听播客学英语 182 玛丽有只小羊羔

 　　Reading poetry for children can often help you to learn a foreign language. Why? Because poetry written for children is simple, and uses words and language which are close to the ordinary spoken language. And generally these poems are short, and make you laugh. I have two little poems for you today. The first one is a traditional children’s rhyme¹ called Mary had a Little Lamb. It goes like this:-

　　Mary had a little lamb,

　　Its fleece was white as snow,

　　And everywhere that Mary went

　　The lamb was sure to go.

　　It followed her to school one day,

　　That was against the rules.

　　It made the children laugh and play

　　To see a lamb at school.

　　Look at the first line – Mary had a little lamb. In English, we often use the word “have” to mean “eat”. For example, Kevin has a chocolate bar with his coffee in the morning. This means² that he eats a chocolate bar with his coffee. I have a sandwich and an apple for lunch. That means, I eat a sandwich and an apple. The waiter in a cafe may ask you, “What would you like to have?” and this means “What would you like to eat?” So, “Mary had a little lamb” – that couldn’t possibly mean “Mary ate a little lamb”, could it? The American children’s poet, Bill Dodds, thinks so.

　　Mary had a little lamb,

　　a little toast,

　　a little jam,

　　a little pizza

　　and some cake,

　　some French fries

　　and a chocolate shake,

　　a little burger

　　on a bun³.

　　And that’s why Mary

　　weighs a ton.

　　Copyright Bill Dodds

1 rhyme   

n.韵，押韵，韵文；vi.押韵，作诗；vt.使押韵，用韵诗表达

参考例句：

• I cannot find a rhyme to " hiccups ".我不能找到和 “hiccups”同韵的词。
• The last two lines of this poem don't rhyme properly.这首诗后两句不怎么压韵。

2 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

3 bun   

n.小而圆的甜面包；(头发扎成的)髻

参考例句：

• He stole a bun from the shop.他从店里偷了一个圆面包。
• She wears her hair in a bun.她把头发盘成一个髻。