Charlotte's Web （By E.B.White）
夏洛的网 作者：E.B.怀特
I. Before Breakfast
1. 早餐之前
"Where's Papa going with the
ax?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast."
爸爸拿着斧子去哪儿了？"在他们收拾桌子准备吃早饭时，芬问她的母亲。
"Out to the
hoghouse," replied Mrs. Arable. "Some pigs were born last night."
"去猪圈了，"阿拉贝尔太太回答。"昨晚生了几只小猪。"
"I don't see why he needs an
ax," continued Fern, who was only eight.
"我不明白他为什么需要一把斧子，"只有八岁的芬继续说。
"哦"，她的母亲说，"其中的一头是个小个子。它长得又小又弱，没有任何可留下来的价值了。所以你爸爸决定去消灭它。"
"Do away with it?"
shrieked Fern. "You mean
kill it? Just because it's smaller than the others?"
"消灭它？"芬尖叫。"你是说杀死它？就因为他比别人的个子小？"
Mrs. Arable put a
pitcher of cream on the table. "Don't
yell, Fern!"she said. "Your father is right. The pig would
probably die anyway."
阿拉贝尔太太把一罐乳酪放到桌上。"别嚷，芬！"她说。"你爸做的对。那头猪不论如何都会死的。"
小编注：故事的开始，就由父亲要杀一头先天不足的小猪而展开，大家可以关注一下芬的母亲对于这只小猪的描述“one of the pigs is a runt. It's very small and weak, and it will never amount to anything. ”其中说到这只小猪是一只“runt”，“runt”这个单词的意思是“发育不全的矮小动物”，别看它指的是小动物，指“瘦小发育不良的小孩子”也是可以的（当然，人也是动物的一种吧），比如我要表达“艾米是一个瘦小发育不良的小孩子”，就可以说“Amy is a skinny runt. ”。
因为刚出生的小猪崽先天不足，发育不全，所以对于养猪户来说是毫无用处的，所以芬的妈妈说“it will never amount to anything”，这句话的意思也就是“无价值，无用处”的意思，这样的表达是不是单单比用一个“useless”要生动形象很多呢~“amout to”直译是“发展成、意味着”的意思，“never amount to anything”也就可以译作“永远不会发展成任何东西”，拐个小弯就可以理解成“毫无价值”的意思咯~
Fern pushed a chair out of the way and ran outdoors. The grass was wet and the
earth smelled of
springtime. Fern's
sneakers were sopping by the time she caught up with her father.
芬推开挡在面前的椅子就往门外跑。草地湿漉漉的，泥土里散发着春天的气息。等芬赶上她的爸爸时，她的运动胶鞋全都湿透了。
"Please don't kill it!" she sobbed. "It's unfair."
"请别杀它！"她呜咽道。"这不公平！"
Mr. Arable stopped walking.
阿拉贝尔先生止住了脚。
小编注：这里小编先想讲讲一个简单的单词“earth”，相信大家都学过这样一个单词，并且通常会将它翻译作“地球”，但是请看这里的earth是首字母小写，并不是大写，面对的这样的情况，这个单词的意思就不能想当然了，我们来一起看一下书中的原句“The grass was wet and the earth smelled of springtime.”原句的意思并不难理解，说是“草地湿润，……有着春天的味道”，联想一下，一般我们都会说是“泥土有着春天的气息”，其实这里的earth也就是“泥土”的意思。美国大作家赛珍珠有一本书的名字就叫做“The Good Earth”，中文译名既不是“好地球”也不是“好泥土”，而是“大地”，是不是很神奇呢？具体为什么，还是要看了内容才能知晓哦~
一个小小的单词，在不同的地方可以有着不同的意思，这不是单纯的死记硬背就能让我们在阅读时游刃有余的，关键还是要大量的阅读，见多便能识广，当然，这阅读不能是盲目的，要带着目的性的读，带着思考去读。
"Fern," he said gently, "you will have to learn to control yourself."
"芬"，他温柔的说，"你该学会自我控制。"
"Control myself?" yelled Fern. "This is a
matter of life and death, and you talk about controlling myself." Tears ran down her cheeks and she took hold of the ax and tried to pull it out of her father's hand.
"自我控制？"芬哭叫道，"这可是一件生死大事！你却对我说什么自我控制！"泪水流到芬的面颊上。她抓住了斧头柄，想把它从父亲手中抢下来。
"Fern," said Mr. Arable, "I know more about raising a litter of pigs than you do. A
weakling makes
trouble. Now run along!"
"芬"，阿拉贝尔先生说，"养小猪的事我比你知道的多。一个体质差的小猪很难养活的。现在你该放我走了！"
"But it's
unfair," cried Fern. "The pig couldn't help being born small, could it? If I had been very
small at birth, would you have killed me?"
"可是这不公平，"芬哭叫着。"这头猪愿意让自己生下来就小吗，它愿意吗？如果我生下来时也很瘦小，你就会杀死我吗？"
Mr. Arable smiled. "Certainly not," he said, looking down at his
daughter with love. "But this is
different. A little girl is one thing, a little
runty pig is
another."
阿拉贝尔先生微笑了。"当然不会了，"他说着，低下头慈爱地望着女儿。"但这是不一样的。一个小女孩是一码事儿，一个小瘦猪是另一码事儿。"
"I see no
difference," replied Fern, still hanging on to the ax. "This is the most terrible case of
injustice I ever heard of."
"我看没什么不一样，"芬回答着，仍死抓着斧柄不放。"这是我曾经听到过的最恐怖的案件！"
小编注：善良的芬不忍小猪就这样被宰杀，于是急忙找了父亲理论，并说这是一件“生死攸关的大事”——This is a matter of life and death. 这句句子变相的含义也就是“This is extremely important.” 但是两句相比之下，前一句是不是很有底蕴很有感觉呢~
面对芬理论，父亲阿拉贝尔先生辩解道“A little girl is one thing, a little runty pig is another.”，这里大家可以关注一下这个表达“……is one thing, ……is another”，这也就是我们常说的“……是一码事儿，……是另一码事儿”。
《夏洛的网》第一章 学习笔记（二）>>>>>
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