英国语文第四册 第27期:一只忠诚的狗(上)

LESSON 13 A faithful¹ dog

第十三课 一只忠诚的狗

A French merchant, having some money due to him, set out on horseback to receive it, accompanied by his dog.

一位法国商人骑在马背上去讨债，一边跟着他的狗。

Having settled the business, he tied the bag of money before him, and began to return home.

收到钱之后，他把钱袋拴在马背上，准备回家。

The merchant, after riding some miles, alighted to rest himself under a tree;

走了几里路之后，商人决定在一棵树下休息一会，

and taking the bag of money in his hand, laid it down by his side.

于是他把钱袋从马背上卸下来，放在他身边。

But on remounting he forgot it.

可是休息过后，他站起来时却把钱袋子给忘了。

The dog observing this, ran to fetch the bag;

他的狗却发现了被丢掉的钱袋，往回跑想去把钱袋叼回来，

but it was too heavy for it to drag along.

可是那只袋子实在是太重了，它没办法叼着往前走。

It then ran after its master, and, by barking and howling, tried to tell him of his mistake.

于是它只好跑回到主人身边，对着他又吼又叫，想告诉他钱袋丢在树下了。

The merchant did not understand these signs;

可是，主人完全没理解小狗的这些信号，

but the dog went on with its efforts,

但小狗并没有放弃。

and after trying in vain to stop the horse, it at last began to bite its heels.

在徒劳无功地试了一次又一次之后，小狗终于决定用实际行动让马停下来，它开始咬马蹄的后掌。

The thought now struck the merchant that the dog had gone mad;

可是商人现在却觉得他的狗疯了，

and so, in crossing a brook², he looked back to see whether it would drink.

当他们经过一条小溪的时候，他停下来朝后看了看，想知道狗要不要喝水。

The animal was too intent³ on its object to think of stopping for this purpose;

但是，这只小狗因为太急于告诉主人他的钱袋子丢了，根本没时间考虑停下来喝水这回事儿。

and it continued to bark and bite with greater violence than before.

于是，它继续朝主人又吼又咬，声音比之前更响亮。

1 faithful   

adj.守信的，忠实的，如实的，可靠的

参考例句：

• They promised to be faithful to their ideal for ever.他们保证永远忠于自己的理想。
• We must be honest and faithful to the people.我们对人民必须忠诚老实。

2 brook   

n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让

参考例句：

• In our room we could hear the murmur of a distant brook.在我们房间能听到远处小溪汩汩的流水声。
• The brook trickled through the valley.小溪涓涓流过峡谷。

3 intent   

adj.急切的，专心的，专注的；n.意图，意向

参考例句：

• He was intent on the job he was doing.他专心致志于正在做的工作。
• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。