吹小号的天鹅 第43期:金钱的烦恼

 　　Chapter 10 Money Trouble

　　第十章 金钱的烦恼

　　Louis was the best-liked young male swan on Upper Red Rock Lake.

　　路易斯是上红石湖最受大家喜爱的年轻雄天鹅了。

　　He was also the best equipped.

　　他也是装备最棒的，

　　He not only had a slate¹ and a chalk pencil around his neck,

　　他不仅仅有挂在脖子上的石板石笔，

　　he had a brass² trumpet³ on a red cord.

　　还有一把系着红绳子的小铜号呢。

　　The young females were beginning to notice him because he looked entirely⁴ different from the other cygnets.

　　年轻的雌天鹅们都开始注意他了，因为他显得和其他的小天鹅们完全不同。

　　He stood out in a crowd.

　　他简直就是鸡群中的鹤。

　　None of the others carried anything with them.

　　别的天鹅们身上可是什么都没带呀。

　　Louis was delighted with the new trumpet.

　　路易斯很喜欢这把新小号。

　　All day, the first day he had it, he tried to get it to make a noise.

　　从第一天拿到它起，他就整天地试着，想让它发出声来。

　　Holding the trumpet was not easy.

　　这把小号可真不容易摆弄呀。

　　He tried several different positions, bending his neck and blowing.

　　他试了好几种不同的姿势，弯着脖子，不断地吹着。

　　At first, no sound came out.

　　起初，什么声也没弄出来。

　　He blew harder and harder, puffing⁵ out his cheeks and getting red in the face.

　　他吹得一次比一次用力，腮帮子越吹越鼓，脸也越憋越红。

　　"This is going to be tough," he thought.

　　“这可太难弄了。”他想。

　　But then he discovered that, by holding his tongue in a certain way,

　　可接着他就发现，只要把舌头放到一定的位置，

　　he could get the trumpet to emit a small gasping⁶ sound.

　　他就能让这小号发出一种很小的喘息般的声音。

　　It wasn't a very pretty noise, but at least it was a noise.

　　这声音不是很动听，但起码也算是一种声音。

　　It sounded a little like hot air escaping from a radiator⁷.

　　它听起来有点儿像从放热器里往外散热气一样。

　　"Puwoowf, puwoowf," went the trumpet.

　　“扑呜呜，扑呜呜。”小号叫道。

　　Louis kept at it.

　　路易斯继续吹。

　　Finally, on the second day of trying, he got it to play a note--a clear note.

　　最后，在试吹的第二天，他成功地吹出了一个单音——一个清晰的单音。

　　"Ko!" went the trumpet.

　　“吭！”小号叫。

　　Louis's heart skipped a beat when he heard it.

　　当听到这个声音时，路易斯的心猛地跳了一下。

　　A duck, swimming nearby, stopped to listen.

　　游在附近的一只野鸭，停下来听着。

　　"Ko! Ko ee oo oooph," went the trumpet.

　　“吭！吭 依 呜 呜浮。”这小号叫。

　　"It will take time," thought Louis. "I'm not going to become a trumpeter in a day, that's for sure.

　　“这要花点时间才行，”路易斯想，“在一天之内我是成不了一个号手的，这是可以肯定的。

　　But Rome wasn't built in a day, and I'm going to learn to blow this horn if it takes me all summer."

　　可罗马也不是在一天之内建成的呀，假如我用整个夏天来学的话，大概就能学会吹这个喇叭了。”

　　Louis had other problems besides learning the trumpet.

　　路易斯除了学吹号外还有别的问题要考虑，

　　For one thing, he knew that his trumpet wasn't paid for --it had been stolen.

　　一个问题是，他知道他的小号还没有付钱——它是偷来的。

　　He didn't like that at all.

　　他根本不愿意这样。

　　For another thing, Serena, the swan he was in love with, had gone away.

　　另一个问题是，塞蕾娜，他所爱的那只天鹅，已经飞走了。

　　She had left the lakes with several other young swans and had flown north to the Snake River.

　　她和几只其他的年轻天鹅离开红石湖北飞到蛇河去了。

　　Louis was afraid he might never see her again.

　　路易斯担心再也见不到她了。

　　So he found himself with a broken heart, a stolen trumpet, and no one to give him any lessons.

　　他发现自己只剩一颗破碎的心了，因为除了一把偷来的小号外，连个教他吹号的人都找不到。

　　Whenever Louis was in trouble, his thoughts turned to Sam Beaver⁸.

　　每当路易斯遇到麻烦，他都会想起萨姆·比弗。

　　Sam had helped him before; perhaps he could help him again.

　　萨姆以前就帮过他；可能这次他还能帮忙。

　　Besides, springtime was making him restless:

　　此外，春天也搅得他心神不宁：

　　he felt an urge to leave the lakes and fly somewhere.

　　他感到有些什么在驱使他离开这些湖飞到某个地方去。

　　So he took off one morning and headed straight for the Bar Nothing Ranch⁹, in the Sweet Grass country, where Sam lived.

　　因此他在一天早晨动身了，一直朝萨姆住的香草乡牧场飞去。

1 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

2 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

3 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

7 radiator   

n.暖气片，散热器

参考例句：

• The two ends of the pipeline are connected with the radiator.管道的两端与暖气片相连接。
• Top up the radiator before making a long journey.在长途旅行前加满散热器。

8 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

9 ranch   

n.大牧场，大农场

参考例句：

• He went to work on a ranch.他去一个大农场干活。
• The ranch is in the middle of a large plateau.该牧场位于一个辽阔高原的中部。