美国小学英语教材4:第4课 小兔哥的一课(2)

 　　The woods were very quiet. Bunnyboy was sure that not one of his enemies was about. 树林里很安静。小兔哥确信周围没有任何敌人。

　　"There is no hawk 1 or owl 2 or fox in the whole woods," he said.  “整个树林里没有老鹰、猫头鹰和狐狸，”他说，
　　"What fun it would be to jump around on the green forest carpet!" “在绿色的森林地毯上跳来跳去该多好玩啊！”
　　So he took a few hops 4 away from the bushes. 于是，他向灌木丛外跳了几步。
　　Something said to him just as plainly as though his mother had spoken, "Go back, go back!" 有个声音对他说：“回去，回去！”像妈妈说得一样清晰。
　　At first he listened to the voice and went back, 刚开始，他听从了这个声音回去了，
　　but soon he was out in the green woods again, hopping 5 from place to place. 但是不久他又出来了，在绿色的树林里跳来跳去。
　　He hopped 6 upon an old log and ran back and forth 7 on it; 小兔哥跳上一根旧的原木，在上面来来回回跑，
　　then he jumped into a clump 8 of green ferns. 然后他跳进了一丛绿色的蕨类植物里。
　　Soon Bunnyboy was frisking and running through the woods, 很快，小兔哥就活蹦乱跳地在树林里跑起来了，
　　having the very best time he had ever had in his life. 享受着从未有过的快乐时光。
　　But suddenly a strange scent 9 came to him. 突然，小兔哥闻到了一个奇怪的气味。
　　It was not like anything that he had ever smelled before. 它不像他以前闻到过的任何味道。
　　At once he "froze" and waited.  他立即 “原地不动”，等待着。
　　Freezing is one of the ways in which the wild creatures hide. It means to stay perfectly 10 still. 原地不动是野生动物隐藏的方法之一。
　　If a rabbit does not move, it is very hard to see him among the ferns and leaves. 如果兔子不移动的话，在蕨类植物和叶子中很难被发现。
　　So Bunnyboy froze and waited. 所以小兔哥原地不动，等待着。
　　Presently he saw a very strange animal coming slowly through the woods. 不久，小兔哥看见一个非常奇怪的动物正缓慢地在树林里穿行。
　　He was a strange-looking fellow, covered with long, sharp quills 11. 他全身长满了长长的、尖尖的刺。
　　It was Mr. Porcupine 12, but as Mother Rabbit had never shown her children a porcupine, 他是豪猪先生，但是因为兔妈妈从来都没有给她的孩子们描述过豪猪的样子，
　　the young bunny did not know this stranger. 所以小兔哥不认识这个奇怪的家伙。
　　Bunnyboy kept so still that Mr. Porcupine passed very close to him without seeing him. 小兔哥一动不动，以至于豪猪先生从他的跟前经过的时候都没有看见他。
　　The young rabbit was terribly frightened. 这个年幼的小兔子非常害怕。
　　At last Mr. Porcupine was gone, and Bunnyboy was very glad. 终于，豪猪先生走了，小兔哥非常高兴。
　　Then he thought he would go back to his clump of bushes. 他想他该回灌木丛了。
　　Off he started, but he could not find the bushes. 他开始行动，但是他找不到那个灌木丛了。
　　Faster and faster he ran, but the more he ran, the farther away the bushes seemed. 他跑得越来越快，但是他跑得越快，似乎离那个灌木丛就越远。
　　At last he sat down to think. Where was the clump of bushes? 最后，小兔哥坐下来想，那个灌木丛在哪里呢？
　　His mother must have come home by this time. 这时候他的妈妈一定已经回家了。
　　She would be very angry with him for running away. 她肯定会因为他跑开了而很生气。
　　Just at that moment he saw a large, white, round ball sticking to the inside of an old tree trunk. 就在这时，小兔哥看见一个白色的大圆球黏在一个老树干的里面。
　　Never in his life had he seen such a ball as that; he would find out what it was. 他从来都没有见过这种球，小兔哥要去弄清楚它是什么。
　　So he crept up to the ball slowly, stopping to sniff 13 the air and to listen. 于是，他慢慢地向大球爬去，停下来闻一闻气味，听一听声音。
　　There was a strange buzzing noise coming from the ball that sounded like flies. 从大球里传出来一种奇怪的嗡嗡声，听起来像苍蝇。
　　Bunnyboy liked to catch flies, and here was a whole ball of them. 小兔哥喜欢捉苍蝇，听起来整个球里都是苍蝇。
　　What a fine time he would have! With a quick hop 3 he went up and sniffed 14 at the ball. 这将是多么美好的时刻呀！他迅速地跳上前去，闻那个球。