英語笑話:不要聽信山雞的話
A boy found an eagle’s egg and he put it in the nest of a prairie chicken. The eagle hatched and thought he was a chicken. He grew up doing what prairie chickens do — scratching at the dirt for food and flying short distances with a noisy fluttering① of wings.
It was a dreary life. Gradually the eagle grew older and bitter②. One day he and his prairie chicken friend saw a beautiful bird soaring③ on the currents of air, high above the mountains.
“Oh, I wish I could fly like that!” said the eagle.
The chicken replied, “Don’t give it another thought. That’s the mighty eagle, the king of all birds — you could never be like him!” And the eagle didn’t give it another thought.
He went on cackling④ and complaining about life. He died thinking he was a prairie chicken. My friends, you too were born an eagle. The Creator intended you to be an eagle, so don’t listen to prairie chickens!
中文譯文】
一枚老鷹蛋被一個(gè)小男孩發(fā)現(xiàn)了，它被放進(jìn)了一只山雞的窩里。鷹被孵出來了，但他以為自己是一只山雞。他長大了，做著山雞所做的事——從泥土里翻找食物，做短距離的飛行，翅膀還“啪啪”作響。
生活非常沉悶。漸漸地鷹長大了，他也越來越苦惱。有一天，他和他的山雞朋友看見一只美麗的鳥在天空翱翔，飛得比山還要高。
“噢，我要能飛那么高該多好啊!”鷹說。
山雞回答說：“不要想了，那是兇猛無比的鷹，鳥中之王——你不可能像他一樣!”于是鷹放棄了那個(gè)念頭。
他繼續(xù)咯咯地叫，不停地抱怨生活。最后他死了，依然認(rèn)為自己是一只山雞。朋友們，你也同樣，你天生就是只雄鷹。造物主有意把你造就成一只雄鷹，所以不要聽信山雞的話!
你天生就是一只翱翔于天空的雄鷹，所以不要聽信山雞的話。
詞匯講解】
flutter v. 拍打
如：His heart fluttered with fear.
他害怕得心怦怦亂跳。
She fluttered her handkerchief from the train window as a good-bye.
她從火車窗口里伸出手揮動(dòng)手帕道別。
bitter a. 痛苦的
如：False friends are worse than bitter enemies.
[諺]明槍易躲，暗箭難防。
I had to take the herb tea although it's bitter.
雖然湯藥很苦，我還是不得不喝了。
Some beer and chocolate taste bitter.
有些啤酒和巧克力有苦味。
soar v. 高飛，翱翔
如：Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in the sky.
鳥翼上系上了黃金，這鳥便永不能再在天上翱翔了。
His imagination resemble the wing of an ostrich. it enabled him to run, though not to soar.
他的想象力有類于鴕鳥的翅膀—雖未可以飛翔，猶可使他奔馳。
cackle v. 咯咯叫
如：The manager let us cut the cackle.
經(jīng)理讓我們不要閑談。
The old woman gave a loud cackle.
老太太咯咯地笑起來。
