Chapter 1-双语名著无障碍阅读丛书——《小王子The Little Prince》

1 Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book,called True Stories from Nature,about the primeval forest.It was a picture of a boa constrictor in the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing. In the book it said,"Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole, without chewing it.After that they are not able to move,and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion" I pondered deeply,then,over the adventures of the jungle.And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making my first drawing.My Drawing Number One.It looked like this: ·002· 1 我六岁的那一年，曾经在一本描述原始森林的 ①primeval /prar'miva/a.原 书籍一《自然界图鉴》上，看到一幅令人大开眼 始的 ②boa constrictor 界的图画。上面画着一条大蟒蛇正在吞食动物。 bau3kan'strikta/n鳞蛇 以下就是这张图画： ③swallow /swplow吞，咽 ④prey /pre/m被捕食的动 书中这样写着：“大蟒蛇将捕获的猎物囫囵吞枣 物，猎物 ⑤chew /tfu:/.咀嚼 般咽下去，而不经过咀嚼。吞下去之后，大蟒蛇根本 digestion /dr'd3estfan/ 动弹不得，于是需要六个月的睡眠来消化。” n消化 然后，我深深地陷入了关于在丛林中冒险的沉 ⑦ponder /ponda/k考虑：深 思熟虑 思中。在用彩笔涂抹一番后，我成功地完成了我的 ⑧jungle /'d3Ag/n.丛林地 第一幅画。以下就是我的一号作品，看起来就像这 带 ⑨succeed in在…获得成功 样： ·003· The Little Prince I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups,and asked them whether the drawing frightened them. But they answered,"Frighten?Why should any one be frightened by ahat?” My drawing was not a picture of a hat.It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant.But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it,I made another drawing:I drew the inside of the boa constrictor,so that the grown-ups could see it clearly.They always need to have things explained.My Drawing Number Two looked like this: The grown-ups'response5,this time,was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors,whether from the inside or the outside and devote myself instead to geography,history,arithmetic and grammar.That is why,at the age of six,I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter.I had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. ·004 小王子 Dmasterpiece /ma:stopi:s/n. 我把自己的作品拿给大人们看，并问他们是不 代表作 ②frighten/frartn//v(使)惊 是被这幅画给吓着了。 恐 可是大人们却回答说：“吓着？谁会被一顶帽子 吓着呢？” 然而，我画的并不是一顶帽子，而是一幅大象 ③digest/dar'd3est/g.消化 正在大蟒蛇肚子里被消化的画。但是，大人们既然 看不懂我的画，我只得另画了一幅画：我把大蟒蛇 肚子里面的情形描绘出来，这样大人们就可以看得 ④explain /ks'plen/k讲解， 一清二楚。他们总是需要别人把事情详细地解释明 解释 白。以下就是我的二号作品： 这一次，大人们的反应却是劝我把大蟒蛇的画 ⑤response/ris'ppns/n回答： 搁到一旁去，管它是从里看还是从外看，并要我专 反应 心学习地理、历史、数学和语法。就这样，在六岁 的时候，我放弃了或许将是出类拔萃的绘画生涯。 ⑥devote/dr'vout/.为 付出（时间、精力等） 由于一号和二号作品的失败，我一度非常沮丧。大 ⑦dishearten/dis'ha:tan/v.使 人们从来不自己去弄明白任何一件事，总是要求小 …泪丧，使…失去勇气 孩子一一向他们解释，实在很烦人呢！ ·005· The Little Prince Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves,and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them. So then I chose another profession②，and learned to pilot③airplanes.I have flown a little over all parts of the world;and it is true that geography has been very useful to me.At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona5.If one gets lost in the night,such knowledge is valuable. In the course of this life I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence.I have lived a great deal among grown-ups.I have seen them intimately⑦，close at hand⑧.And that hasn't much improved my opinion of them. Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number One,which I have always kept.I would try to find out to see if this was a person of true understanding.But,whoever it was,he,or she,would always say, “'That is a hat..” Then I would never talk to that person about boa constrictors,or primeval forests,or stars.I would bring myself down to his level.I would talk to him about bridge,and golf,and politics,and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man. ·006· 小王子 ①tiresome/taiasam/a.令人 于是我选择了另一项职业，学习驾驶飞机。我 生厌的 几乎飞遍了世界各个地方，此时我才深深发觉地理 对自己非常有用。只要看一眼，我就能很快区分出 profession /pra'fefan/ 中国与亚利桑那州。倘若有人在夜里迷失了航向， n职业 ③pilot /parlot/.驾驶 这类知识更是弥足珍贵。 distinguish /dis'tingwif/v. 在我生命的历程中，曾经遇到不少严肃的人。 辨别，区别，区分 我在成人的世界里生活了很长时间，近距离地观察 ⑤Arizona/er'zauna/n亚 利桑那（美国西南部一州 他们，但是仍然未能改变我对他们的看法。 名) 一旦在他们之间遇到我认为眼光独到的人，我 ⑥encounter/in'kaunta/v.遭 便将自己一直保留的一号作品拿出来试探他。我这 遇，遇到，相遇 intimately /intrmatl/ad. 样做，无非是想了解这个人是否具有真知灼见。可 亲密地，密切地 是，不管我遇到的是谁，不管这人是男是女，他们 ⑧close at hand就在眼前 的答案总是： understanding /Anda- 'staendi/n谅解，理解 “那是一顶帽子。” 于是，我就不再跟这个人讨论大蟒蛇、原始森 林或者星星了。我降低自己的身段，开始和他们谈 论桥牌、高尔夫球、政治以及领带之类的事。大人 们都很乐意遇到一位这样通情达理的人。 )sensible /sensabl/a.明白 的：通情达理的 ·007·