英国语文第二册 第48期:美洲豹

 　　LESSON 47 The tiger 第四十七课 老虎

　　In India, there are vast tracts¹ of waste land called jungle.  在印度，有大片荒置地域，我们称其为丛林。

　　The jungle is a part of the forest overgrown with tall thick grass and bushes.  丛林是森林的一部分，那里长满高大茂密的野草和灌木。

　　It is there chiefly that the tiger has his haunts.  那里也是老虎经常出没的地方。

　　There, by day as well as by night, he is on the watch for his prey². 无论白天或黑夜，老虎都在那里等待猎食。

　　The skin of the tiger is covered all over with beautiful black stripes. 老虎全身遍布漂亮的黑色条纹。

　　Though the tiger is very handsome with his beautiful striped skin,  虽然这些黑色条纹让老虎看起来很酷，

　　he is more fierce and cruel than any other creature that lives in the forest.  但是它却比其它任何住在森林里的动物都要凶残。

　　People are even more afraid of him than they are of the lion.  相比于狮子，人们甚至更害怕老虎。

　　The lion is content with enough to satisfy his hunger, but the tiger is never satisfied.  狮子一旦满足了食欲就会离开，老虎却从不满足。

　　He tries to kill all he can, and dreadful is the havoc³ he often makes. 它会把能吃的都吃光，因此经常让人觉得畏惧。

　　The tiger creeps through the jungle so softly, that he can get near his prey without noise or alarm.  老虎在接近猎物时悄无声息，

　　Then with a swift bound he springs upon his victim,and strikes it down. 随后迅速纵身一跃，将猎物扑倒在地。

　　The tiger does not run, as the horse does.  老虎不会像马一样奔跑。

　　He goes over the ground by making bounds or springs, one after the other, faster than the fleetest horse can run! 老虎是跳着前进的，最快的马却也比不上它。

　　When an army is encamped near a jungle, the men require to be on the watch, for sometimes a tiger springs out.  军队在丛林扎营时要派人放哨，因为有时会跳出老虎来。

　　He has been known to seize a man and carry him off, before anything could be done to save him. 之前有人被抓住并被拖走，而速度之快使其他人还来不及反应。

　　The tiger swims with the utmost ease.  老虎善于游泳。

　　When he is hunted, if he is near a river he will plunge⁴ into it at once, and swim boldly across to the jungle on the other side.  在被猎人追捕时如果旁边有河，老虎会跳进河里，游到对岸。

　　In this way he often escapes from the hunters. In India the tiger is hunted with elephants and dogs. 这样就能摆脱猎人的追捕。在印度，人们用大象和猎狗去猎杀老虎。

1 tracts   

大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文

参考例句：

• vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
• There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 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。

4 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。