英国语文第三册 第4期:以牙还牙

 　　LESSON 4 Tit for tat 第四课 以牙还牙

　　A boy was one day sitting on the steps of a door. 有一天一个男孩坐在门的台阶上.

　　He had a broom in one hand, and in the other a large piece of bread and butter, which somebody had kindly¹ given him. 他一手拿着扫帚,另一手拿着一块大的面包和黄油,有一个好心的人给他的.

　　While he was eating it, and merrily humming a tune², he saw a poor little dog quietly sleeping not far from him. 当他正在吃饭时,愉快地哼着曲子,他看见一只可怜的狗静静地睡离他不远.

　　He called out to him, Come here, poor fellow! 对它喊,"来,可怜的家伙!"

　　The dog, hearing himself kindly spoken to, rose, pricked³ up his ears, and wagged his tail. 狗,听到对自己说,玫瑰,竖起耳朵,摇了摇尾巴.

　　Seeing the boy eating, he came near him. 看到那个男孩吃,它走近他.

　　The boy held out to him a piece of his bread and butter. 男孩拿出他一块面包和黄油.

　　As the dog stretched out his head to take it, the boy hastily drew back his hand and hit him a hard rap on the nose. 随着狗伸出它的头来,男孩急忙缩回他的手,重敲了它的鼻子.

　　The poor dog ran away, howling most dreadfully, while the cruel boy sat laughing at the mischief⁴ he had done. 可怜的狗跑掉了,非常可怕的咆哮,而残忍的男孩坐在嘲笑他做的恶作剧.

　　A gentleman, who was looking from a window on the other side of the street, saw what the wicked boy had done.  一位绅士,从一个窗口在街道的另一边,看见恶人男孩所做的事.

　　Opening the street door, he called him to cross over; at the same time holding up a sixpence between his finger and thumb. 打开门街,他叫他过去,同时保持他的手指和拇指之间的六便士.

　　Would you like this? said the gentleman. 你想要这个吗?"绅士说.

　　Yes, if you please, sir, said the boy, smiling; and he hastily ran over to seize the money. 是的,先生,"男孩说,面带微笑,他急忙跑过去抓住钱.

　　Just at the moment that he stretched out his hand, he got so severe a rap on the knuckles⁵,  只是此刻,他伸出他的手,他的手指被敲了,

　　from a cane⁶ which the gentleman had behind him, that he roared out like a bull! 从绅士在他身后用甘蔗敲的,他吼出像一头公牛!

　　What did you do that for? said he, making a very long face, and rubbing his hand.  你为啥这么做?"他说,做一个很长的脸,搓着他的手.

　　I didn't hurt you, nor ask you for the sixpence. "我没有伤害你,也没有问你的六便士."

　　What did you hurt that poor dog for just now? said the gentleman.  你刚才伤害那个可怜的狗吗?"绅士说.

　　He didn't hurt you, nor ask you for your bread and butter.  "他没有伤害你,也不会问你的面包和黄油.

　　As you served him I have served you.  就像你对它我对你一样,

　　Now, remember dogs can feel as well as boys, and learn to behave kindly towards dumb animals in future. 现在,记住狗的感觉和你一样,以后对动物好点."

1 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

2 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

3 pricked   

刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry. 厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• He was pricked by his conscience. 他受到良心的谴责。

4 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

5 knuckles   

n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝

参考例句：

• He gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. 他紧紧握住方向盘，握得指关节都变白了。
• Her thin hands were twisted by swollen knuckles. 她那双纤手因肿大的指关节而变了形。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。