英语博客：The City Mouse and the Country Mouse.

　　The City Mouse and the Country Mouse (part 1).
Once upon a time, a country mouse named Oliver lived in a hole under the root of a big, old oak tree. Oliver loved the sound of squirrels chattering¹ during the day and crickets chirping² at night. He loved the smell of rich dirt and sweet grass all around him. One day Oliver invited his city cousin, Alistair, for a visit. Before Alistair arrrived, Oliver tidied up his hole. He straightened his leaf bed. He spread fresh pine needles on the floor. He scrubbed the tuna can table and polished the bottle cap plates. Then Oliver sat by the entrance to his hole, gazed out at the stars, and waited for his cousin to arrive. When Alistair arrived, he put his fine leather suitcase on the pine needles. "I say, cousin, is this your cellar?" he asked Oliver. "No," said Oliver, "it's my home." Oliver showed Alistair the back of the hole, where he stored his grain. He led Alistair up to the top of the old oak root, where he sometimes sat to watch the sunset. Then he sat Alistair down at the tuna can table and served him a dinner of barley³ and corn. Alistair nibbled⁴ his meal politely. "This certainly tastes as though it's good for me." He coughed and swallowed. "A bit dry, perhaps. Could I bother you for a cup of tea?" Oliver brewed⁵ a thimble of dandelion tea for them both. "Here's to my cousin Alistair! Thanks for visiting," toasted Oliver. When the thimbles were empty, Oliver changed into his long johns, Alistair changed into his silk pajamas⁶, and the mice settled into their leaves for the night. After Alistair rustled⁷ around in his oak leaf for a while, he finally went to sleep.Oliver woke up early the next morning, as usual. A robin⁸ family was singing in the old oak tree. A rooster crowed in a nearby farm. Alistair squeezed his pillow over his ears. "Oh, dear. What is that terrible noise?" he mumbled⁹. "That's the sound of morning in the country," said Oliver. "It's the wonderful music that makes me want to start the new day." Alistair pulled the pillow from his face and opened one eye. "You start your day in the morning?" he asked. "Here in the country we rise at dawn," Oliver said, putting on his clothes. He pulled on his work boots, and pushed his wheelbarrow out into the garden. Alistair rolled to the edge of his bed. He wiped the sleep from his eyes. He slid his feet into his shiny black shoes, and followed his cousin outside.

1 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

2 chirping   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。
• The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。

3 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

4 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 brewed   

调制( brew的过去式和过去分词 )； 酝酿； 沏（茶）； 煮（咖啡）

参考例句：

• The beer is brewed in the Czech Republic. 这种啤酒是在捷克共和国酿造的。
• The boy brewed a cup of coffee for his mother. 这男孩给他妈妈冲了一杯咖啡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

7 rustled   

v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

9 mumbled   

含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He mumbled something to me which I did not quite catch. 他对我叽咕了几句话，可我没太听清楚。
• George mumbled incoherently to himself. 乔治语无伦次地喃喃自语。