LESSON 48
第四十八課
heed
注意
sight
看見
slyly
狡猾的
stream
小河
drifting
漂移
flock
蜂擁
flight
飛行
snaps
吧嗒
hidden
躲藏
circling
環(huán)繞
THE FOX AND THE DUCKS
狐貍和鴨子
On a summer day,
夏日的一天,
a man sitting on the bank of a river,
有個(gè)人坐在河邊,
in the shade of some bushes,
在灌木叢的陰涼下,
watched a flock of ducks on the stream.
著小溪中的一群鴨子。
Soon a branch with leaves came drifting among them,
不久,一根帶著幾片葉子樹枝漂到了它們中間。
and they all took wing.
鴨子們都張開翅膀飛起來,
After circling in the air for a little time,
在空中盤旋一小會(huì)兒后,
they settled down again on their feeding ground.
又落到了它們的覓食地。
Soon another branch came drifting down among them,
很快,另一根樹枝也漂到了它們中間。
and again they took flight from the river;
鴨子再次從河里飛起來。
but when they found the branch had drifted by
當(dāng)它們發(fā)現(xiàn)樹枝漂走了,
and done them no harm,
并沒有對(duì)它們?cè)斐蓚螅?/p>
they flew down to the water as before.
它們又像從前那樣落到了水里。
After four or five branches had drifted by in this way,
當(dāng)四五根樹枝都流經(jīng)這里后,
the ducks gave little heed to them.
鴨子們稍稍留意了一下它們。
At length, they hardly tried to fly out of their way,
最后,甚至在樹枝快要碰到它們時(shí),
even when the branches nearly touched them.
也不再試圖飛起來了。
The man who had been watching all this,
有個(gè)人看到了全過程。
now began to wonder who had set these branches adrift.
他開始納悶是誰把這些樹枝放在水里讓它們漂過去。
He looked up the stream,
他抬頭看了看河流,
and spied a fox slyly watching the ducks.
發(fā)現(xiàn)一只狐貍正陰險(xiǎn)地注視著鴨子們。
"What will he do next?" thought the man.
“它下一步會(huì)做什么呢?”這個(gè)人想。
When the fox saw that the ducks were no longer afraid of the branches,
當(dāng)這只狐貍看到鴨子們不再害怕樹枝后,
he took a much larger branch than any he had yet used,
它搬來一個(gè)比以前用過的更大的樹枝,
and stretched himself upon it so as to be almost hidden.
然后直挺挺地趴在上面藏起來。
Then he set it afloat as he had the others.
它讓這個(gè)樹枝漂到水里,就像它以前做過的一樣。
Right among the flock drifted the sly old fox,
狡猾的老狐貍準(zhǔn)確無誤地漂到了鴨群中,
and, making quick snaps to right and left,
突然向左右快速猛咬。
he seized two fine young ducks,
它捉住了兩只漂亮的小鴨子,
and floated off with them.
然后離開了水面。
The rest of the flock flew away in fright,
其余的鴨子驚嚇地飛離水面,
and did not come back for a long time.
嚇得很久也沒再回來。
The fox must have had a fine dinner
那只狐貍肯定享用了一頓美妙的晚餐,
to pay him for his cunning, patient work.
來犒勞自己狡猾而耐心的勞動(dòng)。