整个世界因你而不同

2017-12-04 08:43:29  每日学英语
 

All the Difference in The World

整个世界因你而不同

美文

Every Sunday morning

I take a light jog around a park near my home.

There's a lake located in one corner of the park.

每个星期日的早晨

我都会绕着我家附近的公园轻松地慢跑。

公园的一角有一片湖。
 

Each time I jog by this lake,

I see the same elderly woman

sitting at the water's edge

with a small metal cage sitting beside her.

每当我慢跑经过这片湖,

都会看到同一个老妇人,

身边放着一个金属笼子坐在湖边。
 

jog /dʒɒg/ v. 慢跑;轻推

locate /lə(ʊ)'keɪt/ v. 位于;查找…的地点

elderly /'eldəlɪ/ adj. 上了年纪的;过了中年的

edge /edʒ/ n. 边缘

cage /keɪdʒ/ n. 笼,兽笼

美文

This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me,

so I stopped jogging and walked over to her.

上个星期日我终于忍不住好奇,

停止了慢跑,走到她身边。
 

As I got closer,

I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small trap.

走近时我发现金属笼子其实是一个小陷阱。
 

There were three turtles, unharmed,

slowly walking around the base of the trap.

三只乌龟安然无恙

绕着陷阱底部慢悠悠地爬着。
 

curiosity /kjʊərɪ'ɒsɪtɪ/ n. 好奇,好奇心

realize /ˈrɪəlaɪz/ v. 实现;认识到

trap /træp/ n. 陷阱;圈套

turtle /'tɜ: t(ə)l/ n. 龟,甲鱼

base /beɪs/ n. 基础;底部

美文

She had a fourth turtle in her lap

that she was carefully scrubbing

with a spongy brush.

她正认真地用海绵刷擦拭着第四只趴在她膝盖上的乌龟。
 

'Hello,' I said.

'If you don't mind my nosiness,

I'd love to know what you're doing with these turtles.'

“你好啊,”我说,

“如果你不介意我多管闲事的话,

我很想知道你在对这些乌龟做什么呢。”
 

She smiled.

' I'm cleaning off their shells,'

she replied.

“我在清洗他们的壳,”

她笑着回答说。
 

scrub /skrʌb/ v. 用力擦洗;使净化

spongy /'spʌn(d)ʒɪ/ adj. 海绵状的;轻软的

nosiness /'nozɪnɪs/ n. 好打听;爱管闲事

shell /ʃel/ n. 壳,贝壳

美文

'Anything on a turtle's shell,

like algae or scum, reduces

the turtle's ability to absorb heat

and impedes its ability to swim.

It can also corrode

and weaken the shell over time.'

任何乌龟壳上,像海藻、泡沫浮渣这些东西,

都会减弱乌龟的吸热能力并且阻碍他们游动,

时间长了还会腐蚀龟壳,

让龟壳变得脆弱。
 

She went on:

'I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning,

relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out.

It's my own strange way of making a difference.'

她继续说道:“每个星期天早晨我都会花几个小时待在湖边

边放松自己,边帮这些小家伙摆脱困难。

这就是我奇怪的制造改变的方式。”
 

algae /ˈældʒi: / n. 藻类;海藻

scum /skʌm/ n. 浮渣;泡沫

absorb /əb'zɔ: b/ v. 吸收;吸引;承受

impede /ɪm'pi: d/ v. 阻碍;妨碍

corrode /kə'rəʊd/ v. 侵蚀;损害

weaken /'wi: k(ə)n/ v. 减少;使变弱

strange /streɪndʒ/ adj. 奇怪的;陌生的

美文

'But don't most freshwater turtles

live their whole lives with algae and scum

hanging from their shells?' I asked.

“但是,难道不是所有的淡水乌龟

都是伴随着它们壳上的海藻和泡沫、浮渣度过一生的吗?”

我问道。
 

'Yep, sadly, they do,' she replied.

“遗憾的是,它们的确这样。” 她回答道。
 

'Well then, don't you think

your time could be better spent?

And 99% of these turtles

don't have kind people like you

to help them clean off their shells.

“那么,你不觉得你在浪费时间吗?

99%的乌龟都没有遇到像你这么好的人去帮他们清洗龟壳。

美文

So, no offense…

but how exactly are your localized efforts here

truly making a difference?'

所以,无意冒犯…

但是你在这儿,通过你一个人的努力到底能带来多大改变呢?”
 

offense /ə'fɛns/ n. 过错;冒犯

exactly /ɪg'zæk(t)lɪ/ adv. 恰好地;正是

localized /'lokə'laɪzd/ adj. 局部的;地区的

effort /'efət/ n. 努力;成就

difference /'dɪf(ə)r(ə)ns/ n. 差异;不同
 

The woman giggled aloud.

老妇人大声咯咯笑起来。
 

She then looked down at the turtle in her lap,

scrubbed off the last piece of algae from its shell,

and said, 'Sweetie, if this little guy could talk,

he'd tell you

I just made all the difference in the world.'

接着她看看膝盖上的乌龟,

把龟壳上的最后一块海藻擦拭干净,

说道:“亲爱的,如果这只小乌龟会说话的话,

它一定会告诉你我刚刚改变了整个世界。”
 

giggle /'gɪg(ə)l/ v. 傻笑;咯咯地笑

美文

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