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英文故事-The Day the Sky Felt Blue

时间:2009-11-03 03:21:47

(单词翻译:单击)

              Once the sky was grumpy and annoyed. He rumbled1 around angrily, trying to find something or someone who would make him feel better again. But no one seemed to notice him except the grass.
              "What's the matter, Mr. Sky?" asked the grass, craning his little neck as high as he possibly could. Sky stopped pacing around for a little while to look down at the grass. He sighed, and the sound rustled2 through the trees and the bushes like a sad little draft.
              "It's nothing, really..." he started. The grass waited patiently. 
               "Well, it's just that I have this itch3 right here in my side," Sky bent4 himself almost in two to point to the spot in his massive frame, "and I can't reach it to scratch it and it's driving me crazy."
               The grass crouched5 down as another sigh swept through the area, almost flattening6 him and his little green companions.
"I wish I could help you, Mr. Sky, I really do, but there's no way I can reach that high," said the grass.
               "I know, no one can. I guess I'm just doomed7 to move around with this itch in my side forever," rumbled Sky. 
               "Wait a minute," said the grass, "why don't you ask those trees over there to help you out?" He pointed8 over to a couple of tall oak trees standing9 nearby, their branches reaching high into the sky.
               Sky brightened up again at the thought. He bent down to the oak trees, nudging their leaves to get their attention. When they straightened up and looked toward him, the sky told them his problem and asked them if they could help. The oak trees reached up as high as they possibly could, lifting up their tallest branches, and tried to reach the itch in Sky's side.  
But try as hard as they might, reach as high as they might, the spot seemed always just a little too far away. Finally their own sides aching with the effort, the trees had to give up. 
               "It's no use," wept Sky in frustration10 and his tears rained down in big plops on the grass who came up with another idea.
"Why don't we ask one of those birds on the treetops to fly over and help you out?" he suggested.
Sky heaved his gigantic frame towards the little bluebirds on the oak trees and asked them if they could help him out. The birds twit-twitted enthusiastically. But hard as they tried and high as they flew, they just couldn't reach high enough.
The mountains couldn't reach high enough to help Sky out of his misery11 either, and the clouds turned out to be far too soft to be of any use.  
               With each defeat Sky sighed harder and harder until the whole earth shivered.
              By evening, cold winds were blowing through the grass, the mountains and the trees, covering them in ice from top to toe, in the middle of July. Worried, they all got together to plead to the Sun to help them out. Sun shook his huge yellow head apologetically.
"You know I set in the West. Sky's itch is up there, in the North. I'm sorry, but I just can't go over there."
              Cold and anxious, the grass, the trees, the birds and the mountains huddled12 up wondering what to do, staring up at the miserable13 darkening sky, waiting for the moon to come up. Perhaps he could help. But Moon seemed rather late tonight. They waited and waited until at last it hit Sky that it was New Moon night. It was the moon's night off.
              As everyone shivered and thought and shivered and thought in the freezing silence, they heard a small voice say shyly, "Do you think I might be able to help?" They looked up to see who had spoken. It was the only star shining in the sky, Polaris, the North Star.
Polaris carefully scratched Sky's itchy spot, and scratched and scratched until Sky sighed in relief, a sigh that gently tiptoed through the trees like a tender summer breeze. The cold winds stopped blowing, and in the still summer heat the ice on the trees and the grass and the mountains began to melt. Everything was returning to normal and by the next morning the sky was well rested and happy again.  
He was very grateful to Polaris and enormously relieved to hear that she stayed in the same spot every night, night after night, summer or winter, all the year round.
来源:口语陪练网

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1 rumbled e155775f10a34eef1cb1235a085c6253     
发出隆隆声,发出辘辘声( rumble的过去式和过去分词 ); 轰鸣着缓慢行进; 发现…的真相; 看穿(阴谋)
参考例句:
  • The machine rumbled as it started up. 机器轰鸣着发动起来。
  • Things rapidly became calm, though beneath the surface the argument rumbled on. 事情迅速平静下来了,然而,在这种平静的表面背后争论如隆隆雷声,持续不断。
2 rustled f68661cf4ba60e94dc1960741a892551     
v.发出沙沙的声音( rustle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He rustled his papers. 他把试卷弄得沙沙地响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Leaves rustled gently in the breeze. 树叶迎着微风沙沙作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 itch 9aczc     
n.痒,渴望,疥癣;vi.发痒,渴望
参考例句:
  • Shylock has an itch for money.夏洛克渴望发财。
  • He had an itch on his back.他背部发痒。
4 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
5 crouched 62634c7e8c15b8a61068e36aaed563ab     
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
  • The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身,准备猛扑。
6 flattening flattening     
n. 修平 动词flatten的现在分词
参考例句:
  • Flattening of the right atrial border is also seen in constrictive pericarditis. 右心房缘变平亦见于缩窄性心包炎。
  • He busied his fingers with flattening the leaves of the book. 他手指忙着抚平书页。
7 doomed EuuzC1     
命定的
参考例句:
  • The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
  • A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。
8 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
9 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
10 frustration 4hTxj     
n.挫折,失败,失效,落空
参考例句:
  • He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
  • He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
11 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦
参考例句:
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
12 huddled 39b87f9ca342d61fe478b5034beb4139     
挤在一起(huddle的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • We huddled together for warmth. 我们挤在一块取暖。
  • We huddled together to keep warm. 我们挤在一起来保暖。
13 miserable g18yk     
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。