轻松背单词新浪微博 轻松背单词腾讯微博
轻松背单词微信服务号
当前位置:首页 -> 9级英语阅读 - > 安徒生童话-13 The Goloshes of Fortune-The...
安徒生童话-13 The Goloshes of Fortune-The Watchman’s Adventures
添加时间:2014-01-16 14:30:04 浏览次数: 作者:Andersen
Tip:点击数字可快速查看单词解释  
  • WELL, I declare, there lies a pair of goloshes,” said the watchman. “No doubt, they belong to the lieutenant1 who lives up stairs. They are lying just by his door.” Gladly would the honest man have rung, and given them in, for a light was still burning, but he did not wish to disturb the other people in the house; so he let them lie. “These things must keep the feet very warm,” said he; “they are of such nice soft leather.” Then he tried them on, and they fitted his feet exactly. “Now,” said he, “how droll2 things are in this world! There’s that man can lie down in his warm bed, but he does not do so. There he goes pacing up and down the room. He ought to be a happy man. He has neither wife nor children, and he goes out into company every evening. Oh, I wish I were he; then I should be a happy man.”

    As he uttered this wish, the goloshes which he had put on took effect, and the watchman at once became the lieutenant. There he stood in his room, holding a little piece of pink paper between his fingers, on which was a poem,—a poem written by the lieutenant himself. Who has not had, for once in his life, a moment of poetic3 inspiration? and at such a moment, if the thoughts are written down, they flow in poetry. The following verses were written on the pink paper:—

    “OH WERE I RICH!

    “Oh were I rich! How oft, in youth’s bright hour,

    When youthful pleasures banish4 every care,

    I longed for riches but to gain a power,

    The sword and plume5 and uniform to wear!

    The riches and the honor came for me;

    Yet still my greatest wealth was poverty:

    Ah, help and pity me!

    “Once in my youthful hours, when gay and free,

    A maiden6 loved me; and her gentle kiss,

    Rich in its tender love and purity,

    Taught me, alas7! too much of earthly bliss8.

    Dear child! She only thought of youthful glee;

    She loved no wealth, but fairy tales and me.

    Thou knowest: ah, pity me!

    “Oh were I rich! again is all my prayer:

    That child is now a woman, fair and free,

    As good and beautiful as angels are.

    Oh, were I rich in lovers’ poetry,

    To tell my fairy tale, love’s richest lore9!

    But no; I must be silent—I am poor.

    Ah, wilt10 thou pity me?

    “Oh were I rich in truth and peace below,

    I need not then my poverty bewail.

    To thee I dedicate these lines of woe11;

    Wilt thou not understand the mournful tale?

    A leaf on which my sorrows I relate—

    Dark story of a darker night of fate.

    Ah, bless and pity me!”

    “Well, yes; people write poems when they are in love, but a wise man will not print them. A lieutenant in love, and poor. This is a triangle, or more properly speaking, the half of the broken die of fortune.” The lieutenant felt this very keenly, and therefore leaned his head against the window-frame, and sighed deeply. “The poor watchman in the street,” said he, “is far happier than I am. He knows not what I call poverty. He has a home, a wife and children, who weep at his sorrow and rejoice at his joy. Oh, how much happier I should be could I change my being and position with him, and pass through life with his humble12 expectations and hopes! Yes, he is indeed happier than I am.”

    At this moment the watchman again became a watchman; for having, through the goloshes of Fortune, passed into the existence of the lieutenant, and found himself less contented13 than he expected, he had preferred his former condition, and wished himself again a watchman. “That was an ugly dream,” said he, “but droll enough. It seemed to me as if I were the lieutenant up yonder, but there was no happiness for me. I missed my wife and the little ones, who are always ready to smother14 me with kisses.” He sat down again and nodded, but he could not get the dream out of his thoughts, and he still had the goloshes on his feet. A falling star gleamed across the sky. “There goes one!” cried he. “However, there are quite enough left; I should very much like to examine these a little nearer, especially the moon, for that could not slip away under one’s hands. The student, for whom my wife washes, says that when we die we shall fly from one star to another. If that were true, it would be very delightful15, but I don’t believe it. I wish I could make a little spring up there now; I would willingly let my body lie here on the steps.”

    There are certain things in the world which should be uttered very cautiously; doubly so when the speaker has on his feet the goloshes of Fortune. Now we shall hear what happened to the watchman.

    Nearly every one is acquainted with the great power of steam; we have proved it by the rapidity with which we can travel, both on a railroad or in a steamship16 across the sea. But this speed is like the movements of the sloth17, or the crawling march of the snail18, when compared to the swiftness with which light travels; light flies nineteen million times faster than the fleetest race-horse, and electricity is more rapid still. Death is an electric shock which we receive in our hearts, and on the wings of electricity the liberated19 soul flies away swiftly, the light from the sun travels to our earth ninety-five millions of miles in eight minutes and a few seconds; but on the wings of electricity, the mind requires only a second to accomplish the same distance. The space between the heavenly bodies is, to thought, no farther than the distance which we may have to walk from one friend’s house to another in the same town; yet this electric shock obliges us to use our bodies here below, unless, like the watchman, we have on the goloshes of Fortune.

    In a very few seconds the watchman had travelled more than two hundred thousand miles to the moon, which is formed of a lighter20 material than our earth, and may be said to be as soft as new fallen snow. He found himself on one of the circular range of mountains which we see represented in Dr. Madler’s large map of the moon. The interior had the appearance of a large hollow, bowl-shaped, with a depth about half a mile from the brim. Within this hollow stood a large town; we may form some idea of its appearance by pouring the white of an egg into a glass of water. The materials of which it was built seemed just as soft, and pictured forth21 cloudy turrets22 and sail-like terraces, quite transparent23, and floating in the thin air. Our earth hung over his head like a great dark red ball. Presently he discovered a number of beings, which might certainly be called men, but were very different to ourselves. A more fantastical imagination than Herschel’s must have discovered these. Had they been placed in groups, and painted, it might have been said, “What beautiful foliage24!” They had also a language of their own. No one could have expected the soul of the watchman to understand it, and yet he did understand it, for our souls have much greater capabilities25 then we are inclined to believe. Do we not, in our dreams, show a wonderful dramatic talent? each of our acquaintance appears to us then in his own character, and with his own voice; no man could thus imitate them in his waking hours. How clearly, too, we are reminded of persons whom we have not seen for many years; they start up suddenly to the mind’s eye with all their peculiarities26 as living realities. In fact, this memory of the soul is a fearful thing; every sin, every sinful thought it can bring back, and we may well ask how we are to give account of “every idle word” that may have been whispered in the heart or uttered with the lips. The spirit of the watchman therefore understood very well the language of the inhabitants of the moon. They were disputing about our earth, and doubted whether it could be inhabited. The atmosphere, they asserted, must be too dense27 for any inhabitants of the moon to exist there. They maintained that the moon alone was inhabited, and was really the heavenly body in which the old world people lived. They likewise talked politics.

    But now we will descend28 to East Street, and see what happened to the watchman’s body. He sat lifeless on the steps. His staff had fallen out of his hand, and his eyes stared at the moon, about which his honest soul was wandering.

    “What is it o’clock, watchman?” inquired a passenger. But there was no answer from the watchman.

    The man then pulled his nose gently, which caused him to lose his balance. The body fell forward, and lay at full length on the ground as one dead.

    All his comrades were very much frightened, for he seemed quite dead; still they allowed him to remain after they had given notice of what had happened; and at dawn the body was carried to the hospital. We might imagine it to be no jesting matter if the soul of the man should chance to return to him, for most probably it would seek for the body in East Street without being able to find it. We might fancy the soul inquiring of the police, or at the address office, or among the missing parcels, and then at length finding it at the hospital. But we may comfort ourselves by the certainty that the soul, when acting29 upon its own impulses, is wiser than we are; it is the body that makes it stupid.

    As we have said, the watchman’s body had been taken to the hospital, and here it was placed in a room to be washed. Naturally, the first thing done here was to take off the goloshes, upon which the soul was instantly obliged to return, and it took the direct road to the body at once, and in a few seconds the man’s life returned to him. He declared, when he quite recovered himself, that this had been the most dreadful night he had ever passed; not for a hundred pounds would he go through such feelings again. However, it was all over now.

    The same day he was allowed to leave, but the goloshes remained at the hospital.



    点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

    1 lieutenant [lefˈtenənt] X3GyG   第7级
    n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
    参考例句:
    • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army. 他被提升为陆军中尉。
    • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note. 他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
    2 droll [drəʊl] J8Tye   第11级
    adj.古怪的,好笑的
    参考例句:
    • The band have a droll sense of humour. 这个乐队有一种滑稽古怪的幽默感。
    • He looked at her with a droll sort of awakening. 他用一种古怪的如梦方醒的神情看着她.
    3 poetic [pəʊˈetɪk] b2PzT   第10级
    adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的
    参考例句:
    • His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought. 他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
    • His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages. 他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。
    4 banish [ˈbænɪʃ] nu8zD   第7级
    vt.放逐,驱逐;消除,排除
    参考例句:
    • The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety. 医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
    • He tried to banish gloom from his thought. 他试图驱除心中的忧愁。
    5 plume [plu:m] H2SzM   第10级
    n.羽毛;v.整理羽毛,骚首弄姿,用羽毛装饰
    参考例句:
    • Her hat was adorned with a plume. 她帽子上饰着羽毛。
    • He does not plume himself on these achievements. 他并不因这些成就而自夸。
    6 maiden [ˈmeɪdn] yRpz7   第7级
    n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的
    参考例句:
    • The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden. 王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
    • The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow. 这架飞机明天首航。
    7 alas [əˈlæs] Rx8z1   第10级
    int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)
    参考例句:
    • Alas! The window is broken! 哎呀! 窗子破了!
    • Alas, the truth is less romantic. 然而,真理很少带有浪漫色彩。
    8 bliss [blɪs] JtXz4   第8级
    n.狂喜,福佑,天赐的福
    参考例句:
    • It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed. 整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
    • He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize. 他非常高兴,因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。
    9 lore [lɔ:(r)] Y0YxW   第10级
    n.传说;学问,经验,知识
    参考例句:
    • I will seek and question him of his lore. 我倒要找上他,向他讨教他的渊博的学问。
    • Early peoples passed on plant and animal lore through legend. 早期人类通过传说传递有关植物和动物的知识。
    10 wilt [wɪlt] oMNz5   第10级
    vt. 使枯萎;使畏缩;使衰弱 vi. 枯萎;畏缩;衰弱 n. 枯萎;憔悴;衰弱
    参考例句:
    • Golden roses do not wilt and will never need to be watered. 金色的玫瑰不枯萎绝也不需要浇水。
    • Several sleepless nights made him wilt. 数个不眠之夜使他憔悴。
    11 woe [wəʊ] OfGyu   第7级
    n.悲哀,苦痛,不幸,困难;int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌
    参考例句:
    • Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe. 我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
    • A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so. 自认祸是祸,自认福是福。
    12 humble [ˈhʌmbl] ddjzU   第7级
    adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;vt.降低,贬低
    参考例句:
    • In my humble opinion, he will win the election. 依我拙见,他将在选举中获胜。
    • Defeat and failure make people humble. 挫折与失败会使人谦卑。
    13 contented [kənˈtentɪd] Gvxzof   第8级
    adj.满意的,安心的,知足的
    参考例句:
    • He won't be contented until he's upset everyone in the office. 不把办公室里的每个人弄得心烦意乱他就不会满足。
    • The people are making a good living and are contented, each in his station. 人民安居乐业。
    14 smother [ˈsmʌðə(r)] yxlwO   第9级
    vt./vi.使窒息;抑制;闷死;n.浓烟;窒息
    参考例句:
    • They tried to smother the flames with a damp blanket. 他们试图用一条湿毯子去灭火。
    • We tried to smother our laughter. 我们强忍住笑。
    15 delightful [dɪˈlaɪtfl] 6xzxT   第8级
    adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
    参考例句:
    • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday. 上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
    • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute. 彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
    16 steamship [ˈsti:mʃɪp] 1h9zcA   第8级
    n.汽船,轮船
    参考例句:
    • The return may be made on the same steamship. 可乘同一艘汽船当天回来。
    • It was so foggy that the steamship almost ran down a small boat leaving the port. 雾很大,汽艇差点把一只正在离港的小船撞沉。
    17 sloth [sləʊθ] 4ELzP   第10级
    n.[动]树懒;懒惰,懒散
    参考例句:
    • Absence of competition makes for sloth. 没有竞争会导致懒惰。
    • The sloth spends most of its time hanging upside down from the branches. 大部分时间里树懒都是倒挂在树枝上。
    18 snail [sneɪl] 8xcwS   第8级
    n.蜗牛
    参考例句:
    • Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body. 蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
    • Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays. 放假前的时间过得很慢。
    19 liberated ['libəreitid] YpRzMi   第7级
    a.无拘束的,放纵的
    参考例句:
    • The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进,解放了那座城市。
    • The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应,释放出氧气。
    20 lighter [ˈlaɪtə(r)] 5pPzPR   第8级
    n.打火机,点火器;驳船;v.用驳船运送;light的比较级
    参考例句:
    • The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter. 这张画经过润色,色调明朗了一些。
    • The lighter works off the car battery. 引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。
    21 forth [fɔ:θ] Hzdz2   第7级
    adv.向前;向外,往外
    参考例句:
    • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth. 风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
    • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession. 他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
    22 turrets [ˈtɜ:rɪts] 62429b8037b86b445f45d2a4b5ed714f   第10级
    (六角)转台( turret的名词复数 ); (战舰和坦克等上的)转动炮塔; (摄影机等上的)镜头转台; (旧时攻城用的)塔车
    参考例句:
    • The Northampton's three turrets thundered out white smoke and pale fire. “诺思安普敦号”三座炮塔轰隆隆地冒出白烟和淡淡的火光。
    • If I can get to the gun turrets, I'll have a chance. 如果我能走到炮塔那里,我就会赢得脱险的机会。
    23 transparent [trænsˈpærənt] Smhwx   第7级
    adj.明显的,无疑的;透明的
    参考例句:
    • The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming. 水清澈透明,可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
    • The window glass is transparent. 窗玻璃是透明的。
    24 foliage [ˈfəʊliɪdʒ] QgnzK   第8级
    n.叶子,树叶,簇叶
    参考例句:
    • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
    • Dark foliage clothes the hills. 浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。
    25 capabilities [ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪti:z] f7b11037f2050959293aafb493b7653c   第7级
    n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力
    参考例句:
    • He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大,自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
    • Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为,标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
    26 peculiarities [pɪˌkju:li:ˈærɪti:z] 84444218acb57e9321fbad3dc6b368be   第9级
    n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪
    参考例句:
    • the cultural peculiarities of the English 英国人的文化特点
    • He used to mimic speech peculiarities of another. 他过去总是模仿别人讲话的特点。
    27 dense [dens] aONzX   第7级
    adj.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的
    参考例句:
    • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
    • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
    28 descend [dɪˈsend] descend   第7级
    vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降
    参考例句:
    • I hope the grace of God would descend on me. 我期望上帝的恩惠。
    • We're not going to descend to such methods. 我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。
    29 acting [ˈæktɪŋ] czRzoc   第7级
    n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
    参考例句:
    • Ignore her, she's just acting. 别理她,她只是假装的。
    • During the seventies, her acting career was in eclipse. 在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。

    文章评论 共有评论 0查看全部

      会员登陆
      热门单词标签
    我的单词印象
    我的理解: