🔊 I believe that for his escape he took advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds. On the morning of his departure he put his planet in perfect order. He carefully cleaned out his active volcanoes. He possessed two active volcanoes; and they were very convenient for heating his breakfast in the morning. He also had one volcano that was extinct. But, as he said, "One never knows!" So he cleaned out the extinct volcano, too. If they are well cleaned out, volcanoes burn slowly and steadily, without any eruptions. Volcanic eruptions are like fires in a chimney. On our earth we are obviously much too small to clean out our volcanoes. That is why they bring no end of trouble upon us.

我相信他是利用一群候鸟迁徙的机会逃离的。出发的那个早晨,他将自己的星球整理得井井有条。他仔细清理了活火山——他拥有两座活火山,这对清晨加热早餐非常便利。此外还有一座死火山。但正如他所说:"世事难料！"于是他把死火山也清理了一番。只要清理得当,火山便会缓慢而稳定地燃烧,不会喷发。火山喷发就像烟囱里窜出的火焰。在我们地球上,人类实在太过渺小,无法清理火山,所以它们才会给我们带来无穷无尽的麻烦。

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migration /maɪˈɡreɪʃn/

n. 迁徙,移居

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flock /flɒk/

n. （鸟、羊等的）群

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possessed /pəˈzest/

v. 拥有（possess的过去式）

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volcanoes /vɒlˈkeɪnəʊz/

n. 火山（volcano的复数）

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extinct /ɪkˈstɪŋkt/

adj. 灭绝的；熄灭的

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eruptions /ɪˈrʌpʃnz/

n. 喷发,爆发（eruption的复数）

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chimney /ˈtʃɪmni/

n. 烟囱

🔊 But on this last morning all these familiar tasks seemed very precious to him. And when he watered the flower for the last time, and prepared to place her under the shelter of her glass globe, he realized that he was very close to tears.

然而在这最后的清晨,所有这些熟悉的劳作都显得格外珍贵。当他最后一次为花儿浇水,准备将她安置在玻璃罩下时,他意识到自己几乎要落下泪来。

🔊

precious /ˈpreʃəs/

adj. 珍贵的,宝贵的

🔊

globe /ɡləʊb/

n. 球体；地球仪；玻璃罩

🔊 "Goodbye," he said.

"再见。"他说。

🔊 She made no answer.

花儿没有回应。

🔊 "Goodbye," he said again.

"再见。"他又说了一遍。

🔊 The flower coughed. But it was not because she had a cold.

花儿轻咳了一声,却并非因为着凉。

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coughed /kɒft/

v. 咳嗽（cough的过去式）

🔊 "I have been silly," she said to him at last. "I ask your forgiveness. Try to be happy . . ."

"我真傻,"她终于开口说道,"请你原谅我。要努力幸福啊……"

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forgiveness /fəˈɡɪvnəs/

n. 原谅,宽恕

🔊 He was surprised by this absence of reproaches. He stood there all bewildered, the glass globe held arrested in mid-air. He did not understand this quiet sweetness.

这毫无责备的告别令他惊讶。他怔怔地站着,玻璃罩悬在半空。他无法理解这般恬静的温柔。

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absence /ˈæbsəns/

n. 缺席；缺乏

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reproaches /rɪˈprəʊtʃɪz/

n. 责备,指责（reproach的复数）

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bewildered /bɪˈwɪldəd/

adj. 困惑的,茫然的

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arrested /əˈrestɪd/

v. 阻止；逮捕（arrest的过去分词）

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mid-air /ˌmɪd ˈeə(r)/

n. 半空中

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sweetness /ˈswiːtnəs/

n. 甜蜜；甜美

🔊 "Of course I love you," the flower said to him. "It is my fault that you have not known it all the while. That is of no importance. But you—you have been just as foolish as I. Try to be happy . . . Let the glass globe be. I don't want it any more."

"我当然爱着你,"花儿对他说,"你始终未能察觉,都是我的过错。这并不重要。可是你——你也和我一样傻呀。要努力幸福……把玻璃罩放下吧,我不再需要它了。"

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fault /fɔːlt/

n. 过错；缺点

🔊

foolish /ˈfuːlɪʃ/

adj. 愚蠢的

🔊 "But the wind—"

"可是风——"

🔊 "My cold is not so bad as all that. . . The cool night air will do me good. I am a flower."

"我的感冒没那么严重……清凉的夜风对我有好处。我可是朵花呀。"

🔊 "But the animals—"

"可是动物们——"

🔊 "Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies. It seems that they are very beautiful. And if not the butterflies—and the caterpillars—who will call upon me? You will be far away . . . As for the large animals—I am not at all afraid of any of them. I have my claws."

"唉,如果我想认识蝴蝶,就必须忍受两三条毛毛虫的存在。听说它们非常美丽。要是没有蝴蝶——也没有毛毛虫——谁还会来拜访我呢？你就要去远方了……至于那些大动物——我一点儿也不怕它们,我有自己的爪子呢。"

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endure /ɪnˈdjʊə(r)/

v. 忍受,忍耐

🔊

presence /ˈprezns/

n. 存在；出席

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caterpillars /ˈkætəpɪləz/

n. 毛毛虫（caterpillar的复数）

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acquainted /əˈkweɪntɪd/

adj. 熟悉的,认识的

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butterflies /ˈbʌtəflaɪz/

n. 蝴蝶（butterfly的复数）

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claws /klɔːz/

n. 爪,钳（claw的复数）

🔊 And, naively, she showed her four thorns. Then she added:

她天真地展露出四根尖刺,随后补充道:

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naively /naɪˈiːvli/

adv. 天真地,幼稚地

🔊

thorns /θɔːnz/

n. 刺,荆棘（thorn的复数）

🔊 "Don't linger like this. You have decided to go away. Now go!"

"别这样徘徊不去了。你既已决定离开,现在就出发吧！"

🔊

linger /ˈlɪŋɡə(r)/

v. 徘徊；留恋

Chapter IX (第九章)