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当前位置:首页 -> 8级英语阅读 - > 格林童话英文版:The Mouse, the Bird, and t...
格林童话英文版:The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
添加时间:2014-03-20 14:58:38 浏览次数: 作者:Grimms
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  • Once upon a time a mouse, a bird, and a sausage formed a partnership1. they kept house together, and for a long time they lived in peace and prosperity, acquiring many possessions. The bird's task was to fly into the forest every day to fetch wood. The mouse carried water, made the fire, and set the table. The sausage did the cooking.

    Whoever is too well off always wants to try something different! Thus one day the bird chanced to meet another bird, who boasted to him of his own situation. This bird criticized him for working so hard while the other two enjoyed themselves at home. For after the mouse had made the fire and carried the water, she could sit in the parlor2 and rest until it was time for her to set the table. The sausage had only to stay by the pot watching the food cook. When mealtime approached, she would slither through the porridge or the vegetables, and thus everything was GREased and salted and ready to eat. The bird would bring his load of wood home. They would eat their meal, and then sleep soundly until the next morning. It was a great life.

    the next day, because of his friend's advice, the bird refused to go to the forest, saying that he had been their servant long enough. He was no longer going to be a fool for them. Everyone should try a different task for a change. The mouse and the sausage argued against this, but the bird was the master, and he insisted that they give it a try. The sausage was to fetch wood, the mouse became the cook, and the bird was to carry water.

    And what was the result? The sausage trudged3 off toward the forest; the bird made the fire; and the mouse put on the pot and waited for the sausage to return with wood for the next day. However, the sausage stayed out so long that the other two feared that something bad had happened. The bird flew off to see if he could find her. A short distance away he came upon a dog that had seized the sausage as free booty and was making off with her. The bird complained bitterly to the dog about this brazen4 abduction, but he claimed that he had discovered forged letters on the sausage, and that she would thus have to forfeit5 her life to him.

    Filled with sorrow, the bird carried the wood home himself and told the mouse what he had seen and heard. They were very sad, but were determined6 to stay together and make the best of it. The bird set the table while the mouse prepared the food. She jumped into the pot, as the sausage had always done, in order to slither and weave in and about the vegetables and GREase them, but before she reached the middle, her hair and skin were scalded off, and she perished.

    When the bird wanted to eat, no cook was there. Beside himself, he threw the wood this way and that, called out, looked everywhere, but no cook was to be found. Because of his carelessness, the scattered7 wood caught fire, and the entire house was soon aflame. The bird rushed to fetch water, but the bucket fell into the well, carrying him with it, and he drowned.

    从前,有一只老鼠、一只小鸟和一根香肠住在一个家里,它们和睦相处,生活充满了幸福和快乐。他们分工合作,积累不断增加,变得十分富裕。小鸟每天飞到森林里去衔柴回来;老鼠担水,生火,佈置饭桌;香肠则负责做饭。

    一个人生活太顺畅,就会开始变赖,会想着法子玩新花样。有一天,小鸟遇到了另外一个朋友,它向朋友很自豪谈起自己生活的惬意现状。那只鸟却嘲笑它是一个可怜的傻瓜,说它辛辛苦苦在外面干活,另两个夥伴待在家里干轻松的活:老鼠每天生火、担水之后就回到自己的房间里躺下休息,到了吃饭的时候才去摆好桌椅,铺上桌布。香肠则坐在锅子旁,除了看食物烹煮的情况外,甚么事都不做。到了要吃饭的时候,只加一点油、盐就算了事,不到一分钟就干完了。小鸟听了这些话,心里很不是滋味。它飞回家,把柴担放在地上。大家和平时一样一起坐在桌子边吃饭,进餐之后又都回房睡觉,一直睡到第二天早晨起来。

    还有甚么生活比这种默契、合理分工的生活更令人满意呢?

    可是小鸟受了朋友的挑拨,第二天不想到森林里去了,还说自己一直在服待它们两个,做了很久的傻子,现在应该交换一下工作,家务事应该大家轮着来干。尽管老鼠和香肠苦苦劝说,讲明它们这样分工最合理,这样才可能继续维持正常的生活。但小鸟听不进去,坚持它的提议。最后,它俩只好顺着它。它们用抽籤的方式决定了这样的分工:香肠去背柴,老鼠做饭,小鸟去担水。

    人要是离开了适合自己干的工作岗位时,会有甚么结果呢?

    香肠出发到森林里去了,小鸟生起火,老鼠架好锅子,只等香肠回家担来第二天用的柴枝。但香肠去了很久都没有回来,它俩意识到它一定出事了。小鸟马上飞出去沿着小路去找香肠,但它飞了不远就发现路上有一条狗,狗说它遇到了可怜的小香肠,把它当作可以捕食的猎物抓起来吃掉了。小鸟指责狗公开抢劫,行凶杀人。但一切话都已毫无用处,因为狗说它发现香肠从事的工作与它的身份不符合,断定它是伪装的间谍,这样才把它杀死的。小鸟非常伤心地衔起柴枝回到家里,把自己所看到和听到的都告诉了老鼠。他和老鼠都很悲痛,但它们两个商定,最好还是住在一起。

    小鸟把桌子铺好了,老鼠把菜也做好了,但当老鼠去盛菜时,热气一冲,它一子就掉进了锅里,连淹带烫死去了。小鸟来到厨房想把饭菜端到桌子上去,可它没有看到厨师。它把柴枝翻来翻去扔得到处都是,这里叫,那里喊,每个地方都寻遍了,就是找不到厨师。就在这时,灶里的火掉到柴枝上,柴枝马上燃了起来。小鸟急忙去担水,但匆忙间又把木桶掉到井里去了,它也跟着一起掉了下去。一个好端端的家庭就这样完了。

     单词标签: partnership  parlor  trudged  brazen  forfeit  determined  scattered 


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    1 partnership [ˈpɑ:tnəʃɪp] NmfzPy   第8级
    n.合作关系,伙伴关系
    参考例句:
    • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation. 这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
    • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company. 马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
    2 parlor ['pɑ:lə] v4MzU   第9级
    n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
    参考例句:
    • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor. 她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
    • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood? 附近有没有比萨店?
    3 trudged [] e830eb9ac9fd5a70bf67387e070a9616   第9级
    vt.& vi.跋涉,吃力地走(trudge的过去式与过去分词形式)
    参考例句:
    • He trudged the last two miles to the town. 他步履艰难地走完最后两英里到了城里。
    • He trudged wearily along the path. 他沿着小路疲惫地走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    4 brazen [ˈbreɪzn] Id1yY   第11级
    adj.厚脸皮的,无耻的,坚硬的;vt. 厚着脸皮;勇敢地做(或对待);使变得勇敢;厚着脸皮做(或对待)
    参考例句:
    • The brazen woman laughed loudly at the judge who sentenced her. 那无耻的女子冲着给她判刑的法官高声大笑。
    • Some people prefer to brazen a thing out rather than admit defeat. 有的人不愿承认失败,而是宁肯厚着脸皮干下去。
    5 forfeit [ˈfɔ:fɪt] YzCyA   第9级
    vt.丧失;n.罚金,罚款,没收物
    参考例句:
    • If you continue to tell lies, you will forfeit the good opinion of everyone. 你如果继续撒谎,就会失掉大家对你的好感。
    • Please pay for the forfeit before you borrow book. 在你借书之前请先付清罚款。
    6 determined [dɪˈtɜ:mɪnd] duszmP   第7级
    adj.坚定的;有决心的;v.决定;断定(determine的过去分词)
    参考例句:
    • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation. 我已决定毕业后去西藏。
    • He determined to view the rooms behind the office. 他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
    7 scattered ['skætəd] 7jgzKF   第7级
    adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的
    参考例句:
    • Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来,塞进文件夹里。

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