思年

A gay young spark① I knew， who happened from his aunt great riches to inherit②.

一個(gè)放蕩的紈绔少年從他姑媽那里繼承了一大筆遺產(chǎn)。

He started squandering and squandered with such spirit， that all his worldly wealth was I.O.U.

他開始大肆揮霍，直到所有的財(cái)富都成了欠條。

He had a fine fur③ coat， still new. It was winter at the time， and old Jack Frost was in his prime④.

他有一件上好的皮大衣，還是嶄新的。當(dāng)時(shí)正值嚴(yán)冬時(shí)節(jié)。

One day a swallow passed： what does our booby do？But pawn the fur as well！

有一天，天上飛過一只燕子：這個(gè)傻瓜做了什么？他把皮衣當(dāng)?shù)袅耍?/p>

“Why， arent we all aware， youll never see a swallow⑤ in the air till spring insight⑥！”

“誰不知道只有到了春天，天空才會出現(xiàn)燕子呢?！崩俗酉?。

So now， “thinks prodigal⑦，” my fur is useless quite. Why wrap oneself in furs？

“所以，現(xiàn)在我的皮大衣沒用了，為何還要緊裹著它呢？”

It is now the first spring breezes. To Natures waking realm⑧ bring everything that pleases， and to the silent North the banished Frost takes wing.

第一縷春風(fēng)已經(jīng)吹過，蘇醒的大自然一切都令人心曠神怡，嚴(yán)冬也跑到寂靜的北方了。

Our friend is quick at reckoning. He only quite forgets—at least， until he sneezes， one swallow does not make the spring.

至少打噴嚏之前，這個(gè)少年很會盤算，只是他忘記了——一燕不成春。

And so it proves！ The frosts return again. The carts go creaking through the crumbled snow， the chimneys puff their smoke， one very window pane⑨， delightful⑩ fairy tracings show.

確實(shí)如此！寒冬又回來了！馬車咯吱咯吱地穿過冰天雪地，煙囪冒著煙，玻璃上結(jié)滿了形狀各異的冰花。

Poor rake！ His eyes with rheumy moisture flow； the little bird that spoke of summer days to follow， lies frozen in the snow.

可憐的浪子，他感冒了，淚流不止，而那只代表夏季即將到來的燕子凍死在雪地里。

He stands beside the swallow. And shakes， and holds his breath， and mumbles through his teeth， “You villain11， any how youre finished too！ I thought that I could count on you！ To pawn my fur just now—a pretty thing to do！”

浪子站在燕子旁邊，凍得發(fā)抖，他屏住呼吸，嘴里喃喃地說：“壞蛋！不管怎么說，你都完蛋了！我以為還能指望你呢！我剛剛把皮衣賣了——簡直太糟糕了！”

【重點(diǎn)單詞】

① spark [spɑ?k] n. 火花；朝氣；情人

② inherit [In?herIt] v. 繼承；遺傳

③ fur [f??r] n. 毛皮；軟毛；毛皮制品；皮衣

④ prime [praIm] n. 壯年；全盛時(shí)期；青春

⑤ swallow [?sw?l??] n. 燕子；吞咽；一次吞咽的量

⑥ insight [?InsaIt] n. 洞察力；見識；深刻的理解

⑦ prodigal [?pr?dIɡl] adj. 揮霍的；（物產(chǎn)等）豐富的；慷慨的 n. 揮霍者

⑧ realm [relm] n. 王國；領(lǐng)域

⑨ pane [peIn] n. 窗玻璃；方框；方格

⑩ delightful [dI?laItfl] adj. 令人愉快的；可喜的

11 villain [?vIl?n] n. 壞人；惡棍；罪犯