美国小学英语教材6:第45课 金黄色的彩虹泥沼(1)

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　　Bruce Horsfall is one of America's greatest artists of birds and animals. 布鲁斯·霍尔斯是美国著名的鸟类和动物艺术家。

　　If you read Nature Magazine, you will find some of his pictures there. 如果你看过《自然》杂志，你一定看到过他的照片。

　　He has also painted many backgrounds for mounted animals, such as you read about in the story of Carl Akeley. 他还画过动物标本背景，比如之前关于卡尔·阿克利的文章。

　　A small boy, his shoes tied together with their own strings² and slung³ over one shoulder, trudged⁴ along the muddy shore of Rainbow Slough. 在湿漉漉的“彩虹泥沼”岸边，小男孩拖着沉重的步伐行走，鞋带将两只鞋捆绑在一起挂在肩膀上。

　　At each step the black soil oozed⁵ up in curly ribbons between his toes, 每走一步，他的脚指甲中间的卷曲彩虹就会溢出黑土，

　　while the hard clay a few inches below made walking slippery. 脚下几英寸的黑色黏土让地面十分光滑。

　　But this was better than the higher slope where the saw grass grew, the grass with notched⁶ edges which cut like knives. 但这比海拔相对较高的斜坡好多了，斜坡上长着锯齿草，这种草的边缘凹凸不平，像小刀一样尖锐。

　　It had already left several stinging slashes⁷ on his ankles and legs below the reach of his rolled-down trousers. 裤子裸露的脚踝和脚留下了多道被草刮过的伤痕。

　　It was hot mid-day in early August. The air shimmered⁸ in a misty⁹ haze¹⁰; 这是八月初的一个炎热的中午，空气散发着迷雾，发出微弱的光芒；

　　not a breath of wind stirred the surface of the pond which lay quiet in the steaming heat. 湖泊在炽热的环境中一动不动，没有一点涟漪。

　　The buzz of countless¹¹ insects and the hum of bees and flies filled the drowsy¹² air. 无数昆虫发出的响声，还有蜜蜂和蚊虫的嗡嗡声充满了这个寂静的空气。

　　The smell of decaying plants and drying mud, mingled¹³ with the odors of growing plants, 植物腐烂和干土发出的味道，植物生长发出的气味，

　　freshly cut marsh¹⁴ grass, and water lilies, came to the boy's nostrils¹⁵. 新砍伐的沼泽草和水百合的味道，男孩闻到了这些气味。

　　But he thoroughly¹⁶ enjoyed every whiff as he recognized the well-known odors of Rainbow Slough. 但他沉浸在每一口呼吸中，他知道这是著名的彩虹泥沼的味道。

　　There was the spicy¹⁷ odor of the pennyroyal, tansy, and other marsh flowers; 这里有薄荷花，艾菊以及其它沼泽花朵发出的刺激味道；

　　the sharp sweetness in the odor of the horsemint; 银薄荷发出的甜甜的味道；

　　and the overpowering perfume of the white pond lilies just beyond his depth out there in the water. 在距离他更深的地方，白睡莲发出的沁人心脾的芳香，

　　However, he was not after white lilies, nor did he pick the lovely marsh mallows as he passed along, 但他不喜欢白百何，他在经过沼泽时也没有采美丽的芙蓉葵，

　　well knowing that they would droop¹⁸ and wither¹⁹ before he could get them home. 知道在他拿回家之前，芙蓉葵会发蔫枯萎。

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