Peter gave himself up for lost, and shed big tears;but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great excitement, and implored him to exert himself.
文字解析：
1、Peter gave himself up for lost：规范的说法是：give up for lost，觉得没有希望了
2、shed big tears：掉下大颗的泪珠
3、sob：抽泣声
4、overhear：偶然听到，无意中听到，偷听
5、implore：恳求，乞求
6、exert：运用，发挥；施以影响；竭力
implore him to exert himself：这里可以解释做“恳求他要尽力脱困”
Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve, which he intended to pop upon the top of Peter;but Peter wriggled out just in time, leaving his jacket behind him.
文字解析：
1、come up with sth：赶上, 提出, 提供, 想出(计划/答案/答复)
这里“Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve”就是说麦克格雷先生拿着把筛子追赶了上来！
2、wriggle：扭动身体
“Peter wriggled out just in time”，这里指麦克格雷先生那着筛子朝彼得兔打去，彼得及时的扭动了身体避开了。
And rushed into the tool-shed, and jumped into a can. It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in, if it had not had so much water in it.
文字解析：
It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in, if it had not had so much water in it.
这句话我们可以一起看一下，意思是“这个水罐子如果没有那么多水在里面的话，会是一个很好的藏身之所”，“很好的藏身之所”虽然听上去很复杂，但是翻译成英语，还是很好理解的，就是“a beautiful thing to hide in”
