- The injured men have been dug out of the snow.受伤人员从雪中被挖了出来。
16 bullet
n.枪弹，子弹
- The bullet wound in his shoulder was opened up for treatment.切开他肩上的枪伤进行治疗。
- The bullet missed me by a hair's s breadth.那颗子弹差一点就打中了我。