The lion
狮子

The lion is often called the “king of beasts.” His height varies from three to four feet, and he is from six to nine feet long. His coat is a yellowish brown or tawny color, and about his neck is a great shaggy mane which gives his head a majestic appearance.
狮子通常被称为"兽中之王"。他的身高因狮而异，有三至四尺高，而他的身长有六至九英尺长。他的皮毛带些淡黄的棕色或者黄褐色，并且他的脖子上有很多长而凌乱的鬃毛使他的头有着雄伟的外观。

The strength of the lion is so great that he can easily crush the skulls of such animals as the horse or ox with one blow of his paw. No one who has not seen the teeth of a full grown lion taken out of their sockets can have any idea of their real size; one of them forms a good handful, and might easily be mistaken for a small elephant’s tooth.
狮子的力量是如此巨大，因此他可以轻松地用他的脚爪一爪撕碎马或牛些种动物的头骨。如果没有看过从一只成年狮子的牙槽中取出的牙齿，没有人可以想象出它们真实的大小；一个牙齿有一手握住这样的大小，所以很容易被误认为是一只小象的牙齿。

The home of the lion is in the forests of Asia and Africa, where he is a terror to man and beast. He generally lies concealed during the day, but as darkness comes on he prowls about where other animals are accustomed to go for food or drink. Then he springs upon them unawared, with a roar that sounds like the rumble of thunder.
狮子的家在亚洲和非洲的丛林中。在那里他是人与兽的噩梦。他白天通常隐于丛林中，但一旦夜晚来临，他就潜行到其他动物习惯去觅食或者饮水的地方。然后他就在它们放松警惕的时候突然跃出袭杀，伴随着如同雷声一般的大声咆哮。

The lion sometimes lives to a great age. One by the name of Pompey died in London in the year 1760, at the age of seventy years. If taken when young the lion can be tamed, and will even show kindness to his keeper.
狮子有时候能活很久。1760年，有一只名叫庞培的狮子七十岁时在伦敦去世。如果在狮子年幼的时候将他驯服，他甚至会显示对畜养人的好意。

In a menagerie in Brussels, there was a cell where a large lion, called Danco, used to be kept. The cell happened to be in need of repair, and the keeper, whose name was William, desired a carpenter to come and mend it. The carpenter came, but was so afraid of the lion, that he would not go near the cell alone.
在布鲁塞尔的动物园，曾经有一个笼子里面养着一只大狮子，名叫丹可。这个笼子因为损坏，需要维修，因此这个名叫威廉的畜养人，请求一个木匠来修补它。木匠来了，但他太害怕狮子了，不敢一个人靠近这个笼子一步。

So William entered the cell, and led the lion to the upper part of it, while the other part was refitting. He played with the lion for some time; but, at last, being wearied, both he and the lion fell asleep. The carpenter went on with his work, and when he had finished he called out for William to come and see it.
于是威廉走进这个笼子，然后让狮子待在笼子的上层部分，而其它部分让木匠整修。他与狮子表演了一段时间 ；但是，最后因为十分疲倦，他和狮子一起睡着了。木匠继续他的工作，并且当他完成工作之后，他就想叫醒威廉起来看一看他的工作成果。

He called again and again, but William didn’t answer. The poor carpenter began to be frightened, lest the lion had made his dinner of the keeper, or else crushed him with his great paws. He crept round to the upper part of the cell, and there, looking through the railing, he saw the lion and William sleeping side by side as contentedly as two little brothers. 
他一次又一次的叫威廉，但是威廉没有应答。可怜的木匠被吓坏了，担心狮子已将他的畜养人当做晚餐，或是用他的大爪子将威廉撕成碎片。他蹑手蹑脚地绕到笼子的上层，并在那里，透过栏杆，他看到狮子和威廉像两个亲爱的兄弟一样并排睡得心满意足地。

He was so astonished that he uttered a loud cry. The lion, awakened by the noise, stared at the carpenter with an eye of fury, and then placing his paw on the breast of his keeper, as if to say, “Touch him if you dare,” the heroic beast lay down to sleep again. The carpenter was dreadfully alarmed, and, not knowing how he could rouse William, he ran out and related what he had seen. 
他十分的惊讶情不自禁的大喊起来。狮子被这噪声吵醒，愤怒的盯着木匠，然后将他的爪子放在畜养人的胸膛上，好像在说，"量你也不敢触摸他，"被惊醒的英雄野兽重新躺下又睡着了。木匠十分的震惊，并且不知道如何叫醒威廉，于是他跑了出去告诉大家他所见到的一切。

Some people came, and, opening the door of the cell, contrived to awaken the keeper, who, rubbing his eyes, quietly looked around him, and expressed himself very well satisfied with his nap. He took the lion’s paw, shook it kindly, and then retired uninjured from the cell.
后来一些人进来，并且打开了笼子的门，设法叫醒了威廉。威廉揉揉眼睛，静静地环顾了一下狮子，向他表示自己很满意他的小憩。他握住狮子的爪子，亲热的摇了摇，然后安然无恙的退出了笼子。

I. Answer the questions.
1. What does a lion usually do in the day and at night?
2. What is the main idea of the story about the keeper, the lion and the carpenter?
3. Why was the carpenter frightened after he repaired the cell?

II. Find out the two figures of speech (比喻) used by the author to describe the lion’s teeth and roar.
Teeth: ______________________________________________.
Roar: ______________________________________________.

III. Find out the stylish sentences used by the author to express the following ideas.
1. The lion’s mane gives him a great look.
______________________________________________
2. The carpenter was afraid and shouted loudly.
______________________________________________
3. The keeper had a good sleep.
______________________________________________ 

本期题目：

What does a lion usually do in the day and at night?

A generally lies concealed during the day and hunts at night

B generally lies concealed during the day and plays at night

C generally lies concealed during the day and roars at night

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