《风语河岸柳》第2章 宽敞的公路(2)

The Rat¹ looked around him.

水鼠看了看他的周围，说：

I see that all the boats are out of the water, 'he said.

我发现所有的船都没停在水里，

I suppose Toad² has finished with boating³ now and has some new interest to amuse⁴ him. '

我猜蛤蟆现在不再玩船了，肯定又有什么新鲜有趣的东西吸引着他。

They walked over the grass towards the house and soon found Toad, resting in a garden-chair and carefully studying a large map.

他们穿过草坪向房子走去，很快便看见了癞蛤蟆，他正坐在花园椅里仔细地研究着地图。

'Wonderful! 'he cried, as he saw them. 'You're just the fellow⁵ that I wanted to see, Ratty.

太棒了！癞蛤蟆一看到他们就叫了起来。我正想见你呢，阿鼠，

He jumped up and came towards them, talking all the time, and gave the Rat no time to introduce the Mole⁶.

他跳了起来，向他们走去，嘴里说个不停，根本不给水鼠时间来介绍鼹鼠。

I need you very much-both of you. You've got to help me. It's most important! '

我非常需要你—你们俩。你们得帮我，这是最最重要的！

'It's about your rowing, I suppose, 'said the Rat, keeping his face very serious. 'You will learn to do it in the end, you know, if you're patient and work hard and----'

我想，是关于划船吧，水鼠一本正经地说。你总算要学了，你知道吧，如果你耐心点，刻苦点，再—

'Oh, bother⁷ boats! 'the Toad said crossly. 'I've finished with boats. Silly way to pass the time.

噢，讨厌的船！癞蛤蟆气恼地说。我不再划船了，简直是打发日子的傻办法。

No, I've discovered the real thing-the best way, the only way, to spend one's life.

是的，我已发现了一个真正的活法—最好的，唯一的活法。

Come with me, dear Ratty, and your kind friend too, and I will show you! '

跟我来，亲爱的阿鼠，还有你好心的朋友，我要带你们去看看！

He took them round to the other side of the house, and there they saw a shiny⁸ new gipsy caravan⁹. It had yellow and green sides, and red wheels¹⁰.

他带他们绕到了房子的另一头，那儿他们看见一辆锃亮崭新的吉普赛大篷车，镶滚着黄绿边，轮子是红色的。

'There you are! 'cried the Toad. 'There's real life for you. The open road, the fields, the hills…villages, towns, cities!

你们看！癞蛤蟆叫道，这才是属于你们的真正的生活。宽敞的公路、原野、山峦……村庄、城镇、都市！

Here today, off to a different place tomorrow!

今天在这儿，明天到另一个不同的地方！

Travel, change, interest-the world in front of you!

旅行、变幻、趣味——世界就在你的面前！

The Mole was very interested and excited, and followed the Toad inside the caravan to look around. But the Rat shook his head and waited outside.

鼹鼠觉得非常有趣，非常兴奋，他跟着癞蛤蟆走进大篷车参观，但水鼠摇着头，在外面等着。

1 rat   

n.鼠，卑鄙的人，变节者；vi.背叛，捕鼠；vt.弄蓬松，告发

参考例句：

• The rat is hated by many people.老鼠被很多人憎恶。
• He stopped up the rat holes.他塞住了那些老鼠洞。

2 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

3 boating   

n.划船

参考例句：

• They were fond of boating.他们喜欢划船。
• The lovely river itself was ideal for fishing and boating.这条美丽的河流本身就宜于钓鱼和划船。

4 amuse   

v.娱乐，逗乐，使高兴，使有趣

参考例句：

• Tom makes up stories to amuse his little brother.汤姆编故事逗他的小弟弟。
• I often amuse myself with reading.我常以读书自乐。

5 fellow   

n.人，家伙；伙伴，同事；对等者，对手；一对中之一，配对物；adj.同伴的，同事的

参考例句：

• I can't stand that fellow.我不能容忍那家伙。
• Who's that old fellow?那个老家伙是谁？

6 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

7 bother   

vt.烦扰，迷惑；vi.烦恼，操心；n.麻烦，纠纷，讨厌的人

参考例句：

• Don't bother about getting dinner for me.别为我做饭麻烦了。
• You needn't bother to lock the door.你不用费心去锁门。

8 shiny   

adj.有光泽的，发光的，辉煌的

参考例句：

• What shiny shoes you're wearing!你穿的鞋子擦得真亮啊！
• All the cups are clean and shiny.所有的杯子都很干净明亮。

9 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。

10 wheels   

n.轮子( wheel的名词复数 )；旋转；Wheels 汽车；有…轮子的汽车（或自行车等）

参考例句：

• The wheels sank deeper into the mire. 轮子在泥潭中陷得更深了。
• The car wheels got stuck in the mud. 汽车轮子陷到泥里去了。