美国语文第四册 第133期:大象(2)

 　　He then stretched his proboscis¹ in a straight line as far as he could, 这时大象尽可能在硬币的上方伸直长鼻，

　　a little distance above the coin, and blew with great force against the wall. 用力向墙上吹气。

　　The angle produced by the opposition² of the wall, made the current of air act under the coin, as he evidently supposed it would, 作用在硬币下方，好像计算好了似的，

　　and it was curious to observe the sixpence traveling toward the animal till it came within his reach, when he picked it up. 人们惊讶地发现硬币移动到了大象能够到的位置，这时大象拾起了硬币。

　　A soldier in India, who had frequently carried an elephant some arrack, being one day intoxicated³, 一个印度士兵经常用大象运送酒，有一天他喝醉了，

　　and seeing himself pursued by the guard whose orders were to conduct him to prison, took refuge under the elephant. 一个卫兵追了过来，一旦被抓住，就要被关进监狱，这个印度士兵藏在了大象的身体下面。

　　The guard soon finding his retreat, attempted in vain to take him from his asylum⁴; for the elephant vigorously defended him with his trunk. 面。卫兵虽然很快找到了他，却没有办法抓到他，因为大象用长鼻奋力保护他。

　　As soon as the soldier became sober, and saw himself placed under such an unwieldy animal, 一清醒过来，看到自己钻到这个庞然大物的身下，

　　he was so terrified that he scarcely durst move either hand or foot; 士兵吓坏了，手脚都不敢移动；

　　but the elephant soon caused his fears to subside⁵ by caressing⁶ him with his trunk, and thus tacitly saying, "Depart in peace." 可是大象很快打消了他的恐惧，用鼻子抚摩着他，似乎在说，“放心离开吧。”

　　A pleasing anecdote⁷ is related of an elephant which was the property of the nabob of Lucknow. 还有一个人们喜闻乐见的故事，一位印度王子有一头不同寻常的大象。

　　There was in that city an epidemic⁸ disorder⁹, making dreadful havoc¹⁰ among the inhabitants. 在那个城市正流行传染病，大部分居民受到了感染。

　　The road to the palace gate was covered with the sick and dying, lying on the ground at the moment the nabob was about to pass. 当王子要经过王宫大门的时候，道路上到处躺着生病和垂死的人。

　　Regardless of the suffering he must cause, the nabob held on his way, not caring whether his beast trod upon the poor helpless creatures or not. 王子骑着象继续赶路，毫不顾及会不会踩到人，也不管会带来多大的痛苦。

　　But the animal, more kind-hearted than his master, carefully cleared the path of the poor, helpless wretches¹¹ as he went along. 可是大象比它的主人善良，一边走一边小心地清理道路，移开那些可怜的、无助的、不幸的人。

　　Some he lifted with his trunk, entirely¹² out of the road. 它用鼻子把一些人挪到路边，

　　Some he set upon their feet, and among the others he stepped so carefully that not an individual was injured. 又使另外一些人站起来。小心翼翼地走在余下的人中间，没伤到一个人。

1 proboscis   

n.（象的）长鼻

参考例句：

• Its proboscis has got stuck to a lot of pollen.它的喙上粘了很多花粉。
• It hovers in front of the flower,using its proboscis to look for nectar. 它在兰花前面飞来飞去, 用喙寻找花蜜.

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

4 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

5 subside   

vi.平静，平息；下沉，塌陷，沉降

参考例句：

• The emotional reaction which results from a serious accident takes time to subside.严重事故所引起的情绪化的反应需要时间来平息。
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon.围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。

6 caressing   

爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的

参考例句：

• The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
• He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

7 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。

8 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

10 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

11 wretches   

n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋

参考例句：

• The little wretches were all bedraggledfrom some roguery. 小淘气们由于恶作剧而弄得脏乎乎的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The best courage for us poor wretches is to fly from danger. 对我们这些可怜虫说来，最好的出路还是躲避危险。 来自辞典例句

12 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。