内容简介：
《夏洛的网》是美国作家E.B.怀特所著的三部被誉为“二十世纪读者最多、最受爱戴的童话”之一。
在朱克曼家的谷仓里，快乐地生活着一群动物，其中小猪威尔伯和蜘蛛夏洛建立了最真挚的友谊。然而，一个最丑恶的消息打破了谷仓的平静：威尔伯未来的命运竞 是成为熏肉火腿。作为一只小猪，悲痛绝望的威尔伯似乎只能接受任人宰割的命运了，然而，看似渺小的夏洛却说：“我救你。”于是，夏洛用自己的丝在猪栏上织 出了被人类视为奇迹的网上文字，彻底逆转了威尔伯的命运，终于让它在集市的大赛中赢得特别奖，和一个安享天命的未来。但，这时，蜘蛛夏洛的生命却走到了尽 头……
作者简介：
E.B.怀特(1899-1985)生于纽约蒙特弗农，毕业于康奈尔大学。也许你对美国作家E.B. 怀特（E.B.White）感到陌生，也许你对《Charlotte's Web》（《夏洛的网》）不是很熟悉，但是一提起一部电影《精灵鼠小弟》，你马上就知道了，这部电影就是根据E.B. 怀特（E.B.White）的书改编拍摄的。他还有一部童话叫《吹小号的天鹅》
Chapter 8. A Talk At Home
【特点段落】
"Charlotte?" said Mrs. Arable. "Who's Charlotte?"
"She's Wi lbur's best friend. She's terribly clever."
"What does she look l ike?" asked Mrs. Arable.
"Wel l-l ," said Fern, thoughtfully, "she has eight legs. Al l spiders do,I guess."
"Charlotte is a spider?" asked Fern's mother.
Fern nodded. "A big grey one. She has a web across the top of Wi lbur's doorway. She catches flies and sucks their blood. Wilbur adores her."
【段落有感】
这段是芬和她母亲的对话，母亲沉静而略带思虑的表情和小女孩欢乐地和母亲交流体验的模样一瞬间跃然纸上。母亲的短句干练，而芬的长句则体现了小女孩的欢脱之情。两相对比，不同的角色特质让人一目了然。也能产生自然的联想，母亲思虑的原因和芬的快乐是否会延续，都成了引发阅读兴趣的引玉之砖。
No.1 - “The goose did what?” asked Mrs. Arable, gazing at her daughter with a queer, worried look.
【译文】“那只鹅做了什么？”艾拉伯尔夫人盯着她的女儿，表情怪异，状似忧虑。
【短语笔记】gaze at
【英英释义】
1. vi. to look at someone or something for a long time, giving it all your attention, often without realizing you are doing so [= stare]
2. n. a long steady look
【例】
1. Dad didn't take her out of the garden, but he'd walk up and down with her, chatting all the time. She'd gaze up at him, entranced.
2. He did not dream how ardent and masculine his gaze was, nor that the warm flame of it was affecting the alchemy of her spirit.
【举一反三】表示看的动词还有哪些呢？look, stare, gaze, glance, glare, glower, watch, peep 这些词的区别你都知道么？
1. Look vi. to turn your eyes towards something, so that you can see it 这个就是我们最常见的看啦~
2. Stare vi. to look at something or someone for a long time without moving your eyes, for example because you are surprised, angry, or bored
3. Gaze vi. to look at someone or something for a long time, giving it all your attention, often without realizing you are doing so
（stare和gaze都可以译为盯着看，却略有不同。stare相当于目不转睛，通常是因为情绪变化，而gaze则常是无意识地全神贯注，没有特别的诱因。）
4. Glance vi. to quickly look at someone or something 通常指速度很快地扫过目标
5. Glare vi. to look angrily at someone for a long time
6. Glower vi. to look at someone in an angry way
（glare和glower都是生气地看，不过glare还兼有盯着看的意思，怒气冲冲地盯着看，想想就觉得很可怕呢）
7. Watch vi. to look at someone or something for a period of time, paying attention to what is happening 这个词的意思略微复杂，它既可以表示比较正式的观看比赛或者演出，又可以表示一种监视监控。因此碰到这个词的时候大家可要留心一下哟~
8. Peep vi. to look at something quickly and secretly, especially through a hole or opening 这个词就是我们常说的偷看啦~词义要记住，偷看可别干啊！
No.2 - Mr. Arable grinned. “Maybe our ears aren’t as sharp as Fern’s,” he said.
【译文】艾拉伯尔先生笑，他说：“也许是我们的耳朵没芬的那么灵敏吧。”
【短语笔记】as sharp as (as + adj. + as )
【举一反三】as … as的词组我们经常使用，比如as soon as possible（ASAP），as fast as I can等等，不过英语中经常有用这个形式进行的比喻哟，我们一起来看一看。
1. as black as a raven 像乌鸦一般黑
2. as stupid as an ass 蠢极了，跟驴一样
3. as hard as iron 坚如磐石
4. as old as Adam 极其古老（Adam 圣经中人类的始祖）
5. as hard as nether millstone 铁石心肠
不过西方文化和中国略有不同，若不深究，可是要闹笑话的哟！
1. as cool as a cucumber 泰然自若，极其镇静
2. as strong as a horse 健壮如牛（健壮如马？中国的牛比较健壮啦~）
3. as timid as a hare 胆小如鼠（不是兔子哟）
