美国小学英语教材5:第260课 沙漠男孩——阿卜杜勒. 阿齐兹(3)

He knew two dozen polite things to say when someone of importance came to the house, or when he went to weddings. He also knew how to talk French, how to beat the French boys at marbles, and how to spin a carrot on its pointed¹ end as though it were a top. In fact, he was quite an accomplished² young person.

他知道当重要人物来家里或参加婚礼时，有二十来句礼貌的话可说。他还知道怎样讲法语，怎样在弹珠游戏中打败法国人，怎样把一根胡萝卜的尖端当作陀螺一样旋转。事实上，他是一个很有成就的年轻人。

Once in a while he used to think. Being an Arab, he was never in a hurry. He did not in the least mind sitting still for an hour or two at a time, doing nothing at all but soaking in the sun, or watching the wind toss³ the olive⁴ branches about, or listening to the sleepy hum of the flies. And at these times thoughts flowed through his brain, as water flows in a river bed.

他偶尔会思考。作为一个阿拉伯人，他从不着急。他一点也不介意一次静坐一两个小时，什么也不做，只是沐浴在阳光下，或者看着风吹动橄榄枝，或者听着苍蝇昏昏欲睡的嗡嗡声。在这些时候，他的脑子里就像河床里的水一样流动着各种想法。

1 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 toss   

n./v.突然抬起，摇摆，扔

参考例句：

• Let's toss to see who pays it.让我们来掷钱币决定谁付账吧。
• The matter made him toss in the bed.那件事使他在床上翻来覆去。

4 olive   

n.橄榄，橄榄树，橄榄色；adj.黄绿色的，黄褐色的，橄榄色的

参考例句：

• Have you eaten a kind of fruit called olive?你吃过橄榄这种水果吗？
• She likes olive because It'symbolizes peace.她喜欢橄榄色因为它象征着和平。