听美国故事练听力 38

　　(MUSIC)Today's story is called "The Legend¹ of Sleepy Hollow². It is aboutsomething strange that happed³ long ago in a valley called "SleepyHollow". It was written by Washington⁴ Irving. The story is told byDoug Johnson.
(MUSIC)Narrator: The valley known⁵ as Sleepy Hollow hides from the world inthe high hills of New York state. There are many stories told aboutthe quiet valley. But the story that people believe most is about aman who rides a horse at night. The story says the man died many yearsago during the American revolutionary war. His head was shot⁶ off.
Every night he rises from his burial⁷ place, jumps on his horse andrides through the valley looking for his lost head.
Near Sleepy Hollow is a village called Tarry Town. It was settled⁸ manyyears ago by people from Holland⁹. The village had a small school. Andone teacher, named Ichabod Crane¹⁰. Ichabod Crane was a good name forhim, because he looked like a tall bird, a crane. He was tall and thinlike a crane. His shoulders were small, joined two long arms. His headwas small, too, and flat on top. He had big ears, large glassy greeneyes and a long nose.
Ichabod did not make much money as a teacher. And although he was talland thin, he ate like a fat man. To help him pay for his food heearned extra money teaching¹¹ young people to sing. Every Sunday afterchurch Ichabod taught singing.
Among the ladies Ichabod taught was one Katrina Van Tassel¹². She wasthe only daughter of a rich Dutch¹³ farmer. She was a girl in bloom…much like a round red, rosy¹⁴ apple. Ichabod had a soft and foolishheart for the ladies, and soon found himself interested in Miss VanTassel.
Ichabod's eyes opened wide when he saw the riches of Katrina's farm:
the miles of apple trees and wheat fields, and hundreds of fat farmanimals. He saw himself as master of the Van Tassel farm with Katrinaas his wife.
But there were many problems blocking the road to Katrina's heart. Onewas a strong young man named Brom Van Brunt. Brom was a hero to allthe young ladies. His shoulders were big. His back was wide. And hishair was short and curly¹⁵. He always won the horse races in Tarry Townand earned many prizes. Brom was never seen without a horse.
Sometimes late at night Brom and his friends would rush through townshouting loudly from the backs of their horses. Tired old ladies wouldawaken from their sleep and say: "Why, there goes Brom Van Bruntleading his wild group again!"Such was the enemy Ichabod had to defeat for Katrina's heart.
Stronger and wiser men would not have tried. But Ichabod had a plan.
He could not fight his enemy in the open. So he did it silently¹⁶ andsecretly. He made many visits to Katrina's farm and made her think hewas helping¹⁷ her to sing better.
Time passed, and the town people thought Ichabod was winning¹⁸. Brom'shorse was never seen at Katrina's house on Sunday nights anymore.
One day in autumn Ichabod was asked to come to a big party at the VanTassel home. He dressed in his best clothes. A farmer loaned¹⁹ him anold horse for the long trip to the party.
The house was filled with farmers and their wives, red-faced daughtersand clean, washed sons. The tables were filled with different thingsto eat. Wine filled many glasses.
Brom Van Brunt rode to the party on his fastest horse calledDaredevil. All the young ladies smiled happily when they saw him. Soonmusic filled the rooms and everyone began to dance and sing.
Ichabod was happy dancing with Katrina as Brom looked at them with ajealous heart. The night passed. The music stopped, and the youngpeople sat together to tell stories about the revolutionary war.
Soon stories about Sleepy Hollow were told. The most feared story wasabout the rider²¹ looking for his lost head. One farmer told how heraced the headless man on a horse. The farmer ran his horse faster andfaster. The horseman followed over bush²² and stone until they came tothe end of the valley. There the headless horseman suddenly stopped.
Gone were his clothes and his skin. All that was left was a man withwhite bones shining in the moonlight.
The stories ended and time came to leave the party. Ichabod seemedvery happy until he said goodnight to Katrina. Was she ending theirromance? He left feeling very sad. Had Katrina been seeing Ichabodjust to make Brom Van Brunt jealous²⁰ so he would marry her?
Well, Ichabod began his long ride home on the hills that surroundTarry Town. He had never felt so lonely in his life. He began towhistle as he came close to the tree where a man had been killed yearsago by rebels²³.
He thought he saw something white move in the tree. But no, it wasonly the moonlight shining and moving on the tree. Then he heard anoise. His body shook. He kicked his horse faster. The old horse triedto run, but almost fell in the river, instead. Ichabod hit the horseagain. The horse ran fast and then suddenly stopped, almost throwingIchabod forward to the ground.
There, in the dark woods on the side of the river where the bushesgrow low, stood an ugly thing. Big and black. It did not move, butseemed ready to jump like a giant monster.
Ichabod's hair stood straight up. It was too late to run, and in hisfear, he did the only thing he could. His shaking voice broke thesilent valley.
"Who are you?" The thing did not answer. Ichabod asked again. Still noanswer. Ichabod's old horse began to move forward. The black thingbegan to move along the side of Ichabod's horse in the dark. Ichabodmade his horse run faster. The black thing moved with them. Side byside they moved, slowly at first. And not a word was said.
Ichabod felt his heart sink. Up a hill they moved above the shadow ofthe trees. For a moment the moon shown down and to Ichabod's horror²⁵ hesaw it was a horse. And it had a rider. But the rider's head was noton his body. It was in front of the rider, resting on the horse.
Ichabod kicked and hit his old horse with all his power. Away theyrushed through bushes²⁴ and trees across the valley of Sleepy Hollow. Upahead was the old church bridge where the headless horseman stops andreturns to his burial place.
"If only I can get there first, I am safe," thought Ichabod. He kickedhis horse again. The horse jumped on to the bridge and raced over itlike the sound of thunder. Ichabod looked back to see if the headlessman had stopped. He saw the man pick up his head and throw it with apowerful force. The head hit Ichabod in the face and knocked him offhis horse to the dirt below.
They found Ichabod's horse the next day peacefully eating grass. Theycould not find Ichabod.
They walked all across the valley. They saw the foot marks ofIchabod's horse as it had raced through the valley. They even foundIchabod's old hat in the dust near the bridge. But they did not findIchabod. The only other thing they found was lying near Ichabod's hat.
It was the broken pieces of a round orange pumpkin²⁶.
The town people talked about Ichabod for many weeks. They rememberedthe frightening stories of the valley. And finally they came tobelieve that the headless horseman had carried Ichabod away.
Much later an old farmer returned from a visit to New York City. Hesaid he was sure he saw Ichabod there. He thought Ichabod silentlyleft Sleepy Hollow because he had lost Katrina.
As for Katrina, her mother and father gave her a big wedding when shemarried Brom Van Brunt. Many people who went to the wedding saw thatBrom smiled whenever Ichabod's name was spoken. And they wondered whyhe laughed out loud when anyone talked about the broken orange pumpkinfound lying near Ichabod's old dusty²⁷ hat.
(MUSIC)

      Announcer²⁸: You have heard "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" written byWashington Irving. It was first published in eighteen twenty. Listennext week to the Voice of America for another AMERICAN STORY inSpecial English.
(MUSIC)

1 legend   

n.传说；传奇故事

参考例句：

• This is a popular legend.这是一个民间传说。
• According to ancient legend,the river is a goddess.据古代传说，这条河是位女神。

2 hollow   

adj.空的，中空的，空心的；空洞的，无价值的

参考例句：

• The boys scraped out a hollow place for planting trees.那些孩子挖了个坑准备栽树。
• Bamboo is a sort of hollow plant.竹子是一种中空的植物。

3 happed   

v.偶然发生( hap的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I remember quite clearly nom when the story happed. 我仍清楚地记得故事发生的时候。 来自互联网
• Dont cry berause it over, smile because it happed. 不要因为完结而哭泣，要为曾经发生面微笑。 来自互联网

4 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

5 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

6 shot   

n.炮弹，射击，射手；v.射击，发出，发芽；vbl.射击，发出，发芽

参考例句：

• He shot a wild duck.他射中一只野鸭。
• All the children shot out their hands for the money.所有的孩子突然伸出手来要钱。

7 burial   

n.埋葬，埋藏，掩埋

参考例句：

• The priest prepared the body for burial.牧师给死者作安葬准备。
• The Premier's burial was a solemn occasion.总理的葬礼是个庄严的场面。

8 settled   

a.固定的；稳定的

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled without acrimony. 没有唇枪舌剑，这场纠纷就解决了。
• a settled way of life 安定的生活方式

9 Holland   

n.荷兰(欧洲)

参考例句：

• There are many dairies in Holland.荷兰有很多牛奶场。
• Holland is one of Germany's neighbours.荷兰是德国的邻国之一。

10 crane   

v.伸长(脖子)；n.起重机，吊车

参考例句：

• We used a crane to lift the piano into the theatre.我们使用起重机将钢琴搬进剧场。
• Must we wait till the crane arrives before we start loading?非要等起重机来了才能装运吗？

11 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

12 tassel   

n.流苏，穗；v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须

参考例句：

• The corn has begun to tassel.玉米开始长出穗状雄花。
• There are blue tassels on my curtains.我的窗帘上有蓝色的流苏。

13 Dutch   

adj.荷兰(人)的；荷兰语(或文化)的；n.[the~]荷兰人；荷兰语

参考例句：

• The British and Dutch belong to the same race.英国人和荷兰人是同一种族。
• Do you know anyone who speaks Dutch?你认识会讲荷兰语的人吗？

14 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

15 curly   

adj.卷曲的，卷缩的

参考例句：

• The little boy has curly hair.这小男孩长着一头卷发。
• She is tall and dark with curly hair.她高高的个子，黑皮肤，卷头发。

16 silently   

adv.沉默地，无声地

参考例句：

• She sat in the car,silently fuming at the traffic jam.她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。
• He didn't shout,he just glared at me silently.他没有喊叫，只是默默地怒视着我。

17 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

18 winning   

adj.获胜的，胜利的；吸引人的，有说服力的

参考例句：

• Team A has no chance of winning.A队没有获胜的可能。
• They have great hopes of winning.他们获胜的希望极大。

19 loaned   

v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的过去式和过去分词 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• I have loaned his bicycle. 我把他的自行车给借出去了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The ground was loaned out for numerous events including pop concerts. 场地被借用来搞过无数活动，包括流行音乐会。 来自辞典例句

20 jealous   

adj.妒忌的，猜忌的；精心守护的

参考例句：

• He was jealous when he discovered that she loved someone else.当他发现她爱别人的时候，他吃醋了。
• An honorable Chinese citizen should be jealous of his own rights.一名光荣的中国公民应当珍惜自己的公民权利。

21 rider   

n.骑士，附件，扶手

参考例句：

• The rider forced his horse on through the storm.骑手在暴风雨中策马前进。
• The jury added a rider to their verdict recommending mercy.陪审团在裁决后加了一条建议宽恕的附文。

22 bush   

n.灌木，灌木丛，矮树

参考例句：

• This bush has grown up a lot in the last few months.这矮树丛几个月来已向上长高了很多。
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.一鸟在手，胜于二鸟在林。

23 rebels   

n.反政府的人( rebel的名词复数 )；反叛者；造反者；叛逆者v.反抗政府( rebel的第三人称单数 )；反抗权威

参考例句：

• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。
• The rebels went on an orgy of killing. 叛乱者肆意杀人。

24 bushes   

n.灌木（丛）( bush的名词复数 )；[机械学]（金属）衬套；[电学]（绝缘）套管；类似灌木的东西（尤指浓密的毛发或皮毛）

参考例句：

• There was someone skulking behind the bushes. 有人藏在灌木后面。
• The boy chased his sister in and out among the bushes. 那个男孩在灌木丛里跟着他姐姐追过来追过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 horror   

n.惊骇，恐怖，惨事，极端厌恶

参考例句：

• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation.公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。
• The thought of working nights fills me with abject horror.一想到要夜间工作我就觉得惨兮兮的。

26 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

27 dusty   

adj.积满灰尘的；无聊的，含糊的，粉末状的

参考例句：

• He was pulling dead roots from the dusty earth.他正在从土中拔出枯死的根茎。
• One spring it was very windy and dusty here.有一年春天这里风沙很大。

28 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。