看原版童书学英语：鲸鱼在唱歌
来源：互联网
2012-04-10 16:14
1
The whales' song
鲸鱼在唱歌
2
Lily's grandmother told her a story.
丽丽的奶奶给她讲了一个故事。
"Once upon a time."
“很久以前。”
she said, “the ocean was filled with whales.They were as big as the hill.
她说，“大海里住满了鲸鱼。他们像山峰一样巨大。
它们像月亮一样安宁。它们是你能想象出的最神奇的生物。”
3
莉莉安静地伏在奶奶的膝盖上。
“I used to sit at the end of the jetty and listen for whales ”said Lilly’s grandmother.
“从前我常常跑到码头的边缘，听鲸鱼的声音。”莉莉的奶奶说，
“Sometimes I’d sit there all day and all night.
“有一次，我在那儿坐了一天一夜。
Then all of a sudden I’d see them coming from miles away.
然后，忽然之间，我就看见它们从几米之外的海上向我游来。
They moved through the water as if they were dancing.”
他们在波浪中穿梭，就像在跳舞一样。”
4
“But how did they know you were there grandma?” asked Lilly, “how would they find you.”
“可是它们怎么知道你在那儿呢，奶奶？”莉莉问道，“它们怎么才能找到你呢？”
Lilly’s grandmother smiled,” Oh, you had to bring them something special.
莉莉的奶奶微笑着说，“哦，你必须给他们带一些特别的东西。
A prefect shell. Or a beautiful stone.
一个完整的贝壳，或者一块漂亮的石子。
And if they like you the whales would take your gift and give you something in return.”
如果鲸鱼喜欢你的话，它们就回收下你的礼物，并且给你一些东西作为回报。”
5
“What would they give you, Grandma?” asked Lilly.
“它们会给你什么呢，奶奶？”莉莉问
”What did you get from the whales?”
“鲸鱼给了你什么礼物呀？”
Lilly’s grandmother sighed, “once or twice ”
莉莉的奶奶叹了一口气，“有那么一两次”
she whispered, “once or twice I heard them sing.”
她悄声说“有那么一两次，我听见它们在唱歌。”
6
Lilly’s uncle Frederick stomped into the room.
莉莉的叔叔弗雷德里克踱步进了房间。
“你就会说这些老掉牙的蠢故事！”他嘲笑道
“Whales were important for their meat, and for their bones, and for their blubber.
“鲸鱼的重要性在于他们的鱼肉，鱼骨和鲸鱼油。
If you have to tell Lilly something, then tell her something useful.
要是你非得和莉莉说点什么，那也得告诉她一点有用处的事情吧。
Don’t fill her head with nonsense. Singing whales indeed!”
别在她脑袋里塞满无意义的东西，鲸鱼会唱歌？才怪！”
7
“There were whales here millions of years before there were ships, or cities, or even cavemen.” continued Lilly’s grandmother.
“鲸鱼早在轮船、城市、甚至人类之前几百万年就存在了”莉莉的奶奶继续说
”People used to say they were magical.”
“人们从前总说它们是有魔法的。”
“People used to eat and boil them down for oil!”
“人们从前总是吃它们的肉，用他们来熬油！”
grumbled Lilly’s uncle Frederick.And he turned his back and stomped out to the garden.
莉莉的叔叔一边嘟哝着，一边转身向花园走去。
8
Lilly dreamt about whales.
莉莉梦见了鲸鱼。
In her dreams she saw them, as large as mountains and bluer than the sky.
她在梦里看见它们——就像山峰一样巨大，就像天空一样湛蓝。
In her dreams she heard them singing, their voice like the wind.
她在梦里听见它们的歌声——那声音就像风的声音一样。
In her dreams they leapt from the water and called her name.
在梦里，它们跳出海面，呼唤她的名字。
9
Next morning Lilly went down to the ocean.
第二天清晨，莉莉去了海边。
She went where no one fished or swam or sailed their boats.
她去了一个没人钓鱼、没人游泳、也没有人划船的地方。
她独自走到老码头的前面。一片水面空阔而安静。
Out of her pocket she took a yellow flower and dropped it in the water.”This is for you. “ she called into the air.
她从口袋里掏出一朵小黄花，把它丢进了水中。“送给你们的。”她对空气喊道。
10
Lilly sat at the end of jetty and waited.She waited all morning and all afternoon.
莉莉坐在码头边等啊等，她从早上一直等到了下午。
当夜色降临的时候，弗雷德里克叔叔下山坡来找她了。
“这件愚蠢的事情就到此为止吧。”他说
“Come on home. I’ll not have you dreaming your life away.”
“回家去，我可不会让你一直这么想入非非。”
11
That night, Lilly awoke suddenly.The room was bright with moonlight.
那天夜里莉莉突然从睡梦中醒了。屋里洒满了皎洁的月光。
She sat up and listened, the house was quiet.
她坐起身，倾听着。整个房子里静悄悄的。
Lilly climbed out of bed and went to the window.
莉莉翻身下床，走到窗户前面。
她能听见从远方，从山的那一边传来的某种声音。
12
She raced outside and down to the shore.
她跑了出去，径直跑到海边。
Her heart was pounding as she reached the sea.
当她看到海的一瞬，她的整个心都在砰砰直跳。
There enormous in the ocean, were the whales.
在大海里有那么一群庞然大物，那是鲸鱼。
They leapt and jumped and spun across the moon.
它们跳跃着，从月亮前穿梭而过。
它们的歌声响彻夜空。莉莉看见她的小黄花在水沫上舞蹈。
13
Minutes passed, or maybe hours.
几分钟，或者十几小时过去了。
忽然，丽丽感到她的睡衣在微风中飒飒飘动，她的脚趾头被寒冷刺痛了。
She shivered and rubbed her eyes.
她微微颤抖着，揉了揉自己的眼睛。
Then it seemed the ocean was still again and the night black and silent.Lilly thought she must have been dreaming.
这时，大海看起来又恢复了平静，夜晚黑暗而沉默。莉莉想，自己一定在做梦吧。
She stood up and turned for home.
她站了一会儿，就转身往家里走去。
Then from far, far away, on the beach of the wind she heard,”Lilly!Lilly!”The whales were calling her name.
这时，从很远、很远的某处，透过风儿的一缕呼吸，他听到了一个声音。“莉莉！莉莉！”那是鲸鱼们正在呼唤她的名字。
