《风语河岸柳》第1章 河(8)

The Mole¹ made a great dig² at the water with the oars³, but the oars never touched the water at all.

鼹鼠用木桨在水面上划过很大的弧度，但双桨根本挨不着水，

The Mole's legs flew up above his head, and he found himself lying on top of the Rat in the bottom of the boat.

而他的腿已翘过他的头，他发现他正压在摔倒在船底板上的水鼠身上。

Frightened, he tried to get up, got hold of the side of the boat, and the next moment-splash!

惊恐中，他试图站起来，便抓住船的一边，只听—扑通一声。

Over went the boat, and the Mole and the Rat and the lunch basket were all in the water.

船翻了，鼹鼠，水鼠，午餐篮统统落入水里。

It was the Rat, of course, who pulled the Mole out of the water, who turned the boat right way up, who found the oars, who got the lunch basket from the bottom of the river.

是水鼠，当然是水鼠把鼹鼠拉出水面，是他把船翻正，找回双桨，从河底捞出午餐篮，

And he laughed and laughed.

然后他笑个不停。

When all was ready again, the unhappy Mole sat in the boat very wet and very miserable⁴. As they left, he said in a low voice, Ratty, my dear friend!

待一切收拾停当，鼹鼠不开心地坐在船上，浑身湿漉漉的，非常可怜。当他们起程回家时，他低声地说，阿鼠，我亲爱的朋友！

I have been so silly and so ungrateful. I really am very sorry indeed.

我是多么愚蠢，多么不知好歹，我真的非常抱歉。

That's all right! 'replied the Rat kindly⁶.

没什么！水鼠友善地回答道。

I'm always in and out of the water myself, so don't worry about it.

我总是在水里出入，不要为此担心。

But I re ally⁵ think you should come and stay with me for a while.

但是我真的认为你应该来和我呆一段时间。

You'll be very comfortable, and I'll teach you to row and to swim.

你会很舒服的，我将教你划船，教你游泳，

Soon you'll be as good a boatman as any of us.

不久你就会和我们划得一样好。

The Mole was almost too happy to speak and could find no words to thank his friend.

鼹鼠太高兴了，他简直不知道该说什么来感谢他的朋友。

When they got home, they had a good hot supper in front of a bright fire while the Rat told exciting stories of life on the river.

他们回到家，坐在明亮的火炉前用着可口的热乎乎的晚餐，水鼠边吃边说着河上的生活趣事。

Then he took the Mole upstairs to the best bedroom, and soon the Mole was lying warm and comfortable, listening to the sound of his new friend the River running past his bedroom window

然后他把鼹鼠带到楼上最好的卧室，不久鼹鼠就暖和地，舒服地躺下了，聆听着他的新朋友—河水—流过窗边的声音。

That was the first of many wonderful days for the Mole, as the spring turned slowly into a golden⁷ summer.

那是春天慢慢向金色的夏天转变时，鼹鼠所经历的多彩生活的第一天。

He learnt to swim and to row, and he learnt to love the sound of the wind when it went whispering⁸ its secrets through the trees and the plants by the river.

从那以后，他学着游泳，划船，还学着去喜欢听风声——听它吹过河边的树木和花草时沙沙低语着自己的秘密。

1 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

2 dig   

v.挖（洞，沟等）；掘

参考例句：

• It is difficult to dig the ground when it is frozen.地面冻住了就不易挖掘。
• In those days we often went to dig for wild vegetables.那时候我们常常出去挖野菜。

3 oars   

n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He pulled as hard as he could on the oars. 他拼命地划桨。
• The sailors are bending to the oars. 水手们在拼命地划桨。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

5 ally   

n.同盟者，同盟国；vt.使结盟，与...有关联

参考例句：

• In that war England was not an ally,she was neutral.在那场战争中，英国不同任何一国结盟，保持中立。
• She felt she needed an ally so badly.她感到她极需一个支持者。

6 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

7 golden   

adj.金的，含金的，可贵的，金色的，贵重的，繁盛的

参考例句：

• My teacher is an Englishman with golden hair.我的老师是一个金黄色头发的英国人。
• It's a balmy evening,the golden time for lovers.这是一个暖和的夜晚，是恋人们的黄金时光。

8 whispering   

adj.耳语的，爱拨弄是非的v.低声说( whisper的现在分词 )；私语；小声说；私下说

参考例句：

• They were whispering endearments to each other. 他们彼此低声倾吐着爱慕之情。
• He could hear whispering and scuffling on the other side of the door. 他能听见门那边的低语声和窸窸窣窣的走动声。